gg your sister?" cried the two groundhogs,
rustling around in the dark hole, and when Buddy said she was, they said
they were very sorry for having frightened her on the plank. They were
only playing a joke, they said, and they promised never to bother her
again.

"And besides," went on the larger groundhog, "we'll give you something
to eat, and help you out of this hole."

So they went and got their lantern, which was a bottle filled with
fireflies, and they showed Buddy where there was another hole leading up
out of their underground house, and he crawled out, after they had
given him some clover preserved in molasses candy, and they promised to
come and play with him and Brighteyes some day.

Then Buddy was happy again, and almost glad he had fallen down the big
hole, because he had something good to take home to eat.

Now, in case I have cherry pie for supper and the juice doesn't get on
my red necktie and turn it green, I'll tell you soon about a trick the
groundhogs played.

STORY XXII

A TRICK THE GROUNDHOGS PLAYED

One day, oh, I guess it must have been about a week after Buddy Pigg
fell down the groundhogs' hole, he and Brighteyes were out walking in
the woods. They had been over to pay a visit to Jackie and Peetie Bow
Wow, the two puppy dogs, you know, and were on their way back.

As they walked along, they both heard a queer little rustling sound in
the bushes, but at first they didn't pay any attention to it, but they
kept on, talking about what a nice time they had had, when, all of a
sudden, the noise sounded more plainly. It was just as if some big
animal had taken hold of the bushes in his teeth, and had shaken
them--shaken the bushes, I mean, of course, for he couldn't shake his
teeth unless they were false, and animals don't have false teeth, thank
goodness.

"My land sakes! What's that?" exclaimed Brighteyes.

"Maybe it's a bad fox," said Buddy, and he looked around for a stick or
a stone with which to defend his sister, for Buddy was brave, let me
tell you.

Then the noise seemed to sort of go away, just like when the teacher
rubs the figures and sentences off the blackboard in school, and Buddy
and Brighteyes weren't so frightened. So they kept on, and just as they
were coming to the path that led to their pen, what did they hear but
the rustling noise in the bushes again. This time they were very much
frightened, and Buddy picked up a stick, almost as large as himself.
Then B