igg's mamma came into his room, where he was sleeping
soundly and dreaming he was playing a ball game with Bully and Bawly,
the frogs, and Mrs. Pigg gently shook her little boy by the shoulder.

"Wake up, Buddy!" she called. "Wake up!"

"What's the matter, mother?" Buddy exclaimed, as he sat up in bed. "Is
the house on fire?"

"No," she answered, "but your papa is very sick, and I want you to go
for Dr. Possum." Then Buddy jumped up very quickly and began to dress,
for he loved his papa very much, and would do anything in the world for
him. When Buddy was ready to start he heard Dr. Pigg groaning very hard,
and saying:

"Oh, dear, what a pain I have! Oh, dear! When will Dr. Possum come?"

"Buddy is going for him at once," Mrs. Pigg said. "He will soon be here.
But have you no medicine that you can take?" For Dr. Pigg had once
worked in a hospital, and generally had some medicine in the house, but
this time he had none that would stop his pain. So Buddy had to get
ready to go for the doctor, while Mrs. Pigg and Brighteyes made mustard
plasters for Dr. Pigg.

Well, when Buddy was all dressed, he happened to look out of the window,
and he saw how dark it was, for there was no moon that night, and the
stars were all hidden behind clouds. But do you s'pose Buddy was going
to stay home on that account? No, sir-ee! He was frightened, and I guess
you'd have been, too, but he was brave, and he made up his mind he'd go
for Dr. Possum.

So Buddy put on his hat and coat and went out of the front door and into
the dark night, where, for all he knew, a bad fox might be waiting to
grab him. But Buddy took a long stick, and he filled his pockets with
stones, and he made up his mind he would throw them at the fox if he saw
him.

The little guinea pig boy went on, and on, through the woods, toward Dr.
Possum's home, and, after a while, he was not so frightened as he had
been at first. Then, all of a sudden, as he was passing a big, black
bush, he heard a funny noise. First he thought it was a wolf or a bear,
and then he heard a voice say:

"Oh, come on down into the burrow, Waddy."

Then Buddy knew it was the two groundhog boys, Woody and Waddy, who had
made the funny noises, but they didn't mean to scare him, and he wasn't
at all frightened now. Woody and Waddy had heard Buddy coming along,
and, a moment later, they saw him and asked where he was going.

"I'm going after Dr. Possum, because my papa is sick," said Buddy.