there was great excitement in the duck pen. and the reason for it was that lulu and alice were going to have a party. it was the first party they had ever had, and it was on their birthday. you see, it was this way: lulu and alice both had the same birthday; that is, they, were twins. jimmie was a day older than they were, and he wasn't a twin. there, now i've explained it all to you, and i'll get on with the story.

well, mamma wibblewobble arranged for the party. she did all the baking and got the ice cream ready and made the pies and tarts, and alice and lulu sent out the invitations. they were written on nice little pieces of white birch bark that johnnie and billie bushytail gnawed off the trees for the little duck girls.

of course, johnnie and billie were invited, and so was sammie littletail, and susie and sister sallie, and mr. and mrs. bushytail, and mr. and mrs. littletail, and uncle wiggily longears, and nurse jane fuzzy-wuzzy, and grandfather goosey-gander, and bully, the frog, and the goldfish, and, let me see, who else? oh, of course, the fairy prince. alice would not have had him left out for anything.

alice and lulu had their best hair ribbons on and their new dresses, and were all dressed up for the party nearly an hour before it was time. jimmie got ready, too. that is, he put on a clean collar and a new, red necktie, and he looked very nice. but he really didn't care much about the party. he said he and the boys would go off by themselves and talk about baseball.

"no," said his mother, "you must not do that. i want you and the boys to entertain the little girls. be nice, now, jimmie."

so jimmie said he would, and pretty soon the company began to come. bully, the frog, hopped along first, and right after him came grandfather goosey-gander, and, would you believe me, he never said a word about jimmie breaking his window that time.

"we are very glad to see you," said alice and lulu, as they stood at the front door to receive their friends. aunt lettie, the nice old lady goat, was also there, and as the guests came up, she called out:

"now, girls, walk right in the bedroom and put your things on the bed. you boys take your things in jimmie's room." oh, it was a real party, let me tell you.

uncle wiggily was the last to arrive, and you know why that was. it was because his rheumatism hurt him so. but he finally got there, and then the party was complete; that is, all but the fairy prince, and even the goldfish didn't know what had become of him.

first the boys all stayed on one side of the room and the girls on the other, but when alice said, "let's play spin the platter," they all cried out, "oh, yes, let's do it." and they used one of mamma wibblewobble's dishes for the platter, and didn't break it a bit. jimmie was "it" part of the time, and so was johnnie bushytail.

"now let's play going to jerusalem," proposed lulu, and they did, grandfather goosey-gander whistling through his bill, just like a fife, to make the music. then they played blind-duck-bluff, and post-office and clap-in clap-out, and forfeits and, oh, such lots of games that i can hardly remember them. oh, yes, there was one more, puss in the corner, and whom do you suppose was the puss? why the little kittie; lulu's little kittie, you know, that aunt lettie thought had come from the pussy-willows.

"when are we going to eat?" asked bushytail, after a while, and he spoke out loud.

"hush!" cried sister sallie. "you mustn't ask that, billie; it isn't polite!"

"well, i wanted to know," said the little boy squirrel.

"bless your heart!" exclaimed aunt lettie. "of course you do. it must be time to serve the refreshments. i'll go ask mrs. wibblewobble."

"i don't want refreshments," objected billie, in a whisper to sister sallie. "i'm hungry, and i want something to eat!"

"hush!" cried his little sister again. "refreshments are good things to eat!"

"oh," said billie, and just then in came mamma wibblewobble and aunt lettie and mrs. bushytail and mrs. littletail and nurse jane fuzzy-wuzzy, all of whom helped serve the good things to eat.

oh, what a lot of refreshments there were, including maple sugar, hickorynut ice cream and chocolate-covered carrots, and cornmeal made into little balls with cocoanut marshmallow on the outside, and candied cabbage leaves, and water-cress flavored with spearmint, and the land knows what!

well, those children at alice's and lulu's party ate so much it's a wonder that they ever got home. they had a lovely time, though alice felt disappointed because the fairy prince didn't come, and everyone wished alice and lulu many happy returns, and bully, the frog, said:

"when you have a party, jimmie, i'm coming to that, too."

"sure," answered jimmie. "i'll have one next week, if mamma will let me," for you see he found he liked parties better than he thought he would.

well, they played some more games, including one called hide the peanut, and then it was time to go home; and now comes the queer part of it. just as they were all saying good-night, and uncle wiggily was looking for his crutch, there sounded out in the woods three blasts from a silver trumpet. "ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!"

you know, just like when the procession starts in a circus, and who should come riding up to the ducks' house but a little boy, all dressed in silver and gold, with a long white plume in his hat and he was on a white horse. once more the trumpet sounded, and the boy called out:

"am i too late for the party?"

"yes, you are," said uncle wiggily, leaning on his crutch, which he found behind the door. "but who are you?"

"me? i am the fairy prince!" cried the boy, and the trumpets blew again.

"what? not the mud turtle fairy prince?" asked alice, fanning herself, so she wouldn't faint.

"the very same," answered the boy. "i got tired of being a mud turtle, but i am still a fairy prince!"

"i don't believe it!" exclaimed uncle wiggily. "you are only a little boy on a horse, and not a fairy prince at all!"

"wait, and you shall see!" cried the boy, waving his hand, and the silver trumpet blew again, "ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" and the horse reared up on his hind legs. "i certainly am the fairy prince, and to prove it i will do something wonderful. come to the woods to-morrow, uncle wiggily longears, and see!"

"what will i see?" asked uncle wiggily.

"you will see a red fairy," answered the boy who used to be mud turtle, "and the red fairy will do something wonderful for you."

"oh!" cried uncle wiggily, "i don't believe in fairies!"

but, all the same, he had to, after what happened, for he went back to the woods, and met a red fairy, and the red fairy stopped uncle wiggily's rheumatism for a time, as you can find out by reading the first book of this series, entitled "sammie and susie littletail," which tells a lot about two little rabbit children and their friends, as well as about uncle wiggily longears.

now i've reached the end of this story, but there's another one for to-morrow night, in case you don't hit anybody with your bean shooter, and it's going to be about lulu and the golden fairy.