SUNNY'S GOOD LUCK
"There!" Grandma, a pretty picture in her white dress that matched her
white hair, closed the side door. "Now we're really started."
She and Grandpa and Mother and Sunny Boy were going for their
long-talked-of picnic in the woods. Araminta had the day for a holiday
and had gone merrily off to town to buy herself a new frock. Sunny had
wanted Jimmie to come to the picnic, but Jimmie, too, was away. He had
gone down to the city to sell hay for Grandpa. So it happened that just
the four were to spend the day in the woods.
"What we'll do without you, Sunny," said Grandpa, as they walked ahead,
"I'm sure I don't know."
"But I'll send you some of the sand," urged Sunny cheerfully. "And a
seashell, Grandpa."
For this was Aunt Bessie's plan. She had written Mrs. Horton that she and
a friend, a teacher, had taken a cottage at the seashore for the month of
August, and they wanted Sunny Boy and his mother to come and spend that
month with them. The cottage was near enough to the city for Mr. Horton
to go down every night and stay with them.
"And two weeks from to-day," Mrs. Horton had told Sunny Boy as he brushed
his hair that morning, "you will be going down to the beach with a tin
pail and shovel, I expect, to play in the sand."
Grandpa, carrying two boxes of lunch and a little camp chair that folded
up--because Grandma had aches in her joints if she tried to sit on the
ground--smiled down at his grandson.
"Oh, well, we shall just have to have as much fun as we can while you're
here," he said firmly. "Let's have a perfectly fine picnic with all the
sandwiches we can eat to-day."
"Yes," agreed Sunny enthusiastically. "Let's."
"Sunny, what have you found there?" asked Grandpa after a while.
"It's a bird," said Sunny pitifully. "A poor, little dead bird, Grandpa.
See?"
He brought back the little feathered body he had found at the foot of a
tall oak tree, and showed them.
"It's a baby robin," said Grandma, touching the little thing gently. "It
must have fallen out of the nest. Don't grieve, lambie, nothing can hurt
the little bird now."
"I want to bury it," insisted Sunny, tears running down his face. "I
don't want to leave it on the ground, Grandma."
"All right, you shall bury it," said Grandpa soothingly. "I'll help you.
Mother, you and Olive walk along slowly and we'll catch up to you."
So Grandma and Sunny's mother walked ahead, and Grandpa began to help
Sunny bury the baby robin.
First, they found a wide, smooth green leaf that grew in the woods and
wrapped this about the dead bird and fastened it with the sharp little
thorns that grew on another plant and which were every bit as good as
pins.
"Now you gather the prettiest fern leaves you can find," directed
Grandpa. "And I'll dig him a little grave."
When Sunny Boy came back with his hands full of soft fern leaves, Grandpa
had a little square hollowed out in the earth, under a Jack in the Pulpit
plant.
"We'll line it with ferns, so," he said, arranging the leaves Sunny Boy
brought him, "and then we'll put the bird in so, and cover him up
carefully. There! Now we'll leave him in his nice, green bed, dear, and
not be sorry for him any more.
"I see Bruce just ahead. Grandma and Mother must be near."
They came up to them in a minute, and Sunny Boy suddenly discovered that
he was hungry.
"But it isn't time for lunch yet, precious. Take this apple and try to
wait a little longer, do," said his mother.
"Feels like a thunderstorm," declared Grandma, sitting down on her
camp-stool to get her breath after the walk. "Well, Bruce will tell us in
time, won't you, old fellow?"
"How?" asked Sunny curiously.
"He's afraid of thunder," explained Grandma. "Years ago when he was a
young dog he was out hunting rabbits or squirrels one summer night and a
big thunderstorm came up. We always think he must have seen a tree
struck, or been stunned by a flash, for he came home dripping and
shivering. And ever since--though that was a long time ago--he begins to
shake and wants to hide whenever he hears thunder."
The woods did not seem dark and still, now that Sunny had company with
him, and he took Grandpa over to the place where he and Daddy had gone
fishing. They decided not to try to catch any fish that day, but Sunny
took off his shoes and stockings and went wading.
When he came out, and had his shoes and stockings on again, Mrs. Horton
spread a white cloth on a flat rock and she and Grandma began to get the
lunch ready.
"Sunny, which would you rather have," Grandpa asked him, "white cake or
black cake?"
"White, I guess," said Sunny. "Or no--chocolate, I think."
"Well, well, if that isn't lucky!" cried Grandpa, pretending to be much
relieved. "Grandma has put in both kinds!"
Indeed there were all kinds of goodies in those boxes--chicken and ham
sandwiches, eggs, potato salad, white cake and black, a vacuum bottle of
cold milk for Sunny and one of hot coffee for the others.
"There's a spider!" shouted Sunny Boy as they sat down to eat. "Look,
Grandpa, he going right into the cake."
"Oh, spiders and ants and little creatures like that like to come to a
picnic," answered Grandpa, scooping up the spider on a bit of cardboard
and putting him down carefully on a bush near by. "Mr. Spider'll go home
to-night and tell the folks all about the little boy he saw in the woods
to-day with his mother and his grandmother and his grandfather having a
picnic. And little Sallie Spider will say, 'What were they eating, Daddy?
Did you bring me any?'"
"I'll sprinkle crumbs for him to get afterward," planned Sunny. "The
fishes had them last time, and now it is Mr. Spider's turn."
Presently, when no one could eat another bite, Mother and Grandmother
folded up the cloth and put the sandwiches left over in one box. All the
odds and ends were put down on a paper plate for Bruce to eat, and then
Grandpa dug a hole in the ground and he and Sunny Boy buried the papers
out of sight.
"For I won't let any one build a fire in my woods in July when we're
needing rain so badly and every stick is like tinder," said Grandpa
sturdily. "And we won't leave a messy picnic ground, even if it is our
own, shall we?"
Mrs. Horton had her knitting, and she and Grandma sat and worked and
talked quietly while Grandpa and Sunny Boy went off together to try to
find a sassafras bush. Just as they had found one and Grandpa had taken
out his knife to cut a twig for Sunny to taste, Bruce ran into him and
nearly knocked him down.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Something's the matter with Bruce! Is he sick?" Sunny
Boy was a little frightened at the strange way the dog acted. "Look at
him! He's trying to walk on me."
"He hears thunder," said Grandpa quietly. "He's trying to get you to hide
him. Funny, I haven't heard a rumble. But you can trust Bruce. He never
fails to tell us. We must hurry and get Mother and Grandma back to the
house before it rains."
They walked back as fast as they could to where they had left the others,
and found Mrs. Horton folding up her knitting.
"We thought we heard thunder," she said, as they came up to her. "I think
it is clouding up, too. Why how funny Bruce acts! Is he sick?"
"He's trying to tell us a storm is coming," replied Grandpa. "There,
there, Bruce, don't be so silly. We're going home, and you can hide under
the barn floor and never even see the lightning."
The sun, which had been shining down through the trees, had gone under a
cloud, and the branches about them began to rustle as the wind swayed
them.
"I'm afraid we'll have a heavy storm," said Grandma anxiously. "We have
had such a long dry spell and it's been so hot. I'd hate to be caught
among these trees in a heavy wind."
"Don't worry, Mother," replied Grandpa. "We'll be home before the first
drops come. Shall I carry you, Sunny?"
Sunny, who was running to keep up with them, shook his head. He did not
want to be carried like a baby. Soon it grew darker and darker and the
wind began to blow in earnest. He pressed closer to Grandpa.
"Don't be afraid," said Grandpa kindly. "We'll be out of the woods in
another minute and then we'll scoot across the brook and be home."
He put out a hand to help Grandmother, when with a tremendous blast a
gust of wind made them all stop to catch their breath. They saw it bend a
tree at the edge of the clearing and heard the tree snap loudly as it
broke and fell across the path. Bruce howled--he was nervous, poor
animal.
"Mercy!" gasped Grandma. "I said we'd have a bad storm. There! I felt a
raindrop. My father always said the worst was over when the rain began."
They hurried on, anxious not to get wet, and Sunny Boy was the first to
reach the fallen tree.
"We have to go over it," he shouted back, and began to scramble up,
holding on to the branches.
"Grandpa," they heard him scream a moment later. "Hurry! Come quick!
Here's my kite! The Lib'ty Bonds kite!"
Sure enough, there it was, just as it had caught in the tree--the missing
kite. And still pasted to the strips of wood were Grandpa's two
five-hundred-dollar Liberty Bonds!
"No wonder we couldn't find 'em!" cried Sunny Boy, dancing with
excitement. "I knew I saw it fall in a tree! Won't Daddy be glad!"
"We're all glad," declared Mother, kissing him warmly. "Isn't it just
wonderful to think that the same little boy who lost the bonds should
also find them?"
"It's been a lucky picnic, surely," said Grandpa. "After a hard rain
those bonds wouldn't have been worth much to any one."
"Well, they won't be worth much now if we all stand here and get soaked,"
announced Grandma practically.
At that they all took hold of hands and ran across the meadow, over the
bridge of stones, and up to the porch. And the moment they were safely
under shelter, how the rain did pour down! Just as if, Sunny said, it had
been waiting for them to get home before it showed what it really could
do.
"Mother," asked Sunny Boy that night, as he sat on the foot-board of the
bed in his blue pajamas and watched her brush her hair. They were all
tired after the excitement of the picnic and the finding of the bonds,
and every one was going to bed at Sunny's bed time, even Grandpa.
"Mother, will I take my sand-box to the seashore?"
"Oh, no, precious," she assured him. "Why, you'll have a whole beach of
sand to play in. And the bathing suit I bought for you to wear here and
which you haven't had on because the brook water is so cold! Perhaps
Daddy will teach you to swim."
"Yes," agreed Sunny Boy absently. And he tumbled back on the pillows,
thinking about the seashore and the ocean which he had never seen.
It was not very long after the picnic that Mother and Sunny Boy left
Brookside and went to visit Aunt Bessie in her white cottage that faced
the ocean. And if you want to hear about the good times Sunny Boy had
there and what he thought the waves were saying to him when he got up in
the night to listen, you'll have to read "Sunny Boy at the Seashore."
THE END
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SUNNY BOY SERIES
By Ramy Allison White
Children, meet Sunny Boy, a little fellow with big eyes and an inquiring
disposition, who finds the world a large and wonderful thing indeed. And
somehow there is lots going on, when Sunny Boy is around. Perhaps he
helps push! In the first book of this new series he has the finest time
ever, with his Grandpa out in the country. He learns a lot and he helps a
lot, in his small way. Then he has a glorious visit to the seashore, but
this is in the next story. And there are still more adventures in the
other books. You will like Sunny Boy.
1. SUNNY BOY IN THE COUNTRY
2. SUNNY BOY AT THE SEASHORE
3. SUNNY BOY IN THE BIG CITY
4. SUNNY BOY IN SCHOOL AND OUT
5. SUNNY BOY AND HIS PLAYMATES
6. SUNNY BOY AND HIS GAMES
7. SUNNY BOY IN THE FAR WEST
8. SUNNY BOY ON THE OCEAN
9. SUNNY BOY WITH THE CIRCUS
10. SUNNY BOY AND HIS BIG DOG
BARSE & HOPKINS
Publishers
New York, N. Y.--Newark, N. J.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES
Published with the approval of
The Boy Scouts of America
In the boys' world of story books, none better than those about boy
scouts arrest and grip attention. In a most alluring way, the stories in
the BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES tell of the glorious good times and wonderful
adventures of boy scouts.
All the books were written by authors possessed of an intimate knowledge
of this greatest of all movements organized for the welfare of boys, and
are published with the approval of the National Headquarters of the Boy
Scouts of America.
The Chief Scout Librarian, Mr. F. K. Mathiews, writes concerning them:
"It is a bully bunch of books. I hope you will sell 100,000 copies of
each one, for these stories are the sort that will help instead of hurt
our movement."
THE BOY SCOUT FIRE FIGHTERS--CRUMP
THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE TROOP--McCLANE
THE BOY SCOUT TRAIL BLAZERS--CHELEY
THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS--LERRIGO
BOY SCOUTS AFLOAT--WALDEN
BOY SCOUTS COURAGEOUS--MATHIEWS
BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE--LERRIGO
BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL--GARTH
THE BOY SCOUTS IN AFRICA--CORCORAN
BARSE & HOPKINS
Publishers
New York, N. Y.--Newark, N. J.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CAMP FIRE BOYS SERIES
By OLIVER LEE CLIFTON
For Boys from 8 to 14
A group of resourceful boys living in a small town form a camping and
hiking club, which brings them all sorts of outdoor adventures. In the
first story, "At Log Cabin Bend," they solve a series of mysteries but
not until after some lively thrills which will cause other boys to sit on
the edge of their chairs. The next story telling of their search for a
lost army aviator in "Muskrat Swamp" is just as lively. The boys are all
likable and manly--just the sort of fellows that every other wide-awake
boy would be glad to go hiking with.
THE CAMP FIRE BOYS AT LOG CABIN BEND
THE CAMP FIRE BOYS IN MUSKRAT SWAMP
THE CAMP FIRE BOYS AT SILVER FOX FARM
THE CAMP FIRE BOYS' CANOE CRUISE
THE CAMP FIRE BOYS' TRACKING SQUAD
BARSE & HOPKINS
Publishers
New York, N. Y.--Newark, N. J.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE TWO LITTLE FELLOWS SERIES
By JOSEPHINE LAWRENCE
For Boys and Girls from 5 to 9
Cloth Large 12 Mo. Illustrated
The neighbors say "the two little Fellows" when they speak of Martin and
Jean. That is because this small brother and sister are always together.
You just have to think of them as a pair.
The Fellows family live in Garnet, a busy city, but the two little
Fellows have a yard all their own in which to play, and a wonderful dog,
who is very wise indeed, for a playmate. Pleasantly exciting things
happen to Martin and Jean: sometimes little troubles ruffle them, but in
the main, this growing up day by day is very interesting and busy work.
The two little Fellows think so and as you read about them in these
books, you'll find you have made two new friends.
1. THE TWO LITTLE FELLOWS.
2. THE TWO LITTLE FELLOWS START SCHOOL.
3. THE TWO LITTLE FELLOWS GO VISITING.
BARSE & HOPKINS
Publishers
New York, N. Y.--Newark, N. J.
End of Project Gutenberg's Sunny Boy in the Country, by Ramy Allison White