Wandeen and the Bo Dog

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 175, 20 April 1929, Page 24

Wandeen and the Bo Dog

y X.—BO BO’S NARROW ESCAPE

By

Lauretta Maud Willoughby

For “The Junior Dominion J'

In a little, long, low house, perched like a crown up on a golden chtt, with its wide window-eyes gazing over, the sea, and gazing upon the rustycoloured rocks that every morning the sun changed to amber, and every evening turned to bronze, lived Miss Jewel. , All the way up the zig-zag path that lead to it grew red geraniums, their green-leafed petticoats just showing beneath their scarlet petalled frocks, and among the leaves and winding up to pale green stalks, the snails left little glistening trails like narrow silver ribbon. Lacey cobwebs trembling from the hedge-imprisoned, wind-blown biossoms from the flowers, and trembling sometimes let the 3 petals go to lie with withered leaves upon the ground. Wandeen cried, "Oh Mummy, look at thisl—and Mummy'- Mummy I Mummy look at thatl” and pointed laughingly towards the sky, and pointed down and down towards the sea, then lifted Bo Bo up to smell a flower, and stood upon tip toe to reach a. spray of dangling berries. Further and further up the path, so steep it seemed to wind into the clouds, and then a little glimpse of Miss Jewel’s house, and a little glimpse of Miss Jewel’s coloured dress, as she came to meet them thiough the trees. Wandeen. whispered, "May I play outside?” and Mummy answered ’’yes, and took her hat, and watched her run away across the grass. The grass was a vivid green, it grew to the cliff edge, and grew through the yellow clay at the roots of prickly gorse bushes, arid bushes or whispering broom, clumps of it grew alone out of little nitches in the roc* and waved like green plumes. The Bo Bo Dog said, “Put me down, 1 want to sniff at things and run about." ,r>n The little Rabbit cried, “Oh, Bo 80, do be careful,” and followed him anxiously with his eyes, and twitched his little nose, and when Bo Bo leaned over the cliff to look at things he shook all over. o “I think it’s very risky, he said, “very risky. ’ t The Bo Bo Dog was running along the edge of the cliff, poking his little nose into holes and places pretending he was a wild fox. He said, “I’m a very, very wild fox," and made little deep sounding noises in his throat, and screwed up his face and looked .as wild as the wildest fox in the thickest wood. So busy was he looking wild that he did not see where he was walking that he walked over the edge of the cliff and rolled over the clumps of grass that waved like plumes, and over the prickly gorse bushes, and through the whispering broom, over and over and over, and over. The Owl flew after him, he heard Wandeen scream, and saw . Mummy and Miss Jewel hurrying., across the lawn, he saw Miss JewelTooking down and heard her say that a ledge of jutting clay had stopped Bo Bo from falling to the bottom. She said, "Til run and get a basket, we’ll tie it to a rope and let it down, it will be quite easy to reach and pull him up.” The Plush Owl flew down, there was no room upon the ledge for him to rest, he fluttered close to the Bo Bo Dog, talking to him, trying to distract his attention from the cleft that was already beginning to crumble away. A stone fell, a little rusty-coloured stone, and a shower of golden dust followed after it. The Owl made a flapping sound with his wings, he talked loudly with his voice——Bo Bo must not hear rattle of the falling stones. ‘‘They’ve gone to get a basket, Bo Bo,” he cried. ‘‘They'll be back soon." Bo Bo’s eyes were wide and staring. “Oh Owl, how soon?’ he asked, and shook and trembled. How how soon?’ • '"Any minute now,” answered the Owl, trying to make him look up at the clouds instead of far below, where jagged rocks lay like sleeping embers under the blue green quilt of the sea. "Bo 80, high up there are clouds that look like graceful ladies with powdered hair dancing the minuet, he said. “Look, Bo Bo,—do, —do look, their dresses are soft and flowing, some are gray, and some are tinged

with rose, and ch the dazzling buckles of their shoes. “Owl,” sobbed the. Bo Bo Dog ( “How can 1 look at buckles on people’s shoe's—how can you • expect me to look at buckles,—•’ don’t see how you can expect me to,” he sobbed. * I,— I feel so faint and dazed.” “I know 1 know, but they will come soon, and I am near you.’ . “Stay near me, if 1 fall follow me.” '“Yes, oh yes.” “Do, don’t leave met** “No, oh no.” “Are they coming yet? Can you see them coming?* “Not yet,” answered the Owl, fear in his round eyes, courage, fighting the fear in his heart. “Bo 80, don’t look down.” “It’s—it’s giving away from beneath me, Owl, I can feel it giving away.” “Yes. but don’t look down, I will come to you, I will fall with you—do not be afraid, 1 would not let you fall alone, not all alone.” He flew by the ledge, some of the clay dust View into his eyes, he could not see. “Bo Bo,” he said, “try to do everything I say,—the ledge is going, it can only last two or three minutes,— if they don’t let down the basket in time, I am going to hold on to your collar with my beak, you will feel as though you are choking, but keep as still as you can, I won’t 'be able to fly, you are too heavy, we will just drop down, but we we .will be together.” The Bo Bo Dog did not answer him, he was lying with his eyes quite closed. The Owl caught him by the collar, he felt strong and unafraid, he gazed up at the sky, the dust stinging in his eyes, he thought- he could still see the dazzling buckles of the - ladies’ shoes. z Then he felt the weight of the Bo Bo Dog, dragging, dragging, and he knew that the ledge was falling. Terrible was the weight of the Bo Bo Dog, but he 'would not let go. “No, —no!—he would not let go, no!—he would not let go, no!—no'— no!” His heart was crying,—would people hear his heart? Would they hear his heart and come in time? Yellow , clay falling, roots of and rocks, and golden dust, —voices far away,—faces leaning over the cliff, and a basket coming. “In time! in time!” cried the Owl’s heart, and dropped with Bo Bo and the roots of fern and clay into the basket. Terribly crushed he felt, smothered by the weight of earth that was upon him. Up and up went the basket grazing and bumping, up and up into the clouds, surely into the clouds where the ladies were dancing in dresses of grey and. rose, with powdered, hairand shining starry buckles.?

He saw their little faces bending over him, and felt their, soft white hands, and saw the jewelled rjngs upon their fingers, and turned his head away because they dazzled his eyes, and then everything was a black stained dark. He did not know that it was Wandeen bending over him, he did not know that the little hands that t touched him were Wandeens hands, that th« jewels dazzling his eyes were the little Rabbit’s tears upon his plush. Not until late in the night did he move restlessly, and turn this way, and that way upon the pillow, and this way and that, \fondering,— won-/ dering why he felt so queer and stiff, and puzzling why his wings were wrapt up in white. “What have I done?” he whispered. ‘’What have 1 done?” A feeble voice, answered him out of the dark—a little, shaking voice—/‘You saved me.” A little bandaged head peered at him. “You,-—you saved me.” The Bo bo Dog wriggled until he reached the Owl and rested his little bandaged head against his plush, whispering feebly, "Owl, dear, you saved me.’ z