CHAPTER XVI
ROSY POSY'S CHOICE
It was time to decide the momentous question of where the next Ourdayshould be spent.
Already it was Wednesday, and on Saturday the Maynards would have theirNovember Ourday. It was Rosy Posy's turn to choose, but as herselections were usually either vague or impossible, the other childrenwere not backward in offering suggestions to help the little one out.
This time, however, Rosamond was quite positive in her opinion.
When her father asked her where she wanted to go for a day's outing, sheat once responded, "To Bongzoo."
"To Bongzoo!" exclaimed Mr. Maynard. "Where in the world is that? Orwhat is it? It sounds as though it might be either French or Choctaw."
"Ess," said Rosy Posy, "we'll all go to Bongzoo; me an' muvver, an' allof us, an' Daddy, too."
"And how do we get there, Baby? Walk, ride, or swim?"
"I don' know," said Rosy Posy. "But Marjorie knows. She told me to say'Go to Bongzoo,' so I said it."
Then the laugh was on Marjorie.
"Oho!" said Mr. Maynard. "So Mopsy's been electioneering all right. Outwith it, Midge. What does Baby mean by Bongzoo?"
"She means the Bronx Zoo," said Marjorie. "I thought we'd all like tosee the animals there. But it isn't my turn to choose, so I told RosyPosy to choose that."
"An' I do!" declared the child, stoutly. "I choose Bongzoo, an' I wantsto go there."
"I think it's a fine place to go," said Mr. Maynard. "What made youthink of it, Midge?"
"One of the girls at school went there some time ago, and she told usall about it; and, oh, Father, it's beautiful! All lions and tigers andwaterlilies and Florida trees!"
"I doubt if the waterlilies are in bloom just now, but I'm sure thetigers are flourishing. Well, I'm for the Zoo. Will you go, Mother?"
"Yes, indeed," said Mrs. Maynard; "I don't want to miss such afine-sounding Ourday as that."
"I think it's great!" declared King. "Bob Carson says the birds arewonderful, and the alligators walk around on the grass."
"Oh!" cried Kitty, "then I don't want to go. I wouldn't meet analligator for anything!"
"They have their own grass plat, Kitsie," said her father. "They don'ttrespass on the grass reserved for visitors."
So the Ourday was unanimously settled, and, as that sort of a tripinvolved little preparation, there was nothing to do but hope forpleasant weather.
"Though if it rains," said Marjorie, comfortably, "Father will fix upsomething nice for us in the house."
But Saturday turned out to be a lovely day, and the Maynard family tookan early train for New York City, in order to make their stay at the Zooas long as possible.
They did not invite any other guests, as Mr. and Mrs. Maynard thoughttheir own four children responsibility enough.
The young people greatly enjoyed the journey in the train, and acrossthe ferry, and then Rosy Posy asked that they might go in what shecalled the "Cellarway." She meant the Subway, and, as this was a quickway to reach Bronx Park, Mr. Maynard consented. The children were ofenthusiastic natures, and inclined to be conversational, but the noiseof the Subway trains drowned their voices, and, for once, they wereobliged to be silent. But when they reached their destination, andentered the beautiful park, their tongues were loosed again, and theykept up a running fire of chatter.
Rosy Posy trotted along by her mother's side, King and Kitty walkedtogether, and Midget pretended to walk by her father's side, but reallydanced back and forth from one to another. They visited the BotanicalPark first, and as the early November day was clear and cold, they werenot sorry to step into the warm greenhouses.
Marjorie specially liked the great jungles of Florida and othersouthern vegetation. The banyan trees and giant palms reached up to thehigh ceiling, and the luxuriant foliage and brilliant blossoms madenorthern plants seem dwarfed beside them. It was an instructiveexperience, as well as an entertaining one, for Mr. Maynard called thechildren's attention to the printed names on the plants, and, thoughthey could not remember all of them, they learned a great many.
"It's fun to study botany this way," said Marjorie, as her father showedher the strange Mexican cacti, and told her about the deserts where theygrow.
King nearly scared Kitty out of her wits by pretending there was a greatsnake writhing among the dark-leaved reeds, but almost immediately shediscovered it was only a rubber hose, and she laughed with the rest.
There were many greenhouses, but after they had been through most ofthem, Mr. Maynard proposed that they have an early luncheon, and then goto see the animals.
So they went to the picturesque restaurant, and the six travellerssuddenly discovered they were both tired and hungry.
"But an hour's rest and some good food will make us all over anew," saidMr. Maynard, "and then we'll be quite ready to call on the lions and thetigers."
"Is this Bongzoo?" asked Rosy Posy, after she had been comfortablyplaced in a high chair almost like her own at home.
"Well, this is the place where they feed the animals," said her father,"and as you're a little kitten, I suppose you'll have some milk?"
"Milk, an' meat, an' 'tatoes, an' pie, an' evvyfing," announced RosyPosy, folding her chubby hands to await contentedly the filling of hercomprehensive order.
Being an Ourday the children were allowed to select whatever they chosefrom the _menu_, their parents, however, reserving the right of veto.
"I want roast beef," said Kitty, after scanning the more elaborate, butunfamiliar, names.
"Oh, pshaw, Kit," said her brother, "you can have that at home! Whydon't you take something different? It's more of a treat. I chooseSupreme of Chicken."
"I don't like soup," said Kitty, innocently, and then they all laughed.
"I think I'll have lobster salad," announced Marjorie, after long study.
"I think you won't," said her father, promptly. "Nobody's to be ill thisafternoon, and that's a risky dish for little folks. Try again, sister."
Marjorie cheerfully made another perusal of the bill of fare, and atlast declared in favor of chicken hash.
This was willingly allowed, and when Kitty decided on an omelette withjelly, her choice was also commended. Mrs. Maynard added a few wiseselections, which were for the good of all concerned, and each chose afavorite ice-cream.
"Oh, what a good time we're having!" said Marjorie. "I do love to eat ata restaurant."
"It is pleasant once in a while," said her father. "But for daily food,give me my own family table."
"Yes, indeed," agreed Marjorie; "I wouldn't like to _live_ in arestaurant."
After luncheon they visited the great "rocking-stone." The immenserock, weighing many tons, was poised on a tiny base, and it almostseemed as if Rosy Posy might push it over, so unstable did it look.
But indeed she couldn't, nor any of the others, though it was said thata pressure of fifty pounds could make the great stone rock on its base.
"And now," said Mr. Maynard, "we're really getting into the Zoo part ofour day. This, Rosy Posy, is your Bongzoo, and first of all here are thebears."
Delightedly all the children viewed the bears. The great creaturesseemed so mild and gentle, and played with one another in such kittenishfashion, that even Rosy Posy felt no fear of them. There were variousspecies, from the big grizzlies to the little brown cinnamon bears, andall waddled about in a state of comfortable fatness, or lay in the sunand slept peacefully.
The lions and tigers were far less placid. They stalked up and downtheir small cages, and now and then growled or roared as if very wearyof their long and solitary confinement.
"He wants to come out," said Rosy Posy, of a particularly big andferocious-looking lion. "Let him out, Father, he wants to play wiv us."
"Oh! I think I'd better not, Baby. He might run away and forget to comeback."
"No," insisted the child; "I'll put my arms round him, an' make him staywiv me."
"We won't have time now, Rosy Posy," said King. "W
e're going on now tosee the panthers and wolves. Come along with brother."
So the child slipped her little hand in King's, and they led the familyprocession for a while.
The monkeys were a great source of amusement, and Rosy Posy thought someof the chimpanzees were little old men, they chattered so glibly.
But the birds proved a delight to all.
"Oh!" cried Marjorie. "Will you look at those red and blue parrots!"
"Parrakeets," corrected Mr. Maynard. "And fine ones, too. And howbeautiful are the white ones with yellow topknots."
They studied, with some care, the names and homes of the birds, andlearned to distinguish the toucans and orioles and other beautiful,bright-colored species.
Then on to the big, wise-eyed owls, who blinked and winked at them in asleepy sort of a way.
The eagles came next, and all were proud of the National bird, as theyviewed the fine specimens on exhibition. The bald eagle and the whiteeagle were favorites, and the vultures and condors were disliked by all.
An interesting structure was an immense cage, which was larger than anyhouse, and entirely open to view. They walked round all four sides ofit, and were enchanted with its beautiful occupants pants. Storks andflamingoes stood about, on one leg, motionless, as if absorbed in deepcontemplation. Pelicans, with their strange bills, and ducks of mostbrilliant plumage waddled around and seemed to be entirely interested intheir eager audience.
In another enclosure, cranes and adjutant birds flapped their greatwings, and made long, hopping jumps, and then stood still, as if posingfor their pictures.
Marjorie proved herself specially quick in picking out each bird, fromits descriptive placard, and she learned the names, both English andLatin, of many of them.
"You don't mind going to school this way, do you. Midget?" asked herfather.
"Not a bit! I love it. If I could learn all my lessons out of doors, andwith you to help teach me, I'd be willing to study all the time."
"Well, we must come here again some day," said Mr. Maynard, "and see ifyou remember all these jawbreaker names. Now, let's visit the beavers."
The beaver pond was a strange sight, indeed. Originally there had beenmany tall trees standing in the swampy enclosure, but now nearly all ofthem lay flat in the water. The little busy beavers had gnawed aroundand into the trunks, near the ground, until the tree toppled and fellover.
"Why do they do it, Father?" asked King, greatly interested.
"They want to make bridges across the water," answered Mr. Maynard. "Itshows a wonderful sagacity, for they gnaw the trunk of the tree, atfirst such a place, and in just such a way, that the tree will fallexactly in the direction they want it to."
"They must scamper to get out of the way when a tree is about to fall,"observed Mrs. Maynard.
"Indeed, they do," said her husband. "They are very clever, and mostpatient and untiring workers. See, the trunks they have gnawed have beenprotected by wire netting that visitors may see them. And some of thestanding trees are protected near the ground by wire netting that theymay not be upset at present."
"Now I know my beaver lesson," said Marjorie; "let's go on. Father, Ithink I'll change that piece I spoke in school to 'How doth the busylittle beaver,' instead of bee!"
"They're equally busy creatures, my dear. You may take a lesson fromeither or both."
"No, thank you. I don't want to work _all_ the time. I'll be a butterflysometimes, 'specially on Ourdays."
Marjorie jumped and fluttered about more like a grasshopper thananything else, and, swinging by her father's hand, they passed on to thedeer ranges.
Here were all sorts of deer, and the gentle, timid-eyed creatures cametamely to the railings or nettings and made friends with the visitors.
"It would be fun to feed them," said Mr. Maynard, "but it's strictlyforbidden, so we can only talk to them, and hope that they understand.And now, my infants, the sun is travelling homeward, and I think we'lltake our next lesson from him. Would you rather have some sandwiches andice-cream now, or wait until you get home, to refresh yourselves?"
"Now, now, now!" chorused the whole party.
"Do you know, I thought you'd say that," said Mr. Maynard. "So supposewe go into this pleasant-looking tea-room, and have a social hour."
"This makes twice for ice-cream, to-day," observed Kitty, as shelovingly ate her favorite dainty. "And do we have it to-night fordinner, Mother?"
"Of course. Always on an Ourday night."
"Oh, how lovely! Three times in one day."
"Kitty," said her mother, smiling, "I believe your highest ambition isice-cream."
"Yes, it is," said Kitty, complacently; "or else huckleberry pie."
After the ice-cream, there was the trip home. But the children were nottired, and enjoyed thoroughly the ride, which was more of a treat tothem than to their parents.
The Subway was fun, the ferryboat ride a delight, and after they were inthe train on the New Jersey side, they coaxed the conductor to turn twoseats to face each other. Then the quartette occupied these, andchattered gaily over the events of the day.
"Isn't it lovely," said Marjorie, as they at last entered their ownfront door, "to think we've had such a good time, and yet Ourday isn'tover yet?"
"I know it," said Kitty. "And 'tis specially lovely for me, 'cause I canstay up to dinner, and dress up, and everything."
Ourdays always wound up with an extra good dinner, and a touch of galacostume in honor of the occasion. Then after dinner the evening wasdevoted to games or stories or fun of some sort, in which Mr. Maynardwas the ringleader. Other evenings he was not to be disturbed, unless hechose, but Ourday evenings he belonged to the children, and willinglydid whatever they asked him to.
But at nine o'clock the Ourday was over, and the children trooped off tobed, invariably repeating the same old story, "Now this has _really_been the very best Ourday we _ever_ had!"