ome boys talking," went on the Grasshopper. "They may have
been Dick and Herbert. But they did not come here. Why don't you jump
along until you find them?"

"Yes, I suppose I could do that," agreed the Monkey. "But I'll wait a
little while, and, if they don't come for me, I'll see if I can find
them. As soon as I see them, though, I shall have to stop, and not move.
We toys are not allowed to move or talk as long as human eyes see us."

"That's a funny rule," said Miss Cricket. "But then you are a funny
fellow, Mr. Monkey on a Stick."

"If you think I'm funny, you ought to see my friend, the Calico Clown,"
said the Monkey. "He's full of jokes and riddles. He has a queer one
about a pig making a noise under a gate."

"My goodness! why did he do that?" asked the Grasshopper.

"Do what?" inquired the Monkey.

"Why did the pig make a noise under the gate?" the Grasshopper wanted to
know. "Why couldn't he stay in his pen where he belonged, or in the
barnyard?"

"That's what the riddle's about, I suppose," said the Monkey. "Anyhow,
none of us can answer, and the Clown's always asking it. If you want to
see some one really funny, meet the Calico Clown."

After a little more talk among the three friends, the Monkey said he
thought he would hop along and see if he could find the two boys or the
dog.

"Aren't you afraid, if you find the dog alone, he may bite you?" asked
the Grasshopper.

"Oh, my, no!" exclaimed the Monkey. "Carlo is a friend of mine. If he
found me he would take me home to Herbert's house. I had even rather
find him than the boys, for I can talk to the dog, and I can't talk to
Dick and Herbert."

"Well, we wish you luck," chirped the Cricket, and the Grasshopper did
also.

Away hopped the Monkey, making his journey through the tall grass of
the green meadow. The grass was rather high, and he could not see very
well. But he looked the best he could on every side, and, every now and
then, he stopped to listen.

He wanted to hear the barking of Carlo or the shouts of Dick and
Herbert, who, as he guessed, were, even then, looking for him. But the
boys looked in the wrong place, and, as it happened, the Monkey jumped
in the wrong direction.

The only creatures the Monkey met were bugs and beetles, butterflies and
birds, grasshoppers and crickets in the grass. They all spoke to him
kindly, and though some of them said they had seen or heard the boys and
the dog, none seemed able to tell the Monkey