Laura Lee Hope - Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue Giving a Show
L >>
Laura Lee Hope >> Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue Giving a Show
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 BUNNY BROWN
AND HIS SISTER SUE
GIVING A SHOW
BY
LAURA LEE HOPE
AUTHOR OF
THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES, THE BOBBSEY
TWINS SERIES, THE OUTDOOR GIRLS
SERIES, ETC.
Illustrated
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
[Illustration: BUNNY BEGAN TURNING OVER AND OVER.
_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Giving a Show_. _Frontispiece_
(_Page 222_)]
BOOKS
By LAURA LEE HOPE
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated._
=THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES=
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY
BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW
=THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES=
THE BOBBSEY TWINS
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK
THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND
THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA
THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN WASHINGTON
=THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES=
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN WAR SERVICE
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT THE HOSTESS HOUSE
=GROSSET & DUNLAP=
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
Copyright, 1919, by
GROSSET & DUNLAP
_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Giving a Show_
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. "LOOK AT THE SKYLIGHT!" 1
II. "LET'S GIVE A SHOW!" 13
III. TALKING IT OVER 24
IV. THE CLIMBING BOY 33
V. A COLD LITTLE SINGER 45
VI. GENERAL WASHINGTON 55
VII. "DOWN ON THE FARM" 64
VIII. THE SCENERY 74
IX. BUNNY DOES A TRICK 83
X. GETTING READY 93
XI. THE STRANGE VOICE 108
XII. A SURPRISE 116
XIII. "THEY'RE GONE" 124
XIV. SPLASH HANGS ON 131
XV. TICKETS FOR THE SHOW 137
XVI. UPSIDE DOWNSIDE BUNNY 145
XVII. SUE'S QUEER SLIDE 154
XVIII. MR. TREADWELL'S WIG 162
XIX. UNCLE BILL 171
XX. THE DRESS REHEARSAL 181
XXI. "WHERE IS BUNNY?" 197
XXII. ACT I 206
XXIII. ACT II 220
XXIV. ACT III 231
XXV. THE FINAL CURTAIN 239
BUNNY BROWN
AND HIS SISTER SUE
GIVING A SHOW
CHAPTER I
"LOOK AT THE SKYLIGHT!"
With a joyful laugh, her curls dancing about her head, while her brown
eyes sparkled with fun, a little girl danced through the hall and into
the dining room where her brother was eating a rather late breakfast of
buckwheat cakes and syrup.
"Oh, Bunny, it's doing it! It's come! Oh, won't we have fun!" cried the
little girl.
Bunny Brown looked up at his sister Sue, holding a bit of syrup-covered
cake on his fork.
"What's come?" he asked. "Has Aunt Lu come to visit us, or did Wango,
the monkey, come up on our front steps?"
"No, it isn't Mr. Jed Winkler's monkey and Aunt Lu didn't come, but I
wish she had," answered Sue. "But it's come--a lot of it, and I'm so
glad! Hurray!"
Bunny Brown put down his fork and looked more carefully at his sister.
"What are you playing?" he asked, thinking perhaps it was some new game.
"I'm not playing anything!" declared Sue. "I'm so glad it's come! Now we
can have some fun! Just look out the window, Bunny Brown!"
"But what has come?" asked the little boy, who was a year older than his
sister Sue. He was a bright chap, with merry blue eyes and they opened
wide now, trying to see what Sue was so excited about.
"What is it?" asked Bunny Brown once more.
"It's snow!" cried Sue. "It's the first snow, and it's soon going to be
Thanksgiving and Christmas and all like that! And we can get out our
sleds, and we can go skating and make snow men and--and--and----"
But she just had to stop. She was all out of breath, and she didn't seem
to have any words left with which to talk to Bunny.
"Oh! Snow!" exclaimed Bunny, and he said; it in such a funny way that
Sue laughed.
Just then in came her mother from the kitchen where she had been baking
more cakes for her little boy.
"Oh, it's you, is it, Sue?" asked Mrs. Brown. "Do you want some more
breakfast?"
"No, thank you, Mother. I had mine. I just came in to tell Bunny it's
snowing. And we can have a lot of fun, can't we?"
"Well, you children do manage to have a lot of fun, one way or another,"
said Mrs. Brown, with a smile.
"Is it snowing, Mother?" asked Bunny, too excited now to want to finish
his breakfast.
"Yes, it really is," answered Mrs. Brown. "I was so busy getting enough
cakes baked for you that I didn't notice the snow much. But, as Sue
says, it is coming down quite fast."
"Hurray!" cried Bunny, even as Sue had done. "Do you think there will be
lots of the snow?"
"Well, it looks as though there might be quite a storm for the first
snow of the season," replied the mother of Bunny Brown and his sister
Sue. "It's a bit early this year, too. It's almost two weeks until
Thanksgiving and here it is snowing. I'm afraid we're going to have a
hard winter."
"With lots of snow and ice, Mother?" asked Bunny.
"Yes. And with cold weather that isn't good for poor folks."
"Oh, I'm glad!" cried Bunny. "Not about the poor folks, though," he
added quickly, as he saw his mother look at him in surprise. "But I'm
glad there'll be lots of ice. Sue and I can go skating."
"And there'll be lots of ice for ice-cream next summer," added Sue.
Mrs. Brown laughed. Then, as she saw Bunny racing to the window with
Sue, to push aside the curtains and look out at the falling white
flakes, she said:
"Come back and finish your breakfast, Bunny. I want to clear off the
table."
"I want to see the snow, first," replied the little boy. "Anyhow, I
guess I've had enough cakes."
"Oh, and I just brought in some nice, hot, brown ones!" exclaimed Mrs.
Brown.
"I'll help eat 'em!" offered Sue, and though she had had her breakfast
a little while before, she now ate part of a second one, helping her
brother.
It was Saturday, and, as there was no school, Mrs. Brown had allowed
both children to sleep a little later than usual. Sue had been up first,
and, after eating her breakfast and playing around the house, she had
gone to the window to look out and wish that Bunny would get up to play
and have fun with her.
Then she had seen the first snow of the season and had run into the
dining room to find her brother there eating his late meal.
"May we go out in the snow and play?" asked Bunny, when he had finished
the last of the brown cakes and the sweet syrup.
"Yes, if you put on your boots and your warm coats. You don't want to
get cold, you know, or you can't go to the play in the Opera House this
afternoon."
"Oh, we've got to see that!" cried Bunny. "I 'most forgot; didn't you,
Sue?"
"Yes," replied the little girl, "I did. Maybe it will snow so hard that
they can't have the show, like once it rained so hard we couldn't play
circus in the tent Grandpa put up for us in the lot."
"Yes, it did rain hard," agreed Bunny. "And it's snowing hard," he
added, as he squirmed into his coat and again looked out of the window.
"Will it snow so hard they can't give the show, Mother?" he asked.
"Oh, I think not," answered Mrs. Brown. "This play isn't going to be in
a tent, you know. It's in the Opera House, and they give shows there
whether it rains or snows. I think you may both count on going to the
show this afternoon."
"Oh, what fun!" cried Bunny.
"Lots of fun!" echoed Sue.
Then out they ran to play amid the swirling, white flakes; and it is
hard to say whether they had more fun in the first snow or in thinking
about the play they were to see in the Opera House that afternoon.
At any rate Bunny Brown and his sister Sue certainly had fun playing out
in the yard of their house and in the street in front. At first there
was not snow enough to do more than make slides on the sidewalk, and the
little boy and girl did this for a time. They made two long slides, and
men and women coming along smiled to see the brother and sister at play.
But these same men and women were careful not to step on the slippery
slides made by Bunny Brown and his sister Sue, for they did not want to
slip and fall.
As for Bunny and Sue, they did not mind whether they fell or not. Half
the time they were tumbling down and the other half getting up again.
But they managed to do some sliding, too.
"Come on!" cried Bunny, after a bit. "There's enough now to make
snowballs!"
"Could we make a snow house, too?" asked his sister.
"No, there isn't enough for that. But we can make snowballs and throw
'em!"
"Don't throw any at me!" begged Sue. "'Cause if you did, an' the snow
went down my neck, it would melt and I'd get wet an' then I couldn't go
to the show an' you'd be sorry!"
This was rather a long sentence for Sue, and she was a bit out of breath
when she had finished.
"No, I won't throw any snowballs at you," promised Bunny.
"Oh, here come Harry Bentley and Charlie Star!" exclaimed Sue.
"I'll throw snowballs at them!" decided Bunny. "Hi!" he called to two of
his boy chums. "Let's throw snowballs!"
"We're with you!" answered Charlie.
"I'm not going to play snowball fight," decided Sue. "I see Mary Watson
and Sadie West. I'm going to play with them."
So she trotted off to make little snow dolls with her girl friends,
while Bunny, with Charlie and Harry, threw soft snowballs at one
another. The children were having such fun that it seemed only a few
minutes since breakfast when Mrs. Brown called:
"Bunny! Sue! Come in and get washed for lunch. And you have to get
dressed if you're going to the play!"
"Oh, we're going, sure!" exclaimed Bunny. "Are you?" he asked Charlie
and Harry.
"Yes," they replied, and when Sue ran toward her house with Bunny she
told her brother that Sadie and Mary were also going to the play that
afternoon in the town Opera House.
"Oh, we'll have a lot of fun!" cried Bunny. "Will it be a funny play?"
he asked Uncle Tad, who had promised to take the two children.
"Well, I guess it'll be funny for you two youngsters," was the answer of
the old soldier. "But I guess it isn't much of a theatrical company that
would come to Bellemere to give a show so near the beginning of winter.
But it will be all right for boys and girls."
"It's a show for the benefit of our Red Cross Chapter," said Mrs. Brown.
"That's why I asked you to take the children, Uncle Tad. I have to be
with the other ladies of the committee, to help take tickets and look
after things."
"Oh, I'll look after Bunny and Sue!" exclaimed Uncle Tad. "I'll see that
they have a good time!"
Bunny Brown and his sister Sue were so excited because of the first snow
storm and because of thinking of the play they were to see, that they
could hardly dress. But at last they were ready, and they set off in the
family automobile, which Uncle Tad drove. Mrs. Brown went along also,
but Mr. Brown had to stay at the office. The office was at the dock
where he owned a fish and boat business.
It was still snowing, and the ground was now quite white, when the
automobile drew up at the Opera House, which was where all sorts of
shows and entertainments were given in Bellemere, the home of the Brown
family.
"We can have a lot more fun in the snow to-morrow!" whispered Sue, as
she and her brother passed in, Uncle Tad handing the tickets to Mrs.
Gordon, who smiled at them. She was one of the committee of ladies who,
like Mrs. Brown, were helping with the entertainment. There were to be
speeches by some of the men of Bellemere, but what would be more
enjoyable to the young folks was the performance of a number of
vaudeville actors and actresses, said to come all the way from New York.
"There's a jiggler who holds a cannon ball on his neck," whispered
Charlie Star to Bunny, when the Brown children had found their seats,
which were near those of some of their friends.
"He means a juggler," said George Watson.
"Yes, that's it--a juggler," agreed Charlie.
"And there are a little boy and girl who do tricks and sing," added
Mary Watson. "I saw their pictures."
"Oh, it'll be lovely!" sighed Sue. "I wish it would begin!"
The boys, girls and grown folks were still coming in and taking their
seats. The curtain hid the stage. And how the children did wonder what
was going on behind that piece of painted canvas! The musicians were
just beginning to "tune up," as Uncle Tad said. The ushers were hurrying
to and fro, seating the late-comers. One of the men who worked in the
Opera House, sweeping it out, attending to the fires in winter, and
sometimes selling tickets, got a long pole to open a skylight
ventilator, to let in some fresh air.
Just how it happened no one seemed to know, but suddenly the long pole
slipped and there was a crash and tinkle of glass. Nearly every one
jumped in his or her seat, and some one cried:
"Look at the skylight! It's going to fall!"
Bunny Brown, his sister Sue, and every one else looked up. True enough,
something had gone wrong with the skylight the man had tried to open.
It seemed to have slipped from its place in the frame where it was
fastened in the roof, and the big window of metal and glass looked as
though about to fall on the heads of the audience directly under it.
"Oh, Bunny, let's run!" cried Sue. "It's going to drop right on us!"
And truly it did seem so. Slowly the big skylight was slipping from its
fastenings, and several in the audience screamed.
CHAPTER II
"LET'S GIVE A SHOW!"
Just when it seemed as if a bad accident would happen and that some one
would be hurt by the fall of the roof-window, the man who had been using
the long pole thrust it under the edge of the sliding skylight and held
it there. Then he called:
"I have it! I can keep it from falling until somebody gets up on the
roof and fixes it. Hurry up, though!"
"I'll go up and fix it!" said another usher. "Guess the first snow was
too heavy for the skylight! Keep still, everybody!" he added. "There's
no danger now!"
The man had to shout to be heard above the screams of the frightened and
excited people, but he made his voice carry to all parts of the Opera
House, and finally it became more quiet. Then a man stepped from behind
the curtain and stood on the front part of the stage. He held up his
hand to make the people know he wanted them to be quiet, and when his
voice could be heard he said:
"There is no danger now. There was some, but it has passed. The man will
hold the skylight in place until it can be fastened. And while he is
doing that I wish those who are sitting under it would move quietly out
into the aisles. Don't crowd or rush. You children can pretend it is
like the fire drill you have at school."
"Oh, we do have fire drill at our school, don't we, Bunny?" cried Sue,
in a rather loud voice. Her words carried to all parts of the theater
and many laughed. This laugh was just what was needed to make the people
forget their fright, and soon the place directly under the loosened
skylight was clear. Bunny and Sue, with Uncle Tad and their boy and girl
chums, moved out into the aisle, and soon the men began the work of
fastening the skylight back in place. And you may be sure they fastened
it tight.
While this is being done I will take a few moments to tell my new
readers something about the two Brown children. As you may have guessed,
there are other volumes which come before this one. The first is called
"Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue."
Bunny and Sue lived with their father and mother in a pretty house in
the town of Bellemere. Bellemere was on the seacoast and also near a
small river. Mr. Brown was in the boat and fish business, and he owned a
dock, or wharf, on the bay and had his office there. He had many men to
help, and also a big boy, who was almost a man. The big boy's name was
Bunker Blue, and he was very good to Bunny and Sue. Living in the same
house with the Browns was Uncle Tad. He was Mr. Brown's uncle, but Bunny
and Sue thought they owned just as much of the dear old soldier as did
their father. Besides Uncle Tad, the children had other relations. They
had a grandfather and a grandmother, and also an aunt, Miss Lulu Baker,
who lived in a big city.
Bunny and Sue Brown had many friends in Bellemere. Besides the few boys
and girls I have mentioned there were many others. And there was also
Jed Winkler, an old sailor who owned a monkey, and, lately, he had
bought a green parrot from an old shipmate of his. Jed Winkler had a
sister, a rather cross maiden lady who did not like the monkey very
much. And the monkey, whose name was Wango, seemed to know this, for he
was always playing tricks on Miss Winkler.
The second volume of the series is called "Bunny Brown and His Sister
Sue on Grandpa's Farm." There, you can easily imagine, the little boy
and girl had lots of fun. During their visit to the farm they got up a
circus, and there is a book telling all about it. They had a real tent,
which their grandfather got for them, and in it they and some of their
friends gave a very funny performance.
When Bunny and Sue went to Aunt Lu's city home they had many wonderful
times, and when they went on a vacation to Camp Rest-a-While so many
things happened near the beautiful lake that the children never tired
talking about them.
It was after the children had spent such a happy time in the camp that
they went to the "Big Woods," as Bunny and Sue called them, and, after
that, their father and mother took them on an auto tour, when many
strange things happened. "Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue and Their
Shetland Pony" is the name of the book just before the one you are
reading now, and after many adventures with the little horse the two
children planned for winter fun. Going to the show in the Opera House
was part of this fun.
It did not take very long for the man who had gone up to the roof to fix
the broken skylight. The children could see him away up above their
heads as they sat in the theater, or stood there, for those who had
places directly under the skylight would not use the seats until the
roof-window was fixed.
"There! It's all right now," said the man on the stage. "There is no
more danger. Take your seats and the show will begin."
From all over the Opera House you could have heard delighted "Ohs!" and
"Ahs!" from the children. There was a rustling of programs, a swish of
skirts, several coughs, and one or two sneezes. Then the fiddles
squeaked, there was rumble and boom of the drums, and the orchestra
played the Star-Spangled Banner.
Every one stood up until the national air was ended and then the
musicians began to play a dance tune which was so lively that the feet
of every one, old and young, seemed to be tapping the floor.
Then came a pause, the lights in the Opera House were turned low, and at
last the curtain went up. Bunny Brown and his sister Sue held tightly to
the arms of their seats, lest they might slip out during the excitement
that was to follow. And it was exciting for the children, as you may
easily guess.
The first act was the juggler, or the "jiggler," as one of the boys had
called him. He placed a pole on his chin, and on top of the pole a glass
of water. Then with three balls he did a number of odd tricks.
"And all the while, mind you!" exclaimed Bunny, telling his father about
it afterward, "the man held the water, on the pole on his chin and he
didn't drop it once."
"Yes, that must have been wonderful," said Daddy Brown. "If he had
dropped the pole he'd have broken the glass, wouldn't he?"
"And he would have spilled the water, too!" exclaimed Bunny's sister.
"And it was real water!"
"No!" cried Mr. Brown, in fun, making believe he didn't believe this.
"Yes it was, really!" declared Sue, and Bunny nodded his head also.
The juggler did many other tricks, even tossing balls up into the air
and letting them fall in a tall silk hat he wore. The hat had no crown
to it, but it had a funny little door, or opening, cut in front, and as
fast as the juggler would toss the rubber balls into his hat, they would
roll out of the little door in front. My, how the children did laugh!
But the juggler never even smiled.
The next act was that of an old man who, on the programme, was called an
"Impersonator."
"What's that mean?" asked Bunny of Uncle Tad. "Does he do juggles too?"
"No, he dresses up like some persons you may have seen in pictures. He
pretends he's General Washington, or the President, or some great
soldier. He tries to look as much like these persons as he can, so they
call him an impersonator. Watch, and you'll see."
When the "Impersonator" came out on the stage he did not look like any
one but himself. He made a few remarks, but Bunny and Sue did not pay
much attention. They were more interested in what he was going to do.
The man, who wore a black suit, "like the minister's," as Mary Watson
whispered to Sue, suddenly stepped over to a little table, on which were
two electric lights and a looking glass.
The children could not see exactly what the man did. They noticed that
his hands were working very quickly, but he had his back toward them.
All at once his black hair seemed to turn white, and in a moment he
caught up from a chair a coat of blue and gold; he slipped this on. Then
he turned suddenly and faced the audience.
"Oh, it's George Washington!" cried a boy, and the audience laughed.
And, to tell the truth, the man on the stage did look a great deal like
our first president, as you see him in pictures. The man had put a white
wig on over his black hair, and had put on the kind of coat George
Washington used to wear.
I wish I had time to tell you all the different persons this actor made
up to appear like, but I can mention only a few. From Washington he
turned himself into Lincoln, and then into Roosevelt. Then he made up
like some of the French and English generals, and afterward he made
himself look like General Grant, smoking a cigar.
Every one applauded as the man bowed himself off the stage. There was a
thrill of excitement when the next number was announced. A little girl
was shown on the stage. She did not seem much older than Sue, but of
course she was. She began to sing in a sweet, childish voice, and in the
midst of her song a boy dressed in a suit of bright spangles suddenly
appeared from the side. Without a word the boy began turning handsprings
and somersaults and doing flipflops in front of the girl.
Suddenly she stopped her song, stamped her little foot, and in pretended
anger cried:
"What do you mean by coming out here and spoiling my singing act?"
"Why, the man back there," said the boy, pointing behind the scenes,
"told me to come out here and amuse the people," and he seemed, to smile
right at Bunny Brown and Sue.
"He told you to come out and amuse the people, did he? Well, what does
he think I'm doing?" demanded the girl.
"I don't know. I guess he thinks maybe you're making 'em cry!" was the
boy acrobat's grinning answer.
"Well, I like that! The idea!" exclaimed the girl. "I'm going right back
and tell him I won't sing another song in this show! The idea!" and she
hurried off the stage.
"Oh, won't she sing any more?" whispered Sue to Uncle Tad.
"Yes," answered the soldier with a smile. "That's just part of the
act--to make it more interesting."
"Now that she is out of the way I'll have more room to do my flipflops,"
said the boy acrobat, and he started to do all sorts of tricks. But,
just as Uncle Tad had said, the girl was only pretending, for pretty
soon she came back again with a prettier dress on, and she danced and
sang while the boy did handsprings to the delight of Bunny Brown, his
sister Sue, and all the others in the audience.
I haven't room to tell you all that happened at the show that afternoon,
for this story is to be about a show Bunny and Sue gave. But I will
just say every one liked the entertainment, and when Bunny was coming
out, walking behind Sue, he suddenly said:
"I know what we can do!"
"What?" asked the little girl.
"Let's give a show ourselves--like this!" Bunny pointed toward the
stage.
Sue looked at Bunny to make sure he was not joking. Then she answered
and said:
"We will! We'll give a show ourselves!"
CHAPTER III
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10