Dogtown: Being Some Chapters from the Annals of the Waddles Family Set Down in the Language of HousepeopleWright, Mabel Osgood
General
Dogtown: Being Some Chapters from the Annals of the Waddles Family Set Down in the Language of Housepeople
Wright, Mabel Osgood
Dogs -- Juvenile fiction
At any rate she stumbled about in a most unusual fashion, forgot that
Jack Waddles had slept indoors for the first time and must be let out
early, until Waddles came in and literally dug her out of bed as if she
had been a woodchuck in its hole, and ran baying in front of her to the
hall door. Next she almost overflowed the bath-tub by filling it so
full that there was no room for the bather, and finally found herself
sitting by the window wondering whether putting your stockings on
wrong side out was, as Mary Ann said, a sign of good luck, or merely
stupidity on the part of the wearer. Just as she had decided that she
would leave them on to see what happened, and securely tied her tan
colored shoes, Tommy came running up and began to dance and shout under
the window in a state of wild excitement.
Now Tommy was a confirmed “lie a-bed,” and to see him out before
breakfast was a cause of wonder in itself; but when Anne heard the
words, “Happy--tiny little puppies--bit Jack Waddles,” she simply
jumped into her petticoats and nearly fell out of the window as she
fastened her collar, calling, “Puppies! Where? Whose?”
“In the nursery kennel, ours and Happy’s, of course. Jackie Waddles
wants to lick them and she won’t let him, and Baldy wouldn’t let me
have but one look because he says light isn’t good for them and they’re
ever so little and queer like Pinkie’s Guinea pigs.”
“How many are there, twins like Jack and Jill?” asked Anne, again
nearly popping out of the window, while she tied a blue ribbon at
the top of her hair, and a pink one at the end of her braid in her
excitement.
Tommy darted off to consult Baldy who was bringing in the vegetables,
and returned holding up to his sister’s view one hand and the thumb
of the other as he counted--“One--two--three--four--five--six--there’s
sixlets, Anne, and Baldy says that three’s girls and three’s boys!”
“Then there are three pairs of twins,” said Anne, coming out of the
side door. “Of course Jackie’s nose is broken, the poor dear! See him
look in my face as if he didn’t understand why his mother should turn
him off so. Never mind, when little brothers grow up you will have
great sport playing with them, and seeing they don’t get in mischief,
and meantime you shall be assistant house fourfoot, sleep on the front
door-mat, and ‘watch out’ for your living with papa Waddles.”
After breakfast the entire family, augmented by Miss Jule, who had
stopped in on her way to the village, went to see the pups, and though
Happy was evidently pleased at the attention, she would not let any one
but Anne come very near, and kept herself between the visitors and the
precious “sixlets.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account