Charlie and His Puppy Bingo

by Helen Hill; Violet Maxwell

Yes, the water rose, and it rose until it was a nice big pool and came up to the top of the banks on both sides, and then it began to dribble over the top of the dam. So Charlie knew that the dam was finished! Of course the water in the pool was dreadfully muddy, but Charlie did not mind a bit. Why should he, when the pool was so nice and wide and deep? Yes, it was so deep that it came all the way up to his knees!

Then Charlie saw his Mother and his Auntie walking across the field from the house. They had come to see how Charlie was getting along with his dam.

And, my goodness, how astonished they were when they saw that Charlie had ac-tu-al-ly finished the dam and what a huge big pool he had made!

But both his Mother and his Auntie could not help laughing when they saw how Charlie was all covered with mud. He had mud all over the front of his overalls, and on his hands, and there was a big splash of mud on the end of his nose!

Then his Mother said, “Now, Charlie, dinner will soon be ready, so you must hurry home and wash your face and hands, and put on a clean suit. Then after dinner you may sail your boat in your beautiful big pool.”

So Charlie ran to the house, and he washed his face, and he scrubbed his hands, and he put on a clean blue sailor suit, and he ate his dinner.

Then he gave Topsy and Bingo and Jane their dinner. And then—he and his Mother and his Auntie went down to the pool to sail the boat. And, what do you think? The mud had all settled at the bottom of the pool while Charlie was eating his dinner, and the pool was as clear as glass so that you could see to the very bottom and you could see the dam that Charlie had built.

Then Charlie launched his boat. The pool was deep enough—but the boat did not sail quite well even yet. No, the boat leaned a little to one side and, when a gust of wind came, it would have turned right over if Charlie had not caught hold of the mast just in time.

Charlie felt very sad that his boat would not sail properly when he had built such a beautiful pool for it.

But his Auntie said, “Cheer up, Charlie, I know exactly what is the matter with the boat so that it will not sail, and it can be fixed so that it will sail beautifully. The trouble is that the boat has not enough ballast. That means that the masts and the sails are too heavy for the keel. But if we nail a strip of lead along the bottom of the keel the boat will stay upright and will not lean to one side.”