STORY VII

BUDDY¹ PIGG IS CAUGHT

Buddy Pigg was sent to the store by his mother, one fine summer day, to get a pound of butter, a loaf of bread and three-and-a-half pounds of granulated sugar, and as that made quite a load to carry Buddy had a basket to put the things in.

"Now don't drop the loaf of bread in the water," said his mamma, "and don't let the butter melt and, above all, don't tear a hole in the bag of sugar, and have it spill out."

"I won't, mother," promised Buddy. "I'll be real careful." So he set out on his journey to the store, while Brighteyes, his sister, stayed home to make the beds and mend the stockings.

Well, Buddy got to the store all right, and bought the things for which his mother had sent him. Then the storekeeper wanted to know how Dr. Pigg and his family were, and he inquired about Uncle Wiggily's rheumatism², and Buddy told about the scare the old gentleman rabbit had had when the big, shaggy yellow dog appeared, and how the old gentleman rabbit ran, and how Percival bit the bad dog.

"That's very interesting," said the storekeeper, and he gave Buddy a whole carrot for himself.

Placing his basket of groceries carefully on his arm, Buddy Pigg started for home. He walked along through the woods, and over the fields, thinking how nice everything was, and what fun he would have when he got home, playing ball with Sammie Littletail, and the Bushytail brothers, when, all at once, what should he hear but a noise in the bushes.

Now Buddy Pigg was always a little afraid when he heard noises, especially in the woods, where he couldn't see what made them, so he crouched³ down under a burdock leaf in case there might be any danger. And, sure enough, there was.

It wasn't more than a second or, possibly a second and a squeak⁴, before a great, big, bad boy stepped out from behind a tree. And he had a gun with him, and he was looking for birds, or rabbits, or squirrels, or, maybe, guinea pigs to shoot.

That's why I know he was a bad boy, but of course he may have turned out to be a good boy before he got to be so very old. Well, this boy looked up, and he looked down, and he looked first to one side, and then to the other, and then—flopsy-dub, and wiggily-waggily! if he didn't spy poor Buddy Pigg hiding under the burdock leaf, and trembling as hard as he could tremble.

"Ah, ha!" cried that boy, "I have you now, little guinea pig! I'll take you home with me, that's what I'll do! My, to think of catching⁵ a live guinea pig! I certainly am a lucky chap!"

Then, before Buddy could run away, which he couldn't have done anyhow, on account of the basket of groceries on his arm, if that boy didn't grab him up in his hands, and hold him tight!

Oh, how frightened poor Buddy was! He was so scared that he could only squeak very faintly, but he did manage to ask the boy to let him go, only the boy didn't understand guinea pig language, as I do, and, even if he had, I doubt very much if he would have let Buddy go, for he was a bad boy as I have explained.

Well, the boy didn't care any more about hunting rabbits or squirrels with his gun that day, as he had caught Buddy, so off he started to take the little guinea pig home with him, and, maybe, he intended to shut him up in a box, or put him in a cage, or do something dreadful like that.

But, listen, pretty soon—oh, I guess in about four jumps and a hop—something is going to happen to that boy. Watch carefully and you'll see it.

On through the woods he went, holding poor Buddy tightly in his hands, and, would you believe me, that boy never noticed that Buddy had a basket of groceries! You see, the basket, of course, was guinea pig size, and so was the loaf of bread and the butter and the sweet sugar. They were so small that the boy didn't notice them, but this was partly because Buddy hid the basket under his paws, for he didn't want anything to happen to the things for which his mother had sent him to the store, you know.

Well, as the boy kept going on through the woods, carrying Buddy farther and farther away from his home, the poor little guinea pig was more frightened than ever.

"Oh, how will I ever get away!" he thought, "I'll never see my mamma, nor Brighteyes, nor my papa, Dr. Pigg, any more! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!"

No sooner had Buddy said this than he heard a funny little noise in the trees above his head, and, looking up, he saw Billie Bushytail bounding along. There was the squirrel, and he saw right away what the trouble was. And he could talk to Buddy without the boy knowing it, you see; so Billie said:

"Hey, Buddy, take some of the bread, crumble⁶ it all up, and toss the crumbs⁷ up in the air."

"What for?" asked Buddy.

"Do it, and you'll see," answered Billie. "That will help you to escape."

Now Buddy didn't like to spoil the nice, new loaf of bread he had bought for his mamma, but he thought maybe it would do some good, and he didn't want to be carried away by that boy.

So he broke open the loaf, crumbled⁸ some of the white part in his paws, and tossed it high up in the air, so that it fell down in a shower, all around the boy's head, and listen, the boy hadn't noticed Buddy toss up the crumbs.

"My!" exclaimed the boy. "Why, I do declare, if it isn't snowing! Who ever heard of such a thing!" and he really thought the falling bread crumbs were snow flakes⁹. So he turned up his coat collar to keep warm, and began to run, for he didn't want to get snowed under in the woods. But Buddy kept on tossing up the bread crumbs, until the loaf was all gone.

"What shall I do next?" the guinea pig called to Billie Bushytail, who was following along in the trees overhead.

"Open the bag of sugar and throw that up in the air the same way," directed the squirrel, and when Buddy did this the boy heard the sugar rattling¹⁰ down on the leaves and some of it got down his neck, and scratched him.

"Why, I do declare. It's hailing!" he cried. "Who ever heard of such a thing!" So he hurried on faster than ever.

Well, when the sugar was all tossed up, and the boy was running real fast, Billie Bushytail called to Buddy:

"Now throw the pound of butter down in front of the boy!" Which Buddy did as quick as a wink¹¹, and lossy-me and a pancake! if that boy didn't slip down in the slippery butter, and fall and hurt his nose, and he had to let go of Buddy Pigg.

"Now's your chance. Run, Buddy, run!" cried Billie, and my, how Buddy Pigg did run; and he got safely away from that bad boy, and was soon at home, where his mother forgave him for throwing away the groceries when she heard the story.

Dr. Pigg said Billie was very smart to think of such a thing, and I believe so myself. Now in case you don't burn yourself with a firecracker and lose your penny down a hole in the sidewalk, I'm going to tell you in the next story about Buddy and Brighteyes' Fourth of July.