So Mamma Wibblewobble started out the next day, taking Alice and Lulu with her, while Jimmie stayed home and played cross-tag with Bully, the frog, and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who had a day’s vacation.

They had lots of fun, and once Jimmie nearly fell down a great big—­but there, I started to tell you about Alice Wibblewobble’s bonnet, and I must not get off the track.  That story about Jimmie will do for another time.

Well, you should have seen the numbers and numbers of duck-bonnets that Mrs. Wibblewobble looked at before she was satisfied with two for the girls.  Not that Alice and Lulu were hard to please.  Oh, my, no!  But their mamma wanted them to look just right, and you know it is quite difficult to fit a bonnet on a duck and make it look like anything.  The milliner said so herself, and she ought to know.  But at last the two duck girls both had very fine bonnets indeed; as fine as mustard seeds, which are very, very fine.  Alice had a nice blue one, and Lulu a brown one.

Well, would you ever imagine it?  Something is going to happen to Alice’s bonnet, and very soon, too.  Just be patient and you shall hear.

“Now children,” said Mrs. Wibblewobble, when they had reached the pen where they lived, “you may go out and swim around a bit with your new bonnets on until your papa comes home.  I want him to see how well they fit you, for I think I have very good taste when it comes to bonnets.”

“Oh, I don’t want to wear my new one,” spoke Lulu.  “I will put on my old one and go and play with Jimmie and Bully, the frog.”

So she did, but Alice, who was very fond of nice clothes, went for a swim on the pond.  At first she paddled around, gazing down in the water, which was just like the looking-glass some men shave by, and she thought:  “Oh, what a lovely bonnet I have!  How fine I shall look when I go for a walk on Sunday!”

And just then—­really I’m not exaggerating a bit—­If it didn’t begin to rain!  Now, of course, rain couldn’t hurt Alice any, for she was a duck and was used to the water, but she knew it would spoil her new bonnet.  So she took it off and laid it under a big burdock plant leaf near the pond, to keep the flowers and ribbons dry.

“I wish it would stop raining,” said Alice, after a while.  “I want to go home,” but the big drops kept on falling, and she had to remain near her bonnet for fear something would happen to it.

Then, in a little while, oh, maybe half an hour or so, all at once as quick as a wink, along came Mooleyooly, the big brown cow.  Mooleyooly walked up to the burdock leaf, under which was the new bonnet, and Mooleyooly saw the pretty yellow flowers on it, and she saw the blue flowers on it and she saw the red flowers on it.  Then Mooleyooly said, as she licked her lips with her red tongue: 

“What have we here?  It looks very nice.”

“It is nice,” answered Alice proudly, for she was glad to have some one, even a cow, admire her bonnet.