“Come on, Jimmie, we will go for a walk in the woods.  Don’t you want to come, too, Alice?”

Now, of course, Alice could go in the water if she wanted to, for she was not punished, as she had not gone near the waterfall, but instead of going swimming alone, she stayed with her brother and sister, and I call that very kind of her.  So, when Lulu asked her to take a walk in the woods, Alice answered: 

“Of course, I will go with you.  Who knows, perhaps we may have an adventure!” For you see Alice was very romantic.  That is, she always hoped something would happen that never had happened before, and she was always hoping a fairy prince would come along and rescue her from some danger.  But, up to this time, nothing like this had ever occurred, though those duck children are going to have a small adventure pretty soon, I think.

“All right,” spoke Jimmie, “let’s take a walk, and see what happens.”  So they walked on through the woods, which were very fine that day, and they felt the nice, warm, brown earth on their yellow feet, and it was almost as good as going in the water.  Pretty soon, just after they had passed under a buttonball tree, the ducklings heard a noise, and who should run out from under a bush but little Sister Sallie.  You remember her, I hope; Sister Sallie, who was named after Lolly-pop-Lally, and who lived with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail.

“Why, Sister Sallie!” cried Lulu Wibblewobble, “where are you going this bright, beautiful, sunshiny day?”

“I’m going for the doctor,” answered Sister Sallie.

“Are you sick?” inquired Jimmie.  “You don’t look so.”

“No, it’s Billie Bushytail,” said the little girl squirrel.  “He is quite ill, and I am going for Dr. Possum.  Billie has a fever and headache, and he snuffles something terrible.  His papa and mamma are quite worried about him.  Isn’t it terrible to be sick?”

“I don’t know,” answered Jimmie, “for I was never sick.”

“I was once,” remarked Alice, “and it is not nice, I do assure you.  Suppose we go call on Billie Bushytail Maybe we could cheer him up.”

“I think that would be lovely,” spoke Sister Sallie.  “You go see him, while I hurry for the doctor.”

So the three Wibblewobble children walked on through the pleasant woods, until they came to the place where the Bushytail family had moved.  Their home was now in a hollow stump, close to the ground, and there was a fallen tree leading up to it, just like a plank over the brook, so the ducks could easily walk up it.  They went right to the front door, and Jimmie knocked with his strong, yellow bill.  Mrs. Bushytail opened the door, and when she saw the little ducklings, she said: 

“Oh, my dears!  Do not come too near, for we don’t know what disease Billie may have.  I would not want you to catch it.”

“Oh, we are not afraid,” spoke Jimmie.  “But we will not come too near.  We were out walking in the woods, and we met little Sister Sallie.  We came to call on Billie, and cheer him up.”