watched the Curlytops approaching.

"I'd like to ride one," sighed Teddy wistfully.

"Oh, you mustn't!" cried Jan. "Uncle Frank wouldn't like it, nor mother
or father, either. You have to ask first."

"Oh, I don't mean ride now," said Ted. "Anyhow, I haven't got a saddle."

"Can't you ride without a saddle?" asked Janet.

"Well, not very good I guess," Ted answered. "A horse's back has a bone
in the middle of it, and that bumps you when you don't have a saddle."

"How do you know?" asked Janet.

"I know, 'cause once the milkman let me sit on his horse and I felt the
bone in his back. It didn't feel good."

"Maybe the milkman's horse was awful bony."

"He was," admitted Ted. "But anyhow you've got to have a saddle to ride
a horse, lessen you're a Indian and I'm not."

"Well, maybe after a while Uncle Frank'll give you a saddle," said
Janet.

"Maybe," agreed her brother. "Oh, see how the ponies look at us!"

"And one's following us all around," added his sister. For the little
horses had indeed all come to the side of the corral fence nearest the
Curlytops, and were following along as the children walked.

"What do you s'pose they want?" asked Teddy.

"Maybe they're hungry," answered Janet.

"Let's pull some grass for 'em," suggested Teddy, and they did this,
feeding it to the horses that stretched their necks over the top rail of
the fence and chewed the green bunches as if they very much liked their
fodder.

But after a while Jan and Ted tired of even this. And no wonder--there
were so many horses, and they all seemed to like the grass so much that
the children never could have pulled enough for all of them.

"Look at that one always pushing the others out of the way," said Janet,
pointing to one pony, larger than the others, who was always first at
the fence, and first to reach his nose toward the bunches of grass.

"And there's a little one that can't get any," said her brother. "I'd
like to give him some, Jan."

"So would I. But how can we? Every time I hold out some grass to him the
big horse takes it."

Teddy thought for a minute and then he said:

"I know what we can do to keep the big horse from getting it all."

"What?" asked Janet.

"We can both pull some grass. Then you go to one end of the fence, and
hold out your bunch. The big horse will come to get it and push the
others away, like he always does."

"But then the little pony won't get any," Janet said.

"Oh, yes, he will!" c