A big stone fireplace was near the house, and pink geraniums grew closely around the little home, while over the porch climbed yellow roses that looked as if the fairies had hidden their gold among the green leaves.

“This is Roseneath,” announced Charlotte to Jan as the automobile stopped in front of the porch and the two girls jumped out, followed by the dog.

“Charlotte!” Ruth said suddenly, stopping halfway up the path, “we’ve got to find a name for that dog right away!”

It was a very serious matter, so the children sat on the lowest step of the porch and Jan squatted before them.  He wished he could help by telling his name and about the Hospice, but all he could do was to sit still and look from one eager little face to the other.  After trying several names they decided on “Bruin.”

“Because he is so big and black, just like a bear!”

Jan rather liked the name.  It sounded like Bruno, but of course, the sunbonnet children did not know anything about Bruno and the Hospice, so they said Jan was very smart to remember the new name without any trouble at all.

The next morning he was wakened early by the children’s voices and hurried to meet them in front of the house.  Charlotte had a tin bucket in her hand and Jan wondered if they were going to pick more berries.  But they went down a path that led to the stable and then he stood still in surprise.

Right in front of them was a strange creature about the size of a common dog.  It had long, white hair, a white beard like a very old man’s, two horns curved back over its head and its feet had sharp-pointed hoofs.  It was tied by a rope and back of it was a smaller animal of the same kind.

Charlotte went past the larger one and sat down on a little wooden stool beside the smaller animal and soon the tin pail was full of milk.  Back to the house trotted the children, and Jan, very much puzzled, kept beside them.  In the kitchen they found the mother cooking breakfast.  Jan lifted his nose and sniffed at the odor of broiling steak and hot biscuit.

“Milk for the berries we picked yesterday,” the mother of the sunbonnet children said smiling.  “Won’t we have a fine breakfast this morning!  And there’s a nice bone in the steak for Bruin, too!”

She poured a little milk into a pan and placed it on the floor for Jan.  He knew that the white animal must have been a cow, yet it was not like the cow at the Pixleys’ home, but when he tasted the milk, it was just as nice as the big, yellow cow’s milk.

While breakfast was being eaten, the children and their parents chatted together and Jan looked about the place.  The walls of the rooms were hung with beautiful pictures, among them many fat little babies with sunbonnets hiding their faces.  He was sure that if the sunbonnets were pushed back he would see the faces of Ruth and Charlotte laughing at him.