PIECES OF LAUGHTER AND FUN Read Online Free PDF Page A

her.
    "This is probably the last time we can get nuts," she said as she handed a basket to us. "It's going to snow soon."
    We agreed, and took the basket, swinging it happily between us. Pep tagged along, pausing now and then to sniff through a pile of leaves or run ahead as he spied a squirrel in the path.
    "I sure do like Saturdays," Sarah Jane said, "Isn't it fun to just walk through the leaves and not be in a hurry to go somewhere?"
    "Yes, and I'd like it even better if we had a picnic lunch and could stay all day. But it's too cold for that now. By the time we get the nuts picked up, we'll be ready to start back."
    "How come Pep knows this is Saturday?" Sarah Jane wondered. "He never follows us to school, and we start out this same way. Do you think he can tell time?"
    "I wouldn't be surprised," I replied. "He's a very smart dog. Do you want to see how he can spell?"
    "No dog is that smart," Sarah Jane declared. "He can't even talk."
    "That's not the way he does it," I explained.
    "Look, I'll show you." I picked up a stick from the ground and held it over my head. "Here, Pep! Go fetch the s-t-i-c-k." I threw it as far as I could, and Pep galloped after it, happy to have something to chase. He brought it back to me, and I turned triumphantly to Sarah Jane.
    "See?"
    "Oh, Mabel! He'd have brought that back if
    you had said, 'go fetch the h-o-u-s-e!' That doesn't prove that he can spell. It just proves he likes to play games."
    "Anyway, he's smart. Smarter than any dog I ever had."
    "You never had another one," Sarah Jane pointed out.
    "Are you trying to say that Pep is dumb?" I demanded. "Everything I say, you argue with me."
    "I won't argue anymore," Sarah Jane promised. "Here, this tree has lots of nuts under it. Let's start here."
    We set the basket down and propped the two dolls up under the tree.
    "I think we can get the basket full in half an hour," I predicted. "There's a butternut tree over there, too, when we finish here."
    We worked quickly, partly because we were in a hurry to get home for the cookies ma had promised us as a reward, and partly because it was getting much colder.
    "Oh, look, Sarah Jane! See what I found!" I pointed to the maple tree near us. "There's a little clump of mistletoe up there. Let's get it, shall we?"
    "I'll watch you get it,' she replied. "You know I can't climb a tree if I have to take my feet off the ground."
    "You can't climb anything if you don't take your feet off the ground," I said. "How come you're not afraid of falling out of bed at night?"
    "That's different. The bed is wider than a tree limb. I just stay away from the edge."
    "Well, that isn't very far up," I decided. "I'll go up after it. Stand right there, and I'll drop it down to you."
    The mistletoe was farther out than I had thought so it took awhile to work my way toward the end of the branch.
    "Oh, Mabel!" Sarah Jane squeaked. "You can't pick that mistletoe and hang onto the branch at the same time! You'd better come down."
    "I'll hang on with one hand," I replied. But I was not able to do that. My other hand slipped, and I plunged to the ground. I landed on my stomach, with my arm bent under me. The wind was knocked out of me, and I lay still with my eyes closed.
    "I didn't mean for you to come down that way!" Sarah Jane screamed. "Mabel, are you dead?"
    When I could get my breath, I assured her that I was not. But I was hurt.
    "I'd better go get your pa," Sarah Jane said anxiously. "I can't carry you home."
    "No, I'd rather have you stay here with me. I'll send Pep back for help. Pep," I called to him, "go home and get pa. Hurry!"
    "Mabel! For goodness' sake! You must have fallen on your head. That dog can't tell anyone what happened. Look there. He thinks you're playing another game."
    It surely did look that way. After circling around me a few times, Pep grabbed Emily in his mouth and turned to run toward home.
    "I'll wait just a few minutes; then I'm going myself," Sarah Jane declared. "It's too cold for you to be