ngernails would come off."

"Mercy me! I shouldn't want that to happen," said Mrs. Bunker with a
laugh. "But go on, Rose, tell me what they did do?" she went on, for she
saw that Rose felt very sad.

"Well, they wanted to shuck some corn," went on the little girl, "but they
didn't durst do it. Then Russ saw me have my messenger girl doll, with the
yellow shoe buttons down her back and front, and he said she looked just
like an ear of corn."

"That wasn't very nice of him," put in Mrs. Bunker.

"Oh, well, I didn't mind," said Rose. "The yellow shoe buttons are like
the grains of corn the chickens eat. One button did come off and a rooster
picked it up and swallowed it." Rose was no longer crying.

"Poor rooster! I hope it won't hurt him," laughed Mrs. Bunker.

"I don't guess it will," said Rose, "'cause he crowed awful loud right
after it. He must have liked it. But, anyhow, Russ said my doll looked
like an ear of corn, so he asked me to let him take her to shuck off her
buttons."

"And did you?" asked Mrs. Bunker.

"Yes'm, I did, Mother. He and Laddie put my doll in the corn shucker and
they started to turn the wheel. Then I thought maybe my doll would be
hurt, and I wanted her back again. But they wouldn't give her to me, so I
came to tell you!" And once more the tears came into the little girl's
eyes.

"Well, I'll fix it all right," said Mrs. Bunker. "Don't cry, Rose. Even if
her buttons are all shucked off we can sew more on. Don't cry!"

So Rose dried her tears and hurried on after her mother out to Grandma
Bell's corncrib.

As they came near it they could hear a grinding noise, and then the voice
of Laddie called:

"Oh, Russ! here come some of the buttons."

"Yes! A lot of 'em!" Russ added. "Oh, she's shucking fine, Laddie--just
like an ear of corn!"

"Dandy!" exclaimed Laddie. "It's too bad Rose didn't wait to see what we
were doing. This is fun!"

"I'm here now! And you just give me my doll!" cried Rose. "I told mamma on
you, that's what I did!"

The grinding noise kept up for a moment or two longer, and the laughter of
the two little boys could be heard. Then Mrs. Bunker, followed by Rose,
went into the corncrib. Mrs. Bunker saw a curious sight.

Standing at one side of the corn-shelling machine was Russ, turning the
big wheel, which went round quite easily. On the other side was Laddie,
and in his hat he was catching a little stream of yellow shoe buttons that
came down through the spout.