Wandeen and the Bo Bo Dog.

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 57, 30 November 1929, Page 28

Wandeen and the Bo Bo Dog.

IL—ANOTHER ADVENTURE

By

Lauretta Maud Willoughby

Tor “The Junior Dominion ”

“Goodness!” remarked the Bo Bo Dog unfolding his waistcoat. “How time flies, we no sooner go to bed than it is time to get up again.”

Rabbit was helping the Plush Owl on with his shirt.

“It’s the buttons I can't manage." he was saying. “I always have trouble with the buttons.”

Wandeen stood by the window singing “Three Blind Mice" and putting her petticoat on.

She could see the top of the gardener's head, and hear the snip, snip of his shears as he clipped the grass beneath the azalea bushes.

Mummy called her to breakfast. She picked them up and ran downstairs.

“Don’t hold us so tightly,” whispered Bo 80, "you ate crumpling our jackets.” “We are spending the day with Mrs. Lucas,” said Mummy when Wandecn had eaten all her bread and butter and Daddy had hurried away to catch the train.

“You can wear your little new blue dress and shoes.” "Oh!” said Wandcen. Mrs. Lucas lived in an enormous house in an enoromus garden.

A very large cat slept its life away curled in a yellow ball at her drawingroom window, and ji very small dog seemed to spend its days barking at it through the glass. When the 'bus drew up at the gate and Mummy helped Wandcen out and walked up the path, it forgot the cat and barked at them instead, with such a disagreeable bark that Rabbit shivered.

Mrs. Lucas was at the door: a little smiling woman. “Come in—Oh naughty dog—down, Nigger—he won’t bite—oh, you shocking dog.” Nigger followed them inside in spite of being ordered to stay on the door-mat. He thought he must just have a little sniff at Rabbit’s cars and Wandecn’s new shoes and Bo Bo’s waistcoat. It depended entirely on the sniff whether hr took them into confidence.

He followed them up to the bedroom -—such a beautiful bedroom, with wide windows looking over a sea of trees

A very large bed across one corner, and an elaborate dressing-table across another, with so many brass-handled drawers and so many swinging mirrors that when Mummy combed Wandeen’s hair with a tortoiseshell comb she could see six reflections of herself at once, In the drawing-room there were so many chairs that Wandecn found it difficult to decide which one to sit on, and when she came to a decision, and leaned against a Paisley coloured cushion, she felt sorry she hadn’t chosen the chair against the wall carved all over with the heads of foxes.

“I know where Wandeen would like to play,” said Mrs. Lucas, giving Mummy i stool to rest her feet on.

"I know the very place,” and she led her up a narrow winding strairway tp the tower.

Left alone, Wandecn peered into the corners of a long, low room crammed with travelling trunks and oblong wicker baskets, and peeped through the little square windows curtained with cobwebs. Nigger came bounding after them, and barked at all the big black boxes. He wanted to try on Rabbit’s waistcoat, and Bo Bo’s jacket, and was quite put cut because the Plush Owl refused to lend him his tie.

Very well.” said be. “If you won't lend me your tie I won't show you the door on to the roof garden where you can see all over the world.

Bo Bo fc't very curious to see over the world, so he nudged the Plush Owl and whispered behind 1 dress basket: "Do lend it to him, Owl."

The Plush Owl agreed on the condition that Nigger made quite certain the door opened.

"Because,” said be, “for ali you know it may be locked, and then I will be lending you my lie for nothing.’’ So Nigger went away very mysteriously and came back and told them he Had made certain.

They followed him up yet another flight of stairs, along a little narrow passage, through a little narrow door on to the roof.

Bo Bo looked about him, and then quite satisfied that the world was a. very large place, turned his thoughts to the fire escape. • ■

He almost wished the house would burst into flames, so he might have occasion to use it.

“I cannot remember," thought he, "ever seeing such a very nice fire escape.”

"Wandecn held the Rabbit in her arms, and looked down at the winding paths of sunlight that went winding through the trees.

Nigger was barking at a red geranium. "Owl,” called Bo 80, “would you hold my hat a moment?” "W-what are you going to do?” asked Rabbit anxiously over Wandcen'x shoulder.

"1 haven’t quite made up my mind,” he answered, "but 1 think 1 could if Owl would hold my hat. I’m so afraid of the wind blowing it away.” “You—you are not going to climb down the f-fire escape,” gasped Rabbit in alarm.

“Bo 80, come back—Wandeen—Owl —look, he’s climbing down the fire escape." Nigger found the little Rabbit's shrill voice much more exciting to bark at than the geranium.

"Oh, Nigger,” implored Wandeen, "do be quiet. Bo 80, you’ll break your legs -—you’ll have a" dreadful fall.” Bo Bo looked up and saw all their anxious eyes watching him and laughed. “Don’t look so nervous,” he shouted, "It’s as easy as walking down the stairs.” “P-perhaps it isn’t quite as easy,” he thought to himself, as the ladder swung out from the wall, and swung back again with such a jar that he almost lost his hold.

He began to feel giddy—below the garden was a vzheel of spinning green. He tried to climb up again, but it was even more difficult than climbing down, and the big square house and the little square tower seemed to be about to topple on top of him. ”I—-Owl,” he cried, "I—l'm losing my fooling, I can’t find a place to put my foot on-—l—.”

The ladder jerked forward. The Owl was tugging at his collar aad trying to jump out of his plus-fours. “I’m coming,” he shouted. “Wandeen, run into the garden and stand at the foot of the ladder in case he falls. Hold on, we are coming."

But someone else was there before them. The Plush Owl flew down to fi-d Bo Bo being supported by a large yellow cat with eyes like saucers and long bristling whiskers, who was telling Bo Bo De; to “rest one foot here like this, and the other foot there like that,”

“O, thank you,” stammered 3o 50, as they reached the ground. "Oh thank you, Mr. Yellow Car- It was my jacket, you know—it hampered me. I could have climbed dc-a quits easily if it hadn’t been for my jaek«.” . "I don’t doubt it,” replied dee pelite cat, looking serenely out of his reaad eyes. "I don’t doubt it for a aseaun-t-You must excuse me, I have a Ist cf thinking to do," and he strutted mr with an arched back and stiffened tail. “W-vzhat dots he think about?” aaxrd the little Rabbit curiously. "He doccn't think," answered Nigger. “He meant to say sleepin;. He gets muddled up with his words.”