, in what a sad plight was the little girl!

She was soaking wet to a line above her waist, and she was splashed with
water above that, some mud spots being on her face, one on the end of
her nose making her appear rather odd. Her shoes and stockings were
covered with black, mucky mud.

"Oh! Oh, dear!" exclaimed Sue, looking down at her legs, and began to
cry.

"Don't cry!" advised Charlie.

"I--I can't help it!" wailed Sue. "And there's something on my nose,
too!"

"It's only a blob of mud," said Bunny. "I'll wipe it off," and he did,
very kindly.

"Look--look at my shoo-shooes!" sobbed Sue.

"Splash 'em in the water," advised Charlie. "Sit down on the bank, Sue,
and splash your feet in the water."

"What'll I do that for?" she asked, through her tears. "I'm wet enough
now!"

"Yes, I know," said Charlie. "And you can't get any wetter by dabbling
your feet and legs in the water. But it will wash off the mud. You might
as well wash it off."

"That's right," agreed Bunny. "Your legs will dry better if they are
just wet, instead of being wet and muddy, Sue. Dabble 'em in the brook."

Sue thought this must be good advice, since it came from both boys. She
was about to sit down near the place where she had slid into the brook,
but Charlie said:

"No, not there! That water's all muddy. Come on down to a clean place."

This Sue did, sitting on the grassy bank and thrusting her feet and legs
into the water up to her knees, splashing them up and down until most of
the mud was washed from her stockings and shoes.

"Now we'll take you home," said Charlie.

"No!" exclaimed Sue. "I don't want to go home!"

"You don't want to go home?" repeated Bunny. "Why not? You have to get
dry things on, Sue! Mother won't scold you for falling into the brook
when it wasn't your fault!"

"I know she won't," Sue said. "But--but--I'm not going in the house
looking all soaking wet! There's company--some ladies came to call on
mother before we went out to play--and they'll see me if I go in the
front door. I'm not going to have them laugh at me!"

"We'll take you in the side door then," offered Bunny.

"That'll be just as bad," whimpered Sue. "They can see me from the
window."

"Well, then we'll go in the back way," Charlie proposed.

"No!" sobbed Sue. "If I go in the back way Mary'll see me, and she'll
say, 'bless an' save us!' and make such a fuss that mother'll come out
and it will be as bad as the front or side door!" c