THE WENDY HUT

Taranaki Daily News, 27 July 1929, Page 20

THE WENDY HUT

BILLIKINS DOES A LITTLE GARDENING. I’m weary of digging, and hoeing, and raking! Can’t think why the soil’s so determined on “caking.” There’s a great big clod here Must‘be broken, that’s clear Biff! Bang! ..Now my spade’s bent — P’raps it's .high time that I. went. Away to my own Hut to dodge a good shaking! I chanted rny dreary little dirge, and slunk away to the Villakins to avoid the wrath of our Wendy Lady. Hates bent tools, does the Wendy Lady! Did you know she had gone clean crazy over'a queerlooking wooden thing she fondly called a “Pergola ?” A lot of little tree trunks stuck in the ground, it is, with more little tree trunks nailed on top, and a few stray bits stuck on here and there. I thought it was some new kind of gymnasium idea that we were meant to climb and do “stunts” on.

So I climbed. And I swung about like a real acrobat, until Link saw me. She yelled like mad to “come down, else Wendy will be furious.” And I came down—ever sb quickly, upside down, into a bed of W&ndy’s' favourite plants! Horrid mess I made of them, too! And, honestly, I was awfully sorry, because I know it must be aggravating to have your pet garden-bed spoiled by someone sitting on it!

To punish myself, I volunteered to dig and hoe and rake any patch of garden Wendy liked to say. She gave me the very hardest bit she could find—just like a girl!—and said if I had it all broken up and raked by tea-time, she would say no more about the ruined plant-bed. I worked hard, boys really hard! But you know how tired you get when people get you to do the dirty work while they get on with the “pretty-pretty” jobs like taking off dead leaves, tying up stray stems, and generally pottering about!

So I sang my sad little song, hid my bad little spade, and crept silently away—hoping things wouldn't be noticed. But Wendy has just been looking at her pergola; now she’s going to the patch she set mo to dig now shes coming here—help!