"Oho! so you've been trying to find out, have you?"

"No. I didn't try. I only hoped," replied Dimple, gravely. At which Mr.

Atkinson laughed heartily; just why, Dimple was puzzled to discover.

When the supper was over and the baskets repacked, they played all manner of games till the great round moon rose over the river, and then they rowed home, singing as they floated along in the silvery moonlight.

Florence and Dimple sat side by side, in a sort of waking dream; and Bubbles dreamed too, as was very evident when the boat landed, for she was sound asleep, and had to be called and shaken before she knew where she was. Then she blundered along behind the others, still so sleepy that she forgot to take off her precious blue beads when she went to bed, and in the night the string broke; consequently when she awoke in the morning she found the beads straggling over the floor and strewing the sheets.

"Didn't we have a good time?" said Florence, looking out on the moonlight, as she stood at the window in Dimple's room.

"Yes," was Dimple's reply, "all but the snake. I don't like snakes."

But the next evening it was evident that Bubbles still bore the subject of snakes in her mind. Mr. and Mrs. Dallas had gone out. Dimple, Florence and Bubbles were sitting on the floor by one of the front windows.

The air was full of the scent of the honeysuckle, and the katydids were contradicting each other in the trees.

"What quarrelsome things they are," said Florence. "Do you suppose they will ever find out whether katy did or not? I'd like to know what she did, anyhow."

"Or what she didn't," said Dimple. "Bubbles, are you asleep?" giving her a shake.

"Thinkin'," said Bubbles, sitting up straight and rubbing her eyes.

"Then what are you rubbing your eyes for?"

"'Cause it's dark. I can't see good," returned Bubbles.

"I declare," Dimple said, "I never know what to do with myself when mamma goes out; it seems to me she is very intimate with Mrs. Hardy.

Florence, suppose you tell a story."

"Oh, I can't," replied Florence. "I never could. I never know what to tell about. You tell."

"I don't know any except Cinderella and the Seven Swans, and those.

Bubbles will have to do it. Go on Bubbles, you've got to tell us a story."

"Laws! Miss Dimple," giggled Bubbles.

"You needn't 'laws,' you know you can, for you've often told them to me; now begin, right away; it will keep you awake if it doesn't do anything else."

"Well," said Bubbles, smoothing down her ap.r.o.n, "oncet they was a b.u.mmelybee, and a snake, and a bird."

"What kind of a bird?" interrupted Florence.

"Erra--erra--bluebird," said Bubbles.

"All right, go on."

"The snake wanted fur to git the bluebird, and the b.u.mmelybee was a-flyin, and a-buzzin' so, it made such a 'straction the snake couldn't git fixed fur to chawm the bird nohow.

"'Jess yuh quit yo' foolin',' said the snake.

"'I no foolin',' said the b.u.mmelybee, 'what's got yuh anyhow?'

"'I ain't had no brekfuss,' said the snake.

"'Well go 'long 'n git it; I'm not a hinderin'.'

"'Yes, yuh is,' said the snake, 'I can't do nothin' fur yo' buzzin'.'

"Then the b.u.mmelybee flown off, but he didn't go very fur, he wanted to see what the snake was up to. He kinder suspicioned it wasn't up to no good, so he jess watched the snake, and bimeby he seen the bluebird come up as peart as anythin', and he set down on the limb of a tree."

Here Bubbles stopped to take breath, and then went on,

"Well, he seen the snake a-crawlin' along the gra.s.s, a-crawlin', a-crawlin', as crafty till it got right in front of the bluebird, and the bluebird he jess set and looked, and didn't move, or say nothin'.

"'Hm! hm!' says Mr. b.u.mmelybee, 'hit's time I was a movin',' so he made fur the snake and giv' him one sting on the haid, and he jess rolled up he eyes, and quirled up ontil the gra.s.s; and the bluebird said, 'I'm much debliged of you, Mr. b.u.mmelybee. I'm glad to perform yo'

acquaintance. I was jess about as nigh chawmed as a bird could be.'

"'Don't say no more about it,' said Mr. b.u.mmelybee, and off he flown."

"I didn't know b.u.mblebees could sting," said Florence.

"Law now don't they?" said Bubbles, "mebbe they doesn't, hit might a been a wa.s.s, wa.s.ses sting I know. Come to think of it, hit was a wa.s.s."

"Is that all of it?" asked Dimple. "I don't think it is a very long story."

"Laws, Miss Dimple, you didn't reckon that was all," said Bubbles, loftily. "I laid out to tell more, soon ez my tongue got rested."

"Rest it then, and go on," said Dimple, settling back against a chair, with her hands behind her head.

"Well," said Bubbles, going on with her story, "the wa.s.s he flown off, and the bluebird he flown off, and after a while the bluebird he met a squirl. 'Howdy?' says he. 'Howdy,' says the squirl. 'How's all to yo'

house?'

"'Tollable, thank you,' says the bluebird. 'Ef yuh see a wa.s.s come along--' Laws, Miss Dimple, I can't get along without'n hit's being a b.u.mmely," said she, stopping short.

"Well, have it a b.u.mmely then," said Dimple. "You don't care, do you, Florence?"

"No," said Florence, "have it a b.u.mmely if you want to, Bubbles."

"'Well,' says the bluebird, 'ef you see a b.u.mmelybee, don't you let n.o.body take his honey from him, fur he's a pertickeler fren' of mine.'

He was sorter shamed to let on to the squirl how nigh chawmed he was.

"'I promise, cross my heart,' says the squirl, and Mr. Bluebird flown off.

"Aftern awhile, up flown Mr. b.u.mmely, and smack behind him comes a little boy layin' out to git his honey.

"Mr. b.u.mmely he flown along and went to hide hissef in a big flower.

That's jess what the boy wanted. 'Now I've got yuh,' says he, but he was too forward, fur the squirl clim' down the tree and popped onto the boy's haid jess ez he was gwine to take off his hat to ketch Mr.

b.u.mmely, and Mr. b.u.mmely he flown off, and Mr. Squirl he laugh, and Mr.

Boy he got mad, and made tracks fur home, and that's all."