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Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home, a novel by Laura Lee Hope |
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Chapter 19. Bunny Flies A Kite |
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_ CHAPTER XIX. BUNNY FLIES A KITE Mother Brown and Aunt Lu laughed when Bunny said this. Bunny's and Sue's mother and aunt were glad to have the children safely with them again. They were soon at Aunt Lu's home. "Whatever made you two children go into that animal store?" asked Mrs. Brown. "Aunt Lu and I thought you were right behind us, going to take the boat for Coney Island. Now we can't go." "We can go some other day," declared Bunny. "You see we just stopped to look in the animal store window, Mother, and then we thought we'd go in to see how much a monkey and a parrot cost." "But they cost ten dollars," said Sue, "so we didn't get any." "I should hope not!" exclaimed Aunt Lu. The next day Bunny and Sue went to Coney Island with their aunt and their mother. This time Aunt Lu and Mother Brown kept close hold of the children's hands, so they were not lost. They very much enjoyed the sail down the bay, and they had lots of fun at Coney Island. Of course Bunny and Sue were not like some children, who have never seen the grand, old ocean. Bunny and Sue lived near it at home, and had seen it ever since they were small children. But, to some, their visit to Coney Island gives the first sight of the sea, and it is a wonderful sight, with the big waves breaking on the sandy shore. But if Bunny and Sue were not so eager to see the ocean, they were glad to look at the other things on Coney Island. They rode on a merry-go-'round, slid down a long wooden hill, in a wooden boat, and splashed into the water; this was "shooting the chutes," of which you have heard. They even rode on a tame elephant, in a little house on the big animal's back. Then they had popcorn and candy, and some lemonade, that, if it was not pink, such as they had at their little circus, was just as good. In fact Bunny Brown and his sister Sue had a very good time at Coney Island. Coming back on the boat was nice, too. There was a band playing music, and Bunny and Sue, and some other children, danced around. They reached home after dark, and Bunny and Sue were glad to go to bed. But Bunny was not too sleepy to ask: "What are we going to do to-morrow, Mother?" "Oh, wait until to-morrow comes and see," she answered. "I hope you don't get lost again, though." But Bunny and Sue were not afraid of getting lost in New York, now. They knew the police would find them, and be kind to them. Their mother and Aunt Lu had made them say, over and over again, the number of the house, and the name of the street where Aunt Lu lived. The children also had cards with the address on. But the day they went into the animal store they had left their cards at home. "What shall we do, Bunny?" asked Sue, the day after their trip to Coney Island. "I want to have some fun." "So do I," said Bunny. Having fun in the big city of New York was different from playing in the country, on grandpa's farm, or near the water in Bellemere, as Bunny and Sue soon found. But they had many good times at Aunt Lu's, though they were different from those at home. One thing about being in the country, at grandpa's, or at their own home, was that Bunny and Sue could run out alone and look for fun. In New York they were only allowed to go on the street in front of Aunt Lu's house alone. Of course if Aunt Lu, or Mother Brown, or even Wopsie went with them, the children could go farther up or down the street. "Let's see if we can go out and find Wopsie's aunt to-day," said Bunny to Sue, after they had eaten breakfast. "All right," agreed the little girl. "Where'll we look?" "Oh, down in the street," said Bunny. "We'll ask all the colored people we meet if they have lost a little girl. And we could ask at a police station, too, if we knew where there was one." "Yes," said Sue, "we might ask at the station where we was tooken, after we saw the monkeys and parrots in the animal store." "But we don't know where that police station is," Bunny said. "I guess we'd just better ask in the street." Bunny and Sue were quite in earnest about finding little Wopsie's aunt for her. For they wanted to make the little colored girl happy. And, strange as it may seem, Bunny and Sue had asked many colored persons they met, if they wanted a little lost colored girl. Bunny and Sue did not think this was at all strange, for they were used to doing, and saying, just what they pleased, as long as it was not wrong. Of course some colored men and women did not know what to make of the queer questions Bunny and Sue asked, but others replied to them kindly, and said they were sorry, but that they had not lost any little colored girl. "But we'll find Wopsie's aunt some time," said Bunny, and Sue thought they might. So now, having nothing else to do to "have fun," as they called it, Bunny and Sue started to go down to the street. "Don't go away from in front of the house!" their mother called to them. "We won't," Bunny promised. Henry, the colored elevator boy, took them down in his car. "We're going to find Wopsie's aunt," said Bunny. "Well, I hopes you do," replied Henry. For, all this while, though Aunt Lu had tried her best, nothing could be found of any "folks" for the little colored girl. She still lived with Aunt Lu, helping keep the apartment in order, and looking after Bunny and Sue. Down on the sidewalk went Bunny and his sister. For some time they sat on the shady front steps, watching for a colored man or woman. But it was quite long before one came along. Then it was a young colored man. Up to him ran Bunny. "Is you looking for Wopsie?" he asked. For the colored man was looking up at the numbers on the houses. "No, sah, little man. I'se lookin' fo' Henry," was the answer. "He's a elevator boy, an' he done lib around yeah somewheres." "Oh, he lives in here!" cried Sue. "Henry's our elevator boy. We'll show you!" She and Bunny ran into the hall, calling: "Henry! Henry! Here's your brother looking for you!" And so it was Henry's brother. He worked as an elevator boy in another apartment house, and, as he had a few hours to spare, he had come to see Henry. The two colored boys talked together, riding up and down in the sliding car, while Bunny and Sue went back to the street. "Well, we didn't find anyone looking for Wopsie," said Bunny, "but we found someone looking for Henry, and that's pretty near the same." "Yes," said Sue. "Maybe we'll find Wopsie's aunt to-morrow." But no more colored persons came along, and, after a while, Bunny and Sue grew tired of waiting. Looking up in the air Bunny suddenly gave a cry. "Oh, Sue! Look!" he shouted. "There's a boy on the roof of that house across the street, flying a kite. I'm going to get a kite and fly it from our roof!" "Do you think mother will let you?" asked Sue. "I'm going to tell her about it!" Bunny exclaimed. At first Mrs. Brown would not hear of Bunny's flying a kite from the roof of the apartment house. But Aunt Lu said: "Oh, the boys here often do it. That's the only place they have to fly kites in New York. There is a good breeze up on our roof, and it's safe. I don't know anything about a kite though, or how we could get Bunny one." "You can buy 'em in a store," said the little boy. "There's a store just around the corner, and the kites cost five cents." Mrs. Brown, hearing her sister say it was safe, and all right, to fly kites from the roof, said Bunny might get one. So he and Sue, with Wopsie, went to the little store around the corner. There Bunny got a fine red, white and blue kite, with a tail to it. "Now we'll take it up on the roof and fly it," he said to his sister and the little colored girl, after he had tied the end of a ball of string to his kite. There was a good wind up on the roof, and the railing was so high there was no danger of the children sliding off. Bunny's kite was soon flying in the air, and he and Sue took turns holding the string, as they sat on cushions on the roof. Wopsie stood near, looking on. [Illustration: "I NEVER FLIED A KITE LIKE THIS BEFORE," LAUGHED BUNNY--"UP ON A HOUSE ROOF." _Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Aunt Lu's City Home._ _Page 192._] "I never flied a kite like this before," laughed Bunny--"up on a house roof." _ |
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