“It’s Farmer Giles’s,” said Dolly.

“Let’s climb over and get some apples,” was his next idea.

Dolly and May opened their eyes very wide.  “That would be stealing,” they cried, both together.

“Nonsense,” said Charlie.  “That’s just like girls—­always afraid to do anything.  I mean to get a pocketful, so you can wait till I come back.”

They waited and waited such a long time, but he never came, so they went slowly home.  It was nearly tea-time when nurse came and said:  “Farmer Giles has brought Cousin Charlie back.”  And a very miserable-looking boy he was.

When he had filled his pockets and meant to come down, he saw Rover, the savage farm dog, waiting for him below; so he had to stay in the tree, and might have had to remain all night, only the farmer happened to ride by and heard the dog barking.

Dolly and May were very sorry for him, and their mother did not scold him as she meant to do, because, she said, “the fright had been punishment enough.”

F.  Clifton Bingham.

[Illustration:  THE PICNIC PARTY.]

Dan’s Picnic.

It was one of Dan’s birthdays.  He had had a party on the 1st of every month since the time that he was born, which happened to be New Year’s Day.  And if you asked Reggie and Flo they would tell you that Dan quite looked forward to his monthly parties, and, what is more, enjoyed them.  You see, a whole year is a very long time.  Boys and girls may grow to be old men and women and have lots of birthdays; but a doggie’s life is comparatively short, so the more festivals they can squeeze into it the better.

Now, on this particular September 1st of which I am going to tell you, it was arranged that the milkman was to take Reggie and Flo and Dan home with him in his cart directly he had delivered the morning’s milk, and bring them back again at tea-time.  This he did:  and how Reggie and Flo did enjoy themselves, to be sure!

[Illustration:]

The milkman had two little friends staying with him, named Reuben and Jane.  Reuben led the way into the woods carrying a kettle and a box of tea-things; while Reggie and Jane and little Flo followed with buns and tarts.  Dan was useful too, for he helped to gather sticks with which to boil the kettle.  He played hide-and-seek with the children, saw a real live rabbit for the first time in his life, and thought it was a new kind of cat; so in one way he had a very good time, but I am very sorry to tell you that the children quite forgot that Dan could not drink tea or eat jam tarts, and, as for buns, they knew he hated them.  So poor Dan got nothing to eat at his own party.  And when good-bye was said, and when the kind milkman dropped the three down on the steps—­just like the milk-cans—­Dan raised a feeble little “bow-wow” to Reggie’s mother, and said as plainly as a little doggie could:  “O, missis, missis!  It’s been my party and I’ve had nuffin’ to eat.  All I got was an empty nut-shell—­’bow-wow’—­which somebody called a squirrel—­’bow-wow’—­dropped into my mouth—­’bow-wow’—­while I was looking up a tree—­’bow-wow-wow’!”