BEDTIME TALES

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12394, 13 March 1926, Page 16

BEDTIME TALES

A RUN-AWAYPUP

Sport was a frisky, mischievous, runaway collie pup. He ran after balls, cats, chickens, cars, bicycles, carts, people—everything and everybody. He was always being brought home and tied up. But he was clever at wriggling loose; and away he would go again. Of course, it is hard to know just what Sport thought, and why he fan away. Perhaps he wondered why Kathleen and John thought he should always live in the same house. When there were so many houses in the town perhaps he could not understand why he should not live at any or all of them. When they took ium for a drive in the cars, why did they always return to this same house? He was very curious, and wanted to know about everything and everybody. He liked fo see cats scamper up trees and to sec chickens fluff their feathers and scold.: He wanted to know where everybody was going, but he never found out, for someone was sure to firing him back. Of course, that was because he had his address on his collar! . . , ■ The children often took, him with them when they went on errands and to see their friends. Then back they came to that house—the one with four steps on the front porch and three steps on the back porch and a kennel under an apple-tree. T his surely was very stupid. , i , » ' . , When the vacation was over and the children went to school, Sport was tied to his kennel, and there he stayed till they came home You-must admit that this was not at all interesting for a frisky, runaway collie pup. So one evetaing he hid behind some pieces of lumher in the garage, and the next morning when the children went to school they could find no collie pup to tie up. They called and called, but that mischievous little pup did not make a Then, when all was quiet and nobody was in sight, that frisky, runaway.pup caine out from behind the lumber, shook himself, andtore down the street as fast as he could run. He liked this house wry much, but thought he would try another just for a change. First he followed in the direction the children had gone, with his nose dose to the ground. Suddenly he stubbed his nose on the pavemeat and turned a double flip-flop. He sniffed about to find his scent again, and then off he set as fast as he could run. „ In a short time he found himself up the three steps of the back porch of that same house. Yes, that is-just what,'lie was doing—there was no question about it. The same steps, the same appletree, the same kennel, the same house. Everything was exactly the same. He had not noticed that when he'turned the flip-flop he faced in the opposite direction. _ Sport lay down in front of his kennel with his chin on fys paws and said to himself: “What is the' use of trying to run away from a house that can hop about like that? I’ll stay here after this. And that is the last time he ran away. That is to say, the last time for a day or two.