“Yes?  What is it?  Who’s there?” called the voice of Mrs. Golden.  It was a weak, quavering old voice.

“We’re here,” answered the little boy.  “Bunny Brown and his sister Sue!”

“Oh, my dears!  I’m glad it’s you and not Mr. Flynt!” said Mrs. Golden.  “Push the door open and come in.  I have such a dreadful headache that I couldn’t keep the store open.  I had to come to my room back here and lie down.  I just had to close the store!”

The children entered to see their friend lying on a sofa in the room back of the store.  She had her head tied in a rag.

“Are you very sick?” asked Sue.

“’Cause if you are I’ll go for the doctor,” offered Bunny.

“Oh, no, thank you, my dears, I’m not ill enough for that,” answered Mrs. Golden.  “Just a bad sick-headache.  I’ll be better to-morrow.  But I couldn’t keep the store open to-day.”

“That’s too bad,” said Bunny.  “We came to get some things,” and he took out the list his mother had written for him.

“Well, I want to sell things, but I am too ill to get up and wait on you,” said the storekeeper.  “I put that sign in the front door so if any wholesale wagons came to leave stuff they could find me.  But, really, I don’t feel able to get up.”

Then Bunny had an idea.

“Couldn’t Sue and I wait on ourselves?” he asked eagerly.  “We want to get these things here, and if you told me where to find them—­though I know where to find some myself—­and if you told me how much they were, I could pay you, and it would be all right.  I have the money.”

“Yes, you might do that,” said Mrs. Golden.  “It would be fine if you could.  Now let me see what you want, and then see if you can get it from the shelves.”

“I can climb like anything!” said Bunny gleefully.

“Well, don’t fall!” cautioned Mrs. Golden.  Together, with the help of their friend, Bunny and Sue picked out from the closed store the things their mother had written on the list for them to get.  Mrs. Golden told them where certain groceries were kept, and the price.

“Why, you are regular little storekeepers!” declared Mrs. Golden, trying not to think of her aching head.  “You have waited on yourselves as well as I could have done.”

“I wish we could wait on some regular customers!” boldly exclaimed Bunny.

“Wouldn’t it be fun!” laughed Sue.

There came a knock on the side door, and a woman’s voice called: 

“Are you there, Mrs. Golden?  I want a few things.  May I come in?”

“Oh, yes, come in, Mrs. Clark,” replied the storekeeper, as she recognized the voice of one of her customers.  “If I can’t wait on you you can help yourself, as Bunny and Sue did.”

A woman came in the side door.

“Let us wait on you, please!” begged Bunny.  “My sister and I can get what you want.”

“Why, yes, I guess you can!” agreed Mrs. Clark, with a laugh.  “I want a yeast cake and some sugar.  It’s too bad you two children couldn’t stay and help Mrs. Golden,” she added, as Bunny and Sue brought what she wanted and she was giving the money to the store owner.