s. Wibblewobble looked at before she was satisfied with two for the
girls. Not that Alice and Lulu were hard to please. Oh, my, no! But their
mamma wanted them to look just right, and you know it is quite difficult
to fit a bonnet on a duck and make it look like anything. The milliner
said so herself, and she ought to know. But at last the two duck girls
both had very fine bonnets indeed; as fine as mustard seeds, which are
very, very fine. Alice had a nice blue one, and Lulu a brown one.

Well, would you ever imagine it? Something is going to happen to Alice's
bonnet, and very soon, too. Just be patient and you shall hear.

"Now children," said Mrs. Wibblewobble, when they had reached the pen
where they lived, "you may go out and swim around a bit with your new
bonnets on until your papa comes home. I want him to see how well they fit
you, for I think I have very good taste when it comes to bonnets."

"Oh, I don't want to wear my new one," spoke Lulu. "I will put on my old
one and go and play with Jimmie and Bully, the frog."

So she did, but Alice, who was very fond of nice clothes, went for a swim
on the pond. At first she paddled around, gazing down in the water, which
was just like the looking-glass some men shave by, and she thought: "Oh,
what a lovely bonnet I have! How fine I shall look when I go for a walk on
Sunday!"

And just then--really I'm not exaggerating a bit--If it didn't begin to
rain! Now, of course, rain couldn't hurt Alice any, for she was a duck
and was used to the water, but she knew it would spoil her new bonnet. So
she took it off and laid it under a big burdock plant leaf near the pond,
to keep the flowers and ribbons dry.

"I wish it would stop raining," said Alice, after a while. "I want to go
home," but the big drops kept on falling, and she had to remain near her
bonnet for fear something would happen to it.

Then, in a little while, oh, maybe half an hour or so, all at once as
quick as a wink, along came Mooleyooly, the big brown cow. Mooleyooly
walked up to the burdock leaf, under which was the new bonnet, and
Mooleyooly saw the pretty yellow flowers on it, and she saw the blue
flowers on it and she saw the red flowers on it. Then Mooleyooly said, as
she licked her lips with her red tongue:

"What have we here? It looks very nice."

"It is nice," answered Alice proudly, for she was glad to have some one,
even a cow, admire her bonnet.

"It looks just like the green meadow where