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Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue Giving a Show, a novel by Laura Lee Hope |
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Chapter 3. Talking It Over |
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_ CHAPTER III. TALKING IT OVER One evening two or three days after the performance in the Opera House, where Bunny and Sue had so much enjoyed the impersonator, the juggler, the boy acrobat, and the girl singer, a number of ladies called at the home of Mrs. Brown. As it was early Bunny and Sue had not yet gone to bed so they could hear the talk that went on. "I think we did very well, Mrs. Brown," said Mrs. West, the mother of Sue's playmate, Sadie. "We cleared nearly two hundred dollars for our Red Cross Chapter from the Opera House show." "That's splendid!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "I didn't think we would make quite so much. But we could use still more money." "Yes, if we had more money we could do more good," said Mrs. Bentley. "I don't suppose we could have another performance soon. The people would not come." Bunny and Sue, who were in another room looking at picture books, glanced at one another. Then they smiled. Bunny slid down off his chair, followed by Sue. "Shall we tell 'em?" asked Bunny. "Yes," nodded Sue. So the two children walked slowly into the room where their mother and the other ladies were talking about the Red Cross Society. Mrs. Brown was just saying something. "No," she remarked, "I hardly believe we could arrange to give another show right away. It would be too much like----" "Mother!" interrupted Bunny, speaking in a low voice. "Yes, Son!" answered Mrs. Brown. "But run away now, dear. Mother is very busy. I'll speak to you in just a minute." "But we want to talk about the show, Mother," persisted Bunny. "Oh, but I haven't time," said Mrs. Brown with a smile. "You saw the show, and that's enough. Now run away, like a good boy. And you and Sue must soon get ready for bed." "But it's about another show, Mother!" insisted Bunny. "We heard what you said, Sue and I did--and we want to help you get more money." "Isn't that sweet of them!" exclaimed Mrs. Bentley. "Well, our Red Cross Chapter certainly needs money," remarked Mrs. Brown, with a sigh; "but I'm afraid you can't help us any, Bunny." "Oh, yes we can!" said Sue. "Why, what are you children thinking of?" asked Mrs. Brown, in some surprise. "How can you help us get money for the Red Cross?" "By a show!" cried Bunny, and he almost shouted the words he was so excited. "That's what we're going to do, Mother--give a show--me and Sue--I mean Sue and I," he added quickly, as he saw his mother look strangely at him, for she had often told him he must learn to speak correctly. "What do the children mean?" asked Mrs. Newton. "I'll tell you!" went on Bunny, speaking very fast, for he feared he and Sue would be sent to bed before they had a chance to explain. "We thought of it after we saw the show in the Opera House. We boys and girls can get up a show, and we can charge money to come in. We had a circus once, in a tent, didn't we, Mother?" and Bunny appealed to Mrs. Brown. "Yes, they once gave a show in a tent at their Grandpa's farm," said Mrs. Brown. "And it was quite good, too, for children. But I'm afraid a show like that, given in town here, wouldn't bring in much money for the Red Cross, my dears," and she smiled at Bunny and Sue. "Oh, we weren't going to give a show like the circus one!" declared Bunny. "This will be different! We'll have some singing, like the girl did in the Opera House--I guess Sue can sing. And I can do some somersaults, like those the boy did." "And maybe we could get Uncle Tad to dress up like General Grant or Washington," added Sue. "They have it all thought out!" exclaimed Mrs. West, with a smile. "Oh, but that isn't all!" said Bunny. "There's lots of other things we can do. We told some of the boys and girls about it and they want to be in it. Please, Mother, couldn't Sue and I get up a show?" "No, my dears, I don't believe you could," Mrs. Brown answered with another smile. "It is very good of you to want to help the Red Cross, but getting up a show is very hard work. I hardly think little boys and girls could do it." "If ever we big folks get up another show we'll let you children have part in it," promised Mrs. Star. "Oh, but we want to give a show of our own!" said Bunny. "And I guess we can, too. How much does it cost to buy the Opera House?" he asked. "Oh, you don't have to buy it to give a show," said Mrs. West. "It can be hired for one or two nights. But when are you going to give your show?" she asked Bunny. "Maybe 'bout Christmas," he said. "Folks have more money then, and we could get more for your Red Cross. Please, Mother, mayn't we give a show?" "Oh, well, I'll see about it," said Mrs. Brown, more with the idea of getting Bunny and his sister off to bed than because she really thought they could ever give a show. She had an idea they would forget all about it by morning. "Oh, goodie!" cried Sue, for when her mother said: "I'll see about it," it generally meant that something would happen. But of course giving a show was different, even though Bunny and Sue had once held a circus. You may read about that in the book of which I have spoken. "Well, trot along to bed now, my dears," said Mrs. Brown. "We ladies have business to attend to. We'll talk about your show to-morrow." "It's going to be a fine one," declared Bunny. "I'm going to learn how to do some back somersaults like that boy's on the stage." "Well, be careful you don't get hurt," begged Mrs. West. "Cute little dears, aren't they," said Mrs. Bentley, as Bunny and his sister Sue went out of the room. "I should think they would keep you busy trying to guess what they will do next, Mrs. Brown," remarked Mrs. Star. "They do," sighed the mother of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue. But she smiled as she sighed, for her little boy and girl never made her any real trouble. "Do you think they really will give a show?" asked Mrs. Bentley. "You never can tell," was Mrs. Brown's answer. "We didn't think they'd actually give a circus performance, but they did. However, a show in a real theater is quite different, and I hardly believe Bunny and Sue will go on with the idea." But Bunny and Sue did--at least they started talking it over the first thing next day, and when school was over quite a gathering of boys and girls assembled in a room over the Brown garage. "Now, girls and fellows," said Bunny, as he stood in front of the crowd of his playmates, who were seated on old boxes, broken chairs, and other things stored away in the garage, "we're going to get up a show to make money for the Red Cross." "Do you mean a make-believe show, and charge five pins to come in?" asked Harry Bentley. "No, I mean a real show, like in a theater, and charge real money," went on Bunny. "Pins aren't any good for the Red Cross. They get all the pins they want. They need money--my mother said so. Now we could get up a regular acting play--like that one we saw at the Opera House. We could have some singing in it, and some jiggling and some of us could do tricks and stand on our heads." "Going to have any animals in it?" one boy wanted to know. "Yes, we could," answered Bunny. "They have animals on the stage just like in a circus, only it's different, of course. We could have our dog and cat in it." "I've got a goat!" cried another boy. "He butts you with his horns, only maybe I could cure him of that." "We could use Toby, our Shetland pony," added Sue. "He eats sugar out of my hand." "And we could have my trained white mice," said Charlie Star. "If you have mice in it I'm not going to play!" exclaimed Sadie West. "I don't like mice at all!" "Neither do I!" added Jennie Harris. "Well, we could get Mr. Jed Winkler's parrot, maybe," suggested Bunny. "And his monkey!" some one added. "Oh, yes!" cried all the children. Suddenly the door of the room opened and in burst Tom Milton. "Say!" he cried, "Mr. Jed Winkler's monkey is loose in Mr. Raymond's hardware store, and you ought to see the place! Come on! Mr. Jed Winkler's monkey is loose again!" and he jumped up and down he was so excited. _ |
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