"Oh yes, I'll repeat it if you like; but I'd rather you didn't tell
Teddy that you heard it, for he is already much too proud. This is the
way it goes:
Young Ted was a rider bold,
Who never did things by half,
And so he hitched to his cart one day
A strong and frolicsome calf.
Away he went, and on behind
Came a troop of merry boys,
Who tossed their caps, and screamed aloud,
Till the woods rang with the noise.
But the steed was like his driver,--
He wouldn't do things by half,--
And never had Ted a drive like that
He had with his frolicsome calf.
[Illustration: The Bold Bare-Back Rider.]
Then Ted tried another game,
And mounted his sturdy steed;
But the calf resolved he wouldn't bear that,
So he ran with all his speed.
Ted learned to his great dismay,
That it wouldn't do by half,
When he wanted fun, to tamper with
A strong and frolicsome calf.
"That is exactly what he was doing with Mrs. Cow's baby when Mr. Gander
and I were just the same as driven out of the meadow," Mrs. Goose said
as she finished the verses. "What I'm hoping is, that Mr. Towser Dog
will help young Calf out of his trouble."
Mrs. Goose had hardly more than ceased speaking when Mrs. Cow's baby and
Mr. Towser appeared in sight, walking slowly as if talking earnestly.
Mr. Gander jumped up at once and went toward them, coming back a moment
later as he said to Mrs. Goose:
"Young Calf has given Teddy Boy a good tumble, and hopes he struck the
little rascal with his left hind foot; but of that he can't be certain,
because of being in such a hurry when he came away. Mamma Speckle has
gone over to the pasture believing she may find Mr. Donkey there, and if
she does, Teddy Boy and his friends will be glad to get away quickly."
"I suppose Young Calf and Mr. Towser Dog are waiting to hear what Mr.
Donkey has to say about it," Mrs. Goose added, as she nodded to the dog
and the calf, who were standing with their noses very near together, as
if talking the matter over.
"Does Mr. Donkey often interfere when the animals of the farm get into
trouble?" your Aunt Amy asked, and Mrs. Goose replied:
[Illustration: Waiting to Hear from Mr. Donkey.]
"Yes indeed; he's a very good friend to us all, but doesn't often have
time to look after such matters, because Mr. Man seems to delight in
finding work for him to do. He once actually killed a Mr. Weasel who was
sneaking up to murder some of the chickens, and that proves him to be a
very able fellow, for even Mr. Man himself believes it's a big thing to
get the best of a weasel.
"Mr. Towser Dog is another good friend to all of us. He thinks very much
of Mr. Man and his boy Teddy; but at the same time he looks after all
the animals and birds on the farm. I've got a piece of poetry about him
that perhaps you'd like to hear?"
"Who wrote it, Mrs. Goose?" your Aunt Amy asked, and Mr. Gander spoke up
quickly:
"That's what none of us know; but Mr. Crow said he had nothing whatever
to do with it. He don't like Mr. Towser Dog, on account of some trouble
the two of them had about Mr. Crow's digging up the corn just after Mr.
Man had planted it. Hello! there comes Mr. Donkey, and now you may be
sure Teddy Boy won't worry Mrs. Cow's baby for quite a while."
As Mr. Gander spoke a small, friendly looking donkey trotted up to where
the dog and the calf were talking together, and old Mr. Gander seemed to
think it necessary he should waddle over to hear what might be said.
[Illustration: Mr. Donkey comes trotting up to give advice.]
"They'll spend a good half hour talking matters over," Mrs. Goose said
as if displeased because of what she evidently believed was a waste of
time. "If you want to hear the verses about Mr. Towser, I may as well
read them to you now," and she drew out from beneath her wing a much
soiled piece of paper, on which was printed the following lines:
He was just a common dog, you see,
With no particular line
Of ancestry to mark him out
As a well-bred creature fine.
[Illustration: Mr. Towser Dog.]
He bayed at the moon as dogs do,
And vented his gruff bow-wows,
As he tagged my heels in the good old times
When we went after the cows.
He'd roll in the grass with the babies,
Or carry them on his back;
He'd catch the ball the youngsters tossed,
And follow the rabbit's track.
A boy's own dog, and a friendly
Companion in peace or rows,
As he tagged my heels in the good old times
When we went after the cows.
He could talk with a doggish lingo
In his own peculiar way,
And I could understand it all--
Whatever he had to say.
He'd jump to my call at the moment,
And utter his gruff bow-wows,
As he tagged my heels in the good old times
When we went after the cows.
I told him all of my secrets,
And he kept them without fail,
With never a sign that he knew them
But a wag of his short, stump tail.
Long years have passed since I heard them.--
The sound of his gruff bow-wows,
As he tagged my heels in the good old days
When we went after the cows.
"Those are very good verses, Mrs. Goose," your Aunt Amy said when the
last line had been read, and she replied as she plumed her feathers:
"So I think, although Mr. Crow says they are foolish; but that's because
he doesn't like Mr. Towser Dog. What I admire about them is that they
show what a good friend to a boy an animal can be. Now if Sammy Boy had
made friends with the calf, he wouldn't be in the house this very minute
waiting for his broken arm to get mended."