A House for Beetle:

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22670, 6 March 1937, Page 8 (Supplement)

A House for Beetle:

" go and see Whiskers," said Beetle. "He lias a house; he might be able to help." They had been talking about the house that Beetle wanted, because he only had a crack in the wall, which 'was not much of a house, really. Smiler, the yellow duckling, opened his beak to reply, but, as he had forgotten what he wanted to say, he closed it again and looked at his reflection in a puddle. Ho was always rather afraid that one half of his beak would get left behind if he opened it very widely. Beetle got tired of waiting for the reply, so he answered himself: " Yes, let's! That is a very good idea, Beetle. Come along," and he started off. Smiler trotted after him.

" Where are you, Beetle?" he a.sked, after a few minutes of following Beetle and not finding him. A small voice answered in a rather muffled tone:

'"Here, underneath." " Underneath what?" asked Smiler. " Underneath your foot, I think, Smiler," replied the voice.

Smiler raised one big webbed foot. There was only half a slug under that

one: he ate it thonghfully and raised v the other foot. Beetle moved out rather flatly. " Thank you, Smiler," he said. " I don't think I am injured anywhere, thank you. Now, shall we go and see 'Whiskers, as one of us suggested a little while ago?" "Is that what we were doing, Beetle? I thought we might be. Come ~on." He absent-mindedly put his foot ' down on Beetle again, and looked around. " Oh, look. What is that queer thing?" "I can't see anything," said Beetle, . " except the underneath part of your foot,'Smiler." Smiler guiltily moved his foot. " Look over there. What is it?" " Why, it's Whiskers," said Beetle, and they ran to look. " He's all wound up. At least, he's Vurning round —round —round, I mean,'" said Smiler, getting rather wound up himself. " I am catching my tail," said Whiskers, as he disappeared behind a tree. " No, it is my tail catching me," he said, as he reappeared. " Yes, I am. No, I'm not. It is great fun," he called, f-,as they lost sight of him again. " Sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not, and when I am sometimes I—" " Oh, stop, Whiskers, please!" cried Smiler, sitting down suddenly , / "Why do you do it, Whiskers?" asked Beetle. " I don't do it, Beetle," said Whiskers, uncurling and sitting up. " Sometimes my tail gets in the way when I am turning a corner, and then things

By F. E. Cresswell

happen like that." Ho waved his tail thoughtfully in the air and beamed 011 the two little animals. " "NVc were just coming to see you, Whiskers," said Smiler, " but you aro out, so we can't." " Yes, I am," said Whiskers, waving his tail mare thoughtfully. They sat and looked at each other. " I know," said Whiskers. " I will go homo and then you will come and knock at the door. Don't be too long," and he trotted away. " 1 think you had better walk in front, Smiler," said Beetle, looking at Sniiler's big webbed feet. " Then we might get along more quickly." Presently they were knocking at Whiskers' door and Whiskers was saying in his politest voice, " Hullo. Come in, please," and holding the door open. They both went inside and immediately found themselves in the garden. They always felt it was more polite not to notice that Whiskers' house hau 110 inside, but was really only a door in the garden wall. They began to admire the hollyhocks and things that grew on that side of the door, and Beetle wondered if Whiskers would really be an.v help about a house for Beetle. It was very peaceful till Smiler said in a won-

dering kind of voice that sometimes when people went to see people on a hot summer's afternoon sometimes they were asked to have afternoon tea. Whiskers was washing his face very carefully behind his ears, one ear first and then the other ear. When he had finished he looked at Beetle and said: " Wo will go and see Smiler, now. We have not been to see him for a long time, and he might be feeling left out, you know, Beetle."

Beetle knew that Smiler's mother was a very good cook and very motherly with small animals, and that her tins were always full of things like cream buns, sponge cake, biscuits and toffee. ' Yes, you go home, Smiler, and we will come and see you," he said. So off went Smiler, and soon Whiskers and Beetle were knocking at his door and saying " Good afternoon, Smiler." Smiler's home was a very smart little place, with a red front door and a real window, from which you could see the pond. It was at the other end of the garden from Smiler's, up a narrow lane bordered with sage and thyme bushes. Luckily, Smiler did not know that sage and thyme were used for stuffing fat ducklings! " Come in." said Smiler. " Mother is just boiling the kettle, and putting the in the buns." Whiskers thought these were lovely things to be doing, especially the cream. He began to purr loudly. It looked as if the afternoon was turning into one of those real afternoons, instead of only a pretending game. (To be continued)