ton blossoms grow.

"Where is steamboat?" asked Margy, aged five, whose real name was
Margaret, but who, as yet, seemed too little to have all those letters
for herself. So she was just called Margy. "Where is steamboat?" she
asked. "Is it in the kitchen on the stove?" and she opened wide her dark
brown eyes and looked at Russ.

"Oh, you're thinking of a steam _teakettle_, Margy," he said, as he took
hold of her fat, chubby hand. "The teakettle steams on the kitchen stove,"
went on Russ. "But we're making believe this is a steamboat in here," and
he pointed to the barrel, the boxes, the chairs and the footstool, which
he and Rose had piled together with such care. For it was a rainy day and
the children were having what fun they could in the big playroom.

"I want to go on steamboat," spoke up the sixth member of the Bunker
family a moment later.

"Yes, you may have a ride, Mun Bun," said Rose. "You may sit with me in
front and see the wheels go around."

Mun Bun, I might say, was the pet name of the youngest member of the
family. He was really Munroe Ford Bunker, but it seemed such a big name
for such a little chap, that it was nearly always shortened to Mun. And
that, added to half his last name, made Mun Bun.

And, really, Munroe Ford Bunker did look a little like a bun--one of the
light, golden brown kind, with sugar on top. For Mun, as we shall call
him, was small, and had blue eyes and golden hair.

"Come on, Mun Bun!" called Russ, who was the oldest of the family of six
little Bunkers, and the leader in all the fun and games. "Come on,
everybody! All aboard the steamboat!"

"Oh, wait a minute! Wait a minute!" suddenly called Vi. "Is there any
water around your steamboat, Russ?"

"Water? 'Course there is," he answered. "You couldn't make a steamboat go
without water."

"Is it deep water?" asked Vi, who seemed started on her favorite game of
asking questions.

Russ thought for a minute, looking at the playroom floor.

"'Course it's deep," he answered. "'Bout ten miles deep. What do you ask
that for, Vi?"

"'Cause I got to get a bathing-dress for my doll," answered the little
girl. "I can't take her on a steamboat where the water is deep lessen I
have a bathing-suit for her. Wait a minute. I'll get one," and she ran
over to a corner of the room, where she kept her playthings.

"Shall I bring a red dress or a blue one?" Vi turned to ask her sister
Rose.

"Oh, bring any one you have and hurry up!" c