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“Oh, stay just a little longer,” urged Mrs. Hare.

“And tell us another story!” begged Johnnie Hare.

“Well, I will,” said the Monkey, and he did. He told about some of the funny things that had happened in the toy store–things I have told you children about in the other books. And the bunny boys and girls liked the story told by the Monkey on a Stick very much indeed.

The Monkey enjoyed himself so much in the cave house of Mr. Jack Hare that he stayed longer than he intended. It was along in the middle of the afternoon before he came out, and as the Monkey and Mr. Hare reached the outer opening of the burrow the rabbit gentleman knocked on the ground three times with his hind feet.

“What’s that for?” asked the Monkey.

“To turn off the lightning bugs,” was the answer. “No use burning lights when no one needs them. I’ll turn them on if you call again.”

“Thank you, I shall be glad to pay you another visit,” said the Monkey. “But just now I feel that I must get back to where you first saw me. I want to ask the Grasshopper or Miss Cricket if they have seen the boys or the dog.”

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll not go back with you,” said the Rabbit. “I am not fond of dogs, and they are altogether too fond of me. Good-bye!”

Then he hopped away, waving his paw at the Monkey, and the Monkey jumped through the grass to the place where he had fallen from the dog’s back.

There he found Mr. Grasshopper and Miss Cricket. They were eating some of the green things that grew all around them.

“Have you seen anything of my friends?” asked the Monkey, as he hopped up and sat on the hummock of grass where he had been resting after cutting up his Monkeyshines.

“No, neither the boys nor the dog have been here,” said the Grasshopper.

“But I heard a dog barking,” said Miss Cricket. “It may have been the Carlo you spoke about.”

“And I heard some boys talking,” went on the Grasshopper. “They may have been Dick and Herbert. But they did not come here. Why don’t you jump along until you find them?”

“Yes, I suppose I could do that,” agreed the Monkey. “But I’ll wait a little while, and, if they don’t come for me, I’ll see if I can find them. As soon as I see them, though, I shall have to stop, and not move. We toys are not allowed to move or talk as long as human eyes see us.”

“That’s a funny rule,” said Miss Cricket. “But then you are a funny fellow, Mr. Monkey on a Stick.”

“If you think I’m funny, you ought to see my friend, the Calico Clown,” said the Monkey. “He’s full of jokes and riddles. He has a queer one about a pig making a noise under a gate.”

“My goodness! why did he do that?” asked the Grasshopper.

“Do what?” inquired the Monkey.

“Why did the pig make a noise under the gate?” the Grasshopper wanted to know. “Why couldn’t he stay in his pen where he belonged, or in the barnyard?”

“That’s what the riddle’s about, I suppose,” said the Monkey. “Anyhow, none of us can answer, and the Clown’s always asking it. If you want to see some one really funny, meet the Calico Clown.”

After a little more talk among the three friends, the Monkey said he thought he would hop along and see if he could find the two boys or the dog.

“Aren’t you afraid, if you find the dog alone, he may bite you?” asked the Grasshopper.

“Oh, my, no!” exclaimed the Monkey. “Carlo is a friend of mine. If he found me he would take me home to Herbert’s house. I had even rather find him than the boys, for I can talk to the dog, and I can’t talk to Dick and Herbert.”