t and--"

"Oh, my dears! Some of you may be hurt!" cried Mrs. Bunker, as she heard a
little sob from Mun Bun. "I must come up and see what it is all about,"
and, dropping her sewing, up the stairs she hurried.

There were six little Bunkers, as you have probably counted by this time.
Six little Bunkers, and they were such a jolly bunch of tots and had such
good times, even if a make-believe steamboat did upset now and then, that
I'm sure you'll like to hear about them.

To begin with, there was Russ Bunker. Russell was his real name, but he
was always called Russ. He was eight years old, and was very fond of
"making things."

Next came Rose Bunker. She was only seven years old, but she could do some
sweeping and lots of dusting, and was quite a little mother's helper. Rose
had light hair and eyes, while Russ was just the opposite, being dark.

Violet, or Vi, aged six, was a curly-haired girl, with gray eyes, and, as
I have told you, she could ask more questions than her father and mother
could answer.

Then there was Laddie, or Fillmore, a twin of Vi's, and, naturally, of the
same age. Just how he happened to be so fond of asking riddles no one
knew. Perhaps he caught it from Jerry Simms, who had served ten years in
the army, and who never tired of telling about it. Jerry was a
not-to-be-mistaken Yankee who worked around the Bunker house--ran the
automobile, took out the furnace ashes and, when he wasn't doing
something like that, sitting in the kitchen talking to Norah O'Grady, the
jolly, good-natured Irish cook, who had been in the Bunker family longer
than even Russ could remember.

Jerry was a great one for riddles, too, only he asked such hard ones--such
as why does the ginger snap, and what makes the board walk?--that none of
the children could answer them.

But I haven't finished telling about the children. After Laddie and Violet
came Margy, aged five, and then Mun Bun, the youngest and smallest of the
six little Bunkers.

Of course there was Daddy Bunker, whose name was Charles, and who had a
real estate office on the main street of Pineville. In his office, Mr.
Bunker bought and sold houses for his customers, and also sold lumber,
bricks and other things of which houses were built. He was an agent for
big firms.

Mother Bunker's name was Amy, and sometimes her husband called her "Amy
Bell," for her last name had been Bell before she was married.

The six little Bunkers lived in the city of Pinevil