The Four Hungry Children One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery. No one knew them. No one knew where they had come from. The baker's wife saw them first, as they stood looking in at the window of her store. The little boy was looking at the cakes, the big boy was looking at the loaves of bread, and the two girls were looking at the cookies. Now the baker's wife did not like children. She did not like boys at all. So she came to the front of the bakery and listened, looking very cross. Night Is Turned Into Day Soon the children left the town and came to a road. The big yellow moon was out, and they could see the road very well. "We must walk fast," said =Henry. "I hope the baker and his wife don't wake up and find us gone." They walked down the road as fast as they could. "How far can you carry =Benny," asked =Violet? "Oh, I can carry him a long way," replied =Henry. But =Jessie said, "I think we could go faster if we woke him up now. We could take his hands and help him along." A New Home in the Woods At last =Jessie opened her eyes. It was morning, but the sun was covered by clouds. She sat up and looked all around her, and then she looked at the sky. It seemed like night, for it was very dark. Suddenly it began to thunder, and she saw that it was really going to rain. "What shall we do? Where shall we go," thought =Jessie? The wind was blowing more and more clouds across the sky, and the lightning was very near. She walked a little way into the woods, looking for a place to go out of the rain. =Henry Has Two Surprises =Jessie whispered, "Keep still!" The three children did not say a word. They sat quietly in the boxcar, looking at the bushes. "I wonder if it's a bear," thought =Benny. Soon something came out. But it wasn't a bear. It was a dog, which hopped along on three legs, crying softly and holding up a front paw. "It's all right," said =Jessie. "It's only a dog, but I think he is hurt." The do looked up and saw the children, and then he wagged his tail. "Poor dog," said =Jessie. "Are you lost? Come over here and let me look at your paw." The Explorers Find Treasure The next morning =Jessie woke up first, and she got up at once, for she was the housekeeper. The dog sat in the door of the car and looked at her as she jumped down to get the milk for breakfast. Then he jumped down after her. =Jessie walked down by the little brook and stopped to look at the waterfall. It was beautiful. "I must look in the refrigerator," she said with a laugh. It was a funny refrigerator. There was a rock behind the waterfall, and the night before =Jessie has put the two bottles of milk in a hole in this rock. Now she took out the bottles and found that the milk was very cold. A Queer Noise in the Night At last it was dinner time, and the children sat down to see what =Henry had in his bundles. "I bought another loaf of brown bread at the store," said =Henry, " and some more milk. Then I bought some dried meat, because we can eat it in our hands. And I bought a bone for =Watch." =Watch looked hungrily at the bone and lay down at once to eat it. =Jessie got out four cups and bowls and put some milk into each one. Then the children put in little pieces of brown bread and began to eat it with their new spoons. "What fun," cried =Jessie! "Eating with spoons. Now tell up what you did in town, =Henry." A Big Meal from Little Onions The next morning =Jessie and =Henry talked about the queer noise. They did not tell =Violet and =Benny. "What do you think it was," asked =Jessie? "Do you think it was a rabbit?" "I don't know," said =Henry. "But I think someone was in the woods. I am glad we weren't hurt. Someone must have stepped on a stick and made it crack." "What shall we do," asked =Jessie? "Nothing," said =Henry. "=Watch is a good watchdog. He loves us now, and if anyone tried to hurt us, =Watch would take care of us. He would do more than growl. But after this, we must not let =Benny go into the woods alone." A Swimming Pool at Last The boxcar children were so tired that they slept until ten o'clock Sunday morning. When they woke up at last, they hurried through breakfast and went to work on the swimming pool. "We'll make a dam across the brook," said =Henry. "Here is my cart," said =Benny. "I'll cart stones and logs in it." "Good for you," laughed =Henry. First the four children went down the brook to look at the pool =Jessie had seen. The water was quiet here, and there was clean sand all around the little pool. "It's big enough for a swimming pool," =Henry remarked, "but I don't think it's deep enough." Fun in the Cherry Orchard The next morning =Henry thought and thought about taking the other children to pick cherries with him. At last he told his sisters about it as they ate bread and milk for breakfast. "Dr =Moore said he wanted more children to help. Do you think all of us ought to go, =Jessie?" "Well," said =Jessie, "I don't know. You see, there are four of us. If Grandfather is looking for us, it would be easier to see four than one." "Yes, that's so," answered =Henry. "But we can go down the hill and through the streets two by two. I'll take =Benny and go ahead. Then in a little while you and =Violet can come with the dog." =Henry and the Free-for-all =JamesHenryAlden was a very rich man. His big mills stood just between =Greenfield and =Silver City. Now =JHAlden liked boys. He liked to see them running and jumping and playing. So each year, with three other rich men, he gave a Field Day to the town of =Silver City. And even the mills were closed on Field Day. Every year the boys were in training for the races. And not only boys, but men also, thin and fat, and girls trained for Field Day. The Doctor Takes a Hand The days went by happily for the boxcar children. They found more treasures in the dump, and =Henry worked every day for Dr =Moore. One noon =Henry came home with some new stockings for =Benny. =Benny was very happy about them and made everyone admire them. And when =Jessie looked at the new stockings, she had a happy thought. She carefully washed =Benny's old stockings and hung them up to dry. That afternoon she and =Violet sat down, with the workbag between them, to make a bear for =Benny. =JamesHenry and =HenryJames Dr =Moore went to get his mother. "Mother," he said, "this is Mr =JamesHenryAlden. He wants to take his grandchildren to live with him." "I'm afraid they won't want to go with you," said Mrs =Moore, " until they learn to like you. And they won't want to go while =Violet is so sick." "Can't I see them," begged Mr =Alden? "I won't tell them who I am." "That would help," agreed the doctor. "If they grow to like you before they know who you are, things will be easier."