Charlie and His Puppy Bingo

by Helen Hill; Violet Maxwell

The fireman also has to blow a whistle, whenever the train comes to a crossing or to the station. And when they got to the last stop—which was the village where Charlie and his Mother and his Auntie and Bingo and Topsy and Jane were going to live for a whole month—the fireman let Charlie blow the whistle himself! Yes, he did, and you should have heard what a loud whistle Charlie blew.

Well, at last they had come to the end of their journey, and Charlie certainly had learned a whole lot about engines. Yes, Charlie had learned a whole lot more than most people know. Of course he told his Mother and his Auntie about everything, so that they, too, should know all about what the fireman and the engineer do to make the train go.

And Charlie said, “Now, when I get home to the city I will be able to play with my train in just the right way. I will be able to play that I am the fireman and the engineer, and I will know ex-act-ly what they do, and I will practice and practice being a fireman so that I can be one when I grow up!”

BINGO AND THE ANGRY ROOSTER

I TOLD you in the last story how Charlie and his Mother and his Auntie and his Daddy and Topsy and Bingo and Jane all went to the country together. And how Charlie rode on the engine, which he liked very much, but Topsy and Jane had to travel in baskets, which they did not like at all, and Bingo had to travel all by himself in the baggage car, and he did not like that either.

But when at last they arrived at the farm where they were going to stay for a whole month, Charlie opened the baskets and let Jane and Topsy out, and he unfastened Bingo’s leash, and they all went exploring together. Then Jane and Topsy and Bingo were delighted. They liked the country tre-men-dous-ly, and the longer they stayed the more they liked it.

There were so many delightful things for cats and dogs to do, which they could not do in the city. Instead of long straight roads with automobiles dashing past all the time, there were fields and meadows to run around in. There were tall trees for Topsy to climb and nice muddy puddles for Bingo to roll in, and Jane could go out for long walks by herself without ever meeting anything dangerous.

Charlie always got up very early when he was in the country because he liked to see the cows milked, and Topsy and Bingo and Jane liked to see the cows milked also. Charlie always carried three little bowls down to the barn, and the farmer filled them with milk straight from the cow, so that Topsy and Bingo and Jane could have their breakfast without waiting. This interested them all three very much, because they knew that at home their milk always came out of a milk bottle which had been left at the front door by the milkman.

All the time that Charlie was in the country he was allowed to run around in the fields and meadows all by himself, and of course Topsy and Bingo followed him wherever he went. It would take a whole book by itself to tell you all the delightful things that they did together.