THE HARE AND THE DOG

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 886, 1 February 1930, Page 35

THE HARE AND THE DOG

AN OLD NEGRO STORY A liare was sitting at the edge of a wood. Ho was sitting on his hind legs, with his forelegs bent together, and he was whistling and whistling with his mouth. Just at that time a dog was coming along the road. He heard the liare whistle, and stopped for a while. ‘Oh, how nice it is,” he thought, i ‘•'Who can it be that whistles * so | nicely?” i He looked around and saw the hare, i “Is it you, Mr. Hare?” he said. “Please I whistle again—I am fond of your j whistling.” And the hare began to whistle again, j “Oh, how beautiful! Can you teach me to whistle, Mr. Hare?” said the dog. ‘'No, sir,” said the hare, "yen cannot be taught to whistle.” “Why not?” asked the dog. “No, no, you cannot whistle. Tour mouth is not good for whistling.” So the hare sat down again and whistled, and the dog stood by and | listened, to hifn. At last the dog j began begging again: “Please, Mr. I Hare, do teach me to whistle! What is j wrong with my mouth?” •‘Your mouth is too narrow,” said the hare; “if it was a little broader, then perhaps you could learn to whistle.” “Could you do anything with my mouth to make it broader, so that I can learn to whistle?” asked the dog. “Yes, certainly. I can saw it a little, but it will be painful,” answered the j hare. S But the CIOS' wished to whistle, anyhow, and said: "Well, Mr. Hare, do j saw it a little. The pain does not matJ ter. if I only could whistle like you.” j Then the hare took a saw and sawed j the dog's mouth a little at both ends. “Xow try to whistle just like I do.” said the liare, and he began to whistle again. And tile dog tried to whistle, but he couldn’t. He tried and he tried and ho tried, but instead of whistling there [ came out of his mouth only “Wow, , wow, wow.” j The dog got angry. “Why,” he said, “.vou sawed my mouth, and vou said I should be able to whistle. Now you shall get beaten for it!” And the dog ran after the hare, and the hare ran straight to his earth. At i that time tho hare’s tail was much ; longer than it is now, so after the hare had hidden himself in the earth, his tail was still outside, and the dog [ caught it and tore it off. And since then, whenever a hare : meets a dog, lie always runs away, and the dog always tries to whistle, but j of Uhe sa ys only “Wow, wow,