ride your little girl this way?"

"Yes," said the old man. "Once I had a little girl, just like you, and I
used to ride her this way."

"Where is your little girl?" Sue asked.

"She is up--there," and the old man pointed to the sky. This time Bunny
was sure the hermit had tears in his eyes. But, a little later Bunny was
not quite sure, for he felt a drop of something wet on his own cheek.

"Why, it's raining!" he exclaimed. "It's raining water!"

"So it is, I do believe!" said the hermit. He stopped, still holding Sue
on his back, and lifted up his face. He felt several drops from the
clouds, and then there came a pattering on the leaves of the trees. It
was getting quite dark now. There were many clouds in the sky, and,
every now and then, a flash of lightning could be seen. Off in the west
there was a rumble of thunder.

"Oh!" cried Sue. "I want to go home. I don't want to be out in the
storm."

"I like the rain," said Bunny, "but I don't like the thunder and
lightning; do you, Mr. Hermit?"

"I don't mind them very much," answered the old man. "But if you are
afraid I'll take you back to my cabin, and leave you there, while I go
to your house and get them to come for you in a carriage."

"I like to ride in a carriage," said Sue, "though you gave me a nice
piggy-back, too. But I like a carriage and horses."

"Well, then that's what I'll do. I think it is going to rain hard soon,
and if I carried you through it you'd get wet. So we'll go back, and
I'll see about the horse and carriage."

"But can't we go and get grandpa's horses from the Gypsies?" asked
Bunny.

"I'm afraid not this time," answered the old man. "If the Gypsies are in
the valley they will stay all night, anyhow, and we can look for the
horses in the morning, when it has stopped raining. We'll go back to my
house now."

By this time the rain was coming down quite hard. But, as they walked
along under the trees, Bunny and Sue did not get very wet, nor did the
hermit. Sue was almost asleep, she was so tired, and Bunny was glad they
did not have to walk all the way back to grandpa's farm.

It was nearly night, and Bunny thought his father and mother, as well as
the others, might be worrying about him and Sue. But then the hermit
would soon go and tell them that the children were safe in his log
cabin.

Back through the woods they went. Now it lightened very often, and it
thundered so loudly that Sue awakened on the back of the hermit, and