nellie chip-chip, the little sparrow girl, flew along over the trees after school was out, with a box of chocolate under her wing. and under her other wing was a purse, with some money in it that rattled like sleigh bells.

“what are you going to do with that chocolate?” asked bully no-tail, the frog boy, as he and his brother, who were hopping to a ball game, happened to see nellie.

“oh, i guess she’s going to eat it,” said bawly. “if you want us to help you, we will, won’t we, bully?” he added.

“sure,” said bully, hungry like.

“oh, indeed, that’s very kind of you boys,” replied nellie, politely, “but you see i’m not eating this chocolate. i am selling it for our school. we want to get some nice pictures to put in the rooms, and so i’m trying to help get the money to buy them by selling cakes of chocolate.”

“ha! that’s a good idea,” said bully. “say, nellie, if you go to our house maybe our mamma will buy some chocolate.”

“i’ll fly right over there,” declared the little sparrow girl, “for i want very much to sell my chocolate, and, so far, very few persons have bought any of me.”

“i guess our mamma will,” said bawly, and, then when nellie had flown on with her chocolate, bawly winked both his eyes and spoke thusly: “say, bully, if mamma buys the chocolate from nellie i guess she’ll give us some.”

“i hope so,” replied his brother, and then they went on to the ball game and had a good time. well, as i was telling you, nellie flew over to mrs. no-tail’s house, and knocked at the door with her little bill.

“don’t you want to buy some chocolate so i can make money to get pictures for our school?” the sparrow girl politely asked.

“indeed i do,” replied mrs. no-tail. “i just need some chocolate for a cake i’m baking. and if you would like to come in, and help me make the cake, and put the chocolate on, i’ll give you some, and you can take a piece home to dickie.”

“indeed, i’ll be very glad to help,” said nellie, so she went in the house, and mrs. no-tail paid her for some of the chocolate, and then nellie took off her hat, and put on an apron, and she helped make the cake.

oh, it was a most delicious one! with about forty-’leven layers, and chocolate between each one, and then on top! oh, it just makes me hungry even to typewrite about it! why the chocolate on top of that cake was as thick as a board, and then on top of the chocolate was sprinkled cocoanut until you would have thought there had been a snow storm! talk about a delicious cake! oh, dear me! well, i just don’t dare write any more about it, for it makes me so impatient.

“now,” said mrs. no-tail, after the baking was over, “we’ll just set the cake on the table by the open window to cool, nellie, and we’ll wash up the dishes.”

so they were working away, talking of different things, and nellie was a great help to mrs. no-tail. every once in a while, however, nellie would look over to the cake, because it was so nice she just couldn’t keep her eyes away from it. she was just wishing it was time for her to have some to take home, but it wasn’t, quite yet.

well, all of a sudden, when nellie looked over for about the twenty-two-thirteenth time, she saw that all the chocolate was gone from the top of the cake. all the chocolate and the cocoanut was missing.

“oh! oh!” cried the little sparrow girl.

“what’s the matter?” asked mrs. no-tail quickly.

“look!” exclaimed nellie, pointing to the cake.

“well, of all things!” cried mrs. no-tail. “that chocolate must have disappeared. it must have gone up like a balloon. i will have to buy some more of you, and put that on.” then she went over and looked at the cake, and she wondered at the queer scratches in the top, just as if a cat had clawed off the chocolate. but there were no cats around.

so mrs. no-tail and nellie put more chocolate and cocoanut on the cake, and they went on washing up the dishes, and pretty soon, not so very long, in a little while nellie looked at the cake again. and, would you believe me, the chocolate was all off once more.

“this is very strange,” said mrs. no-tail. “that must be queer chocolate to disappear that way. perhaps a fairy is taking it.”

“maybe bully and bawly are doing it for a joke,” said nellie. so she and mrs. no-tail looked from the window but they could see no one, not even a fairy, and, anyhow, mrs. no-tail knew the boys wouldn’t be so impolite as to do such a thing.

“it is very strange,” said the frog boys’ mamma. “but we will put the chocolate and cocoanut on once more, and then we’ll watch to see who takes it.”

so they did, making the cake even better than before. oh, with such thick chocolate and cocoanut on! and then they hid down behind the stove, and watched the window.

pretty soon a big, shaggy paw, with long, sharp claws on it, was put in the open window, and the paw went right on top of the cake, and scraped off some of the chocolate and cocoanut.

“ah! yum-yum! that is most delicious!” exclaimed a grumbling, rumbling voice, and the paw, all covered with the cake chocolate, just as a lollypop stick is covered with candy, went out of the window, and the paw was all cleaned off somehow, when it came back again. more chocolate was then scraped off the cake by those sharp claws.

“oh, ho! this is simply scrumptious!” went on the voice, as the paw was pulled back. then a third time it came, and scraped off what was left of the chocolate and cocoanut.

“oh, how perfectly delightful and proper this sweet stuff is!” cried the voice. “i wish there was more!”

then a great, big, shaggy, ugly bear, the same one that once chased nannie goat, stuck his head in the window.

“oh, did you scrape the chocolate off my cake?” asked mrs. no-tail.

“i did,” the bear said, “have you any more?”

“no, indeed,” she answered. “but you are a bold, bad creature, and if you don’t get away from here i’ll have you arrested.”

“i am not a bit afraid,” answered the bear impolitely, “and as there is no more chocolate i’ll take the cake.”

well, he was just reaching for it with his sharp clawy-paws, and mrs. no-tail and nellie were very much frightened, fearing the beast would get them. but just then a man’s voice cried out:

“ah, ha! you bad animal! so i’ve caught you, have i? and you are up to your tricks as usual! now you come with me!” and who should appear but the man from the animal park where the bear once lived. and he had a whip and a rope, and he tied the rope around the bear’s neck and whipped him for being so bad, and took him back to his cage. and mrs. no-tail and nellie were very glad. and i guess you’d be also. eh?

there was some chocolate left, and some cocoanut, and soon the cake was even better than before, and nellie had sold all her chocolate to mrs. no-tail, and she could buy lots of pictures for the school. and nellie took home a big piece of the cake for dickie, her brother, and of course some for herself. so it all came out right after all, and that bear was very sorry for what he did.

now, in the story after this one, if the fish we’re going to have for supper doesn’t swim away with my new soft hat and get it all wet, i’ll tell you about bully no-tail and alice wibblewobble.