TRAVELED DONKEY

BY BERT LESTON TAYLOR

But Buddie got no farther. The sound of music came to her ears, and she
stopped to listen. The music was faint and sweet, with the sighful
quality of an AEolian harp. Now it seemed near, now far.

"What can it be?" said Buddie.

"Wait here and I'll find out," said Snowfeathers. He darted away and
returned before you could count fifty.

"A traveling musician," he reported. "Come along. It's only a little
way."

Back he flew, with Buddie scrambling after. A few yards brought her to a
little open place, and here was the queerest sight she had yet seen in
this queer wood.

On a bank of reindeer moss, at the foot of a great white birch, a
mouse-colored donkey sat playing a lute. Over his head, hanging from a
bit of bark, was the sign:

WHILE YOU WAIT
OLD SAWS RESET

After the many strange things that Buddie had come upon in Queerwood,
nothing could surprise her very much. Besides, as she never before had
seen a donkey, or a lute, or the combination of donkey and lute, it did
not strike her as especially remarkable that the musician should be
holding his instrument upside down, and sweeping the strings with one of
his long ears, which he was able to wave without moving his head a jot.
And this it was that gave to the music its soft and furry-purry quality.

The Donkey greeted Buddie with a careless nod, and remarked, as if
anticipating a comment he had heard many times:

"Oh, yes; I play everything _by ear_."

"Please keep on playing," said Buddie, taking a seat on another clump of
reindeer moss.

"I intended to," said the Donkey; and the random chords changed to a
crooning melody which wonderfully pleased Buddie, whose opportunities to
hear music were sadly few. As for the White Blackbird, he tucked his
little head under his wing and went fast asleep.

"Well, what do you think of it?" asked the Donkey, putting down the
lute.

"Very nice, sir," answered Buddie, enthusiastically; though she added to
herself: The idea of saying sir to an animal! "Would you please tell me
your name?" she requested.

The Donkey pawed open a saddle-bag, drew forth with his teeth a card,
and presented it to Buddie, who spelled out the following:

PROFESSOR BRAY
TENORE BARITONALE
TEACHER OF SINGING ALL METHODS
CONCERTS AND RECITALS

While Buddie was reading this the Donkey again picked up his instrument
and thrummed the strings.

"Did you eve