nking what a good time they had
had, the two guinea pig children heard a rustling sound in the bushes,
and two big, round, staring eyes peered out at them, and there was a
noise like a dog growling.

"Oh, quick! Hurry up, Buddy!" cried Brighteyes. "Something will catch
us sure!" and she began to run as fast as fast could be, or even faster,
maybe.

"Oh, I don't think it's anything but old Percival, the circus dog," said
Buddy. "He won't hurt us."

And he was going to stand still and look in those bushes; yes, sir,
that's what Buddy was going to do, only he happened to see a big, bushy
tail sticking out, and then he knew it was a bad fox there, and not the
good, kind dog, so Buddy ran as fast as he could run, if not faster,
right after Brighteyes.

And the fox ran, too, only he had stepped on a piece of glass and cut
his foot and couldn't run very fast. He was the same fox who lighted the
firecracker in Dr. Pigg's house, and I'm glad to say that he didn't
catch Buddy or Brighteyes, for they ran faster than the fox did.

Well, they hurried on for quite a distance further, and all at once,
just as they were getting tired, and when they knew the fox had stopped
chasing them, they happened to look down on the path, and what should
they see but a white box; yes, indeed, a white box, tied with pink
string.

"Oh, I wonder what can be in there?" asked Brighteyes.

"I don't know, but I'll go see," said Buddy.

"Oh, no, don't go too close," begged his sister. "It might be a trap, or
perhaps the bad fox is hidden inside it."

"It's too small for a fox to get in," declared the boy guinea pig. "I'll
take a smell, anyhow."

So he crept slowly, slowly, slowly up to the white box, and sniffed, and
sniffed and sniffed.

"Oh! Ah! Um! La-la! Um! Um!" exclaimed Buddy Pigg, and he laid down the
packages of candy, nuts, cakes and other things he had carried home from
the Littletails' party, so that he might smell the better.

"What is it?" asked Brighteyes Pigg. "What's in the box?"

"I don't know," replied her brother, "but whatever it is, it smells the
nicest of anything I ever smelled. It's just like when mamma bakes a
ginger cake in the oven. I'm going to open it and see."

So, with his sharp teeth, Buddy loosened the pink string around the box,
and off came the cover. Then, what do you suppose was in the box? Why, a
whole lot of peanut candy, all nice and fresh, shining, golden brown,
with just enough peanuts in, and no