When Rose, with tears streaming from her eyes, came running to her mother, Mrs. Bunker felt sorry for her little girl; but she was just a little puzzled to understand what was wrong. "Shucking off all her buttons" certainly sounded queer¹.  
"What is it, Rose?" she asked. "What are Russ and Laddie doing?"
 
"They're shucking all the buttons off my doll."
 
"Shucking the buttons off your doll?"
 
"Yes. In the corn shucker, where Tom shucks the ears of corn for the chickens."
 
Mrs. Bunker didn't yet quite know what Rose meant, for the mother of the six little children had not been out to the corn crib, and did not know what was there.
 
"It's my middle-sized doll," explained Rose. "Please come and take her away from Russ and Laddie 'fore² they shuck off all her buttons. Don't you know—she's got yellow shoe buttons on her dress—rows of 'em down the front and in the back. It's my messenger girl doll."
 
Mrs. Bunker followed Rose out to the corn crib. She began to understand what had happened. Among the many dolls Rose had was one she called her "messenger girl" doll It was about a foot tall, and the doll wore a blue dress, in color something like the suits worn by the telegraph messenger boys in the cities. To make the doll's dress more like a uniform, Rose had sewed on the back and front several rows of yellow shoe buttons, which she had cut from old tan shoes at home. The doll really had on her dress more buttons than she needed, but as some messenger and elevator boys in hotels and apartment houses have the same, I suppose Rose had a right to decorate her doll that way if she liked.
 
"How did it happen?" asked Mrs. Bunker, as she followed her little girl out to the corn crib.
 
"It was after we saw Tom shuck some corn to feed the chickens—he showed us how he did it," Rose answered.
 
"But what did Russ and Laddie do?"
 
"Oh, they went in and looked at the corn shucker. But they didn't put their hands in and turn the wheel, 'cause Tom said if they did that their fingernails 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 grinding³ 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.
 
Standing⁴ 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 catching⁵ a little stream of yellow shoe buttons that came down through the spout⁶.
 
"Boys! Boys! What are you doing?" cried Mrs. Bunker.
 
"Hello, Mother!" cried Russ. "She shucks dandy. All the buttons are coming off, just the way Tom made the kernels⁷ of corn come off the cobs for the chickens! Look!" and he pointed⁸ to the buttons dropping from the tin spout into Laddie's hat.
 
"Oh, my doll! My nice doll!" cried Rose. "She'll be spoiled now. She won't have any buttons left! Oh, I—I'm mad at you!" and she cried again and stamped first one foot and then the other at Laddie and Russ.
 
"Oh, you mustn't do that," said Mrs. Bunker gently.
 
"I don't care!" pouted⁹ Rose, half tearfully. "They ought not to shuck all the buttons off my doll!"
 
"Are you doing that, Russ?" asked his mother.
 
"Yes'm. But Rose said we could, and then, after she let us take her d............