AT THE FOOTBALL MATCH.
There was great excitement in Golliwog football circles, for
everybody was discussing the final match, between Poodleton and
Kitten Town Tabbies, in the fight for the Golliwog Cup.
The G. & T.B.R. were running special excursions from all parts and
nearly everybody was going to see the match.
You ought to have seen Tommy Stapleton's face when he heard the news.
It was just like any other boy's face would have been if you had
suddenly told him that Cats and Dogs played football--and that is
what John James had just been saying.
"You don't mean it," said Tommy. "Football? Not really? Here,
let's have a look at the league table."
He seized _The Golliwog News_ and read it eagerly for a few minutes.
In a very short space of time he could remember just how the clubs
stood and could repeat them in their proper order with his eyes shut.
"Here goes," he said: "Poodleton, Kitten Town, Frogland, Fish Town,
Toy Town, Teddy Bear Rovers, Dolls House City."
"How _ever_ do you remember them?" asked Freda.
"Why, that's easy enough!" cried Tommy. "I can remember that all
right. Lessons? Not much! They're different. I say, John James,
shall we take them to see the cup-tie?"
John James had had a fit of the sulks, and so had Carlo. The fact
was that the former played for Dolls House City and had been badly
beaten by the Poodleton and Kitten Town clubs. As for Carlo, he was
just dying to play for Poodleton, and, of course he couldn't, because
he was not a Poodle!
However, they both brightened up when they heard Tommy's suggestion,
and the long and the short of it was, that the party of little folks
in whom we are interested was found upon the grand stand at Dolls
House City waiting for the match to begin.
Gladys and Freda had never been on a football ground before and they
thought what good fun it was.
Two thousand Cats had come in by excursion train from Kitten Town,
and most of them wore little red and white rosettes, the colours worn
by the Tabbies.
"Look at that funny Cat over there, with a red and white striped top
hat on his head," said Gladys.
Freda nearly shrieked, he looked so comical.
He was turning round and round playing a concertina and cutting all
sorts of silly capers.
John James was holding his sides with laughter, and making a queer
little gurgling noise in his throat.
"My Golly always sees the funny side of things," said Gladys proudly.
A crowd of friends had gathered round the Cat with the concertina,
all singing and shouting and asking him wherever he got his hat.
A little distance away another Pussy was playing a lively catty tune
on a mouth organ, which made the listening crowd very merry indeed.
The Poodles too had brought a large number of supporters with them
from Poodleton, and they also wore the colours of their favourites,
which were black and yellow. One of them was actually wearing a suit
striped all over with black and yellow.
When he came in through the turnstiles he was greeted with roars of
laughter from all sides.
"It is more like a circus than a football match," said Gladys,
glancing around.
A brass band had been engaged specially from Frogland-in-the-Marshes
and the bandsmen were grouped in a ring in the centre of the field
playing all kinds of lively airs.
There were about three thousand Teddy Bears all gathered together at
one end of the field, and about the same number of Golliwogs at the
other. The two ends of the field were known as the Teddy Bear end
and the Golliwog end, as they always congregated together in that way.
There were also a great number of Hoppers and Jumpers present from
Frogland and hundreds of Toys from Toy Town.
"I wouldn't have missed this on any account," said Freda. "I had no
idea football was so amusing."
Tommy then explained that they had not begun to play yet.
Two minutes before the kick off, the Tabbies came on the field
dressed in red and white jerseys and white knicker-bockers.
"Here they come!" shouted Tommy, and everybody began to cheer.
In another minute the Poodles in their black and yellow jerseys and
white knickerbockers came trotting out wagging their tails.
The cheering was again deafening, and it was very infectious too, for
Gladys and Freda joined in. How were they to help it when Tommy and
the big Golly were cheering like mad?
"What is that Teddy Bear with a whistle doing on the field?" asked
Freda. "He isn't going to play, is he?"
John James chuckled: "That's the referee," he said.
"Oh, look!" exclaimed Gladys. "I can see a Pussy and a Poodle
shaking paws. What's that for?"
Tommy explained that the two captains always shook paws before they
began to play.
"They'll spin a coin next for choice of ends," he continued. "There
it goes," he said. "Head or tail?"
[Illustration: "WASN'T THAT A FINE GOAL."]
The Tabbies won, and chose to play towards the Golliwog end. The
teams lined up, the Teddy Bear blew his whistle and the players began
kicking the ball about. Or, at least, that was how it seemed to
Gladys and Freda!
Tommy explained that the Tabbies were trying to kick the ball between
the posts at the Golliwog end.
"Oh, I see," said Gladys, "and the Poodles are trying to stop them."
"Yes, and to kick the ball between the posts at the Teddy Bear end,"
he added, pleased to think that Gladys was beginning to understand
the game.
Freda looked puzzled.
"Haven't they got enough to do to keep the Tabbies from getting the
ball through at that end, without trying to get it through at the
other end themselves?" she enquired.
Poor Tommy began to look worried. He said he did not know what sort
of a game that would be, but it would not be football.
After that Freda was very quiet for a time and Gladys did not like to
ask questions.
Still they enjoyed watching the game. The way the Tabbies ran after
the ball, and arched their backs when the Poodles made a dash for it,
was so very funny that the little girls laughed more heartily than
ever.
There was a good deal of growling on the part of the Poodles, and the
Teddy Bear referee often blew his whistle to give what Tommy called a
foul.
"That's a foul," he would say to Gladys.
"Where?" she would return. "I didn't see it. Where is it? What,
another? Well, I don't see it anywhere, neither does Freda."
Then Tommy had to explain once more that it was not a "fowl" that was
meant, but a "foul."
"It sounds just the same," said Gladys. "I'm sure I thought you were
talking about a chicken."
Tommy sighed at this remark and appeared deeply interested in the
game.
"The referee must be very tired with so much running about,"
whispered Freda.
And just at that moment the poor little Teddy got hit in the
waistcoat with the ball, and rolling over like a ninepin he nearly
swallowed his whistle.
"Oh, wasn't that funny!" shrieked John James, who had been very quiet
for some minutes.
"Funny!" repeated Gladys sternly. "I should think the poor thing is
hurt. It is much too dreadful to laugh at."
He was not very much injured, however, for he soon got up and the
game went on as merrily as ever.
Whenever the Tabbies got the ball near the Golliwog end, the two
thousand Pussies from Kitten Town would get very much excited and
caterwaul for all they were worth.
And when the Poodles looked like getting the ball through the Teddy
Bear end, two thousand tails belonging to as many Poodles from
Poodleton would start wagging. And they would continue to wag until
the ball went back to the other end of the field. In fact, once or
twice they nearly wagged the grand stand down.
The game went on for about half an hour, then the players rested for
a few minutes, while the Frogland brass band came out and paraded
from one end of the field to the other, playing several martial airs.
When the band got tired of that, the footballers came out to play
again, at least, that was what Gladys and Freda thought.
The sides had changed about and the Tabbies were kicking the ball
towards the Teddy Bear end of the field.
"Oh," thought Gladys to herself, "aren't they artful? If they can't
get it through at one end they mean to get it through at the other."
The Poodles growled and worried away, and the Tabbies arched their
backs with more vigour than before. First a Puss would get rolled
over, and then a Poodle, and their nice clean white knicker-bockers
were beginning to get very dirty.
Carlo barked in high glee when he saw a Pussy bowled over, and John
James was highly amused when a Poodle and a Puss fell over each other.
Several times each side came near to scoring a goal, and once a Tabby
could easily have done it, only his tail got twisted round his legs,
and when he tried to kick the ball he went tumbling head over heels.
The Teddy referee got quite hot racing about, and he borrowed a large
handkerchief from a Golliwog policeman to mop his face with. And the
policeman held his whistle the while!
"Oh," cried Gladys, "do look! If he isn't having a blow with it!"
Sure enough, the silly policeman was blowing himself quite fat in the
face, and the players all thought the match was finished.
But the referee took a watch from his pocket and looked at it, and
then told them they had another five minutes to play.
So they all went at it again very hard, and a Poodle stopped the ball
with his head. The ball rolled away and the Poodle ran round in a
circle in a ridiculous kind of way and then lay flat on his back with
his four legs sticking in the air.
The other players, Tabbies and Poodles alike, all gathered round him
and after a time they stood him on his legs. He was only a bit
stunned, however, and was soon able to play again.
The Tabbies were a sturdy lot of players and had been in special
training at the seaside. They scampered about and played all sorts
of tricks on the Poodles, until at last one of the Dogs lost his
temper and bit at a Pussy's tail!
There were loud cries all round the field: "Turn him off." And the
assembly of strange animals and toys became very angry. The referee
had the two offenders up together and cautioned them, for he knew
very well that the Tabby must have done something too.
"I saw him scratch the Poodle," said Freda. "He did it before, and I
thought it was part of the game."
It seemed as if neither side would be able to score a goal, but at
last the Poodles got one. It was just two minutes before the end of
the game and everybody howled with delight--except, perhaps, the two
thousand Cats from Kitten Town. The air was thick with hats and the
multitude of strange noises was so deafening it must have been heard
a mile away!
Gladys and Freda, Tommy and the big Golliwog all stood on their seats
and waved their hats in the air as madly as the rest of them.
"Wasn't that a fine goal!" they were all saying.
And there were cries of "Play up, my little Poodles!" from several of
the admirers of the Doggies in black and Yellow.
All the Poodles who were playing ran to shake paws with the one who
scored the goal. He was very good looking for a Poodle and wore a
smart blue bow on his tail.
He was greeted with shouts of "Pretty boy!" from all round the ground.
There was no more scoring after that. The Tabbies quite lost their
tempers and played like mad things, biting and scratching for all
they were worth.
After the match was over the Frogland brass band paraded through the
streets of Dolls House City playing "See the Conquering Hero Comes."
In front of them marched a very solemn looking Froggie carrying on
his shoulder a large board on which was chalked
POODLETON . . . . . . . 1
KITTEN TOWN TABBIES . . 3