“Does zebras have green stripes, Bunny?”

“I don’t know.  But green paint is all we have, so we’ll use that.  A green striped zebra would be pretty, I think.”

“So do I, Bunny.  But Henry told us not to touch the paint.”

“No, he didn’t, Sue.  He only told us to keep away from the wheelbarrow, and I am.  I won’t go near it.  But we’ll get the pot of paint, and stripe the calf green.”

“All right,” agreed Sue.  “I’ll hold the paint-pot, and you can dip your brush in.”

Not meaning to do anything wrong, of course, Bunny and Sue hurried to get the pot of paint.  Henry had not come back.  Leaning over the edge of the calf’s pen, Bunny dipped the brush in the paint, and began striping the baby cow.

“Baa-a-a-a-a!” went the little animal, and the old cow went:  “Moo!”

CHAPTER X

THE OLD ROOSTER

Again and again Bunny Brown dipped the brush in the green paint the hired man had left, and stripe after stripe did the little fellow put on the calf.

“She’ll be a regular circus zebra when I’m done,” said Bunny Brown to his sister Sue.  Both children laughed in glee.

“Are you going to paint both sides of the calf, Bunny?”

“I am if I can reach.  Maybe I can’t.  Anyhow, a zebra ought to be painted on both sides.  Not like we’re going to do our dog Splash; only on one side, to make a pretend blue-striped tiger of him.”

Sue seemed to be thinking of something.

“Doesn’t he look nice?” asked Bunny of his sister.  “Isn’t he going to be a fine zebra?”

He stood back from the box-stall where the calf was kept, so Sue could see how the little animal looked.

“Doesn’t he look pretty, Sue?  Just like a circus zebra, only of course they’re not green.  But isn’t he nice?”

“Yes,” said Sue, “he is pretty.”

The calf, after jumping around some when Bunny first put the paint on, was now standing very still, as though he liked it.  Of course the calf did not know that the paint would not wear off for a long time.  Then, too, the cow mother had put her head over from the next stall, where she was tied, and she was rubbing her big red tongue on the calf’s head.  The calf liked its cow mother to rub it this way, and maybe that is why the little calf stood still.

“It’s going to look real nice, Bunny,” said Sue, as she looked at the green stripes Bunny had put on.  “I—­I guess I’ll let you put blue stripes on my half of Splash, too.  Then he’ll look all over like a tiger; won’t he, Bunny?”

“Sure.  I’m glad you’ll let me, Sue.  ’Cause a dog, only half striped, would look funny.  Now I’ll see if I can put some stripes on the other side of the calf.”

Bunny tried to reach the side of the little animal he had not yet painted, but he could not do it from where he stood.

“I’m going over in the stall with it,” Bunny said.  “You hand me the pail of paint when I get there, Sue.”