“I’ll save my money and buy a harness at the store,” he said.

“There, I think we have flowers enough, Sue!” exclaimed her aunt, as she looked at the tables.  Indeed they were very pretty, and they would look even better when the dishes, and the good things to eat, were put on.

“Isn’t it ’most time?” asked Bunny, after a bit.  “I’m getting hungry.”

“Oh, you must wait for the company,” his mother told him.  “They will soon be here.”

And, a little later, Sadie West and Helen Newton came.  When they saw how pretty the flowers looked on the table they exclaimed: 

“Oh, how nice!”

“Where is Splash?” asked Sadie.  “I’ve brought him a bone,” and so she had, all wrapped in waxed paper from the inside of a cracker package, and on the bone, just as she had promised, was a pink ribbon.

“Here, Splash!  Splash!” called Bunny, who had given up trying to make his pet pull the express wagon.

The dog came running up from the far end of the yard.

“See what Sadie has brought for your party!” laughed Bunny.

Splash took the bone, but the ends of the ribbon got up his nose and he sneezed in the queerest way, which made the children laugh.

“I guess Splash doesn’t like too much style,” said Sadie, who was older than Bunny and Sue.

“I wonder how he’ll like my dog-biscuit,” remarked Helen Newton, as she unwrapped it from the paper.  “I put a red bow on it.  Do you like red better than pink, Splash?”

The dog, who was gnawing the bone Sadie had brought him, looked up and wagged his tail.  He must have thought it was fine to have so many good things to eat, even though he did not understand about the party.  He sniffed at the dog-biscuit, which is a sort of cake, with ground-up meat, and other good things in it that dogs like.  Then Splash would gnaw a little on the bone, and, afterward, nibble at the hard biscuit.

“Well, Splash is enjoying himself anyhow,” said Aunt Lu, as she came out to begin setting the tables.

Soon after this a number of the boys and girls came.  There were ten girls and six boys, though ten boys had been invited.  But though all the girls came to the party given for Splash, all the boys did not.  It often is that way at parties; isn’t it?  More girls than boys.  But the boys don’t know what fun they sometimes miss.

“Play some games, children,” said Mrs. Brown.  “Run about and play, and then it will be time to eat.  Aunt Lu and I will put on the cake, and other goodies.”

“Let’s play tag!” said Sue.

“And after that hide-and-go-to-seek,” Bunny called.

“And puss-in-the-corner,” added Sadie West.

One after the other they played the games, running about on the grassy lawn, and having great fun.  Splash dug a hole and hid his bone, after gnawing on it as long as he cared to.  He ate all the dog-biscuit, and then Bunny got a ball which Splash would run after when it was thrown.