"Yes, he was," Laddie went on. "First I thought it was a cat, but when I saw him hang by his tail I knew it wasn't a cat." "Oh, we're finding lots of things!" cried Rose. "I found a pocketbook, and now Laddie finds a monkey." "And I'm going to keep it and get a hand-organ and then I'm going around and take in pennies," said the little boy, on whose shoulder the monkey was still perched, looking here and there at the other children, and wrinkling up his funny black face. "I know where it came from," said Russ, after thinking a moment. "Where?" asked Vi. "Do you mean out of a circus?" "No," answered Russ. "But it must have got away from a hand-organ man." "I think that's just what happened," said Aunt Jo. "Hand-organ men, with monkeys fast to the ends of long strings, often come up this way, and play what they call music, and they let the funny little animals go after the pennies. One of these Italians must have been around here with his music-machine, and his monkey must have run away from him and hidden up in a tree where you saw him, Laddie." "But I found him, and he's mine. I want to keep him," said the little boy. "He's awful soft and fuzzy, and he likes me." Indeed the monkey was a nice, clean little chap, and he seemed to like Laddie. And he seemed to like to have the other children pet him, also. He wore a funny little red jacket and a green cap, and every now and then he would take off his cap and hold it out, as he had been taught to do, for pennies. Mun Bun, who had been afraid the monkey would wind its long tail around him, came out from behind his mother's skirts, and even dared to pet Laddie's "riddle," as they called it. "He's awful nice!" said Mun Bun. "He'd make a lovely doll," observed Rose. "I wish I had a doll that was alive." "I'll let you play with him sometimes," promised Laddie. "I'm going to call him. 'Peanuts' 'cause he likes 'em so." "Well, that would be a nice name for a monkey," said Mrs. Bunker. "But don't get your heart set on keeping this one, Laddie." "Why not, Mother? Can't I have him?" "I'm afraid not. In the first place Aunt Jo has no place in her Boston home for a monkey, and, in the second place, Alexis, the big dog, might bark at Peanuts and scare him." Alexis was not there just then, or he would have seen the monkey, and surely would have barked, as he always did when he saw anything new or strange. "Another reason why you can't keep him," said Mother Bunker, "is that the Italian hand-organ grinder will want his monkey himself. That is how he makes his living--by having the monkey collect pennies for him." "But can I keep him until the organ man comes?" asked Laddie, as he cuddled his "riddle" in his arms. "Oh, yes, I guess you can keep him until then," said Mrs. Bunker. "We couldn't turn the poor little monkey loose, anyhow, or dogs would chase him. We'll see what your father says when he comes home."