“We’re coming, Sue!  We’re coming!” cried Bunny.  “Don’t be afraid!”

“We’ll get you out!” added Charlie.

The brook that ran back of the Brown house was rather deep in places, and some of these places were near shore where the bank went steeply down into the water.  It was at one of these places that Sue had fallen in.

The little girl had been looking for “sweet-flag.”  This is the root of a plant something like the cat-tail in looks—­that is, it has the same kind of long, narrow ribbon-like leaves.

But while the root of the sweet-flag is pleasant to gnaw, though a trifle smarty, the root of the cat-tail is of no use—­that is, as far as Sue could tell.  She wanted some sweet-flag, but not cat-tail root, and to find out which was right she had to pull up many of the long, green streamers.  If Sue had known how to tell the difference otherwise it would have been easier.

It was in bending over to pull up some of the flag roots that she had leaned too far, and suddenly she found herself in the water.  She had slipped off the muddy bank at a place where it was steep and the water was deep.

Luckily Sue had slipped in feet first, and now she was standing in water over her waist, yelling for Bunny to come and help her.

Breathless, the two boys reached the little girl.  They could see then, that she was in no special danger, since the water was not over her head.  If Sue had fallen in head first instead of feet first that would have been sadly different.

“Come on out!  Come on out!” cried Bunny, reaching his hand toward his sister.

“I—­I can’t!” she answered.

“Why not?” Charlie asked.

“’Cause I’m stuck.  I’m stuck in the mud!” Sue answered.

“Oh!” exclaimed Bunny.  “Then we have to pull you out!”

“That’s right!” said Charlie Star.  “I’ll help!”

“Look out you don’t fall in yourselves!” warned Sue, as they held out their hands to her.  “It’s awful slippery!”

And the bank was, as Charlie and Bunny soon found, for Charlie nearly slid in as Sue had done and Bunny almost followed.  But by digging their heels in the slippery mud they held on and soon they had pulled Sue out of the hole.

But, oh, in what a sad plight was the little girl!

She was soaking wet to a line above her waist, and she was splashed with water above that, some mud spots being on her face, one on the end of her nose making her appear rather odd.  Her shoes and stockings were covered with black, mucky mud.

“Oh!  Oh, dear!” exclaimed Sue, looking down at her legs, and began to cry.

“Don’t cry!” advised Charlie.

“I—­I can’t help it!” wailed Sue.  “And there’s something on my nose, too!”

“It’s only a blob of mud,” said Bunny.  “I’ll wipe it off,” and he did, very kindly.

“Look—­look at my shoo-shooes!” sobbed Sue.

“Splash ’em in the water,” advised Charlie.  “Sit down on the bank, Sue, and splash your feet in the water.”