But of course you know that not thinking what you are doing often makes as much trouble as though you did a thing on purpose.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to forgive you youngsters this time,” said Grandpa Brown.  “But don’t paint any more of my farm animals without asking me.  Now I’ll see if we can get the green paint off the calf.”

“Oh, can’t you leave it on, Grandpa?” asked Bunny.  “It was awful hard to make him striped like a zebra, and we want him in our circus to be one of the wild animals.  Let the stripes stay on.”

And grandpa had to, whether he wanted to or not, for they would not come off.  The hired man tried soap and water.  But the calf would not stand still long enough to let him scrub her.

“I guess we’ll just have to let the green paint wear off,” said Grandpa Brown.  “But never do such a thing again, Bunny.”

“I won’t,” promised the little boy.

The calf and the mother cow were put back in their stalls.  Bunny and Sue were cleaned of the green paint that had splattered on them, and Henry found enough paint left in the can to finish the wheelbarrow.

“Well, we’ve got a start for our circus, anyhow,” said Bunny to Sue a few days after he had painted the calf.  The green stripes had dried now, and made the calf look very funny indeed.  Some of the other cows and calves seemed frightened at the strange, striped one, but the mother cow was just as fond of her little one as before.

“You’ll need other animals besides a striped calf, and your dog Splash, in the circus,” said Bunker Blue to Bunny one day.

“Yes, I guess we will.  I’ll go and ask Sue about it.”

Bunny always liked to talk matters over with his sister.  He found her on the side porch, making a doll’s dress.

“Sue,” said Bunny, “we have to have more make-believe wild animals for our show.”

“Yes?” asked Sue.  “What kind?”

“Well, maybe we ought to have a camel.”

“Camels is too hard to make,” said Sue.  “Their humps might fall off.  Why don’t you make a ockstritch, Bunny?  An ockstritch what lays big eggs, and has tail feathers for ladies’ hats.  Make a ockstritch.”

“How?” asked Bunny.

Sue thought for a minute.  Just then the old big rooster strutted past the porch.

“He would make a good ockstritch, Bunny,” said Sue.  “He has nice long tail feathers.  Can you catch him?”

“Maybe,” hesitated Bunny.  “Oh, I know what I’ll do!” he exclaimed.  “I’ll get the clothes line for a lasso, and I’ll pretend to be a Wild West cowboy.  Then I can lasso the rooster and make an ostrich of him.”

“Oh, fine!” cried Sue, clapping her hands.  The rooster, who did not in the least guess what was going to happen to him, flapped his wings and crowed loudly.

CHAPTER XI

PRACTICE FOR THE CIRCUS

Bunny Brown took a piece of clothes line that hung down from one of the posts.  He was sure his grandma or his mother would not want this end, so he could take it.