“Yep.  You guess first, Sue.  What do you say the tent is for?”

Sue thought for half a minute, shutting her brown eyes and wrinkling up her little nose.  She was thinking very hard.

“I—­I guess the tent is for a house for our dog Splash,” she said, after a bit.  “Is it, Daddy?”

“No,” and Mr. Brown shook his head.  “It’s your turn, Bunny.”

Bunny looked up at the ceiling.  Then he said: 

“I guess grandpa’s tent is going to be for us to play in when it rains.  Is it, Daddy?”

“Well, that’s pretty nearly right,” Mr. Brown answered.  “And now sit quiet and I’ll tell you the surprise.”

But before I let Mr. Brown tell the children the secret, I just want to say a few words to the boys and girls who are reading this as their first book of the Bunny and Sue series.  There are four other books that come ahead of this, and I’ll tell you their names so you may read them, and find out all about Bunny and Sue.

Of course those of you who have read the first, and all the other books in the series, do not need to stop to read this.  You have already been introduced to the Brown children.  But to those who have not, I would say that Bunny Brown and his sister Sue lived with their father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown, in the town of Bellemere, which was on Sandport Bay, near the ocean.

Mr. Brown was in the boat business—­that is, he hired out boats to fishermen and others who wanted to go on the ocean or bay, sailing, rowing or in motor boats.  Mr. Brown had men to help him, and also several big boys, almost as large as men.  One of these last was Bunker Blue, a red-haired, good-natured lad, who was very fond of the two children.

In the first book of the series, named “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue,” I told you the story of the little boy and girl, and what fun they had getting up a Punch and Judy show, and finding Aunt Lu’s diamond ring in the queerest way.  In the second book, “Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue on Grandpa’s Farm,” I told you how they went off to the country, in a great big moving van automobile, fitted up like a little house, in which they could eat and sleep.

Bunker Blue went with them to steer the automobile, and they also took along the children’s dog, Splash, who was named that because he once splashed in the water and pulled out Sue.  On Grandpa’s farm Bunny and Sue had lots of fun.  They got up a little show, which they held in the barn.

After the little show had been given, Bunker Blue, and some larger boys, thought they could get up a sort of circus.  They did, holding it in two tents, a big one and a smaller one.  The smaller tent belonged to Grandpa Brown, when he was in the army.  And it was this tent that had just come by express to the Brown home in Bellemere.

“Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue Playing Circus” is the name of the third book, and in that you may read all about the show that Bunny and Sue took part in—­how the tents were washed away, how Ben Hall did his queer tricks, and what happened to him after that.