they had to stay in after school.

Now, please don't get worried, nor think anything bad of them on
that account. They did not have to stay in because they whispered in
class, or anything like that. No, they stayed in to help their
teacher clean off the blackboards, but when they got out all the
other animal children were gone.

"Come on, let's run," suggested Flop, "and maybe we can catch up to
them."

"I wish we could!" exclaimed Curly, "for Jackie Bow Wow, the puppy
dog, borrowed my pencil and forgot to give it back."

So the two piggie boys ran as fast as they could, but they could see
nothing of the other animal children--not even little Jennie
Chipmunk, who could not go very fast, for every time she saw any
dust on a stone or a tree stump she used to stop and brush it off
with her tail. She was so neat and clean, you see, and as she had to
stop quite often, on account of there being so much dust, she
couldn't go fast at all.

But, as I said, Curly and Flop couldn't even catch up to her, which
shows you that they had stayed in after school for quite some time.

"Oh! they'll all be home long before us," said Curly after a bit,
sitting down on a stone to rest.

"I guess so," agreed his brother, as he made his two ears stand up
straight and then flop down again. "But never mind, I think you can