MUN BUN TAKES SOMETHING
The trip to Grandpa Ford's was to last all day. The six little Bunkers,
with their father and mother, had taken the railroad train about nine
o'clock in the morning, and they would reach Tarrington, in New York
State, about five in the evening.
"And one of my men will be at the depot to meet us with a carriage,"
said Grandpa Ford. "We'll drive over with horses, though I have an auto
on my place. But I like horses better."
"Will there be room enough for all of us in the carriage?" asked Russ.
"Oh, yes. I sent word to bring the biggest carriage I have. It has four
seats, and I guess I can pack you all in."
Having found out this much Russ was satisfied. He looked at Rose and
nodded, as they sat together in the railroad train. Russ had feared
that, as there were so many of them, some might be left behind after
Tarrington was reached. And he wanted to get to Great Hedge as soon as
he could, to begin to find out why there was something strange in or
about the big house.
"Well, now we can settle down for a long ride," said Mrs. Bunker, as she
"counted noses," to make sure all her children were with her and her
husband.
It was quite cold, but the car was warm and the six little Bunkers
looked out of the windows, and enjoyed the trip. They always liked to
travel.
"It looks like snow," said Grandpa Ford to the conductor, when it was
time to collect the tickets.
"Yes, I came down from New York State the other night," said the
railroad man, "and we were having quite a flurry then. Shouldn't be
surprised if we ran into a big blizzard before we reached Tarrington."
"Oh, I hope not," said Grandpa Ford. "I don't want any big blizzard
until I get the six little Bunkers safely home at Great Hedge. Then it
can snow as much as it likes."
"I hope it snows a lot," said Mun Bun. "I like snow."
"So do I, when I'm at home in my warm house," said Grandpa Ford. "But
too much snow isn't any fun. Can you make a snow man, Mun Bun?"
"A little one," he answered. "If you helped me I could make a big one."
"I will!" promised his grandfather with a laugh. "We'll make a big snow
man and a snow house and have all sorts of good times."
"What's snow made of?" asked Violet, who had been pressing her nose
against the car window, looking out at the telegraph poles that seemed
to whiz past so quickly.
"It's frozen rain," said Daddy Bunker.
"Who freezes it?" went on Violet. "Does the ice-cream man freeze the
rain to make snow?"
"No, it freezes up in the air--in the clouds," her father explained.
"Well, what makes it come down?" went on Violet. "Rain comes down 'cause
it's heavy. Once a raindrop splashed in my eye and it felt terrible
heavy. But snow isn't heavy at all. It's light like a feather. What
makes snow and feathers fall when they aren't heavy, Daddy?"
"Oh, now, my little girl is asking too many questions," said Daddy
Bunker with a laugh. "Some time, when you are a little older, I'll tell
you why it is that things fall, whether they are heavy or light. Things
even lighter than snowflakes fall as easily as a chunk of lead, but, as
you say, a snowflake is like a feather. It falls from side to side, like
a leaf, and not as fast as a drop of rain. But I do believe we shall
have snow soon," he went on. "The storm clouds are beginning to gather,"
and he looked up at the sky.
"I don't mind traveling in the snow, but I don't like it in the rain,"
said Mother Bunker. "And we must expect snow, as it will soon be
winter."
The six little Bunkers amused themselves in different ways in the car,
as the train puffed on, over hills and through valleys, to Grandpa
Ford's home at Great Hedge. As Daddy Bunker had said, the clouds were
gathering, and they seemed to hold snow, which might soon come down
with a flurry.
"But it can't hurt us," said Mun Bun, "'cause we're in the train."
"I have a new riddle," announced Laddie, after a while.
"Have you?" asked Grandpa Ford. "Well, let's hear it. I'll try to guess
it."
"Why is a train like a boy?" asked the little fellow.
"That's a funny riddle!" exclaimed Russ. "A train isn't like a boy at
all. It's too big and it isn't alive."
"Well, it goes," said Laddie; "and anything that goes is almost alive,
anyhow."
"Is that why you made a riddle about a train and boy?" asked Grandpa
Ford. "A train is like a boy because it goes. Is that it, Laddie?"
"Nope! It's 'cause a train can whistle and so can a boy," said the
little chap with a laugh. "Isn't that a good riddle?"
"A train doesn't whistle," declared Russ. "It's only the engine that
whistles. Isn't that so, Grandpa?"
"Well, the engine whistles, of course. But the engine is the main part
of the train. If it wasn't for the engine there wouldn't be any train,
so I guess Laddie's riddle is all right there. A train-engine is like a
boy, because it whistles. There it goes now."
As he spoke the engine gave several loud, shrill blasts.
"What makes it do that?" asked Violet. "What makes the engine whistle?
Was it 'cause Laddie asked that riddle?"
"You children will make Grandpa Ford sleepy with your questions and
riddles," observed Mrs. Bunker to Laddie and Violet. "Please be quiet
now, and let him rest."
"Oh, I don't mind," said the old gentleman. "I love the children, and I
like Laddie's riddles and Vi's questions. Only don't ask me such hard
ones that I can't answer," he went on.
Margy was in the seat with her mother, playing with one of the Japanese
dolls that had come ashore on the beach at Cousin Tom's, as I have told
you in the book just before this one.
"My doll wants a drink," suddenly announced the little girl. "She's
awful thirsty."
"You probably mean you are," laughed her mother. "Rose, will you take
Margy to the water tank and get her a drink? Be careful, and hold on to
the arms of the seats so you don't fall down. It isn't far."
"I wants a drink, too," announced Mun Bun. "I'm going to drink it
myself, too," he announced, "and not give it to any doll."
"Well, Rose can take both of you," said Mrs. Bunker. Rose was a real
"mother's helper," and often looked after the two smaller children in
such things as getting them drinks of water. The tank was at the end of
the car, not far from where the Bunkers were sitting.
Mr. Bunker bought a picture book for Laddie, from the train boy who came
through the car every half hour or so, and the little riddle-chap curled
up in his seat to look at this.
Russ, with some bits of string, some little sticks he had in his pocket
and some paper, was making "something," though just what it was not even
he seemed to know. Violet got in the seat with Laddie to look at his
picture book. At the same time she may have been thinking up more
questions to ask, for all I know.
Mr. and Mrs. Bunker sat together now, near Grandpa Ford, and they talked
together in low voices. Russ was too busy with his string and sticks to
listen, though, if he had, he might have heard something more about the
queer secret.
As for Rose, who shared part of the secret with him, she was taking
Margy and Mun Bun to get a drink.
"Ladies first," said Rose to her little brother, when he would have
reached for the cup she filled. "Ladies first, Mun Bun. Let Margy have a
drink before you."
"Does her doll have to drink, too?" asked Mun Bun. "Is she a lady?"
"She just makes believe drink," said Margy. "I'll give you the cup as
soon as I take some, Munny Bunny." Sometimes Margy called her little
brother that for fun.
Margy was very thirsty, and wanted two cups of water. But then the cup
was not a very large one. Next Mun Bun had to have some, and he tried to
drink three cupfuls. But the last one was a little too much for him,
and he spilled part of it on himself.
"But I don't care," he said. "It's only like when it rains, or when the
water splashes on you when you go in bathing. Only this water isn't
salt, like that down in the ocean at Cousin Tom's," he added.
"It's a good thing it isn't salt, or you couldn't drink it," said Rose,
as she wiped the water drops off Mun Bun with her handkerchief. "Now
come on back to your seats," she went on. "I guess I'd better take you
alone first, Margy. Then I'll come back for you, Mun Bun. The train is
so jiggily I can't lead you both."
The cars were indeed swaying, for the train was going faster now, and
around curves, which always makes it hard to walk along inside a railway
coach.
"Stay here, by the water tank, Mun Bun," said Rose. "I'll take Margy to
her seat, and then come back for you."
"All right," agreed the little boy. "I'll wait for you."
Now at this end of the car the train boy had left his basket, in which
were a number of toys, that he walked up and down the aisles with,
selling. He had left the basket there, in a vacant seat, while he went
back into the baggage-car to get a magazine for which a lady had asked
him.
Mun Bun saw the basket of toys. There were picture books, little dolls,
prettily colored boxes, jumping-jacks--things that fathers and mothers
might like to buy to amuse their children with on a long railway
journey.
"Oh!" exclaimed Mun Bun, as he turned and saw the train boy's basket of
toys. "Oh, my! I'm going to have something!"
Then Mun Bun, reaching in his hand, which was, of course, not right to
do, took something from the basket, slipped it around behind him, as he
saw Rose coming, and toddled up the aisle to meet her.