“They sure will have fun out there!” said Adam. “Do you really mean it?” asked Russ. “Are we going?” “Surely,” said his father. “Farmer Joel’s sister, who has been keeping house for him, is going away on a visit. When he told me this he said he didn’t know what he was going to do, as he didn’t want a strange woman coming in to look after the place. Then I said I would bring my six little Bunkers up there and they would keep house for him.” “Did you really say that, Daddy?” Rose asked eagerly. “I surely did.” “Well, I can keep house a little bit,” Rose went on. “But to cook for a farmer——” Rose began to look worried, so her mother said: “You won’t have to do it all alone. I am going with you, and so is Norah, and we’ll see that Farmer Joel doesn’t get hungry.” “Oh, if mother is coming it will be all right,” said Violet. “Fine! Yes!” cried the other little Bunkers. You can see they thought a great deal of their mother. “So that is how it came about,” went on Mr. Bunker. “Farmer Joel’s sister is going away on a long visit—to remain all summer. We are going up there to live on his farm.” “And can I help get in the crops?” asked Russ, who liked to be busy. “Yes, we’ll all help,” his father promised. “I think you need a lot of help on a farm in summer, don’t you, Adam?” he asked. “That’s right,” answered Farmer Joel’s hired man. “The more help we have the better. I’m pretty well rushed myself in the summer.” “And can we see the horses?” asked Violet. “And the cows?” came from Laddie. “And the sheep?” Mun Bun wanted to know. “And the apple trees?” asked Margy. “I’d like to see the bees make honey,” remarked Rose, who, herself, was often as busy as any bee. “You shall see everything there is to see,” promised Daddy Bunker. “There! Now you know the secret. We are going off to Farmer Joel’s for the summer, and I think we shall have a fine time. Now eat your suppers!” And the six little Bunkers did. After supper there was more talk about going to the farm, and Mr. Bunker said: “I have been talking with Adam, and this seems the best way to go. Cedarhurst, where Farmer Joel lives, is about forty miles from here. It is not on any railroad, so we shall need to go in the automobile. As our car is hardly large enough to take us all and the trunks we shall need this is what we can do. “Adam and I will ride to Cedarhurst in the big auto truck that brought the flowers. In that we can also take the baggage—the trunks of clothes and the like. The children can also ride in the truck with me. We’ll fill it full of straw.” “Oh, that will be fun!” cried Russ. “A regular straw ride!” added Rose. “But what about mother?” asked Violet. “Is she going in the truck with us?” “Your mother and Norah will drive up in our own touring car,” said Mr. Bunker. “When can we go?” asked Russ. “In a few days,” his father answered. “Then I won’t bother to make the seesaw here,” went on Russ. “I’ll save the nails and take them to Farmer Joel’s.”