"You go to my house," said the little boy, "and my mamma will give you money to buy more groceries for Mrs. Jones. Then old Miss Hollyhock can keep the ones Sue and me give her. Won't that be all right?"

"Yes, I s'pose it will if your mother gives me the money," answered Tommie slowly.

"She won't have to give you the money," said Sue. "We don't pay money for groceries anyhow; we charge 'em."

"Well, it's the same thing in the end," said Tommie with a laugh. "But I guess the best I can do is to take you two youngsters home, and see what happens then. I'll tell Mrs. Jones I'll come later with her groceries."

Tommie ran up to the Jones house, and was soon back on the wagon again.

He drove quite fast to the home of Bunny and Sue.

"Oh, you children!" cried Mrs. Brown, when she heard what had happened--about Bunny and Sue riding in the grocery wagon, and giving the things away to old Miss Hollyhock that Mrs. Jones ought to have had.

"You'll pay for the groceries, won't you, Mother?" asked Bunny.

"Yes, dear, I suppose so. I know you meant to be kind, but you should ask me before you do things like that. However, the food will be a great help to old Miss Hollyhock. I was going to send her some anyhow.

"Here, Tommie, you give this note to Mr. Gordon, the grocer, and he will charge the things to me, and give you more for Mrs. Jones. I'm sorry you had all this trouble."

"Oh, I don't mind," and Tommie was smiling now. "I'm glad Bunny and Sue had a nice ride."

"And it makes you feel good to give things to people," said Bunny. "I mean it makes you feel good inside."

"Like eating bread and jam when you're hungry," observed Sue.

"No, it isn't like that," said Bunny. "'Cause when your hungry, and you eat bread and jam it makes you feel good here," and he put his hand on his stomach. "But when you make somebody, like old Miss Hollyhock, a present it makes you feel good higher up," and he patted his little heart.

"Well, I'm glad to know you like to be kind," said Mother Brown. "But please don't run away and ride in any more grocery wagons, or something may happen so that you can't go on a visit to Aunt Lu's city home."

"Oh dear!" cried Sue. "We wouldn't want that to happen! Are we soon going, Mother?"

"Pretty soon, I guess. I have some sewing to do first. I must make you some new dresses."

The next week was a busy one in the Brown house. There were clothes to get ready for Bunny and Sue, and as they had just come back from a long visit to grandpa's, in the country, some of their things needed much mending. For Bunny and Sue had played in the hay; they had romped around in the barn, and had run through the woods, and across the fields.

But the summer vacation had done them good. They were strong and healthy, and as brown as little Indian children. They could play all day long, come in, go to bed, and get up early the next morning, ready for more good times.

One day the postman brought another letter from Aunt Lu.

"I can hardly wait for Bunny and Sue to come to see me," said Aunt Lu. "I am sure they will have a fine time in the city, though it is different from the seash.o.r.e where they live. Bunny will not find any lobster claws here. And my home isn't in the country, either. There are no green fields to play in, though we can go to Central Park, or the Bronx Zoo."

"What's a Zoo?" asked Bunny. "Is it something good to eat?"

"It's a game, like tag," guessed Sue.

"No," said Mother Brown. "Aunt Lu means the Bronx Zoological Park, and she calls it Zoo for short. That means a place where animals are kept."

"Wild animals?" asked Bunny.

"Yes."

"Pooh! I know what a Zoo is--it's a circus!" the little boy exclaimed.

"Well, it's partly like that," said his mother. "But that isn't all of Aunt Lu's letter."

"What else does she say?" asked Sue.

"Why, she writes that she has a surprise for you."

"Oh, what is it?" asked Bunny.

"Tell us!" begged Sue.

"Aunt Lu doesn't say," said Mrs. Brown. "You will have to wait until you get to Aunt Lu's city home. Then you'll find out what the surprise is."

Bunny and Sue tried all that day to guess, but of course they could not tell whether they had guessed right or not.

"Oh dear!" sighed Sue. "I wish it was time to go now."

But the days soon pa.s.sed, and, about a week later, Mrs. Brown, with Bunny and Sue, were at the railroad station, ready to take the train for New York. Mr. Brown could not go with them, though he said he would come later. He went to the station with them, however.

"Here comes the New York train," said Mr. Brown as a whistle sounded down the track. "Now you're off for Aunt Lu's!"

CHAPTER VII

ON THE TRAIN

Mr. Brown helped his wife and the two children on to the train. Then he had to hurry down the steps, for the engine was whistling, which meant that it was about to start off again.

"And I don't want to be carried away with it, much as I would like to go," said Daddy Brown. "But I'll come to Aunt Lu's and see you before the winter is over, though now I must stay here, and look after my boat business, with Bunker Blue."

"Bring Bunker with you when you come to New York," called Bunny to his father, as the train slowly rolled out of the station.

"All right, perhaps I will," answered Mr. Brown.

Bunny Brown and his sister Sue crowded up to the open car window to wave a last good-bye to their father, who stood on the depot platform. At last they could see him no longer, for the train was soon going fast, and was quickly far away. Then the children settled down to enjoy their ride.

"Mother, can't I sit next to the window?" begged Sue.

"No, I want to!" cried Bunny.

The children did not often ride in the steam cars, and of course it was quite a treat for each of them to sit next to the window, where one could watch the trees, houses, fences and telegraph poles as they seemed to fly past. In fact Bunny and Sue both wanted the window so much that they quite forgot to be polite, as they nearly always were.

"I'm going to be at the window," said Sue.

"No, I am!" cried Bunny.