"I am saved!"

CHAPTER IX

AT THE PARTY

Patrick, the gardener, had set his wheelbarrow down to rest just as he came under the bathroom window of Madeline's house. And Patrick had his back turned, and was looking at Carlo, the little dog, chasing his tail just when the Candy Rabbit fell into the gra.s.s. So Patrick did not see what had happened.

"But I know what has happened," said the sweet chap to himself. "Only for the soft gra.s.s I would have broken all to pieces! I wish I dared call out and tell Patrick I am here. But I dare not. I must keep still and say nothing."

"Well, I must hurry along and give this gra.s.s to the pony," said the gardener, after he had seen Calico catch his tail. "The pony must be hungry."

Over across Madeline's yard, to the yard where the pony lived in a little stable, went Patrick with the wheelbarrow full of gra.s.s and the Candy Rabbit. Only, of course, Patrick did not know he had the sugary fellow.

"Well, how are you, little pony?" cried the jolly Patrick, when he reached the stable. The pony gave a soft little whinny in answer.

"I have some nice gra.s.s for you," went on Patrick. "Nice, sweet, green gra.s.s that I, myself, cut off the lawn. You shall eat it all up."

Once again the little horse talked in the only way he could make Patrick understand, which was by whinnying. He meant that he would be glad to eat the gra.s.s.

"But I hope he doesn't eat me!" thought the Candy Rabbit. "It is lucky I can speak and understand animal talk. When I get in the pony's stall I'll call out and ask him not to chew me up with the gra.s.s."

But the Candy Rabbit did not have to do this. For when Patrick began to take from the wheelbarrow the gra.s.s he had gathered for the pony, the gardener saw something gleaming in the sunshine amid the green stems.

"h.e.l.lo! what's this?" cried Patrick, leaning over to take a better look.

"What's this in my gra.s.s? Can it be a gla.s.s bottle? If it is it's a good thing I didn't give it to the pony, or he might have cut himself on it."

Patrick took the shining object from the midst of the gra.s.s. In an instant he saw what it was.

"A Candy Rabbit! Madeline's Candy Rabbit!" cried the gardener. He knew it very well, just as he knew the Sawdust Doll, the Lamb on Wheels, and the Bold Tin Soldier. Madeline had often showed Patrick her Candy Rabbit.

The pony was soon fed, and then, with the Candy Rabbit in his pocket and slowly wheeling the empty barrow, Patrick made his way to Madeline's house. He knocked at the back door, and the cook, with a dab of flour on her nose, answered.

"What have you been doing to yourself, Cook?" asked the gardener, with a laugh.

"Why? Is anything wrong?" she asked, rather surprised.

"Your nose is dabbed with flour," went on Patrick.

"Oh, that!" laughed the cook. "You see, Madeline is going to have a party, and I'm so busy making cookies and cakes that it's a wonder flour isn't all over my face as well as on my nose. But what have you there?"

she asked, seeing the Bunny in Patrick's hand.

"Madeline's Candy Rabbit," answered the gardener. "I don't know how it got in my barrow of gra.s.s, but I brought him back. Is Madeline in?"

"Yes, I'll call her," said the cook.

And when the little girl came running out and saw her Bunny, she was much surprised.

"Why! Why! How did you get him, Patrick?" she asked. "I left him up on the bathroom window sill to dry, after he fell into the bathtub."

"Ah, that accounts for it then!" laughed the gardener. "The wind must have blown him out of the window, and he fell into my barrow just as I set it down to rest. Well, it's lucky I had gra.s.s in the barrow instead of stones. If your rabbit had fallen on _them_ he might have broken off his ears."

"That would have been dreadful!" exclaimed Madeline. "Oh, thank you, so much, Patrick, for bringing my Bunny back to me."

"Well, keep him safe, now you have him," advised Patrick.

Then he went off whistling and trundling his empty wheelbarrow, and once more the Candy Rabbit was back with Madeline, where he belonged, and thankful to be there.

"You are nice and dry now," said the little girl, as she looked over her Easter toy. "And you didn't get any more gra.s.s stains on you when you fell out of the window. Your ear it still a little bent, but that only makes you look more stylish.

"Now I am going to put a new pink ribbon on your neck, 'cause the one I took off when I was going to wash you is all soiled. I'll put a new ribbon on you and then you may come to the party to-morrow."

Madeline told her mother how the Rabbit had fallen out of the window.

Then the little girl got a pretty pink ribbon, and, after tying it on his neck, she again showed her Easter present to Mirabell and Dorothy.

"He looks as good as new," said Mirabell.

"Yes," agreed Dorothy. "I guess falling into the bathtub and the wheelbarrow of gra.s.s did him good."

"And we'll have lots of fun at the party," said Madeline. "Now I will put my Rabbit away, and we'll get ready for a good time."

The Rabbit was set on a shelf in a dark closet.

"Well, goodness knows I am glad to be by myself for a while and keep quiet," thought the sugary chap, as he sat down on the shelf in the dark. "I have had enough of adventures for a day or two. I wonder if there is any one here to whom I can talk. I wish the Sawdust Doll or the Bold Tin Soldier or the Calico Clown were here. They would love to hear me tell of what has happened."

Madeline and her girl friends spent the rest of that day and part of the next one getting ready for the party, and at last the time came to have it. Madeline was all dressed up, and she brought her Candy Rabbit out of the closet and smoothed the ribbon on his neck.

"Tinkle! Tinkle! Tinkle!" rang the door bell.

"Oh, here come Dorothy and d.i.c.k to the party!" cried Madeline, running to meet her friends.

She carried the Candy Rabbit with her. Dorothy had her Sawdust Doll, but the White Rocking Horse was too large for d.i.c.k to bring over.

One after another more children came to the party, among them Mirabell and Arnold. Mirabell did not bring her Lamb on Wheels for the same reason that d.i.c.k left his Horse at home--the Lamb was a little too large for a house party, though she would fit very well on the lawn.

But Arnold, who was Mirabell's brother, brought something to the party.

It was the Bold Tin Soldier--the Captain of the Tin Soldiers, of whom Arnold had a whole box. And while the little girls who had come to Madeline's party were smoothing out their dresses and looking at their dolls and talking to one another, Arnold walked off with d.i.c.k to a corner of the room.

"Look what I have!" whispered Arnold, showing the Bold Tin Soldier.

"Why did you bring him?" d.i.c.k wanted to know.

"So if we don't like the games the girls play we can go off in a room by ourselves and have fun with my Soldier," was the answer. "But maybe we'll have some fun, anyhow."

"Let me hold your Soldier for a while," begged d.i.c.k, and Arnold handed over the Captain.