wind blew hard it keeled over to one side but it did not capsize. No,
nothing could make that boat capsize. Even when Bingo stood upon his
hind legs and tried to catch it when it went sailing past, he fell
splash into the pool and made a great ENORMOUS wave, just like the
waves in the middle of the ocean--_still_ that boat did not capsize.
Well, every day after that Charlie sailed his boat in the pool. He made
a dock for it, with stones, and he put grass and pebbles on the deck
for the cargo, which he loaded and unloaded at the dock, and the boat
sailed from side to side of the pool. When the boat got to the other
side Charlie would jump across the brook where it was narrow and turn
the rudder so that the boat would turn right round and sail back again
to the dock.
Yes, Charlie had more fun than I can tell you playing with his boat.
And Topsy and Bingo played, too; they jumped across the brook backwards
and forwards and they tried to catch the boat as it sailed past. And,
Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie liked to help Charlie sail his boat;
yes, they enjoyed watching it sail so beautifully before the wind.
And--on Saturday, when Charlie’s Daddy came down to visit them all--my
goodness! he was surprised and _de-light-ed_ to see the dam and the
pool that Charlie had made all by himself, and to see how beautifully
the boat sailed, with its sails blown out by the wind, and with its
cargo of grass and pebbles piled up on deck.
Yes, Charlie’s Daddy thought that Charlie was a very clever boy to have
made that dam and that pool all by himself--and I think so, too.
[Illustration]
CHARLIE BUILDS A REAL HOUSE
Well, the days passed and passed--and at last it was time for Charlie
to go back to the city. He said “Good-by” to the stage driver and to
the postmaster and to the man at the country store and to the lady at
the farm, where he and his Mother and his Auntie lived while they were
in the country. And he said “Good-by” to the cows and to the chickens
and to the baby pigs.
Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie packed the suitcase and the trunk and
put Topsy into his basket, and he did not like it at all and said
“Miaouw, miaouw!” And Jane was put into _her_ basket and _she_ did not
like it either, but she was a good cat and she did not say a word.
Then Charlie put the leash on Bingo’s collar and they all climbed into
the surrey, which is a two-seated carriage, and they all drove to the
station. Then they all got on to the train and off they went to the
city.
This time there was another fireman, as Charlie’s friend was having a
day off, so Charlie did not ride on the engine _this_ time; no, _this_
time he rode in the day coach with his Mother and his Auntie and Topsy
and Bingo and Jane.
Charlie was feeling rather sad that he had to leave the country and
all his new friends, but as the train steamed farther and farther away,
he began to think that it was rather nice to be going back to the city
after all.
It would be nice to see his Daddy again and the iceman--and he wanted
to tell the postman all about the stage driver and how letters
are delivered in the country. And Charlie wanted to see his house
again, where he lived, and the garden and his electric train and his
automobile and his great _e-nor-mous_ flashlight. Yes, Charlie began to
feel very glad that he was going home again.
And--when Charlie _did_ get home, what do you think he found? Why,
Charlie found that something _most_ interesting and ex-cit-ing had been
happening while he was away in the country. Some builders had started
to build a house on the other side of the road, and he could sit on his
own front gate and watch them build.
[Illustration: _Charlie Watched the Builders_]
The builders had already built quite a lot of the house, and in front
of what they had built was a big pile of bricks and also a pile of sand
and quicklime to make mortar of.
It was late in the afternoon, so the builders had stopped working,
but Charlie wanted to stay right there and look at everything. But
his Mother and his Auntie said, “No.” They said that it was getting
late and Charlie must come right in and have his supper and go to bed.
To-morrow he could watch the builders build as much as ever he wanted
to.
So the next day Charlie ran out _immediately_ after breakfast. The
builders were already at work--they were working hard, putting the
bricks on top of each other. Charlie saw how they put each brick on
top of two others, he saw how they did it _very carefully_ so that the
brick was _ex-act-ly_ in the middle of the two below it. Then he saw
how carefully the builders put the mortar on with a flat, wide knife,
so that none of the mortar dripped over the edge of the bricks but made
a nice straight line up and across. And, because the bricks were laid,
one in the middle of the two below, the white line of the mortar made a
most interesting design.
Charlie was _ab-so-lute-ly_ fascinated, he thought that he would
_never_ get tired of watching those builders build.
Then Topsy and Bingo came out to see what Charlie was doing and to
get him to play with them, but Charlie was _much_ too interested in
watching the house being built, so he paid no attention at all. No, he
paid no attention to Topsy and Bingo, but went on watching the builders
build the house.
After a while one of the builders looked up, and he said, “Hello, you
seem to like watching us build this house; I guess you would like to
be over here helping us.” And Charlie said, “Oh, yes, I _would_ like
to come over and help you, I mean to be a house builder when I grow
up.” Then the builder said, “Is that so? Have you had any practice in
building houses?” Charlie said, “No, I have never built a _real_ house,
but I can build _beautiful_ houses with my wooden blocks.”
But the builder said, “Well, I guess you need more practice than
_that_--you have to know how to put the mortar on, and that is not as
easy as it looks. How would you like me to give you some bricks and
mortar and then you can build yourself a house in the corner of your
yard?” Yes, the builder _ac-tu-al-ly_ said that to Charlie! And he also
asked him, “Have you an express wagon that you can haul the bricks in?”
Of course Charlie said, “Yes,” and he ran off to the house to tell his
Mother and his Auntie all about the house builder, and to ask if he
might go across the road by himself to get the bricks. And his Mother
and his Auntie both said, “Yes.” They said that it would be perfectly
safe for Charlie to go across the road all by himself, because no
automobiles were allowed on the road and there was a sign which said,
“Closed to Traffic.”
Then Charlie got his express wagon and he went across the road to get
the bricks. He loaded the bricks into his express wagon and he dragged
them across the road and in at the garden gate to the corner of the
garden where there were no flowers and no vegetables. Charlie did this
over and over again; he did it so often that his legs ached,--and every
time that Charlie went across the road Topsy and Bingo followed him.
When Charlie had been across the road four, five, _six_ times getting
his express cart full of bricks every time, the builder said, “Now
you have enough bricks to start with. Suppose you go now and ask your
Mother for a pail and I will give you some mortar, already mixed.”
Charlie ran and got the pail, and the builder filled it with mortar and
carried it over to Charlie’s yard himself because it was too heavy for
Charlie to carry. The builder certainly _was_ a nice man.
Of course Charlie wanted _immediately_ to start in building the house.
But his Mother and his Auntie said, “No.” They said that Charlie had
worked enough for one day, and that he had better play a little. And
his Mother said, “You had better wait till your Daddy comes home before
starting to build your house; I think you ought to ask his advice as to
exactly where would be the best place to build it.”
Charlie thought that his Mother was right and he determined to wait
till his Daddy came home before building the house. So he went off and
had a lovely game with Topsy and Bingo.
At last Charlie’s Daddy came home. Charlie was watching for him out
of the dining-room window. As soon as he saw his Daddy come in at the
gate, Charlie ran out to meet him and to tell him all about the bricks
that the builder had given him and about the house he was going to
build.
Charlie’s Daddy was very interested; he was so interested that he said
he would like to help Charlie to build the house. Then Charlie’s Daddy
went upstairs and changed into his old suit, the one he always wore
when he was digging in the garden, and he found a spade, and he said,
“Come on, Charlie, let us start building the house.”
So they went into the garden and started to build the house. First
Charlie’s Daddy dug a trench, the size that the house was to be; this
was to be the foundation so that the house should not blow over in a
wind-storm. Charlie helped dig the trench also. It was very hard work
digging the trench--it was such hard work that both Charlie and his
Daddy were puffing and blowing before they had finished digging. But at
last the trench was finished, and while they were both standing still
to admire it Charlie’s Auntie came and called them in to supper.
So they both had to go in and change their clothes and eat their supper
and, by the time that supper was over, it was too dark to work at the
house any longer. Charlie did not like this at all, he said, “I do not
want to stop for a single minute until the house is built.”
But his Daddy said, “Cheer up, Charlie, to-morrow is a legal holiday,
and I shall be home all day. So I shall be able to help you build your
house until it is finished.” Then Charlie was satisfied and he went to
sleep the minute he got into bed--and all night long he dreamed about
the beautiful house he was going to build.
The next morning both Charlie and his Daddy got up early; they got up
at six o’clock! They each had a glass of milk and a cookie, then they
went into the garden and began to work.
First they started piling bricks into the trench, one on top of two
others, _ex-act-ly_ the way Charlie had seen the builders doing it; and
his Daddy showed him how to put the mortar on each brick with a flat
trowel that he had found in the woodshed and that looked _ex-act-ly_
like the one the builders used. It is very important to put the mortar
on right, as that is what makes the bricks stick together.
Before breakfast Charlie and his Daddy had _ac-tu-al-ly_ finished
the foundation! Charlie was very glad that he had his Daddy to help
him--why, if it had not been for his Daddy I don’t think that Charlie
would have thought of building _any_ foundation for his house, and
then it would have blown down!
Well, you may be sure that the moment they had finished breakfast, and
when Charlie’s Daddy had smoked just one cigarette, they both of them
were hard at work on the house again.
For one reason Charlie was sorry that it was a legal holiday, and
that was because the builders were having a holiday, too, and Charlie
_would_ have liked them to see him in his overalls that were all
covered with mortar and pink with brick dust--so that he looked
_ex-act-ly_ like a real builder.
Well, they worked and they worked. And you never can guess how
clever Charlie’s Daddy was. He was just as clever as a real builder.
Yes, Charlie’s Daddy _ac-tu-al-ly_ knew how to make a window in the
house--and a door also! The window went all the way to the top of the
roof and so did the door, for Charlie’s Daddy said that there was
_one_ thing he did not know how to do that a real builder knows, and
that is how to make an arch, with a keystone! Soon the house was tall
enough for Charlie to go in at the door, and then his Daddy said that
the front of the house was tall enough. But the sides had to be built
sloping higher toward the back so that the roof should slope--it is
very important that a house should have a sloping roof so that the
water may drain off it when it rains.
At last his Daddy said, “There, the house is finished, all but the
roof!”
Charlie _was_ excited! He jumped and he shouted, “My house is nearly
finished, my house is nearly finished!”
Then his Daddy went off to the woodshed and he brought back a whole lot
of boards and a roll of tar paper. He put the boards all across the
roof and covered them with tar paper--and THE HOUSE WAS FINISHED!
Yes, it was _ac-tu-al-ly_ finished. It had a beautiful doorway, and a
window and a roof--anybody could see that it was a real house.
Topsy and Bingo were nearly as much excited as Charlie. Bingo ran in
and out of the door and barked and barked. But Topsy climbed up the
wall and in at the window and he did this again and again.
Then Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie came to look at the beautiful
house. And, my goodness! they _were_ surprised that Charlie and his
Daddy had built a house that looked exactly like a real house.
And Charlie’s Mother said, “Now, we will go back to the house and we
will bring Charlie’s little chairs and his table, and I will get a rag
rug that is in the attic; then the house will be furnished and Charlie
can live in it with Topsy and Bingo and Jane.”
So that is what they did! And Charlie’s Auntie hung some curtains
across the window and tied them with blue ribbon, and his mother put
the rag rug on the floor, and placed the furniture around the room so
that it looked _most_ cozy and _most_ comfortable.
Well, just when everybody was standing and admiring the house, Jane the
cat came up, and she looked at the house for a minute. Then she walked
straight in at the door and lay down on the rug, and she purred and
purred as loud as she could purr, because she liked Charlie’s house so
tremendously. But Topsy jumped in at the window and _he_ walked around
the house and sat down on every one of the little chairs and even on
the table, but when he jumped into the express cart, which was in the
corner of the house, he liked it so much that he curled up and went
to sleep. But Bingo was the most excited of all--he dashed around and
around the house, and he jumped up in the air and barked and barked and
BARKED!
The next day, when the builders were at work again, Charlie climbed up
on the gate and called out to the builder who had given him the bricks,
“Good morning, Mr. Builder! I have finished my house!”
The builder was most interested and he came over to look at the house
that Charlie had built.
He said, “Did you build that house _all_ by yourself?”
And Charlie said, “Yes, I built that house _all_ by myself, and my
Daddy helped me.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
BINGO LEARNS TO COME WHEN HE IS CALLED
Bingo was a very clever little dog--he learned very quickly all the
tricks that Charlie taught. He could sit up and beg, and he could bark
three times for the flag, and when Charlie put a piece of cake on his
nose Bingo could toss it in the air and catch it in his mouth, and,
if Charlie threw a stick, Bingo would always run and bring it back.
Yes, Bingo could do all these things and he liked to do them again
and again. He was such a clever little dog that all the boys in the
neighborhood knew him well, and they used to watch him over the fence
doing all the tricks that he had learned.
But there was _one_ thing that Bingo never _would_ learn and that was
to come _immediately_ when he was called. If Bingo thought that Charlie
was going for a walk or that his dinner was ready, he would come the
very minute that Charlie called him; but if he was doing something
interesting or something that he should not be doing, Charlie could
call “Bingo, Bingo, Bingo,” till he was hoarse, Bingo would not come!
He would wag his tail and perk up his ears to show that he had heard,
but he would not come.
One day Charlie was playing in the garden with Bingo and Topsy when
Bingo suddenly saw something that interested him in the road and he
scrambled under the gate and went scampering along down the road.
[Illustration]
Charlie did not approve of this at all. He called and he called,
“Bingo, Bingo, Bingo”--but Bingo would not come, he went on racing
along the road. He had decided that he would like to go out and see the
world!
Then Charlie ran into the house to tell his Mother and his Auntie. He
could not run after Bingo, because of course he was not allowed to go
outside the garden gate by himself. His Auntie did not even wait to put
on her sweater though it was very cold; she ran straight out of the
gate to bring Bingo back--but Bingo had _ab-so-lute-ly_ disappeared!
Charlie and his Auntie put on their coats and went a long distance
down the road, calling Bingo all the time, but they could not find him
anywhere. They asked everybody that they met if they had seen a little
white dog with black spots but nobody had seen him. Then they went home
again, hoping that Bingo would have arrived there before them. But no,
Bingo was not there!
Now I will tell you what happened to Bingo. When he had run along the
road for quite a distance he came to a turning where the road ran very
steeply downhill. There was a boy with a bob sled, and just as Bingo
reached the corner the boy lay down flat on his sled, and biff! off he
flew down the hill! Bingo was much excited. He barked, “Yap, yap, yap,”
and ran after the bob sled as fast as ever he could. He was determined
to catch that bob sled! But of course he could not. The boy and the
sled reached the bottom of the hill before Bingo, but not long before.
The boy had decided to go home, as it was near his dinner time, and he
was dragging his sled after him when Bingo arrived at the bottom of the
hill, all out of breath and with his little red tongue hanging out. But
he was not too out of breath to jump up at the boy and bark “Yap, yap,
yap!” He was trying to tell him how glad he was that he had caught up
with him at last.
The boy patted Bingo on the head and talked to him, but of course he
did not know his name as he lived quite a distance away and had never
seen Bingo before.
Bingo liked the boy very much and decided that he would go for a walk
with him. So he followed after him. It was a long, long walk, but at
last they arrived at the boy’s house.
It was a tall brick house very much larger than the house in which
Bingo lived with Charlie; and it had to be larger too, because a great
many people lived in it--two families lived on every floor!
The boy climbed up five flights of stairs; he lived on the top floor of
all--and Bingo followed after him.
The boy’s Mother was cooking dinner in the kitchen and she was very
much surprised when she saw Bingo. She said, “Who is that dog?” The boy
said, “I found him and I am going to keep him for my dog. I have always
wanted one.”
But his Mother said, “How can we keep a dog when we live five flights
up and have only three rooms? It is impossible. After you have had your
dinner you must take him back to where you found him, then he will
be able to find his way home. He has a collar on so he must belong to
somebody. In the meantime, take him downstairs and tie him up in the
yard. I have just washed the kitchen floor and I am afraid he will make
it dirty again.”
The boy felt very sad because he could not keep Bingo, but he took him
down to the yard as his Mother had told him to, and he tied him up to
the fence with a piece of rope.
Bingo did not like this at all. He pulled and he pulled and he pulled,
but he could not get loose. He pulled and he pulled and--he PULLED,
and--suddenly the fastening of his collar snapped (it snapped because
Charlie had not fastened it properly that morning), and Bingo was a
free dog.
Then he scampered gayly out of the yard and into the street again.
He thought that it was time to go home to Charlie and his dinner.
But--what do you think? Bingo could not find his way home! He ran
through street after street but he could not find the house where he
lived with Charlie and Topsy and Jane. The boy’s Mother must have
thought that Bingo was older than he really was when she said that he
could find his way home by himself.
Bingo was beginning to be worried--there were a great many children
playing in the streets through which he passed and every now and again
he thought that he saw Charlie, but it always turned out that he was
mistaken. Sometimes some of the children would try to stop him but
Bingo always ran away from them. He wanted to go home.
At last he passed four little boys who were walking along together.
Bingo was very tired now and he was not running any more; no, he was
walking very slowly and limping a little because he had hurt his foot.
One of the boys looked at him limping along in front and he said,
“Look at that puppy. He looks exactly like Charlie’s Bingo, who does
such wonderful tricks!”
The other boy said, “He does look like him. Let’s call him and see if
he answers to the name Bingo.” So they called, “Bingo, Bingo, Bingo!”
You may be sure that when Bingo heard his name called _this time_ he
did come running as fast as ever he could.
Bingo did not know the boys but they knew him. They had often watched
him over the fence doing the tricks that Charlie had taught him, so
they knew where he lived. Now that they were sure it _was_ Bingo, as
he had come at once when they called him, they decided that they would
take him back to his home; for they knew how unhappy Charlie must be
because he had lost his dog.
[Illustration: _One of the strange boys held Bingo_]
But they were afraid that Bingo might run away again, so one of the
boys held on to him while the others made a harness for him out of
some string that one of them had in his pocket. Then they put it on
Bingo and they tied a long piece of string to the middle of the harness
for a leash.
So they started on their way--but you can think how funny Bingo did
look in his rope harness! The boys could not help laughing at him, and
Bingo did not like that at all. He had a feeling that he looked very
ragged and untidy, as indeed he did; and all the dogs that he met and
who wore beautiful collars, sniffed at him, as though to say, “What an
extraordinary thing to wear, instead of a collar!”
Bingo wished very much that he had not lost his own collar, which was a
very beautiful one. He wanted to stop and tell the other dogs all about
it. But the four boys were in a hurry, and they pulled at his rope so
that he had to follow them.
At last they reached the bottom of the hill that the boy had coasted
down. It was ever so much harder to climb _up_ that hill than it had
been running down it that morning. But at last they got to the top and
Bingo began to feel very excited because he recognized the street that
they were now walking along. Every single day he walked along that
street with Charlie and Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie on their way to
the park.
And--then at last they reached the garden gate and Bingo was home! He
was so excited that he barked “Yap, yap, yap!”
Charlie was eating his supper in the dining room and when he heard it
he said, “That’s Bingo’s bark!” and he and his Mother and his Auntie
and his Daddy all jumped up from the table and ran to the front door.
And--there were the four little boys holding Bingo by the rope!
Well, you may be sure that everybody was glad to see Bingo. Charlie
grabbed him in his arms and hugged him while he thanked the boys for
bringing him home, and Charlie’s Mother and his Auntie thanked them
also. Then Charlie’s Daddy put his hand in his pocket and he brought
out four beautiful new quarters and he gave one to each of the boys, so
they were very happy, too. But the happiest of all was Bingo, he barked
till he could bark no more because he was hoarse. He barked so loudly
that he wakened Jane and Topsy from their nap and they came out to see
what it all meant.
When Jane saw Bingo, what do you think she did? Why, she started to
wash him! Yes, she did; she washed him all over and he needed it, I can
tell you.
Then, when Bingo was nice and clean, Charlie gave him his dinner, and
when he had eaten it he was so tired that he curled up beside Jane on
the kitchen rug, just as if he was a baby puppy again, and went fast
asleep. But always after that, Bingo would come when he was called.
He came so quickly when Charlie called, “Bingo, Bingo, Bingo,” that
everybody noticed it, and said to Charlie, “What a well-trained dog you
have. Did you train him yourself?” And Charlie would say, “Yes, I did.
He _is_ a clever dog; there isn’t _anything_ that Bingo can’t do!” And
I don’t believe there was!
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
WHAT CHARLIE DID ON A RAINY DAY
One day it was a rainy day. The rain poured and it poured, and the wind
blew. It was a very disagreeable day. It poured so hard that Charlie
could not go out in the yard and play in his little house. His Mother
and his Auntie both said that it was the kind of day when it is best
to stay indoors.