During the interval the boys were so busy training that they had little time for other sports, but the girls found out-door life quite as interesting as their brothers did, and now made many discoveries in and about the pretty woodlands.
"Oh, we saw the prettiest little rabbits today," Nan told her mother, after a trip in the woods. "Flossie and Freddie were sitting on an old stump when two rabbits ran right across the road in front of them. Freddie ran after them as far as he could go in the brushwood, but of course no one can go asfast as a rabbit.""And the squirrels," Flossie told them. "I think the squirrels are the prettiest things that live in the woods. They have tails just like mamma's feather boa and they walk sitting up so cute.""Oh, I think the rabbits are the nicest," lisped Freddie, "'cause they are Bunnies, and Bunnies bring Easter eggs.""And we have made the loveliest fern garden up back of the swing," said Flossie. "We got a whole basket of ferns in the woods and transplanted them.""In the center we have some lovely Jack-in the-pulpits," Nan added. "Some are light green striped, and the largest are purple with gold stripes. The Jacks stand up straight, just like real live boys preaching in a pulpit.""Don't you think, mamma," asked Flossie, "that daisies and violets make a lovely garden? I have a round place in the middle of our wild flower bed just full of light blue violets and white daisies.""All flowers are beautiful," their mamma told them, "but I do think with Flossie that daisies and violets are very sweet.""And, mamma, we got a big piece of the loveliest green moss! It is just like real velvet," said Flossie. "We found a place all covered with it down by the pond, under the dark cedar trees. Nan said it wouldn't grow in our garden, but I brought some home to try.I put it in a cooldark place, andI'm going to put lots of water on it every day.""Moss must be very cool and damp to grow," Mrs. Bobbsey replied. "I remember how disappointed I used to be when I was a little girl and tried to make it grow around my geraniums. It would always dry up and turn brown in a few days.""Oh," called Freddie from his garden under the cherry tree, "come quick! Look at the funny bugs!"Nan and Flossie hurried to where their little brother had dug a hole in the earth.""They're mice!" exclaimed Nan. "Oh, aren't they cute! Let's catch them. Call Bert or Harry."While Flossie ran to tell Bert, Nan watched the tiny mice so that they would not get away.
"It's a nest of field mice," Harry told them.
"We'll put them in a cage and have them in our circus.""But they're my mice," cried Freddie, "and I won't let anybody have them!""We're only going to help you take care of them in a little box. Oh, there's the mother- catch her, Harry," called Bert.
The mother mouse was not so easy to catch, however, and the boys had quite a chase after her. At last she ran into a tin box the boys had sunk in the ground when playing golf. Here Harry caught the frightened little creature.
"I've got a queer kind of a trap," Harry said. "It's just like a cage. We can put them in this until we build a larger one. We can make one out of a box with a wire door."The mice were the smallest, cutest things, not larger than Freddie's thumb. They hardly looked like mice at all, but like some queer little bugs. They were put in the cage trap, mother and all, and then Bert got them a bit of cheese from the kitchen.
"What! Feed mice!" exclaimed Dinah "Sakes alive, chile! you go bringing dem mice in de house to eat all our cake and pie. You just better drown dem in de brook before dey bring a whole lot more mices around here.""We'll keep them away from the house," Bert told Dinah. "We're going to have a circus, you know, and these will be our trained mice."Freddie, of course, was delighted with the little things, and wanted to dig for more.
"I tell you!" said Bert. "We might catch butterflies and have them under a big glass on the table with all the small animals ""That would be good," Harry agreed. "We could catch some big brown ones and some little fancy ones. Then after dark we could get some big moths down by the postoffice electric light."The girls, too, went catching butterflies. Nan was able to secure four or five yellow ones in the flower garden near the porch, and Flossie got two of the small brown variety in the nasturtium bed. Harry and Bert searched in the close syringa bushes where the nests are usually found.
"Oh! look at this one!" called Freddie, coming up with a great green butterfly."Is it bird?" he asked. "See how big it is!"It really was very large, and had such beautiful wings it might easily bemistaken for some strange bird.
"We will try to keep them alive," said Harry, "and perhaps we can get ma's big glass globe to put them in. She has one she used to put wax flowers under.""And, oh say!" exclaimed Bert, "couldn't we have an aquarium with snakes and turtles and toads in?""Fine!" declared Harry. "We've got a big glass tank I used to have gold fish in. We'll get the other fellows to help catch some snakes, fish, and turtles and toads, and - and anything else that will stand water!"Then what a time they had hunting for reptiles! It seemed each boy had a different variety on his premises. August Stout brought three turtles and Jack Hopkins caught two snakes under a big stone in his back yard. Tom Mason supplied four lovely gold fish, while Ned Prentice brought three bright green frogs.
"I can catch hop-toads," declared Freddie, and sure enough the little fellow brought two big ones and a baby toad in his hat down to the boys, who had their collection in a glass tank in the barn.
"We can't put the snakes in with the others or they'll eat them up," saidJack."I'll get a big glass jar for the snakes.""And say!" said Harry."Will we charge admission to the show?" "Sure - five cents each," said Tom, "and give the money to the fresh-aircamp over on the mountain."
This was considered a good plan, and now it was only a few days more untilWednesday -the day of the circus!
