RANDOM REMINDER

Press, 27 April 1964, Page 22

RANDOM REMINDER

RESCUE It was a small sort of dog, but it lived large in the hearts of the children, and the woman could not take the youngsters out while the animal was wedged so unsatisfactorily in the works at the back of the refrigerator. There it was, making pitiful little whimpers with its front half, which was clearly spaniel. The back half, all terrier, was caught in the motor of the refrigerator. They tried, the three of them, to dislodge the poor little chap. Then they tried to move the refrigerator to give easier access. But she was not an Amazon, and small. So she decided to telephone the firm which had sold her the refrigerator and serviced it. But it is not easy to explain, when one is in a hurry and just a little upset, about a dog being caught in the motor

of a refrigerator and make it sound quite convincing. She was asked, after the first attempt, to hold the line, and another masculine voice took up the strain. He passed her on to a third man—all very like Cicely Courtneidge and her memorable purchase of the serviettes. But finally she was able to persuade someone she was not out of her mind or playing a practical joke and all the resources of modem commerce were flung swiftly into the battle. The servicing firm was able, through its radio telephone link, to divert one of its vans to her house. It arrived within minutes, and from it emerged three extraordinarily large men. They rushed inside the house with the disoriented dash of Keystone cops and scrummed round the refrig-

erator with warming enthusiasm. But they didn t seem to know much about angle packing, so that the door of the refrigerator swung open and much of the contents spewed out. The eggs rolled or cracked, the stewed fruit slithered swiftly over the linoleum, the steak landed with a dull report But the dog was set free. The woman and the children were delighted, the men stood back with expressions of modesty. And the dog? Did it roll on Its back, beseeching them with Its liquid brown eyes to read a message of warm thanks? Not much. It gave one hearty bark to make sure even-thing was in working order, then seized the steak and was off. Even in the canine world opportunity seldom knocks more than once.