ROUGHETY RAGS GOES VISITING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 3 (Supplement)

ROUGHETY RAGS GOES VISITING.

Roughety Rags felt very excited. Only ten more minutes to .wait, he thought. If Margaret didn't begin to get ready she'd keep father waiting, which was what he hated more than anything else; and it wouldn't be nearly so much fun going out with an angry man, because ho'd be annoyed if you ran through hedges, and stopped to investigate interesting ditches. Of course he couldn't be expected to realise that -hedges and ditches wero really for the very purpose of amusing puppies like Rag 3. Plain roads wouldn't be half as exciting.

Roughety Rags decided that he'd better remind Margaret about the visit. It would be dreadful if she forgot, 'specially after Linda had asked her particularly to bring "her darling little puppy." She was probably playing house again with that stupid Louise, who always mads her forget the things that really mattered, such as playing with Roughety Rags, or taking him for walks. He heard mother's voice from the play room: "Hurry up, Margaret," she was saying; "all you have to do now is change your shoes. Don't let Roughety dirty them with his paws, will you? And when you reach Linda's place, remember that he's not to go inside- the house unless 6he says he may. Can you button thera yourself? Now, run along and don't keep daddy waiting."

A few minutes later, the three of them were on the way to visit. Linda.

"Isn't it lovely, Daddy," said Margaret, "being allowed to take Roughety, too? I'm sure it will be the nicest party I've ever been to."

"I'm sure it will. Mind you both behave nicely. Is Linda going to have Peter the cat there and all her white rabbits 1"

Margaret wasn't quite sure whether or not Peter would be there, because he often went to play with one of his catfriends but she knew the bunnies were going to be asked, because Linda had promised to show them to her.

Roughety Bags sniffed with disgust. Cats! Rabbits! Since the people next door had taken their pet away with them for a holiday, he'd hardly seen a real dog for weeks. He did feel rather sorry for Linda, not being allowed to have a proper pet. Father took them, as far as Linda's front gate, and then went on to finish his walk.

''Tell Mrs. Bruce I'll call for you at half-past five," he said, as he went away. Linda opened the front door as they camo up the front steps.

"I'm so glad your mother let 3-011 bring Roughety; come in. Isn't he a darling?" Rags thought she was a very sensible girl to make such a fuss of him, although, when ho heard her describe him as "a fat, round puppy," he didn't feel very flattered. Still, it was better to be fat than skinny—far more<comfortablc, anywav.

They began the paity almost at once. Peter, as usual, was not at home, so they had to start without him. The only other visitors were the Tweeny Twins from over the back fence. These were two little boys in checked ronipers, who had been left in Mrs. Brucc's charge for tho afternoon. They weren't allowed to eat bread and honey with the others, bocause they always smeared their faces with it from ear to ear, and then wouldn't let anybody wash it off. Linda gave them biscuits instead. Roughety ate biscutis, too, because lie didn't like bread and honey, and couldn't eat the sweets, which were of tho chewy variety and made his jaws stick together. He took as much cake as they would allow him and then went to look for bones in the backyard. It was rather a pity that he discovered the saucer of milk just as Peter was returning over the fence from his visit. He had finished it and was busily licking the saucer, when he heard a thud just behind him. Turning round he saw a very black cat with yellow eyes and an angry expression on its face. Peter made a remark too rude to repeat. This annoyed Roughety Kags. "Well, I didn't know it was your milk," he replied; "if you really wanted it yourself, you shouldn't have left it there."

Peter still refused to listen to reason, and with a sudden leap, scratched him on the nose. I'm sorry to say that they fought then in the middle of tho lawn. At the last Peter took refuge on the gate-post.

Of course, everybody blamed Roughety, although he did try'to explain that Peter had attacked him first. They refused to listen to him at all, sending him to wait outside the gate until Margaret's father returned.

A little while later, as he followed them sadly home, he decided that he must find '6omc means of regaining their favour. Linda should bo made to see that he wasn't such a bad fellow after all. He would have to think of a plan, or just wait for the first opportunity to prove himself.