"I am glad that you asked that question," said Georgie, "because I was
trying to avoid it. You can never guess what the answer is. It is very
difficult to take two at a time, and so we usually have to take one and
then go back and get the other. I had a cousin once who knew a grip
which could be worked on the backs of overshoes, by means of which he
could drag two at a time, but he was an exceptionally fine dragger. He
once took a pair of rubber boots from the barn into the front room,
where a wedding was taking place, and put them on the bride's train. Of
course, not one dog in a million could hope to do that.
"Once upstairs, it is quite easy getting them into the guest room,
unless the door happens to be shut. Then what do you think I do? I go
around through the bath-room window onto the roof, and walk around to
the sleeping porch, and climb down into the guest room that way. It is
a lot of trouble, but I think that you will agree with me that the
results are worth it.
"Climbing up on the bed with the rubbers in my mouth is difficult, but
it doesn't make any difference if some of the mud comes off on the side
of the bedspread. In fact, it all helps in the final effect. I usually
try to smear them around when I get them at last on the spread, and if I
can leave one of them on the pillow, I feel that it's a pretty fine
little old world, after all. This done, and I am off."
And Georgie Dog suddenly disappeared in official pursuit of an
automobile going eighty-five miles an hour.
"So now," said Mother Nature to her little pupils, "we have heard all
about Georgie Dog's work. To-morrow we may listen to Lillian Mosquito
tell how she makes her voice carry across a room."
ANIMAL STORIES
II
_How Lillian Mosquito Projects Her Voice_
All the children came crowding around Mother Nature one cold, raw
afternoon in summer, crying in unison:
"Oh, Mother Nature, you promised us that you would tell us how Lillian
Mosquito projects her voice! You promised that you would tell us how
Lillian Mosquito projects her voice!"
"So I did! So I did!" said Mother Nature, laying down an oak, the leaves
of which she was tipping with scarlet for the fall trade. "And so I
will! So I will!"
At which Waldo Lizard, Edna Elephant and Lawrence Walrus jumped with
imitation joy, for they had hoped to have an afternoon off.
Mother Nature led them across the fields to the piazza of a clubhouse on
which there was an exposed ankle belonging to one of the members. There,
as she had expected, they found Lillian Mosquito having tea.
"Lillian," called Mother Nature, "come off a minute. I have some little
friends here who would like to know how it is that you manage to hum in
such a manner as to give the impression of being just outside the ear
of a person in bed, when actually you are across the room."
"Will you kindly repeat the question?" said Lillian flying over to the
railing.
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