“You mustn’t do it again,” their father said.  “Not only that it isn’t good to waste sugar by giving it to the sheep, but the old ram might hurt you.  Don’t do it again.”

The boys promised they wouldn’t, and then Rose and Vi told of their fun with the rubber dolls and the boat.

In the afternoon, when Mrs. Bunker and Grandma Bell were getting ready to go for a walk with the children, Russ came running up to the house, from down near the barn, crying: 

“Oh, Rose!  Margy took your rubber doll, and now she’s down in the well!  She’s down in the well!”

“Oh, mercy sakes!” cried Grandma Bell, who heard what Russ said.  “Is Margy in the well or the doll?”

But Russ didn’t stop to answer.  Back toward the well he ran, as fast as he could go, having picked up the rake near the fence of the kitchen garden.

CHAPTER XX

THE DOG-CART

Mrs. Bunker saw Grandma Bell hurrying down toward the barn, halfway between which and the house, was the well, and at once the children’s mother began to fear that something was wrong.

“Has anything happened?” asked Mrs. Bunker.

“I’m afraid there has,” answered Grandma Bell.  “Russ came running up to the house, and said something about a doll having fallen into the well.  Then he grabbed up the rake and ran back before I could ask him what he meant.”

“Oh, I do hope none of the children will try to get it out!” cried Mrs. Bunker.

Then Grandma Bell and Mother Bunker ran down to the well.  There they saw Mr. Bunker with the long-handled rake fishing down in the round hole, at the bottom of which was deep water.

“What has happened?” demanded Mrs. Bunker.

“It’s all right—­don’t be frightened,” her husband told her, as he looked around.  “It’s only a doll that has fallen into the well.  I’m trying to get it out with the rake.”

“Only a doll—­that isn’t so bad,” said Mrs. Bunker.  “Whose doll is it?”

“Mine,” answered Rose.  She and the other children now stood about the well house.  “Margy took it, Russ says, and dropped it into the water.”

“I was givin’ the dollie a bath,” Margy explained.  “The other dolls had a ride on Laddie’s boat, and they felled in the water and had a nice swim, but this doll didn’t have any and I was givin’ her one.”

“Oh, but you shouldn’t have done that without asking mother,” said Mrs. Bunker.  “And besides, I’ve told you to keep away from the well.  You might fall in.”

“Oh, I didn’t go very near,” said Margy.  “I—­I just throwed the dollie in.  I stood ’way back and I throwed her in ’cause I wanted her to have a swim like the other dolls.”

“Can you get it out?” asked Mrs. Bunker.

“I think so,” answered her husband.  “The doll is caught on one of the buckets, halfway down the well.  I sent Russ up to get the rake, for I’m afraid If I pull up the bucket the doll will drop off and fall to the bottom of the well.”