Poogie and Sibella

Introduction

I WAS all through writing this story about Poogie and Sibella and had put away my pencil and eraser when Somebody said, “Aren’t you going to write an introduction?” “Do I have to?” I asked.

“Well, of course, all good books have in¬ troductions,” said Somebody.

So I had to get my pencil and eraser and think what I would say in an introduction, for of course this is a good book and if all good books have introductions, mine must have one, too.

Introductions are supposed to tell Some¬ body who Somebody Else is, so perhaps I’d better tell you who Poogie and Sibella are.

Poogie isn’t a name I made up. It’s a real dog’s name. A woman who lived next door to me had a brindle bull pup she called Poogie. He wasn’t good for anything ex¬ cept to bark, and for me to put in a story.

Sibella is a name I made up. It’s just about the first cat’s name I ever made up, so if it isn’t a very good one, that’s why. I never saw a cat like Sibella, but I’m sure there are lots and lots of them almost like her and they would probably act just about the way she did and say the things she did.

And now that I have introduced you to Poogie and Sibella, perhaps you had better begin reading about them right away before your mother says, “Bedtime!” the way she always does just when you get in the most interesting places.

P. S. I almost forgot to tell you how to pronounce Poogie's name. It always makes him cross to have it mispronounced.

The “g” sounds like the “g” in “good” and not like the “g” in “gentle.”

—Nita Van Housen

CHAPTER I Poogie and Sibella Go to a Circus

I DON’T know what kind of dog Poogie was. He was brown and black and looked as though he might be a bull pup, but per¬ haps he wasn't. It really doesn’t matter what kind of dog he was. It’s more interesting to know what he did than to know what he was.

Sibella was a large yellow cat who knew how to make her tail big and fluffy and how to see in the dark. Sibella sounds like a girl's name, but it isn’t. It’s a cat's name, for I made it up myself. I don't know what kind of cat Sibella was, only I know she wasn't a Persian because she didn't come from Persia.

Poogie and Sibella lived in a little yellow house at the end of Little-John-Lane. I don't know why it was called Little-John- Lane. It was just a name somebody gave it a long time before Poogie and Sibella came there to live.

One day Poogie and Sibella started to look for a saucer of milk, a chicken bone and a bunch of catnip. The chicken bone was for Poogie and the saucer of milk and the catnip were for Sibella.

As usual Poogie was scolding Sibella for wanting the catnip. Poogie said he could understand anyone wanting a saucer of milk; but catnip was only a queer sort of weed growing in the garden and all Sibella wanted it for was to roll in it.

'You are foolish, Sibella,” said Poogic crossly. “We can't waste time looking for catnip for you to roll in. You can just as well roll in the grass.”

“What?” asked Sibella, who wasn’t pay¬ ing attention.

“I said you could roll in the grass,” said Poogie.

“What grass?” asked Sibella.

“Why, our grass; the grass in our yard,” said Poogie.

“But why should I roll in our grass?” said Sibella.

“Dear me, Sibella, I wish you would pay attention. I was saying you didn’t need cat¬ nip to roll in when we have a yard full of grass,” explained Poogie impatiently.

“But I don’t want to roll in our grass and I do want to roll in catnip. You see, it smells better,” said Sibella.

“No, I don't see. I can’t see the smell of catnip and you can’t either, Sibella.”

Sibella didn’t say anything more for she knew there was no use trying to make Poogie understand about catnip. She walked along thinking her thoughts and not paying atten¬ tion to anything. Of course she was paying attention to her thoughts but not to any¬ thing else.

Suddenly Poogie exclaimed, “Look!"

“Look where?" said Sibella, still thinking her thoughts.

“Look there!” cried Poogie.

“And where is there?" asked Sibella.

“Oh, Sibella, you are so stupid!" sighed Poogie. “Look at that big signboard in front of us with all those dogs and cats on it."

Sibella stopped thinking her thoughts, sat down on the sidewalk, curled her tail neatly around her, and looked at the signboard.

It was a very large signboard and there was a colored poster on it showing dozens of dogs and cats performing all sorts of tricks. Some were walking on their hind feet, some were turning somersaults, some were climb¬ ing ladders and riding on teeter-tawters and merry-go-rounds. It was a most exciting poster, especially to Poogie and Sibella who had never seen dogs and cats do such won¬ derful things.

“Poogie,” said Sibella, “can you read what it says?”

“I don’t know,” said Poogie. “Maybe I can read some of it. I can read three-letter words if there aren't too many capitals.”

“Try if you can,” said Sibella. “Take plenty of time.”

Poogie sat down beside Sibella on the side¬ walk but he didn't curl his tail around him because his tail was not a real tail at all. It was just a little stub about an inch long. Poogie used it to steer himself when his hind legs ran faster than his front ones.

When he was all fixed comfortable, he squinted up his left eye and began to read what it said on the signboard.

“‘D-O-G,’ that says ‘DOG,’ and ‘A-N-D,’ that says ‘AND.’ Oh, that’s easy,—‘DOG AND.’ ”

"But that doesn't mean anything, Poogie, —‘DOG AND,'” said Sibella.

“Don't interrupt me, Sibella, I haven’t finished,” said Poogie. “‘C-A-T,’ that says ‘CAT.’ There, that’s what it says: ‘DOG AND CAT.’”

‘“DOG AND CAT,’—but what about dog and cat?” complained Sibella.

‘‘I don't know,” said Poogie. ‘‘That’s all it says. At least that’s all I can read. The next word has six letters and I don’t know any six-letter words.”

‘‘Couldn't you—couldn’t you read the first three letters, Poogie, and then the other three letters?” asked Sibella doubtfully.

“Of course not, Sibella. Don’t be foolish. That isn’t the way to read,” said Poogie.

“But, Poogie, I want to know what it says. Maybe ‘DOG AND CAT’ would mean something if we knew what the six-letter word meant.”

“Well, I’ll try it, but I don’t think it will do any good. You can't read words in parts that way,” said Poogie.

He squinted up his right eye this time and, after a long time, he began to read. “‘C-I-R,’ that says ‘SIR,’ and ‘C-U-S,’ that says ‘KUS.’ There, you see it doesn't mean anything; ‘SIR’ and ‘KUS.’”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t mean any¬ thing,” said Sibella. “ ‘SIR-KUS, SIR-KUS,

CIRCUS’! Poogie, Poogic, it says ‘CIR¬ CUS!’”

Poogie got up and turned around three times. Then he sat down on his little one-inch tail and said, "So it does, Sibella, it says ‘DOG AND CAT CIRCUS’!”

They were so amazed they had nothing more to say for five minutes. Then Sibella said, “Let’s go; Poogie, let’s go to the DOG AND CAT CIRCUS.”

“We haven’t time,” said Poogie. “It takes time to go to a circus.”

“We could use the time we were going to spend looking for the chicken bone,” sug¬ gested Sibella.

“Indeed, we couldn’t,” cried Poogie, “I can’t go without my supper. But I’ll tell you what we can do; we can use the time we were going to spend looking for the cat¬ nip. If you have a saucer of milk you can get along without the catnip.”

Sibella wanted the catnip but she also wanted to go to the DOG AND CAT CIRCUS so at last she agreed.

Down the street they went.

When they came to the tent, in they walked. It was a wonderful circus. A little dog wearing a uniform of blue came out and played on a drum. Then all the other dogs and cats marched around the big ring in the middle of the tent. After that there were ever so many acts. Little dogs dressed in fluffy pink and blue dresses danced and one was a clown dog. He lay down and pretended to be dead. Another dog poured water on him and he came to life again. The cats also did delightful tricks. They rode in doll carriages pushed by dogs dressed up to look like nurses. They rode on a merry-go-round and on a teeter-tawter. Sibella had not known that cats could do such clever things. She wished she could be in a circus and ride on a merry-go-round.

By and by a big basket with something green in it was set down in the middle of the ring. Poogie said, “I wonder what is in that basket.”

Sibella sniffed once or twice and then ex¬ claimed, ‘‘I know; it's catnip.”

In a moment all the circus cats came marching one by one toward the basket. Each one hopped into the basket, rolled over and over, hopped out and ran away. The smell of catnip filled all the tent.

Sibella sniffed and sniffed, and wrinkled up her nose and her tail waved back and forth as it hung down back of the seat.

Suddenly she sprang up and, before Poogie could stop her, she ran to the basket, hopped in, rolled over three times, hopped out and came trotting back to her place beside Poogie.

Everybody laughed and Poogie was dread¬ fully ashamed. He got up very stiffly and walked out of the tent. Sibella followed him wondering why Poogie was leaving before the show was over.

Poogie scolded all the way home, but Sibella was thinking some very important thoughts and paid no attention to him.

On the way they found the chicken bone and a saucer of milk.

"Of course you’ll get no catnip," growled Poogie, "for we used the time to go to the circus that we might have spent hunting for catnip."

Sibella only purred loudly and went on thinking her thoughts. She did not care about the catnip now. Had she not rolled in a whole basketful at the circus?

CHAPTER II Poogie and Sibella Go Fishing

A FEW days after Poogie and Sibella went to the DOG AND CAT CIR¬ CUS, Poogie woke up in the morning with a headache.

“Let me put a poultice on your head,” said Sibella.

“Don't be foolish, Sibella,” said Poogie, “nobody cures a headache with a poultice.”

“Then I'll sing to you,” said Sibella.

So she purred loud and low, low and loud, until Poogie clapped his paws over his ears and told Sibella to stop that racket.

Poor Sibella looked very much hurt, but she knew there was no use trying to please Poogie when he had a headache. So she just opened her little pink mouth and yawned very wide. Then she stretched herself, and pushed all her claws out to be sure they were in good working order. Then she sat down with her tail curled around her and began thinking some important thoughts.

It was very still in the garden and Sibella and Poogie were almost asleep.

Suddenly Poogie sprang up with a yelp of excitement and said, “Sibella, I know what let's do; let’s go fishing. It will cure my headache.”

Sibella opened her eyes and stared at Poogie. Then she got up slowly and said, “All right, Poogie, we’ll go fishing.”

Poogie and Sibella often went fishing although they never caught any fish. Some¬ times, however, they caught other things.

Once Poogie caught a cold because he got his feet wet, and once Sibella caught a cricket.

Soon they were on their way across the meadow toward the brook. Poogie frisked about, chasing his tail and jumping over his shadow, but Sibella walked along sedately, waving her tail and thinking important thoughts.

It was very hot so they stopped under a tree to rest. Poogie had forgotten all about his headache and talked cheerfully about the fish he was going to catch.

“What kind of a fish will it be?” asked Sibella.

“It will be a dogfish, or else maybe a cat¬ fish,” answered Poogie. “If it is a dogfish, I’ll eat it and if it is a catfish, you may have it.”

“How can you tell which it is?” asked Sibella.

Poogie didn’t know how he could tell so he didn't say anything.

For a long time they lay quietly under the tree. The sun shone warm and bright and the leaves rustled faintly in the breeze.

By and by Poogie went to sleep. He snored ever so little and sometimes his leg kicked or his little one-inch tail twitched. He was dreaming of the fish he was going to catch.

Sibella wasn’t asleep. She sat perfectly quiet, listening to Poogie snore and thinking some important thoughts. Suddenly her eyes opened wider and her tail trembled. Her sharp claws dug into the ground, and she crouched down flat in the grass. A moment later she sprang right over Poogie toward little Mollie Fieldmouse who was on her way home from the Mouse Market with some cheese and some mouse cinnamon rolls.

But Sibella was not quite quick enough. Mollie Fieldmouse scampered off through the grass laughing to herself, and that night she had a wonderful time telling all her friends about her narrow escape.

Sibella sat down again with her tail curled around her, and this time she began washing her face. Sibella was very particular about her appearance and spent a great deal of time washing herself.

Once Poogie opened his eyes but, when he saw Sibella washing her face, he closed them again and went back to sleep.

Sibella had nearly finished washing behind her left ear when a big fat bumble bee came bumbling along. He paid no attention to Sibella but bumbled over toward Poogie.

Poogie popped his eyes open when he heard the bumble bee and he tried to brush it away from his face. At that instant he felt something hot and stinging on the tenderest part of his little black nose.

“Ki! Yi! Ki! Yi! Sibella! Sibella! I’m stung; a bee stung me!” wailed Poogie.

He pushed his little nose into the soft dirt and rubbed it against the bark of the tree but he couldn't stop the pain. In a few minutes his nose began to swell.

Sibella wanted to laugh because Poogie looked so funny with his nose all swollen and the tears running down his cheeks. But Sibella was a polite cat and knew better than to laugh at any one who was in trouble, so she only said, ‘‘Come on, Poogie, let’s go home.”

They started home across the meadow, forgetting all about the fish they were going to catch. Poogie moaned and complained all the way and scolded Sibella for walking so fast.

“Sibella, don't walk so fast. My face is swelling so I can scarcely see.”

Sibella walked more slowly, and at last they reached the little house in Little-John- Lane.

“Now, Poogie,” said Sibella, “I’ll make a poultice for your nose and then I’ll sing you a song.”

Poogie was glad enough to have the poul¬ tice this time, and he lay quite still while Sibella made it and put it on him.

When he was comfortable, Sibella sat beside him and began to purr. Loud and low, low and loud she purred. Soon Poogie was asleep and snoring.

When Sibella was sure Poogie was asleep, she curled her tail around her and began thinking some very important thoughts which she should have thought the day before.

Chapter III

Poogie and Sibella Find the Pot of Gold at the Foot of the Rainbow

O NE warm afternoon Poogie came around the corner of the house just in time to see Sibella bite off a long blade of grass. She slowly and thoughtfully ate this as though she thoroughly enjoyed it. Poogie watched in astonishment until Sibella had finished and had begun to bite off another blade, then he called sharply, “Sibella!"

Sibella looked up in surprise and then said, “Oh, is that you, Poogie?"

“Of course it’s me," answered Poogie. “Who else could it be?”

“We-e-11,” said Sibella thoughtfully, “it might be the Ice-Man.”

“Well, it isn’t the Ice-Man,” snapped Poogie, and then added, “but, Sibella, why were you eating grass? Cats don’t eat grass.”

“Yes, they do,” replied Sibella, “but I don't know why, unless it’s a sign of rain.”

“How can a cat eating grass be a sign of rain?” asked Poogie.

“I don’t know but I heard a woman tell her little boy one day that, when a cat ate grass, it would rain before night.”

“Well, I don’t believe it,” growled Poogie crossly, as he curled himself up on the door¬ mat and went to sleep with one eye. He kept the other eye open to watch Sibella.

Sibella carefully washed her face and paws and then, wrapping her tail around her, she, too, went to sleep with one eye. She kept the other eye open to watch Poogie.

Suddenly they were both startled by a rumble of thunder and the next moment big drops of rain began to patter down. Poogie and Sibella lay on the doormat inside the porch and watched the rain.

Poogie didn’t like the thunder. It made little shivers run up and down his back and he wanted to run into the house and crawl under the bed. But he knew Sibella would laugh at him so he sat still—all except his little one-inch tail. It wriggled and jerked with nervousness but Sibella didn’t notice.

In less than half an hour the rain was over and the sun came out. Sibella arose, stretched herself, sharpened her claws on the doormat and said, “You see it was a sign of rain when I ate grass.’’

Poogie didn’t believe it but he didn’t know what to say, so he only grunted.

Sibella walked slowly down the walk, waving her tail and looking very thought¬ ful. Before she reached the gate she heard Poogie give an excited little bark and come running after her.

Sibella turned around and sat down, say¬ ing, “Well, Poogie, I suppose you have thought of something.”

Sibella said that, because Poogie always barked when he had a bright idea. Of course Sibella wondered what it was.

“Sibella!” cried Poogie, “let's look for the pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow!”

“Where is the rainbow?” asked Sibella.

“Don't be silly, Sibella—isn't there always a rainbow after a rain?”

“Well, where is it?” she asked stubbornly.

“Oh, it’s around here some place, I guess,” answered Poogie. “Anyway the foot of it would be right over there in the meadow beside the brook.”

“How do you know it would?” asked Sibella.

“Because the end of every rainbow is in a meadow. Come on, Sibella, let’s look for the pot of gold.”

Sibella didn’t know much about rainbows and pots of gold, but she did know there was no use arguing with Poogie. So, with a sigh, she got up, yawned and said, “All right, Poogie.”

They started off across the meadow toward the brook. Poogie was so excited he ran round and round in circles, chasing his little one-inch tail. Sibella, as usual, walked along sedately, thinking her thoughts and not pay¬ ing attention to anything.

Once she did stop thinking long enough to say, “Who told you there was a pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow?"

“Oh, I heard a woman tell her little boy,” answered Poogie.

Now there really wasn’t any rainbow at all so of course Poogie couldn’t find the end of it but that made no difference to him. He was very sure he knew where to go to search for the pot of gold.

However, when they reached the brook they could see nothing that looked like a pot of gold. Sibella sat down and looked dis¬ gusted, while Poogie ran up and down the brook peering among the bushes.

At last Sibella called after him, “I thought they always dug in the ground for gold.”

Poogie stopped short. “Of course! Sibella, you are right! Why didn't I think of that?”

He came running back to Sibella, his little pink tongue hanging out and his little one-inch tail jerking excitedly.

“Of course, Sibella,” he repeated, “we must dig."

“'Wei” said Sibella scornfully, “cats don’t dig in the ground.”

Poogie sighed, for he knew it was true. If there were any digging to be done, he would have to do it himself. He looked about him and at last he said, “Over there in that black spot is the place to dig. The pot of gold is there, I'm sure. We will just dig and dig until we find it.”

Sibella said nothing although she didn’t believe there was a pot of gold anywhere near them.

Poogie began to dig. His forepaws worked so fast the dirt fairly flew. Some of it flew out behind him and hit Sibella. Sibella moved around in front of Poogie. In a few minutes Poogie was standing on his head in the hole with his little one-inch tail point¬ ing straight upward.

And then—with a glad yelp, he withdrew his head and, shaking the dirt out of his eyes, he cried, “I’ve found it! Sibella, I’ve found it!”

“Found what?” murmured Sibella, who was half asleep.

“Oh, Sibella, you are so stupid!” wailed Poogie. “Why can’t you pay attention?”

Without waiting to scold any more he plunged into the hole again and began to dig. In another moment he came out of the hole with something in his mouth. He laid it down on the ground and looked at it in surprise. Sibella got up and walked over to see the pot of gold.

“Do you call that a pot of gold, Poogie? It looks to me like an old bone.”

“It is!” answered Poogie delightedly. “I buried it here a long time ago and forgot all about it. I’ll take it home. I need a new bone to gnaw; my old one is all worn out.”

“But I thought you wanted to find the pot of gold,” said Sibella.

“This suits me better than a pot of gold,” answered Poogie, as he picked up the bone and trotted off toward home.

“But what about me?” called Sibella.

Poogie couldn't answer because he had the bone in his mouth, so he just trotted on.

Sibella sighed and walked slowly after him thinking some thoughts she had forgotten to think yesterday.

CHAPTER IV Poogie and Sibella Have an Exciting Experience

I T WAS Saturday afternoon. Poogie and Sibella had been fishing. Poogie had caught a rabbit—that is, he almost caught it—and Sibella had caught a field mouse, so they were going home quite happy.

Just as they reached a big tree in the mid¬ dle of the meadow they heard a strange and terrible roaring right over their heads. They looked up and Poogie yelped with terror. He tried to put his tail between his legs but, of course, a one-inch tail isn’t much good to put between one’s legs, so instead he yelped some more and tried to run. Sibella’s tail was a perfectly good tail and, when Sibella saw what was right over her head, she fluffed it up until it was twice as large as usual, and she spit fiercely and growled angrily.

The terrible thing above them paid no attention. It passed over their heads so close it almost seemed to touch them and it came crashing to the ground only a few feet in front of them. It ran along a little way, and then stopped. The roaring ceased and all was still.

Poor Poogie and Sibella had been so frightened they couldn’t move but now they began running as fast as they could. To reach home they had to run quite near the monster and, just as they were hurrying past, a man stepped out of the thing and called to them, “Well, Pup and Kitty, did I scare you?”

Poogie could always tell when people were 32 his friends. He didn’t know how he knew, but he always did. Poogie knew this man was a special friend of dogs so he stopped and waited to see what would happen. Sibella didn’t care anything about the man but she wouldn’t leave Poogie.

The man came toward them smiling and talking. “Come here, old boy,” he said to Poogie. “I won’t hurt you. Sorry my air¬ plane frightened you but I had to come down quickly. Something went wrong and I didn't want a tumble, even if I did land in such a pretty meadow.”

By this time he was quite close to Poogie and Sibella who still trembled although they were no longer afraid. The man patted Poogie on the head and smoothed Sibella's fur until her tail was again its usual size.

“Come on, you two, and help me fix this machine,” the man finally said.

Of course Poogie and Sibella couldn’t really help but they followed the man and stood watching while he fixed some part of the bird-like creature that had come down in the meadow.

In a few minutes the man had finished and was about to climb into the airplane. Suddenly he stopped and looked at Poogie and Sibella. Then he laughed and said, “How would you like a ride in this thing to pay for your fright?”

Poogie and Sibella did not understand exactly what the man said but by this time Poogie was very much in love with him and wanted to keep near him. Sibella didn’t care about the man, but she always followed Poogie wherever he went.

With another laugh the man reached down, picked up Poogie and Sibella, dropped them into the airplane and climbed in too.

Almost at once the dreadful roaring began again and, as the airplane ran along on the ground, Poogie and Sibella went bumping about like two rubber balls.

“Oh, Sibella, what is it? What is hap¬ pening?” cried Poogie.

“I don’t know,” answered Sibella, “but you were foolish to follow that man.”

Poogie was trying to appear very brave, so he said nothing more.

Soon the bumping ceased although the roaring continued. Poogie and Sibella didn't know it but, by this time, they were flying high above the meadow. The man looked down at them and laughed to see Sibella’s tail sticking up, twice as large as usual.

“Scared, Kitty?" he asked.

When Poogie heard the man’s voice, he looked up and, at once, all his fear was gone. He knew everything was all right. This man was a real friend and they were safe.

In a short time they landed, bumping along for some distance before the airplane stopped. The man lifted Poogie and Sibella out, patted them and said, “Good-by, Pup and Kitty."

He climbed into the airplane again and was off. Poogie and Sibella watched until he was a far-ofF speck in the sky and then they turned and looked at each other, their eyes round with astonishment.

“Sibella," gasped Poogie, “do you suppose we were up there in the sky when we were in that thing?"

Sibella was so amazed she couldn't speak, so she only nodded.

“Sibella, what do you suppose that thing is?” asked Poogie.

“It’s an eagle,” said Sibella.

“No, it isn’t an eagle,” answered Poogie. “It's too big for an eagle.”

“Well, then,” said Sibella, “what is it?”

“It's—it’s—a camel,” said Poogie at last.

Sibella looked doubtful. “How do you know it’s a camel?” she asked.

“Well, people ride on camels, don’t they? And didn’t we ride on this thing? So it must be a camel,” declared Poogie.

Sibella didn’t believe it was a camel but, since she had never seen a camel, she wasn't sure. She sat still a long time and then she said, “Poogie, let’s go home.”

They started home across the meadow. Poogie was hungry and, remembering a bone he had buried that morning, he ran on ahead. Sibella followed slowly, thinking some en¬ tirely new thoughts.

CHAPTER V Poogie Becomes a Hero

S OMETIMES Poogie and Sibella went to visit a friend of Poogie’s who lived on the other side of the brook. One morning Poogie said, “Come on, Sibella, let’s go and see Jip. I told him we would come over today.” •

Sibella was washing her right hind foot and did not answer.

“Sibella, did you hear me?” asked Poogie. “Yes,” said Sibella, “I heard you but I don’t want to go to see Jip.”

"Why not?” asked Poogie.

Sibella did not answer. She began to wash her left hind foot.

Poogie watched her for a moment and then he said, “I know why you don’t want to go, Sibella; you are afraid to cross the bridge.”

"Well,” said Sibella, "it isn’t much of a bridge and it wiggles.”

"Oh, don’t be silly, Sibella; you won’t fall off and even if you do, it won’t hurt you. The water isn’t deep and you can wade out.”

Sibella sighed. She knew it was no use arguing. She couldn’t make Poogie under¬ stand why cats hate to get their feet wet! So she stretched herself and said, "All right, Poogie, let’s go.”

Poogie gave a yelp of excitement and ran through the gate into the meadow. *He soon came to the little bridge and ran across. The bridge was only a narrow board. It tipped a little but Poogie was not afraid. When he reached the other side he sat down to wait for Sibella.

Sibella came slowly across the meadow, thinking her thoughts and waving her tail. She paid no attention to Poogie when she reached the bridge, but carefully and sedately walked across.