p Roman candles and skyrockets; and oh! it will be
better than a circus."

"Oh, you boys!" exclaimed Brighteyes. "You always want to make a racket
and have excitement. It's horrid, I think."

"Oh, I s'pose you'll play with your dolls, or something like that," said
Buddy, laughing at his sister, who was very serious.

"Yes, that's what I'm going to do," replied Brighteyes. "I'm going to
play with Sister Sallie, and Alice and Lulu Wibblewobble, and Jennie
Chipmunk, and we're going for a picnic in the woods."

"Look out that a big fox or a bad dog doesn't get you," said Buddy.
"Well, I'm going off to find Sammie and Billie and Johnnie and Jimmie
and Peetie and Jackie Bow Wow, and Bully and Bawly Frog, and we'll have
a fine time on the Fourth."

"Where are you going to get your firecrackers and things?" asked
Brighteyes.

"You'll see," answered Buddy, as he ran off.

Well, Fourth of July came at last, just as it always does, and early in
the morning Buddy Pigg awoke.

"Where are you going?" called his papa.

"Out to shoot off some firecrackers," answered Buddy.

"Be careful you don't get burned," cautioned his mother. "Oh dear! I
don't like the Fourth of July. If you do get burned. Buddy, run right in
and let papa attend to you."

"I can't get burned with the kind of firecrackers and torpedoes I'm
going to use," answered the little boy guinea pig, and he laughed as he
ran out.

Well, pretty soon, along came all his friends, Billie and Johnnie and
Sammie, and all the rest. They were so excited that Bawly, the frog,
didn't think to sing a song, or recite any poetry.

"What shall we do first?" asked Buddy.

"Let's play war," suggested Sammie. "We'll divide up into two armies,
and have a battle. It will be great!"

So they divided into two sides, and Buddy was the general on one side,
and Billie Bushytail on the other. Then the fight began--not real, you
understand--but make-believe.

First the loud cannons shot off; and what do you suppose the cannons
were? Why big stones, that the squirrels and rabbits and the other
animal boys held and clapped together as loud as anything. You know
stones can make a terrible racket when they are hit together real hard.
Well, it sounded like regular cannon, and the birds in the wood got
awfully scared.

"Now fire your guns!" cried General Buddy Pigg, and his soldiers took
sticks, and snapped them in two pieces and broke them, until they
sounded like real guns, or a lot