“I did that,” confessed Bunny, anxious that Sue should not be blamed for what was not her fault.  “I didn’t know anybody would push the door.”

“Well, it’s a mercy it was no worse,” remarked his mother.  “And now, after you have helped Mary pick up the things, go on with your playing.  Can’t you play grocery instead of hardware store, Bunny, my dear?”

“Oh, hardware store is nicer, and we have all the things now,” Bunny replied.  “But I won’t make any more high shelves.”

The washboiler, the pans, and the scattered knives and forks were picked up, and then Bunny and Sue went on playing, using only the low ironing board shelf, which was made over the seats of two chairs.  They took turns keeping store and doing the buying, and had a great deal of fun.

But even making believe keep a hardware store gets tiresome after a while, especially if there are only two playing, and after a while Bunny Brown and his sister Sue wanted something else to interest them.

“’Tisn’t raining quite so hard now,” Sue observed, after a look from the window.

“That’s right!” cried Bunny.  “Oh, say!  Maybe we can go out in the barn and feed our alligators!”

“That’ll be fun,” agreed Sue.  “And I guess they’re hungry; don’t you, Bunny?”

“Yes, I guess so.  Let’s go ask mother if we can feed ’em.”

“I know she’ll say yes, so I’ll get some scraps of meat from Mary,” said Sue.

As the rain was slackening and as Mrs. Brown knew that the alligators might need food, she told the children they could go out to the barn if they put on their rubber boots and coats.

“Aren’t you afraid the alligators will bite you?” asked Mary, as she cut up some bits of meat for the children.

“Course not; we aren’t afraid!” boasted Bunny.  “They’re only little alligators, and they’re real tame.”

One of the long-tailed, scaly pets given to the children by Mr. Bunn had been brought from the South where the Browns spent part of the winter, and later Mr. Brown had gotten some others.  The alligators were kept in a tank of water in the barn.  Bunny and Sue wanted the alligators kept in the house, but Mrs. Brown insisted that the barn was the place for pets of that sort.

Out into the rain storm, which was now almost over, went Bunny Brown and his sister Sue to feed the alligators.  There were three or four of the scaly creatures, and as the children drew near the tank the alligators came crawling out of the water up on some bits of wood and stone that made a resting place for them.  For alligators cannot stay under water all the while, as can a fish.  They must come out every now and then to get air.

“Oh, look at Judy!” cried Sue, dangling a piece of meat in front of the nose of one of the queer pets.  “She’s awful hungry!”

“And so is Jim!” said Bunny, feeding another of the creatures.  They lifted up their long snouts, opened their mouths, and took in the pieces of meat.