Well, the little guinea pig girl found where a little brook ran through the woods, over the stones and under green banks where the long ferns grew, and she was more thirsty than ever, and when she got down to the edge of the brook, there was a little plank stretched across the water for a bridge.

Brighteyes walked out on the middle of the plank, looked down into the brook, which was just like a looking-glass, and she saw how well her dress fitted.  Then she kneeled, dipped her paws in the water and scooped up some to drink, taking care not to splash any on her clothes.

“Oh!” exclaimed the little guinea pig girl, “that is very fine water!” Then she took another drink and stood up.  She was just going to walk back to shore when she happened to hear a funny noise, and, lo! and behold, at either end of the plank bridge there was a funny brown, furry creature, about as big as a small dog.  They stood up on their hind legs, one at one end of the plank and one at the other, and when they saw Brighteyes looking at them the larger creature cried out: 

“Ha!  Ha!  Now we have you!  You can’t get ashore unless you give us all your money!”

“I haven’t very much,” said poor Brighteyes, beginning to tremble, and wondering if the brown creatures were burglars.

“Well, we want whatever money you have,” declared the creature at the right-hand end of the plank.

“Yes, indeed!” cried the creature on the left end.

“Who—­who are you?” stammered Brighteyes, thinking to make friends with the creatures.

“We’re groundhogs!” they both cried together, “and we want your money.”

“What for?” asked Brighteyes, wondering what question she could ask next.

“We’re going to buy firecrackers,” answered the one on the right end.

“Fourth of July is past,” said Brighteyes.

“No matter.  Give us all your money, or we’ll push you into the brook!” declared the two groundhogs together, and when Brighteyes said she hadn’t any change, for there was no pocket in her dress, you see, to carry any money in, what did those bad groundhogs do, but begin to teeter-tauter up and down, with the little guinea pig girl on the middle of the plank.

Up and down she went, faster and faster, and pretty soon the water began to splash upon her new dress.  And oh, how terrible she felt.

First she thought she would run across the plank, but she was afraid of the groundhog at either end.  Then she thought she would jump over their heads, but she couldn’t jump very well, not being a grasshopper, you see, and she didn’t know what to do, and she was crying the least bit, when, all of a sudden, who should come along but the three Wibblewobble children—­Lulu and Alice and Jimmie—­and when they saw how the two groundhogs had made Brighteyes a prisoner in the middle of the plank bridge, those three ducks just stretched out their long necks, and cried, “Quack!  Quack!  Quack!” as loudly as they could.