THE JOURNEY WITH THE SANDPIPER
The Sandpiper arrived in about one more minute. He made many apologies
for being late.
“You see, my wife has a seamstress to-day,” he said. “They have been
very busy making over the children’s summer suits, and I have had to do
all the housework. The children play so much in the little pool that
they wear out their clothes very quickly.”
Mr. Sandpiper was a very pleasant traveling companion, although it must
be said that he had some queer habits. He would run along the beach
very rapidly and then stop for a few minutes and teeter while talking
to Ready. His voice was very sweet and low.
Ready greatly admired his neat and slender body, his very neat and
slender legs, and his particularly neat and long slender bill.
[Illustration: Mr. Sandpiper]
By this time Ready, having had so much experience with so many
different birds and beasts, knew very well how to entertain them. He
asked Mr. Sandpiper quite naturally if he had a comfortable home this
year.
“Very comfortable indeed, thank you,” was the reply. “It has the best
lining we have ever had.”
And then Mr. Sandpiper was off for a drink in a pool near by. He flew
above Ready in a rather jerky fashion and at last alighted on a little
rock and commenced teetering again.
“Our nest is a little farther from the water than usual,” he continued,
and then was off again for another drink. Indeed it was quite difficult
to follow him, either in movements or conversation.
Things were going along pretty well, however, when Mr. Sandpiper
stopped short right in the middle of a sentence and a teeter.
“What’s that?” he said anxiously.
Ready listened but heard nothing.
“There’s trouble at home. That’s my wife’s danger call,” Mr. Sandpiper
exclaimed. And then Ready did hear a low, frightened, far-away little
peep.
Away flew Mr. Sandpiper in his queer jerky fashion, while Ready
followed him as rapidly as he could. And then quite suddenly there
appeared the strangest sight that Ready had ever seen.
Two boys were walking along the beach, and in front of them on the sand
lay Mrs. Sandpiper, flopping about on one wing in a very pitiful way.
She would wait until the boys had almost caught her before she would
raise herself and fly a little farther away from them. Then she would
flop again.
“She is not really hurt, you know,” whispered Mr. Sandpiper, “but
those dreadful boys want to rob us of our home, and she is trying to
lead them away from it. I must fly over and look after the children,
who have probably been told to hide under some leaves.”
He was off without another word and disappeared behind a tall rock.
At first the boys thought it was great fun to try to catch the
Sandpiper, but after failing to do it several times, they began to grow
tired.
“Oh, let’s go away,” said one. “I believe she is just trying to fool
us. I have heard that they do that sometimes.”
“I am sure the nest is near by,” said the other boy. “I heard something
over there.”
So the boys turned away from Mrs. Sandpiper and went over toward the
little rock.
Ready knew that something must be done, or they would surely find the
nest. Mrs. Sandpiper gave a frightened little peep which said, “Oh,
please, please, somebody do something to save my home and children.”
It took all Ready’s courage, but it must be done. It was against his
bringing up, against his highest principles, against good taste in
dogs’ circles, but it _must be done_. He ran barking at the two boys.
He did not wait for them to protect themselves with sticks and stones,
but growling and showing his teeth, he made a spring towards them. The
boys ran off, with Ready close upon them. He must finish up the work
now and get them really out of the way.
On and on ran the boys, on and on went Ready, growling and barking
savagely all the time. You would have thought he was the most snappy,
vicious little dog in the world if you had heard and seen him then, but
all the time he was running, his heart was growing heavier and heavier.
Something seemed to be saying to him, “You will lose the way, _go back,
go back_.”
And then something else seemed to be answering, “_But every dog must do
his duty._”
[Illustration: On and on ran the boys, and on and on went Ready]
At last they came to a rather rocky part of the beach. There was one
very high queerly shaped rock, and the boys quickly climbed over it and
tried to hide behind it.
“Here is a good place to turn around,” Ready decided. “I’ll pretend to
have lost them and run back now.”
But just as he turned and started on the backward stretch, he felt a
sharp stinging pain in one of his legs. A horrid little sharp stone had
hit him, and then came another, almost touching him.
The boys were now taking their revenge.
In spite of the sharp pain, Ready knew that he must not linger here or
let them see that he had been hurt, so he ran bravely along, holding
his head proudly, never once letting those mean, cowardly boys know
that anything was the matter.
The pain began to grow very bad, and Ready felt that he must stop
somewhere soon. But there was no sheltered spot in sight. The sunny
beach stretched out before him for miles and miles.
At last he saw another Sandpiper taking a drink in a tiny pool in one
of the rocks. Ready limped up to him and asked if he knew any shady
spot where he could rest for a few minutes. You see, he knew Sandpiper
language very well by this time.
The Sandpiper, after jerking himself about, remembered a nice little
place behind a rock about a quarter of a mile away. He guided
poor limping Ready to it, and then Ready told him all about his
difficulties. The Sandpiper was very much interested.
“I think I know your guide quite well,” he said, “and I will fly back
and tell him where you are. He is a neighbor of mine. Hasn’t he a
particularly large black spot right in the middle of his white shirt
front?”
Wasn’t it splendid that Ready remembered this very spot? He had noticed
it during Mr. Sandpiper’s first teeter. As you see, Ready was really a
very observant little dog.
After the Sandpiper had gone, and Ready was left all alone with the
pain, it felt very bad indeed. Life seemed pretty hard. There was
always something unpleasant happening to him.
He wondered if he would ever really reach his journey’s end. Perhaps
his leg would grow worse and worse. He had heard of legs that did do
that. Perhaps--but just then from right around the corner _a big shaggy
brown dog appeared_!
Ready was a great judge of dogs. Indeed, he had been brought up with
them, and one look in this dog’s face told him that he had found a
friend. He was such a kind-eyed dog, with understanding ears and tail.
Ready knew at once that this dog was years older than he, and that he
would know all about lame legs.
“You are suffering,” gently barked Shaggy Dog.
At this Ready gave up and moaned out his story. Shaggy Dog’s eyes grew
kinder and kinder. In a moment he had looked at the poor leg and had
made it much more comfortable by a little licking. Then he had Ready
bathe it in a pool near by, and gave him the best medicine in the
world. Do you know what it was? He gave him back his _courage_.
“Your leg will feel much better in a half hour,” he said, “and you will
be able to go along easily. Your Sandpiper friend will soon be here,
and I will stay with you until he does come.
“You have made a wonderful journey and from what you tell me, I know
you must be nearly there. Be thankful that the very last part of your
journey you can take alone, for then you need have no interruptions.”
[Illustration: “You are suffering,” gently barked Shaggy Dog]
Ready was much comforted, and his leg began to feel a great deal
better. Shaggy Dog told Ready that he would gladly go with him to
the end of his journey, but his business, as the oldest dog in the
neighborhood, was to carry dog messages and to look after things
generally all along the beach.
[Illustration: Mr. and Mrs. Sandpiper and three of their children]
This afternoon he was taking a special delivery to a young collie some
distance away. It was a message from his grandfather to say that he was
coming that night to spend the week-end. The young collie must know
about it this afternoon in order to get some special food ready for
his grandfather, whose teeth and digestion were very poor.
Then Shaggy Dog, seeing that Ready was still a little nervous, recited
some dog poetry he had made. It went something like this:
“If you have a lame leg,
You won’t have to beg.
Forget the old stone,
And think of a bone.
Instead of a moan,
Say, ‘Soon I’ll be home.’”
Do you know what happened? Ready was asleep in a few minutes. When
he awakened, Shaggy Dog was smiling down at him and Mr. and Mrs.
Sandpiper, with three of the children, were twittering above his head.
As soon as they saw that Ready was awake, they flew toward him. Then
Mother Sandpiper, in a pretty little song, thanked him for saving all
the family from destruction. Father Sandpiper joined in the last two
lines, and at a signal from their mother, the little Sandpipers joined
in the chorus.
It sounded to Ready something like this:
“Peet-weet, peet-weet,
You deserve much meat.
Peet-weet, peet-weet,
You’ll soon be on your feet.”
After all the hand-shaking and good-byes were over, Ready found out
that his leg was about well, and Mr. Sandpiper and he started off again.
He hated to leave old Shaggy Dog, but had to be satisfied with the
promise of a visit from him on the very first day of his vacation.
As they went along, Mr. Sandpiper explained that he would have
followed Ready immediately if he had not found Mrs. Sandpiper in
hysterics, and it had taken some time to quiet her. He said he was
quite proud of the children, who had stood motionless under some tall
weeds during the terrible danger.
At last Ready and Mr. Sandpiper came to a place where a long straight
road lay before them. This was the place where the Sandpiper had to
leave him. He carefully explained how easy it was to follow the road.
He said, “You remember that the Heron was to go with you and show you a
short cut through the marshes. Perhaps it is just as well for you that
he had appendicitis, as he always stops a long time to get his evening
meal. Then if he is startled he flies at once to a tree. Moreover,
he is rather apt to pick a quarrel. It is thought by some of the best
authorities in Birdland that his appendicitis came from eating too
heartily one night and quarreling violently afterwards.”
It was after twilight when the Sandpiper finally said good-bye and left
Ready alone on the long dark road.
[Illustration: Alone on the long, dark road]