alice wibblewobble had been over to pay a visit to sister sallie, the little squirrel-sister of johnnie and billie bushytail, and she had ever so much fun; and a good time, and such a nice supper! ending up with butternut ice cream, with maple sugar for dessert. well, before alice knew it, night had come, and it was all dark.

"oh! dear!" she cried, "i didn't know it was so late."

"are you afraid to go home in the dark?" asked mrs. bushytail.

"no, not exactly," answered alice, "but you see it's so dark i might tumble into a hole, or cut my foot again on a sharp stone. i'm not exactly afraid of the dark, but—"

"oh! i understand," said mamma bushytail. "but i hardly know what to do," she went on. "my husband is away this evening, or he would take you home, and billie and johnnie are over at grandpa lightfoot's, and i'm so busy getting through my spring housecleaning, and sewing a new dress for sister sallie, that i don't believe i could spare the time to go."

"oh! i wouldn't think of asking you," spoke alice quickly, but she looked out into the dark, and she didn't feel very happy, even if she had just eaten a large plate of butternut ice cream.

"couldn't you stay all night, my dear?" asked sister sallie's mother.

"no, i'm afraid my mamma would worry," replied alice.

"perhaps jimmie will come for you pretty soon," suggested sister sallie, and then she hummed that little verse about going hippity-hop to the barber shop to buy a lolly-pop lally. you remember it, i dare say.

"maybe he will," agreed alice, so she and sister sallie played another game, but it got darker and darker, and no jimmie came, and then alice knew she must start for home, or her papa and mamma would be worried. but she didn't like to go out in the black night, and she was almost ready to cry, and didn't know what to do, when, all of a sudden, sister sallie called out:

"oh, mamma, i know the very thing! i'll run next door, to where mrs. bow wow lives, and ask her to send jackie and peetie home with alice."

"who are peetie and jackie?" asked the little girl duck.

"they are puppy dogs," replied sister sallie, "and the cutest ones you ever saw! oh, they are darlings! they'll go home with you through the woods, because they are very brave. some day they will grow to be big dogs, and guard the house. i'll ask mrs. bow wow, their mamma, to let them take you home."

"that will be a good plan," agreed mrs. bushytail. "run in and ask mrs. bow wow, sister sallie."

so sister sallie ran in next door, and pretty soon she came back with two of the cutest puppy dogs alice had ever seen.

"which one is peetie and which one is jackie?" alice asked, as they tumbled about on the floor, getting up and falling down again.

"i am peetie," answered one. "you can tell that because i am all white with a black spot on my nose."

"and i am jackie," said his brother. "i am all black, with a white spot on my nose. so you see it is easy to tell us apart."

"yes," agreed alice with a laugh, "i see; that is, i would see if you kept still long enough, only you don't, for you wiggle and tumble about so much. but will you please take me home?"

"of course we will," answered jackie, rubbing the black spot on his brother's nose with his paw. just then, if those two puppy dogs didn't see one of papa bushytail's boots, and, land sakes alive! if one didn't grab one end and one the other end, and they began to pull and growl. puppy dogs always do such things, you know.

"oh! oh! you mustn't do that," cried mamma bushytail. "you must take alice home."

"we will," answered peetie, rubbing the black spot on his own nose with his little white paw. "we were only doing this for practice. come on, alice! bow-wow! bow-wow!"

so pretty soon, after a while, oh, not so very long, alice started for the duck pen, with jackie and peetie bow wow tumbling over each other in their eagerness to see which would walk at her right wing, and which at her left. well, weren't those puppy dogs brave, though, to go out in the dark night? they never thought anything about it, really; any more than you mind going to bed in the dark.

then, all of a sudden, as they were walking through a very dismal place in the woods, jackie began to growl.

"oh, don't do that!" cried alice, "you frighten me! did you see a burglar or a wolf?"

"why, i only growled because i smelled a bone," said jackie, and he laughed, and fell over and over, turning a complete somersault.

"i smelled the bone first!" cried peetie, "and i'm going to have it!" then the two of them made a rush for the nice, juicy bone, and they each got hold of it and began to pull, one on one end and one on the other, and they fell down and slipped and stumbled all over in the darkness, getting mixed up in the leaves, growling and snarling; but, of course, it was all in fun, you know, for the puppy dogs loved each other.

"oh, don't do that, peetie!" begged alice, touching one of the puppy dogs with her foot. "don't tumble about so, peetie!"

"i'm not peetie; i'm jackie!" was the answer. "can't you tell by the white spot on my nose? peetie has a black spot."

"i can't see very well in the dark," replied alice.

then something very funny happened, for when jackie opened his mouth to speak to alice he had to let go of the bone, and of course peetie ran off with it and hid it. but that was a good thing, for they couldn't pull on it any more, and when peetie came back they both rubbed noses, and went on through the dark woods, taking alice home.

they had only one accident. that is, they fell down a hole, but they weren't hurt at all, i'm glad to say. then, when alice was safe in the duckpen, the puppy dogs ran back home and went right to sleep.

now, if you don't spill the salt in the sugar bowl, i'm going to tell you to-morrow night about jimmie and jackie.