ross.

"Oh, thank you, I only eat rose-leaf ice cream," the fairy said. "But
I'm not hungry now. Good-luck to all of you, and may you be always
happy!" Then she turned into a little bird and flew away singing, while
Uncle Wiggily and the rabbit children went to the ice cream store. Now,
unless I'm much mistaken, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie
and how he saved Billie Bushytail. But of course you never can tell what
will happen.

XXX

SAMMIE SAVES BILLIE BUSHYTAIL

Sammie Littletail was out in a green field digging a burrow, or
underground house. He didn't really need another house, for the one he,
and his papa, and mamma, and sister, lived in was very nice, but, as he
had nothing else to do, he thought he would dig a big hole, and, maybe,
go all the way through to China. Sammie thought he would like to see how
China looked, and he thought he might make the acquaintance of some
Chinese rabbits.

Well, he hadn't gotten down very far, and he was still a good many miles
from China, when he heard some one singing a song in a very loud voice.
Now I don't advise you to sing it quite so loudly, for you might awaken
the baby, if you have one in your house. Anyway, it does just as well to
sing it softly. This is the song Sammie heard:

"I want to be a sailor
And sail the ocean blue.
I'd journey to a distant land
And then come back to you.
I'd bring you lots of happiness,
A big trunk filled with joy;
A barrel full of hickory nuts
For every girl or boy."

Well, when Sammie heard that he cried out:

"Is that a fairy?"

"No, it's me," was the answer.

"Oh, then you must be Billie or Johnnie Bushytail," went on Sammie, for
he remembered that once the little boy squirrels went sailing and were
shipwrecked.

"Yes, I'm Billie," said the voice, and then up popped the little
squirrel. "But what did you say about a fairy?" he asked.

"I thought at first you were a fairy," continued Sammie, and then he
stopped digging the hole in the ground. "There have been such a lot of
fairies around here lately," Sammie added. "Red ones, and green ones,
and blue ones, and--"

"Are you talking about Easter eggs or something else?" inquired Billie
Bushytail.

"Fairies, of course."

"Oh, get out! Oh, ho! Don't tell me that! Why, how superfluous!" cried
Billie, for that last was a new word he had just learned. "Don't mention
fairies to me!" he continued.

"Why not