STORY IX

BUDDY¹ PIG WANTS A TAIL

The day after the Fourth of July, when he and his sister had had such fun, Buddy Pigg came into the pen, where his mamma was baking tea biscuits for supper, and sat down in a chair by the table where she was working.

He didn't say anything, but just watched his mamma rolling out the crust, or whatever it is they make tea biscuits of, and pretty soon Mrs. Pigg noticed that Buddy didn't seem very happy. His face was all twisted up into a funny sort of a scowl², and every once in a while he would give a long sigh, as though he hadn't a friend in all the world.

"Why, Buddy," Mrs. Pigg asked, when the tea biscuits were ready for the oven, "whatever in the wide, wide world is the matter? Are you sick, or did you burn yourself with a firecracker?"

"No, mother," Buddy answered, "I'm not sick and I didn't burn myself with a firecracker, but I wish—I wish—" and then he stopped, and sort of wiggled his nose.

"Well," asked his mother with a smile, "what do you wish? Remember, though, that I am not a fairy and can't give you anything you want."

"Oh," answered the little boy guinea pig, "this is very easy, mamma. All I want is a tail."

"A tail?" exclaimed his mamma in great surprise, and she wondered if, after all, Buddy wasn't ill, for that was a very strange request. And she began to wish that his papa was home, or that Brighteyes, who was Buddy's sister, was in the house, to help look after him, but Brighteyes had gone to see her aunt, and wouldn't be back till night.

"Yes," went on Buddy, "I want a tail. All the other boys and girls who are friends of mine have them, and I don't see why I can't."

For you see guinea pigs never have tails. Why that is I don't know, except, maybe, it's better that way in hot weather, but, anyhow, they have no tails.

"You don't need a tail," said Buddy's mamma.

"Yes, I do, mother dear," he answered. "Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow have tails, and so have Billie and Johnnie Bushytail, and the three Wibblewobbles, and—"

"But Bully⁴ and Bawly, the frogs, have no tail," said Mrs. Pigg, "and they are happy, Buddy."

"Well, they are in the water so much it doesn't show whether they have a tail or not," went on Buddy.

"And Sammie and Susie Littletail haven't much of a tail, Buddy," said Mrs. Pigg, as she looked in the oven to see if the biscuits were burning.

"I know it, mother, but they have something of a tail," spoke⁵ Buddy, "and maybe it will grow longer in time. I'd be glad if I had even as much as Sammie has."

"Well," said Mrs. Pigg, "I'm sorry, Buddy, but I don't see how you are ever going to get a tail. I haven't any, your father hasn't any, and we get along very well. None of your relations have tails and they are happy. They never had any. In fact there has never been a tail in our family and I don't see why you want to start. Now run out and play, like a good boy, and when Brighteyes comes back it will be supper time, and we'll have hot biscuits and honey."

But, though Buddy ran out, he was not happy. There was a frown on his face, and, as he walked through the woods, he kept thinking how nice it would be to have a tail.

Pretty soon, oh, I guess in about a whisper and a squeak⁶, Buddy Pigg heard a rustling⁷ in the tree over his head. Then he saw two big, yellow eyes peering down at him from the darkness of the woods, and a voice called out:

"What's the matter, little boy? Why are you so sad?"

"Oh, I feel bad because I haven't a tail," answered Buddy, wondering who was speaking.

"What's the matter? Did some one cut your tail off?" the voice asked.

"No," replied Buddy, "I never had one; but I want one, awfully⁸ bad."

"Oh, don't worry about a little thing like that," went on the voice. "I can get a fine tail for you."

"Oh, can you?" cried Buddy, his face lighting⁹ up, "are you a fairy?"

"Well, not exactly," was the answer, "but you just run along after me, and I'll get a tail for you, in less than no time."

Then there was a rustling in the branches, and a great, big owl³, with ears that looked like horns, flew out, and Buddy was frightened. But the owl said:

"Oh, don't be alarmed, little boy. Just follow me, and I'll see that you get a tail."

So the owl flew along through the dark, dismal¹⁰ woods, going slowly, and close to the ground so Buddy could follow, and pretty soon, the owl stopped in front of a hole in the side of a hill.

"There is where the tail is," said the owl. "Just wait and I'll have it out to you in a jiffy and a half," and bless me, if that owl didn't go in that hole. He stayed there some time, and Buddy could hear voices inside, talking, and land sakes, goodness me alive, and a cherry pie! out of that hole was thrust a great, big, bushy tail. A tail, and nothing else, believe me, if you please.

"Oh, what a fine tail!" cried Buddy in delight.

"Do you think so?" asked a voice. "Then just grab hold of it, hold tight, and it's yours!"

Well, Buddy didn't think there was any danger, so he grabbed hold of the tail, and held on tight, but oh, dear me! instead of pulling the tail out, he found himself being pulled in. Yes, sir, right into that hole, and land knows what would have happened if Buddy's sister, Brighteyes, hadn't come along just then on her way home from her aunt's house. She saw right away that the bushy tail was fast to something inside the hole.

"That's a fox's tail!" she cried, "and he's pulling you into his den¹¹! Let go, quickly! Let go, Buddy!"

So Buddy let go just in time, though the fox and the owl rushed out and tried to grab him, but they fell down, and couldn't get up in time, and he and his sister ran home. You see it was just a trick of that owl and fox, to get Buddy into the den, and eat him up, but they didn't, I'm glad to say. And after that Buddy never wanted a tail. Now if it doesn't rain in the dishpan and turn the umbrella inside out, I'll tell you in the next story about Buddy walking a tight rope.