Show I II 1 I 1 r V 11 S FJ 8 7 i THE LITTLE WOODEN DOG Old Gubbo was vas a a. wood chopper and h he had been n working hard hald all allI I the morning so eo w. when hen It was WIlS time to cat tho dinner list Ilia wife Martha J had put into the tin kettle he did not wait waitto to finish splitting the limb his hlf hatchet was burled In he left lett It on ont onI t I tho the ground and hurried d to the tree un under er which his hie pall sat sale In the pall was a a. piece of at mince pie It was the kind Gubbo loved j i but best of ot all was vas his pipe which Ire fro took look from his pocket when ho he had eaten all the good things old Martha had hl given hiven him And while he smoked old Gubbo picked up a a. piece Co of ot wood and Aud began Jan to to whittle something And what hat do you ou think It was wasT It was a a. little wooden do dog that Old Gubbo fashioned with Ith his knife for i Gubbo dear deary loved a a. dot doc but old Martha lartha would world have havo none Qt of them bo so t O When Gubbo was alone and saw eav bits of at wood and had his knife he ht always alwa's whittled out a little do dog and I 1 sat eat It up wh where re he could see sec It pretending pretending pre pre- I tending It was alive Now Bruno bo boy he said ald to the little wooden dog watch my pall pail for tor I 1 have left lett a a. pl piece ce of ot bread and meat See that no one takes it It for tor forI torI I shall be hungry before night After he put the little wooden doSby dog doS by his hill pall pau Gubbo forgot all about 1 him and began bee chopping wood and It was as then that the change took place In tho the wooden dog dof A sly 1 wood elf happened to come corne that wa way and when he saw the funny funn square wooden dog by the pall he began bean to laugh h and then he be danced for he had thought of at a a. trick to play on the wooden dog b by Gubbo's Gubbo's Gubbo's Gub- Gub bos bo's pall pail I will touch him he said Mid and make him alive It tl will be a good joke on Old Gubbo So the M dy y ei elf cit did touch the little wooden dog and he wagged his tall then he sniffed the air and smelled tho the meat and then what hal do you s think the little wooden dog did next 1 He Me ate up all nil of or Gubbo's meat and I b bread ad But the y very rY worst thing happened later When Gubbo took up his pall pail to go home Instead of or throwing little wooden do dog away away as he usually did with the dogs doss he whittled out Gubbo put little wooden dog doS In his pocket I and carried him home He lie put little wooden dog doS on the i 1 shelf over the fireplace beside a lIttie lit littie little lIt lIt- I tie tle china chinn puss for tor Gubbo knew nothing noth ing about the trick the wood elf had played on him Put wooden dog dos was very quiet very quiet Indeed He looked tt U pussy out of at his eye but not a n nI move C did he ho make until Old Gubbo and Martha were In bed and fast tast I asleep and then little wooden dog doS began to growl j i r G he said and opened J his mouth At poor little pussy PUSS In a away way that frightened her very much tso tiO much that she sho fell right off ott the I shelf hel onto the floor loor and hit a mouse that was wan nibbling something on the j 1 hearth by the fireplace Little LULIe mouse thinking that some dreadful creature had fallen upon him squeaked and nd ran Into the hc first hole he came cune to and that happened to be bo the trap Martha artha had set for tor tori fori i him When little china pussy cat fell teU to the floor loor little wooden dog doS lo lost t his balance and over he went loo too landing landIng landIng land- land Ing on on the hearth beside pussy but buthe buthe he picked himself up tip and began beSan growling again and then thinking nf of something to eat at he ho hopped to the closet for tor ou know he could not i run or trot with only two thick legs He lie found some meat and also some Bom bread and when he had eaten he felt much better hetter natured d so 80 he went hack had to the alto china puss and told her he h would help her sit up before betor the fire fired which he did Hd by poking her with I his nose until she sat up as she did any or cr th the tho shelf shelt I f i Do Do you live 0 hero here h all the time Um he ho 1 C Kt AT 4 A rR e UPA OF CA' s' s C IVA r P asked china p pussy but hut before she could answer something terrible happened A spark flew out from the fire and landed right on poor little wooden dogs dog's nose and md being wood It U burned and little wooden dog hied kled kl- kl ed td and hopped making such a noise that poor Ol Old Gubbo and Martha thought something dreadful had golten gotten gotten got got- ten Into their hoU house e an and th they covered cov cov- ered up their heads and trembled It Is all aU th the wicked elves and th their lr saM said Old and an she e to get up but Gubbo had hadnot hadnot not thought of ot getting Into trouble so ho he kept his head under the clothes until morning Next morning Gubbo looked at lit little little little lit lit- tle wooden dog doS and ho he was sure he saw nw his little square tall tail move but butof butof butor of or course he did not tell teU Martha because because be- be cause she did not like little dogs dOIS Every morning he tool little wooden dog clog to tho the woods with him and al always always al- al ways some of at tho the dinner disappeared so Gubbo knew that little wooden do dog must have havo been touched b by a n fairy or oran oran oran an elf eU and ho laughs to himself when Martha lartha says it Is queer how that wooden dog doS falls of off the shelf so RO ott often n and In tho the morning Is found In front of or the fire tire Copyright 1916 1915 by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate New v Tork York City Tomorrows Tomorrow's story The story The Mermaid and Her tier Lover LoYer |