“Mamma,” said Neddie Stubtail, the little boy bear, as he got up from the supper table one evening, “may I go over to Sammie Littletail’s house to-night?” “What for?” asked Mrs. Stubtail.
“Oh, we’re going to play with his magic lantern,” answered Neddie. “We’re going to show some funny pictures. All the boys are going to be there.”
“Oh, I wish I could go,” cried Beckie, the little girl bear, as she looked to see if her green hair ribbon had turned pink. But it had not, I am sorry to say.
“Pooh! You wouldn’t want to be the only girl there,” spoke Neddie.
“Oh, yes, I would,” exclaimed Beckie. “I like boys better than I do girls,” and she wasn’t at all bashful-like as she said that. Some girls are that way, you know.
200“Well, maybe I’ll take you some other night,” said Neddie. “But may I go over this evening, mamma?”
“Well, I guess so,” answered the lady bear, slowly. “But first you must study your school lessons.”
“Oh, I’ll do that,” cried Neddie eagerly. “I’ll learn my reading lesson and my number work. I haven’t got much. I’ve just got to find out how many apples a man would have left if he bought two peaches for five cents and sold a bushel of potatoes for thirteen musk melons.”
“What a funny thing to want to know,” laughed Beckie. “Who asked you that question?”
“I don’t know,” replied Neddie. “It’s in the book, that’s all I know, and I’ve got to find the answer for myself. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a dozen honey cakes. Now please don’t bother me any more, Beckie, for I’m going to study.”
“Oh, I won’t bother you,” said the little girl bear. “I’ve got to study my own lessons. And after that I’m going to make a sky-blue-pink dress for my new doll, Lillian Cheesecake Clothes-basket.”
Neddie hurried with his studying so that he might go over to the house of Sammie Littletail, 201the rabbit boy, and see the magic lantern show.
A magic lantern, you know, is something like a moving picture show, only different. I guess you’ve seen one, so I don’t need to tell you about it.
Well, Neddie finished his home school-work, and I guess he did as you boys and girls may often have done—he skipped the hard parts and only took the easy questions, such as how to spell dog, and cat, and rat, and apple, and cake.
Then Neddie put on his hat and coat, and started to go over to Sammie Littletail’s house. It was not a great way there through the woods. The moon was shining brightly, just as it was the night before, when Neddie and Beckie went to Kittie Kat’s party, and Neddie fell into the flour barrel, as I had the pleasure of telling you in the story before this one.
When Neddie got to Sammie Littletail’s house he saw many of his little animal boy friends there, and Sammie was all ready to start the magic lantern show.
And, oh! what a nice show it was! A white sheet was tacked on the wall, and on that the pictures were shown. There was one picture of some little dogs in a country called Germany, walking around on their hind legs and eating pie with a spoon. Then there was another picture 202of a cow blowing her horns to make a nice tune so the grasshoppers could dance.
After that Sammie showed a picture of a big lion, roaring in his loudest voice, and, so as to make it seem more like a lion, Neddie, the little bear boy, growled as loudly as he could, stooping down under the table to hide himself.
And when that picture was shown, and when Neddie growled, Jilly Longtail, the little mousie boy, was so scared that he cried right out loud:
“I want to go home! I want to go home!”
Of course, every one laughed at him, but for all that poor little Jilly was quite frightened.
“Why, it’s only a picture,” said Neddie, as he crawled out from under the table, where he had been trying to roar like a lion. “Don’t cry, Jilly,” and he wiped away the tears of the little mousie boy on his soft fur.
Well, after that more pictures were shown, and then Mrs. Littletail, the rabbit lady, brought out some nice sweet cakes for the animal boys, and Susie Littletail, the rabbit girl, who was a sister to Sammie, as I guess you know, helped her mamma pass the cakes around to every one.
Well, everybody h............