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Zip the Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier - Frances Trego Montgomery · Jules Verne Audiobooks

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Speaker 1: Chapter one of Zip The Adventures of a Frisky Fox
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Speaker 1: Terrier by Francis Trego Montgomery. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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Speaker 1: by Leanne Howlett. Chapter one, in which Zip is introduced
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Speaker 1: to the reader. Zip belongs to doctor Ellsworth, who lives
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Speaker 1: in the big white house with the green blinds on
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Speaker 1: the edge of the village of Maplewood, and at the
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Speaker 1: present minute, he is asleep on the front porch on
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Speaker 1: a soft cushion in an old fashioned rocking chair that
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Speaker 1: has swaying gently to and fro, dreaming of the days
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Speaker 1: when he was a puppy, chasing the white spot on
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Speaker 1: the end of his tail, thinking that it was something
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Speaker 1: following him, and how he would bark at it and
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Speaker 1: run around and around after it until he was so
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Speaker 1: dizzy he would fall over. Then, when the ground stopped
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Speaker 1: spinning round, he would get up and go after it again,
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Speaker 1: barking all the time for it to stop following him.
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Speaker 1: Silly little puppy that he was not to know it
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Speaker 1: was his own tail he was chasing. Often he would
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Speaker 1: bark so loudly in his sleep that it would awaken him,
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Speaker 1: but he would soon fall asleep again and go on dreaming.
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Speaker 1: Sometimes he would be chasing cows holding on to their
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Speaker 1: long tails, at others squawking, cackling chickens, or anything else
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Speaker 1: that happened to be in the road. One day, when
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Speaker 1: thus dreaming, he was just about to pull a mouthful
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Speaker 1: of tail feathers out of Parson higgins pet rooster, when
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Speaker 1: the latch on the front gate clicked. Zip was awake
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Speaker 1: in a minute, sitting up on the cushion with ears
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Speaker 1: sticking straight up, and every nerve alert to see who
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Speaker 1: was coming in the doctor's yard. The first look showed
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Speaker 1: him a ragged tramp with battered hat, unshaven face, and
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Speaker 1: a bundle of clothes tied up in a dirty, faded
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Speaker 1: red handkerchief strung on a cane over his shoulder. That
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Speaker 1: one look was enough for if there was one thing
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Speaker 1: Zip despised and detested more than any other, it was
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Speaker 1: a tramp. And for this one to dare to try
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Speaker 1: to come in the front gate, the gate he never
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Speaker 1: allowed anyone to enter unless they were well dressed, was
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Speaker 1: more than he could stand, and he flew at the
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Speaker 1: fellow as if he were the size of a lion
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Speaker 1: and was going to devour him on the spot. As
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Speaker 1: for the tramp, he hated dogs as much as they
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Speaker 1: hated him. It had been his experience that little dogs
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Speaker 1: had just as sharp teeth as big ones, and were
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Speaker 1: much harder to drive off, as they were so quick
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Speaker 1: they could get around and snap a piece out of
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Speaker 1: one's shins before one could help himself. So when he
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Speaker 1: saw Zip bound off the chair and come running toward
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Speaker 1: him with bristles raised and teeth showing, he slammed the
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Speaker 1: gate and started off down the road. But here he
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Speaker 1: did a silly thing. Instead of going off about his business,
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Speaker 1: he stooped, picked up a stone and threw it at Zip,
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Speaker 1: hitting him squarely on the side and hurting him dreadfully.
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Speaker 1: As the stone was large and sharp. This was too much.
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Speaker 1: He Zip would have a piece of that tramp's leg,
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Speaker 1: or he would know the reason why the tramp thought
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Speaker 1: he was safe in hitting the dog as the gate
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Speaker 1: was shut and the fence high. But whoever yet has
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Speaker 1: succeeded in shutting a little dog in a yard by
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Speaker 1: a high fence. Not many people, i am sure. For
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Speaker 1: the dog will always find a hole to crawl through,
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Speaker 1: or a pail off where he can squeeze through, or
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Speaker 1: not finding these, he will dig a hole under the fence.
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Speaker 1: And this is what Zip had done many weeks before,
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Speaker 1: for he found it necessary to have some place he
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Speaker 1: could get through in a hurry to go after the
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Speaker 1: school children who delighted in teasing him. So now, quick
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Speaker 1: as a flash, he ran for this hole, which was
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Speaker 1: well hidden by a big lilac bush, And before the
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Speaker 1: tramp even knew he was coming, Zip was through the
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Speaker 1: hole and had his little sharp teeth buried in his shin.
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Speaker 1: With a cry of surprise and pain, the tramp turned
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Speaker 1: to see what had hurt him. When he saw the
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Speaker 1: little dog, he raised his cane to strike him, but
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Speaker 1: as it came down, Zip let go his hold and
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Speaker 1: grabbed the bundle that was on the end of the
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Speaker 1: cane and made off with it. This infuriated the tramp
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Speaker 1: and he hobbled after Zip, calling him all sorts of
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Speaker 1: bad names as he came. This. Zip did not mind
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Speaker 1: in the least, but kept right on, dragging the bundle
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Speaker 1: along with him as he ran down the road. Now
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Speaker 1: this bundle was round and heavy, and hard for such
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Speaker 1: a small dog to carry, and it kept tripping him
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Speaker 1: up and rolling him over, but he hung on with
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Speaker 1: the tenacity of a bulldog until he saw the tramp
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Speaker 1: was going to overtake him. Then he decided not to
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Speaker 1: try to carry it to the hole in the fence,
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Speaker 1: but to jump the ditch and drop it in the
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Speaker 1: frog pond. The tramp was almost upon him now and
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Speaker 1: had his cane raised to hit him, but when it
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Speaker 1: came down, it hit the earth, not the dog, for
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Speaker 1: just at that moment, Zip had made a flying leap
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Speaker 1: over the ditch, taking the bundle with him. Once there,
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Speaker 1: he dragged it along or held it up off the
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Speaker 1: ground by stretching his neck up high, until he came
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Speaker 1: to the edge of the frog pond. Then he let
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Speaker 1: go and watched it disappear under the water. By this
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Speaker 1: time the tramp was simply furious and was threatening to
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Speaker 1: catch and kill him, while all the time the saucy
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Speaker 1: little dog barked back, better catch me before you kill me.
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Speaker 1: Splash went a big stone in the water, and if
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Speaker 1: it had hit Zip, it certainly would have killed him
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Speaker 1: as it was so big, but he jumped aside just
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Speaker 1: in time. Then What did this mischievous, daring little dog
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Speaker 1: do but stand perfectly still and watch the tramp come
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Speaker 1: after him, Wading through the tall, wet marsh grass, stumbling
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Speaker 1: as he came. He was within five feet of Zip
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Speaker 1: and was just thinking, one more step and I can
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Speaker 1: reach him, when the long tangle grass caught one foot
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Speaker 1: and threw him face down in the soft, oozy mud.
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Speaker 1: Zip barked a bark that sounded more like a laugh
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Speaker 1: than a bark, making the tramp more determined than ever
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Speaker 1: to kill him, even if he had to fall forty
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Speaker 1: times before he caught him. Had the tramp stopped to think,
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Speaker 1: he might have known that the dog was going to
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Speaker 1: play some trick on him, for whoever heard of a
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Speaker 1: dog standing still while a man with a big, heavy
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Speaker 1: cane was bearing down on him to brain him? But
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Speaker 1: the tramp was far too angry to reason. All he
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Speaker 1: thought of was to kill the dog that had bitten
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Speaker 1: him and then ran off with his clothes. He picked
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Speaker 1: himself up as best he could and made a spring
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Speaker 1: at Zip, bringing his cane down at the same time.
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Speaker 1: But as before, when the cane came down, there was
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Speaker 1: no dog under it. Zip had jumped into the frog
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Speaker 1: pond and was quietly swimming to the opposite shore. When
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Speaker 1: he saw this, the tramp tore his hair with rage,
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Speaker 1: threw clods of mud at him, and fairly yelled with fury,
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Speaker 1: while Zip walked out of the water as if no
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Speaker 1: one was near, shook himself dry, and trotted off home
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Speaker 1: down the other side of the pond, leaving the tramp
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Speaker 1: lying on his stomach trying to fish his bundle of
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Speaker 1: clothes out of the water. Suddenly Zip stopped short, pricked
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Speaker 1: up his ears and listened. Yes, he was right. He
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Speaker 1: had heard the doctor's low, fuliar penetrating whistle. That meant
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Speaker 1: he was about to start on his rounds to see
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Speaker 1: his patients. He never went without Zip sitting up on
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Speaker 1: the seat beside him in his old fashioned buggy. Zip
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Speaker 1: loved these daily trips, for he was a most active, nervous,
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Speaker 1: curious little dog and always wanted to know what was
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Speaker 1: going on throughout the village, and these rides gave him
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Speaker 1: a splendid opportunity to find out. While the doctor was
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Speaker 1: in visiting his patients, Zip would jump out of the
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Speaker 1: buggy and go around to the back of the house
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Speaker 1: to call on the family's cat or dog, whichever it
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Speaker 1: happened to be. And though you may not know it,
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Speaker 1: these animals in every household know what was going on
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Speaker 1: in the home from garrett to cellar, as well as
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Speaker 1: all the family secrets and neighborhood gossip. So you see,
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Speaker 1: Zip was a regular news gatherer, and he not only
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Speaker 1: gathered the news in that way, but he spread it
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Speaker 1: as he went along with the doctor from house to house,
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Speaker 1: so that any one hearing Zip talk did not need
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Speaker 1: to read the newspapers to find out all the village gossip.
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Speaker 1: He knew of all the births, weddings, and funerals, as
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Speaker 1: well as the lover's quarrels, long before anyone else, for
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Speaker 1: generally he was on the spot when they happened. Neither
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Speaker 1: did he mind listening when he saw two young people
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Speaker 1: of the opposite sex strolling down some shady lane or
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Speaker 1: hanging over a garden gate. And like all gossips, he
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Speaker 1: was never happy until he had told someone all the
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Speaker 1: latest news he had gathered. The one to whom he
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Speaker 1: enjoyed telling things the most was the big yellow cat
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Speaker 1: that lived at the doctor's and was the special pet
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Speaker 1: of the cook. The cat's name was Tabby. And she
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Speaker 1: was a big, comfortable, good natured cat who stayed at
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Speaker 1: home and minded her own business. She was also a
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Speaker 1: good listener, which Zip considered one of her best qualities.
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Speaker 1: Like all talkative people, he would rather do the talking
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Speaker 1: and have some one else do the listening. Consequently, Tabby
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Speaker 1: just suited him. After he had come back with the
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Speaker 1: doctor from making his last call for the day, Zip
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Speaker 1: and Tabby would curl up on the front porch or
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Speaker 1: on a garden seat, and he would talk away into
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Speaker 1: the night or until time for him to make the
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Speaker 1: rounds of the place. This as a watchdog, he felt
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Speaker 1: that his duty to do once or twice during the
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Speaker 1: night while Tabby went to the barn to catch mice.
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Speaker 1: His especial bit of gossip this night was that two
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Speaker 1: storks had brought twins to Missus Brown's home the night before,
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Speaker 1: and that the sudden surprise of two babies coming to
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Speaker 1: her house in the middle of the night had made
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Speaker 1: her ill, and she had taken to her bed and
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Speaker 1: called the doctor. Just like Missus Brown to do a
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Speaker 1: thing like that, throw off her hands and give up
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Speaker 1: instead of hustling around heating some milk for the poor
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Speaker 1: little things who must have been hungry after their long
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Speaker 1: journey down from the clouds, sputtered Zip, to which Sage remarked,
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Speaker 1: Tabby assented. Another bit of news was that the ladies
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Speaker 1: of the Episcopal Church were going to give a strawberry
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Speaker 1: festival in the Sunday school rooms on Wednesday evening, and
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Speaker 1: all were cordially invited to attend and to bring their friends,
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Speaker 1: admissioned twenty five cents each. This will be nice for us,
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Speaker 1: remarked Zip, for while Martha is away, we can steal
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Speaker 1: into the milk cellar and lick the cream off the pans.
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Speaker 1: Of course, in the morning she will wonder why Old
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Speaker 1: Bess the red cow did not give as rich milk
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Speaker 1: as usual, But she will think that the chore boy
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Speaker 1: did not feed her enough bran, for she would never
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Speaker 1: suspect Tabby her pet, of doing such a mean thing,
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Speaker 1: and of her own accord. Tabby never would had not
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Speaker 1: Zip put her up to it. The next was that
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Speaker 1: Sophie Hooper and James Stedman were going to be married
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Speaker 1: at last, and he was glad of it for one,
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Speaker 1: for he had seen them courting on the little bridge
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Speaker 1: that crossed the creek in the valley for the last year.
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Speaker 1: Another was that mister Stubbins had a new dog, a
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Speaker 1: red Setter hunting dog, which he believed he was going
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Speaker 1: to hate, as it had barked at him from its
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Speaker 1: kennel when he ran around the house to see their
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Speaker 1: white cat and pass the time of day with her
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Speaker 1: while the doctor was making a call across the street
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Speaker 1: and really tabby from the way that dog barked and
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Speaker 1: pulled on his chain. I am sure he would have
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Speaker 1: eaten me up? Could he have gotten at me? But
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Speaker 1: just wait until he finds who I am, and I
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Speaker 1: guess he will quiet down. End of chapter one, Chapter
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Speaker 1: two of Zip The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier
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Speaker 1: by Francis Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording is in the
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Speaker 1: public domain hoarding by Leanne Howltt. Zip's Exciting News. Why
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Speaker 1: Zip Ellsworth, where in the world have you been? You
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Speaker 1: look all fagged out and you are spattered with mud
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Speaker 1: from head to foot. The doctor has been whistling for
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Speaker 1: you for half an hour, and I just heard him
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Speaker 1: tell Martha to save you a good dinner, for you
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Speaker 1: would be mighty hungry when you came in, as you
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Speaker 1: would have to come a good ten miles. If you
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Speaker 1: got left at the last place he called for it
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Speaker 1: was away over at Mapleville. He said. He never noticed
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Speaker 1: you were not in the buggy until he was nearly home,
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Speaker 1: and then he thought you must be running on behind,
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Speaker 1: as you sometimes do, so you can chase chickens, dogs
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Speaker 1: and cows that are in the road just for the
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Speaker 1: fun of it. Tabby, don't talk to me until I
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Speaker 1: have had a drink. I don't want anything to eat.
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Speaker 1: I am too excited to taste a morsel, and it
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Speaker 1: would stick in my throat if I tried to swallow it. Goodness,
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Speaker 1: gracious me, it must be something awful if it excites
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Speaker 1: you this way, for you generally love excitement, and it
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Speaker 1: doesn't tire you a bit. Come with me until I
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Speaker 1: get a drink and take a swim in the watering
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Speaker 1: trough to get off this mud, and then I will
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Speaker 1: tell you my news and be prepared for a big surprise.
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Speaker 1: Land's sakes, exclaimed Tabby, who has gone and hung himself
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Speaker 1: to the rafters of his barn, or has someone's house
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Speaker 1: burned down with them in it? No, it is neither
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Speaker 1: of those things, and you might as well stop guessing
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Speaker 1: and prepare to listen to what I tell you, for
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Speaker 1: you will never know it otherwise, as I am the
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Speaker 1: only one in the whole village who knows all the
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Speaker 1: ins and outs of the thing. While they were talking,
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Speaker 1: Zip was running from one end of the watering trough
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Speaker 1: to the other, trying to wash the mud off his
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Speaker 1: white coat. Tabby thought he never would get clean. He
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Speaker 1: stayed in so long, and she was near bursting with
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Speaker 1: curiosity to hear what he had to tell. At last,
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Speaker 1: he was through and jumping out and giving himself a
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Speaker 1: good shake. They sought a sunny spot in the back
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Speaker 1: garden where they would not be disturbed, and Zip began
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Speaker 1: his story. In the first place, Have you heard the
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Speaker 1: doctor or any one else talking about the burglars that
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Speaker 1: got in Judge perkins house last night and stole all
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Speaker 1: the silver knives, forks, spoons, and other things they could
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Speaker 1: lay their hands on, besides eating up the pies and
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Speaker 1: the cold chicken that were on the pantry shelf. Oh,
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Speaker 1: do tell me about it. I'm all excitement. I just
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Speaker 1: love to hear about burglars. It is so exciting. It
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Speaker 1: makes me feel all creepy, just like I make the
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Speaker 1: mice feel when they smell me sitting outside their holes,
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Speaker 1: waiting for them to come out so I may pounce
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Speaker 1: upon them. Begin and tell me all about it. Don't
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Speaker 1: leave a thing out that you know. I want it all.
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Speaker 1: How many were there, how did they get in? What
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Speaker 1: did they take? And have they been caught? Go slow, Tabby,
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Speaker 1: one question at a time, if you please, And now,
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Speaker 1: if you will keep still, I'll tell you all I
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Speaker 1: know from the very beginning. Do you remember my telling
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Speaker 1: you about a tramp I bit the other day, the
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Speaker 1: one whose bundle of clothes I dropped in the frog pond?
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Speaker 1: Oh bother the tramp who wants to hear about him? Now?
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Speaker 1: I only want to hear of the burglars, replied impatient Tabby. Well,
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Speaker 1: I have to tell you about this tramp, to tell
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Speaker 1: you the story, and if you don't keep still and listen,
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Speaker 1: I won't tell it at all. And Tabby, knowing he
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Speaker 1: would keep his word, curled her tail more tightly around
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Speaker 1: her legs and sat up stiffly, prepared to listen. To
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Speaker 1: begin at the beginning, said Zip. When the doctor and
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Speaker 1: I got up town this morning, he went into the
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Speaker 1: drug store to get some medicines, and I followed. When
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Speaker 1: we were inside, we heard a lot of excited men
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Speaker 1: talking about the burglars who had gotten in Judge Perkins's
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Speaker 1: house and made off with the silver without being caught.
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Speaker 1: The judge was in the midst of them, telling all
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Speaker 1: he knew. So I listened and got the news first hand.
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Speaker 1: And this is what he said. His wife awoke and
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Speaker 1: thought she heard some one moving around downstairs. Then she
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Speaker 1: wakened the judge and they both listened. Yes, there surely
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Speaker 1: was some one moving cautiously around under them in the
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Speaker 1: dining room. Next they heard, whoever it was, moved to
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Speaker 1: the hall door and began to mount the stairs. As
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Speaker 1: the judge had no firearms, he said, he picked up
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Speaker 1: a chair and tiptoed to the head of the stairs,
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Speaker 1: intending to bring it down on the burglar's head. When
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Speaker 1: he came within hitting distance, the hall was as black
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Speaker 1: as your hat, and he could hear nothing now but
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Speaker 1: his wife's frightened whispers, begging him to come back or
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Speaker 1: the burglar would kill him. Then he heard the burglar's
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Speaker 1: soft step on the stairs. He had reached the first landing,
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Speaker 1: for the judge could tell by the sound of his
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Speaker 1: steps just where he must be. Then a loud howl
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Speaker 1: rent the air. The burglar had stepped on their pet cat,
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Speaker 1: who always sleeps on the stair landing. This surprised the
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Speaker 1: burglar so that he stepped back, lost his balance, and
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Speaker 1: fell bumpety bump to the bottom. The judge rushed back
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Speaker 1: into the bedroom, lit a candle, and holding it high
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Speaker 1: over his head, hurried down the stairs. His wife followed
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Speaker 1: behind with a big umbrella clasping her hand, while the
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Speaker 1: judge was armed with a big black briarwood cane with
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Speaker 1: a silver knob on the end. And the judge said
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Speaker 1: that if he ever got a crack at that burglar
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Speaker 1: with that cane, it would split his head open. When
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Speaker 1: they reached the dining room room, they heard the burglar
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Speaker 1: stumbling down the cellar stairs. They followed him, but were
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Speaker 1: too late, for as they reached the foot of the stairs,
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Speaker 1: the burglar was just climbing out of a window the
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Speaker 1: way he had gotten in, propping and open, with an
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Speaker 1: old cane that had a bundle of clothes tied on
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Speaker 1: the end of it, all done up in a dirty
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Speaker 1: red handkerchief. The minute the judge got to this part
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Speaker 1: of his story, I left for at the mention of
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Speaker 1: the bundle done up in a dirty red handkerchief on
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Speaker 1: the end of a cane. I thought of the tramp
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Speaker 1: I had bitten yesterday. I felt sure it was he
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Speaker 1: that was the burglar. So I determined not to lose
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Speaker 1: any time, but to go over there a nose around
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Speaker 1: and see if I could not track him by the
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Speaker 1: scent of his footsteps, even if I should not be
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Speaker 1: fortunate enough to get a smell at the bundle he
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Speaker 1: had left behind, For I should know the dirty smell
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Speaker 1: of that man's sins in his old bundle anywhere. And
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Speaker 1: is that where you have been chasing tramp? Did you
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Speaker 1: find him? Asked Tabby. Tabby, will you keep still and
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Speaker 1: stop asking questions? You throw me all off my story.
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Speaker 1: If you will only keep quiet and let me stop
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Speaker 1: long enough to get my breath, I'll tell you all,
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Speaker 1: but mind it is going to be in my own
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Speaker 1: way very well. Then I will keep still. But I
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Speaker 1: am so excited I feel I must ask a question
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Speaker 1: now and then or blow up. So once again, Tabby
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Speaker 1: wrapped her tail tightly around her legs to keep from
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Speaker 1: tapping the end of it in her nervousness, and Zip
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Speaker 1: proceeded with his story. Well, when I got out of
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Speaker 1: the drug store, I ran just as fast as I
20:44
Speaker 1: could to Judge Perkins's house, across lots, through mud puddles,
20:48
Speaker 1: and down lanes. And you looked it when you got here,
20:53
Speaker 1: broke in Tabby, to which remark Zip paid no attention,
20:57
Speaker 1: but went right on with his story. When I reached
21:01
Speaker 1: the judges, I made straight for the cellar window, hoping
21:05
Speaker 1: to find the cane with the bundle of clothes still
21:07
Speaker 1: on it propping up the window. Was it there? Was
21:12
Speaker 1: it there? Interrupted Tabby. Yes, it was there, and I
21:18
Speaker 1: went up and smelt of it, and no mistaking the odor,
21:21
Speaker 1: it was the same dirty bundle I had dropped in
21:24
Speaker 1: the frog pond. I paid no more attention to it,
21:27
Speaker 1: but began to look for footprints and smell around on
21:30
Speaker 1: the ground by the window. Just as I thought it
21:34
Speaker 1: was the same tramp, I started on his scent, which
21:38
Speaker 1: was easy to follow as his feet were big and
21:41
Speaker 1: the scent strong. They led me down through the garden,
21:45
Speaker 1: past the barn, and into a thick clump of trees
21:48
Speaker 1: by the stone wall at the end of the Judge's place.
21:52
Speaker 1: Here the fellow had stopped dug a hole and buried
21:55
Speaker 1: the silver. He had done it hurriedly and with his hands,
22:00
Speaker 1: for I could see finger marks on the ground and
22:03
Speaker 1: the handle of one spoon sticking out. I waited for
22:07
Speaker 1: no more, but ran along the wall, trying to find
22:10
Speaker 1: a place to get through. But I could not until
22:13
Speaker 1: I reached the gate. Then I crawled under, and then
22:16
Speaker 1: ran back to where the tramp had climbed the wall
22:19
Speaker 1: and dropped down on the other side. Here I picked
22:22
Speaker 1: up his trail again and followed it to the railroad
22:25
Speaker 1: track where the freight trains stand on a siding. I
22:29
Speaker 1: lost it here, so I think he must have jumped
22:31
Speaker 1: on a freight and escaped that way. Now what do
22:35
Speaker 1: you think of that for a story? I think you
22:38
Speaker 1: are a very clever dog. But isn't it too bad
22:42
Speaker 1: that they will never find their silver? And there it
22:44
Speaker 1: will be all the time, buried in their own back yard.
22:49
Speaker 1: Of course, they will find it, exclaimed Zip. I would
22:55
Speaker 1: like to know how, for they won't be digging in
22:57
Speaker 1: that part of the garden. Well, they just will, for
23:02
Speaker 1: I am going to lead them to it, ZIP said,
23:07
Speaker 1: how are you going to do that? When you can't talk?
23:10
Speaker 1: I should like to know, No, I can't talk, but
23:15
Speaker 1: I can bark and make such a fuss that they
23:17
Speaker 1: will follow me to the place, and then I will
23:19
Speaker 1: scratch around and reveal the silver. My but I should
23:24
Speaker 1: like to be there and see their faces when the
23:26
Speaker 1: first spoon comes flying out of the earth. When you scratch,
23:31
Speaker 1: you can be I will tell you when I am going,
23:35
Speaker 1: and you may go ahead and be sitting on the
23:37
Speaker 1: fence when I bring them to the spot. You are
23:41
Speaker 1: a dear ZIP, and I'll give you all the meat
23:44
Speaker 1: they give me for dinner for three days. All right,
23:48
Speaker 1: it's a bargain. When are you going right away? For
23:54
Speaker 1: I want to be there when the judge gets home.
23:57
Speaker 1: Come ahead and let's start. And five minutes later you
24:01
Speaker 1: could have seen a little spotted dog and a big
24:04
Speaker 1: yellow cat running side by side across lots and down
24:08
Speaker 1: lanes in the direction of Judge Perkins home. End of
24:14
Speaker 1: chapter two Chapter three of ZIP The Adventures of a
24:25
Speaker 1: Frisky Fox Terrier by Francis Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording
24:31
Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Recording by Leanne Howltt ZIP
24:38
Speaker 1: Unearthed the Stolen Silver listen tabby. I hear the sound
24:44
Speaker 1: of wheels and of horses feet on the road, and
24:48
Speaker 1: stopping to look and listen, Zip spied the judge's fat
24:51
Speaker 1: white horse trotting down the road toward him, and he
24:55
Speaker 1: also recognized the village constable sitting beside the judge. See Tabby.
25:01
Speaker 1: He has brought the constable along with him to help
25:03
Speaker 1: get a clue to the burglar. Let us hurry along
25:06
Speaker 1: and we can get there first by going across lots.
25:10
Speaker 1: This they did so. When the judge arrived home and
25:13
Speaker 1: went to show the constable the window where the burglar
25:16
Speaker 1: got in, he found Zip sitting demurely beside it. Hello, Zip,
25:22
Speaker 1: what are you doing here? He asked. You may think
25:26
Speaker 1: it strange the judge knew Zip's name, but not so
25:29
Speaker 1: in a little village. Generally everyone knows the name of
25:33
Speaker 1: all the dogs and cats and call them by name
25:35
Speaker 1: when they chanced to meet them in any unlooked for place.
25:38
Speaker 1: As now, did you hear them talking of my burglar
25:42
Speaker 1: in town? And come to see for yourself where he
25:45
Speaker 1: got in? Asked the judge. Zip stopped the Judge's questions
25:50
Speaker 1: by jumping up and down on the window sill, smelling
25:53
Speaker 1: the bundle of clothes. Jumping up and down nosing around
25:57
Speaker 1: the tracks, and then running with nose to the ground,
26:00
Speaker 1: barking as he went. What in the dickens does the
26:04
Speaker 1: dog mean by such behavior, said the judge. Looks as
26:09
Speaker 1: if he were following the scent of some person, replied
26:12
Speaker 1: the constable. Perhaps he is from the judge. See he
26:19
Speaker 1: is jumping upon the stone wall as if trying to
26:21
Speaker 1: get over it. That would appear as if the person
26:25
Speaker 1: whose track he is on had climbed the wall. At
26:27
Speaker 1: that point. Here, Zip came back with head up. Well,
26:33
Speaker 1: what do you want, Zip, asked the judge, For Zip
26:36
Speaker 1: had caught his trouser leg in his teeth and was
26:39
Speaker 1: trying to pull him after him. I think he's trying
26:43
Speaker 1: to tell us to follow him, said the constable. At
26:47
Speaker 1: this Zip let go the judge's trousers. Jumped up and
26:50
Speaker 1: down on the constable as much as to say, that
26:54
Speaker 1: is just what I mean, and then darted off down
26:57
Speaker 1: the path again. Seeing the mended not follow him, he
27:01
Speaker 1: came back and jumped up and down on the judge,
27:04
Speaker 1: and then ran down the path once more. Surely that
27:08
Speaker 1: is what he wants, agreed the judge, and so the
27:12
Speaker 1: two walked just behind, following the dog until he stopped
27:15
Speaker 1: and began to scratch the dirt away from the roots
27:18
Speaker 1: of a clump of trees. And as he dug, spoons, knives, forks,
27:23
Speaker 1: and sugar bowl lids began to fly out from under
27:26
Speaker 1: his feet. When a big tablespoon landed at the judge's feet,
27:30
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, by all, that is wonderful. See this spoon.
27:35
Speaker 1: That dog has discovered where the burglar hid my silver.
27:38
Speaker 1: Pretty clever work for a little dog. One would think
27:43
Speaker 1: he was a police dog and had been trained to
27:45
Speaker 1: hunt down thieves, said the constable. Well, Zip, you shall
27:51
Speaker 1: have a silver collar for this, made out of one
27:54
Speaker 1: of my solid silver spoons, promised the judge. As the
27:58
Speaker 1: men went to the hole, Zip was digging and helped
28:00
Speaker 1: push away the earth. Soon they counted the pieces and
28:04
Speaker 1: found that they had recovered all that had been missing. Hello,
28:10
Speaker 1: exclaimed the constable. Whose cat are you? I never saw
28:14
Speaker 1: such a large cat in my life. Where is any cat,
28:19
Speaker 1: asked the judge. Up there on the wall, replied the constable,
28:25
Speaker 1: pointing his finger at Tabby, who was quietly sitting on
28:28
Speaker 1: top of the wall enjoying the unearthing of the stolen property. Oh,
28:33
Speaker 1: that is Zip's playfellow. I have often seen them playing
28:37
Speaker 1: together when I have been at the doctor's, said the judge.
28:41
Speaker 1: Just like a smart dog to select a cat as
28:44
Speaker 1: a chum instead of another dog. And I tell you what,
28:47
Speaker 1: I should like to own that dog myself. But I
28:50
Speaker 1: suppose the doctor would not sell him at any price.
28:55
Speaker 1: I should say not, replied the judge. That little dog
28:59
Speaker 1: has been his coin instant companion for three years when
29:02
Speaker 1: visiting his patients. Be the day ever so hot or cold,
29:06
Speaker 1: it is never too hot, never too cold for Zip
29:08
Speaker 1: to go along. In winter he sits up beside the doctor,
29:12
Speaker 1: wrapped to the chin in a big warm robe, and
29:15
Speaker 1: in summer and a light one to keep the flies
29:17
Speaker 1: from biting him. Here comes my wife down the garden path.
29:23
Speaker 1: She must have heard us drive in, and our not
29:25
Speaker 1: coming to the house has aroused her curiosity, and now
29:28
Speaker 1: she's coming to see what we are doing. Won't she
29:32
Speaker 1: be surprised and delighted when she sees we have found
29:35
Speaker 1: her silver? And she surely was, but even more surprised
29:40
Speaker 1: at the way they had found it than at the discovery.
29:43
Speaker 1: She looked around to pat Zip and take him to
29:45
Speaker 1: the house and give him some cake and milk, of
29:47
Speaker 1: which he was very fond, but he and Tabby had
29:50
Speaker 1: both disappeared. The next day, it all came out in
29:54
Speaker 1: the Maplewood Daily Paper, telling how Zip, doctor Ellsworth's little
29:59
Speaker 1: Fox tear barrier, had tracked the burglar to the spot
30:02
Speaker 1: where he had buried his booty, and that they had
30:04
Speaker 1: recovered it all, not losing so much as a spoon.
30:08
Speaker 1: It also recounted how the judge had ordered the jeweler
30:11
Speaker 1: to make a solid silver collar for Zip with his
30:14
Speaker 1: name engraved on it, and what he had done to
30:17
Speaker 1: deserve this honor. When Zip and Tabby came trotting up
30:22
Speaker 1: the front path on their return from the judges, the
30:25
Speaker 1: Doctor was sitting on the front porch reading the afternoon paper.
30:29
Speaker 1: On seeing Zip, he put it down and exclaimed, well,
30:33
Speaker 1: you rascal, where have you been all this time? And
30:36
Speaker 1: what do you mean by making me take all my
30:39
Speaker 1: rides alone? You look all draggled and dirty, and as
30:42
Speaker 1: if you had been in mischief. Perhaps you have been
30:45
Speaker 1: getting Tabby into mischief too, for I see she is
30:48
Speaker 1: with you, so you think he has been in mischief?
30:53
Speaker 1: Do you? Mewed Tabby in a cross voice, and she
30:57
Speaker 1: avoided his hand when he attempted to stroke her. She
31:01
Speaker 1: thought to herself, the doctor will feel badly when he
31:05
Speaker 1: reads in tomorrow's paper that Zip, instead of being in mischief,
31:09
Speaker 1: has made himself the hero of the town. But Zip
31:13
Speaker 1: did not mind. He knew his looks and behavior were
31:16
Speaker 1: against him, but that on the morrow all would be
31:19
Speaker 1: explained and the doctor would be as proud as punch
31:22
Speaker 1: of him. So he quietly trotted around the corner of
31:25
Speaker 1: the house and went for a swim in the horse trough.
31:29
Speaker 1: The next day, when the doctor drove into town, was
31:32
Speaker 1: Zip by his side. Everyone wanted to pet him and
31:35
Speaker 1: talk about how clever a dog he had been, and
31:38
Speaker 1: they gave him so much candy, cakes and sweets that
31:41
Speaker 1: he had a high fever. The next day, however, he
31:44
Speaker 1: went with the doctor just the same, only instead of
31:48
Speaker 1: running around visiting all the dogs and cats, he knew
31:50
Speaker 1: wherever the doctor stopped, he just lay still on the
31:54
Speaker 1: seat and slept. At last, the doctor noticed and said, Zip,
31:59
Speaker 1: I believe you feel sick today. You are so quiet.
32:03
Speaker 1: Let me feel your nose. That is what a doctor
32:07
Speaker 1: does for a dog, just as he feels the pulse
32:10
Speaker 1: in a person. If the nose is hot, the dog
32:13
Speaker 1: is sick. If it is cold, he is all right.
32:16
Speaker 1: Being a homeopathic physician, Doctor Ellsworth opened his case and
32:20
Speaker 1: gave Zip three little sugar pills, or so Zip thought,
32:25
Speaker 1: But they had medicine inside of them, and he swallowed
32:28
Speaker 1: them just as if he had been a sick little boy.
32:31
Speaker 1: Inside of two or three hours, he felt better, and
32:34
Speaker 1: before he went to bed that night, the doctor gave
32:37
Speaker 1: him another dose. So when Zip awoke the next day,
32:40
Speaker 1: he was feeling as frisky as ever. End if chapter three,
32:53
Speaker 1: Chapter four of Zip The Adventures of a Frisky Fox
32:58
Speaker 1: Terrier by Francis Tree Go Montgomery. This LibriVox recording is
33:03
Speaker 1: in the public domain recording by Leanne Howlett Zip's disastrous jump.
33:12
Speaker 1: As the doctor's buggy came to a standstill before Missus
33:15
Speaker 1: Mason's house, Zip smelt the delicious spicy odor of freshly
33:20
Speaker 1: baked ginger snaps wafted to his nostrils around the corner
33:23
Speaker 1: of the house from the kitchen. Knowing Missus Mason's cook Diana,
33:28
Speaker 1: to be considered the best cake and cookie maker in
33:31
Speaker 1: the whole village of Maplewood, he decided to run to
33:34
Speaker 1: the rear of the house and see if she would
33:37
Speaker 1: not give him one. Failing in this, he determined to
33:41
Speaker 1: steal one if he could get it in no other way.
33:44
Speaker 1: So he cautiously crept up the back kitchen steps so
33:48
Speaker 1: he could peek in the open door to see if
33:50
Speaker 1: Diana was alone. But just as he reached the top step,
33:54
Speaker 1: he had a surprise, for the mason's big spotted cat
33:58
Speaker 1: was curled up asleep under the window. She smelt dog,
34:02
Speaker 1: opened her eyes, and without a moment's hesitation, bounded on
34:06
Speaker 1: his back. She hated dogs worse than rats, and being
34:10
Speaker 1: nearly the size of Zip and having long, sharp claws,
34:14
Speaker 1: she was not an enemy to be sneezed at. Consequently,
34:19
Speaker 1: it was either fight and arouse the household and so
34:22
Speaker 1: lose his chance of a ginger snap, or get out
34:25
Speaker 1: of her way. He decided on the ladder. Seeing a
34:29
Speaker 1: kitchen window open, he gave one bound and jump through.
34:33
Speaker 1: But horrors, what had he landed on? Not the kitchen floor,
34:38
Speaker 1: as he thought he would, but on something soft and squashy,
34:42
Speaker 1: not a pillow either, for it was all soft and gooey,
34:46
Speaker 1: and he was sinking into the soft white stuff deeper
34:49
Speaker 1: and deeper every second. He tried to jump out, but
34:52
Speaker 1: could not. The stuff was spongy and sticky and clingy,
34:56
Speaker 1: and he had now sunk deep into it up to
34:58
Speaker 1: his stomach. Whatever shall I do, he thought to himself,
35:04
Speaker 1: when horrors, the kitchen door opened and Diana, a big, fat,
35:09
Speaker 1: darky with a red and yellow spotted turban on her head,
35:12
Speaker 1: appeared in the doorway. On seeing a little head looking
35:16
Speaker 1: at her from the pan of dough, she threw up
35:19
Speaker 1: her hands in fright, turned and fled down the hall,
35:22
Speaker 1: calling miss Mason, Miss Mason, come here quick. Some one
35:27
Speaker 1: done gone and left a little nigga baby in my
35:29
Speaker 1: bread dough. As she ran through the hall, Zip made
35:34
Speaker 1: an extra effort to jump out, but instead of doing so,
35:38
Speaker 1: he upset the pan off the chair, and dog and
35:41
Speaker 1: dough rolled on the kitchen floor together, shaking off as
35:45
Speaker 1: much of it as he could. Zip raced out the door,
35:48
Speaker 1: leaving a trail of dough behind him. He did not
35:52
Speaker 1: dare get in the doctor's buggy in that mess, so
35:55
Speaker 1: he crawled under the garden fence and ran down to
35:57
Speaker 1: the river where he might wash himself off before going home.
36:02
Speaker 1: When the Mason Cat saw him disappear under the garden fence.
36:06
Speaker 1: She went into the kitchen to see what he had
36:08
Speaker 1: done to make all the noise he had just before
36:11
Speaker 1: he ran out, all covered with the white stuff. As
36:15
Speaker 1: she stood by the pan smelling the dough to discover
36:17
Speaker 1: what it was, Diana and missus Mason came hurrying into
36:21
Speaker 1: the room, not seeing any one there but their cat,
36:25
Speaker 1: who was standing right beside the dough. They of course
36:28
Speaker 1: thought it was she that had caused all this trouble,
36:31
Speaker 1: so Diana grabbed up a broom and would have pounded
36:34
Speaker 1: her to a jelly in her anger at spoiling all
36:36
Speaker 1: her nice bread dough. But Pussy was too quick for her.
36:41
Speaker 1: She saw what was coming and flew out the door
36:43
Speaker 1: and hid under the currant bushes in the garden, from
36:46
Speaker 1: which place she could hear Diana scolding and talking to
36:48
Speaker 1: herself as she cleaned up the mess. I do declare
36:53
Speaker 1: to goodness, I done going to kill that cat some
36:56
Speaker 1: of these days. Just wait till I catch her. I'll
36:59
Speaker 1: tie a pepper to her tail, hark, said the cat.
37:04
Speaker 1: I wonder who is giving that long penetrating whistle. Oh,
37:08
Speaker 1: I know now whose dog that was? It was Zip,
37:12
Speaker 1: doctor Ellsworth's pet fox terrier that every one thinks so smart,
37:17
Speaker 1: And then everyone is talking about in the village these
37:19
Speaker 1: last few days because he found the silver the burglar
37:22
Speaker 1: had stolen from the judge. If I had known it
37:26
Speaker 1: was he, I would not have pounced on him. But
37:28
Speaker 1: I was only half awake when I saw a dog
37:30
Speaker 1: trying to sneak into our kitchen. It is a law
37:33
Speaker 1: with me to jump on every dog I see before
37:36
Speaker 1: he has time to pounce on me. Now, I am
37:39
Speaker 1: awfully sorry about this, for I have been wanting to
37:42
Speaker 1: meet Zip for ever, so long as I think I
37:45
Speaker 1: am the only cat in town who doesn't know him.
37:48
Speaker 1: When Zip was nearly to the river, he heard the
37:50
Speaker 1: voices of children playing on the bank, so he crept
37:54
Speaker 1: carefully forward under the bushes until he came to a
37:57
Speaker 1: place where he could peer through. There, sure enough, were
38:01
Speaker 1: five or six little boys and girls having a picnic.
38:04
Speaker 1: Some were in waiting skirts and trousers rolled up above
38:08
Speaker 1: the knees, while others were just spreading out a tablecloth
38:11
Speaker 1: on the mossy bank preparatory to setting their table for luncheon.
38:16
Speaker 1: While Zip was looking, one little girl took out of
38:19
Speaker 1: her basket some delicious looking fried chicken, and as she
38:22
Speaker 1: piled the nicely browned pieces on a plate, she put
38:26
Speaker 1: the breasts on top to make it look more tempting.
38:29
Speaker 1: It made Zip's mouth water so for a taste that
38:32
Speaker 1: he decided to keep well hidden and see if they
38:35
Speaker 1: would not leave the table for a moment so he
38:37
Speaker 1: might jump out and steal a piece. As he waited,
38:41
Speaker 1: another little girl looked it out of her basket, some
38:44
Speaker 1: nut cookies and big thick slices of angel cake, while
38:48
Speaker 1: a third arranged some stuffed eggs and big dill pickles.
38:52
Speaker 1: Now all these things Zip adored, with the exception of
38:55
Speaker 1: the pickles, so he lay down with nose stretched out
38:58
Speaker 1: in their direction as far as he could without being seen,
39:02
Speaker 1: that he might at least smell the goodies while he waited.
39:05
Speaker 1: But as he waited, the bread dough on his back
39:08
Speaker 1: dried and hardened and made his coat stick up in
39:11
Speaker 1: all sorts of queer shapes, though he never once thought
39:14
Speaker 1: of it. He was much too occupied deciding just which
39:18
Speaker 1: piece of chicken he would take when he had the chance,
39:21
Speaker 1: and he was too delighted to move when one of
39:23
Speaker 1: the boys began chasing all the others with his cupful
39:26
Speaker 1: of water, and before he knew it, the boys trying
39:30
Speaker 1: to escape ran straight into the bushes where Zip lay
39:33
Speaker 1: concealed and nearly stepped on him. One boy looked down
39:38
Speaker 1: caught sight of a queer looking animal with bright eyes
39:41
Speaker 1: and funny hair that stuck up all over him. He
39:44
Speaker 1: gave one scream and jumped back just in time to
39:47
Speaker 1: get the full cup of water in his face. But
39:50
Speaker 1: he cared not. He just turned and fled, screaming a porcupine,
39:56
Speaker 1: A porcupine, look out, or he will fill you full
39:58
Speaker 1: of quills. This alarm made the girls jump up and
40:02
Speaker 1: run from their table of goodies in a panic. The
40:06
Speaker 1: lad who had thrown the water thought the other boy
40:08
Speaker 1: was merely fooling when he peered into the bushes and
40:10
Speaker 1: said he saw a white porcupine and fled. Now was
40:15
Speaker 1: Zip's chance. Not waiting for them to get out of sight,
40:19
Speaker 1: he boldly rushed out and helped himself to the biggest
40:21
Speaker 1: piece of chicken he saw, and gulped it down in
40:24
Speaker 1: his haste to get another piece and to steal some
40:27
Speaker 1: cake before the children should recover from their fright. In return,
40:32
Speaker 1: as they ran, one little girl turned around to see
40:35
Speaker 1: if the porcupine was chasing them. What she saw was
40:38
Speaker 1: some animal eating up their goodies, and she began to cry,
40:42
Speaker 1: for she was terribly hungry and had been thinking of
40:45
Speaker 1: all the good things they had to eat when lo
40:48
Speaker 1: it was snatched out of their mouths. One might say,
40:51
Speaker 1: for their fright had come. So suddenly one of the
40:54
Speaker 1: larger boys stopped running and looked back, and as he
40:58
Speaker 1: had once seen a porcupine, he knew this animal now
41:01
Speaker 1: eating their luncheon had two long legs, and his nose
41:04
Speaker 1: was too thin to be a porcupine. Having gotten over
41:07
Speaker 1: his first panic and being very hungry, his courage began
41:11
Speaker 1: to come back, and he called, here, let's stop running
41:16
Speaker 1: away and go back and kill that animal. Whatever it is.
41:19
Speaker 1: It won't eat us, it is too small. So, like
41:23
Speaker 1: frightened sheep, when their leaders stopped, the children all halted.
41:28
Speaker 1: Get long sticks, he commanded, and we'll drive em away.
41:33
Speaker 1: This was easily done, for there were lots of long,
41:35
Speaker 1: strong sticks about, and each child got one. Armed with these,
41:41
Speaker 1: they came running back as bravely as they had cowardly
41:44
Speaker 1: run away, all howling like Comanche Indians on the war path.
41:49
Speaker 1: Seeing this, zip grabbed a leg of chicken in his mouth,
41:53
Speaker 1: and running to the river, jumped in and swam to
41:55
Speaker 1: the opposite shore, where he soon disappeared in the thick underbrush.
42:00
Speaker 1: Once in his safe retreat, he lay down and devoured
42:04
Speaker 1: his bone, then got up and looked at himself. He
42:07
Speaker 1: was a sorry sight, for the quick swim across the
42:11
Speaker 1: creek had not washed the dough off, but had merely
42:14
Speaker 1: softened it, and now he was a sticky mass from
42:16
Speaker 1: head to foot. Whatever shall I do to get this
42:21
Speaker 1: stuff off? He said to himself. I'll try rolling in
42:25
Speaker 1: the mud, which he did, but alas it was not successful.
42:30
Speaker 1: It only turned the dough black and made it stick
42:33
Speaker 1: all the tighter. I see where I shall have to
42:36
Speaker 1: go stand in some water and let it soak off.
42:39
Speaker 1: Guess I'll go home and get Tabby to come and
42:41
Speaker 1: talk to me while I am in the trough, for
42:43
Speaker 1: it is stupid being all alone. So he trotted on home,
42:48
Speaker 1: taking good care not to let any one see him,
42:51
Speaker 1: And when he reached home, he hid under the big
42:54
Speaker 1: leaves of the rhubarb plants in the garden, just the
42:57
Speaker 1: other side of the fence from the watering trough. Here
43:00
Speaker 1: he stayed until the doctor had driven off on his
43:03
Speaker 1: afternoon round of visits to his patients, and everyone else
43:06
Speaker 1: on the place was taking a nap. Then he barked
43:10
Speaker 1: three quick, snappy barks for Tabby, but she did not come.
43:14
Speaker 1: He barked again. Still she did not appear, and he
43:18
Speaker 1: was standing with drooping ears and tail between his legs
43:21
Speaker 1: in a most dejected manner, when he was aroused by
43:24
Speaker 1: Tabby saying, why, Zip Ellsworth, where in the world have
43:29
Speaker 1: you been? You are as dirty as a pig, I
43:32
Speaker 1: do declare, and your hair is all sticking up like
43:34
Speaker 1: a porcupine's quills. At the word porcupine, Zip braced up
43:39
Speaker 1: and said, never mind about my looks. If you will
43:44
Speaker 1: sit on the edge of the watering trough while I
43:46
Speaker 1: soak this stuff off, I'll tell you how I got
43:48
Speaker 1: in this mess. So Tabby obediently jumped up on a
43:52
Speaker 1: board at one end and fixed herself comfortably to hear
43:55
Speaker 1: of Zip's adventure. But first, I want to tell you
43:59
Speaker 1: that the doctor is very much displeased with you, said Tabby.
44:04
Speaker 1: I heard him tell Martha the housekeeper that he did
44:07
Speaker 1: not know what had gotten into you lately, that you
44:09
Speaker 1: were never around to go with him. Any more, and
44:12
Speaker 1: if you were here, that you disappeared somewhere on the
44:15
Speaker 1: trip and he had to come back without you. He
44:18
Speaker 1: also said that unless you were around more, he was
44:20
Speaker 1: going to take me. He didn't say anything of the
44:25
Speaker 1: kind I know indeed he did ask Martha retorted, Tabby,
44:33
Speaker 1: you are safe in saying that, for you know. I
44:35
Speaker 1: can't ask Martha. Well he did, whether you believe me
44:40
Speaker 1: or not, I shan't give him the chance. For from
44:44
Speaker 1: to day I shall be on hand to go with him.
44:47
Speaker 1: And what is more, I will stay with him and
44:49
Speaker 1: come back when he does. I shall cut my visits
44:52
Speaker 1: short until he forgets all about my neglecting him. Well,
44:56
Speaker 1: do you want to hear what I've been up to
44:58
Speaker 1: or not? I certainly do. Go ahead, I'm all ears. So,
45:05
Speaker 1: while Zip walked up and down in the trough to
45:07
Speaker 1: get clean, Tabby sat curled up on the board at
45:11
Speaker 1: the end, purring contentedly as she listened to Zip's account
45:14
Speaker 1: of his morning's doings. End of chapter four, chapter five
45:26
Speaker 1: of Zip. The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier by
45:30
Speaker 1: Francis Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
45:36
Speaker 1: Recording by leanne howltt zip is stuck in the stovepipe.
45:44
Speaker 1: The next day, at noon, when Zip came home with
45:47
Speaker 1: the doctor from making his morning visits to his patients,
45:51
Speaker 1: he was surprised to see all the furniture moved out
45:53
Speaker 1: into the side yard. At first he thought there must
45:57
Speaker 1: have been a fire. But when he saw Martha with
46:00
Speaker 1: a towel wrapped around her head, and Missus Huggins, the
46:04
Speaker 1: scrub woman of the village, trying to squeeze a wide
46:07
Speaker 1: table through a narrow door, while Noah, their half witted
46:11
Speaker 1: chore boy, was beating carpets on the lawn, he knew
46:14
Speaker 1: it was spring house cleaning. This, the doctor vowed, was
46:18
Speaker 1: worse than a fire and as bad as a moving
46:21
Speaker 1: for Martha never would do one room at a time,
46:24
Speaker 1: but must upset the whole house at once and dump
46:27
Speaker 1: everything out doors. And from the time the furniture was
46:30
Speaker 1: moved out until it went back, all one could smell
46:34
Speaker 1: or see in the house with soap SuDS and bare
46:36
Speaker 1: wet floors. If one wished to sit down, they had
46:40
Speaker 1: to retire to the yard and repose on a pile
46:43
Speaker 1: of carpets. If they wished to eat, they had to
46:46
Speaker 1: do so off the kitchen table on the side porch.
46:49
Speaker 1: If they wanted to dress, their clothes were in the yard,
46:52
Speaker 1: under chairs, pictures, and bedding, And the task was so
46:56
Speaker 1: trying that finally one did not want to change so
46:58
Speaker 1: much as a collar. The doctor always groaned when he
47:02
Speaker 1: got the first glimpse of house cleaning, and gave a
47:05
Speaker 1: sigh of relief when it was over. This was one
47:08
Speaker 1: time when he made longer calls on his patience and
47:11
Speaker 1: idled his time away at the drug store. As for Martha,
47:16
Speaker 1: she went around with a frown on her face and
47:18
Speaker 1: with a nervous, jerky manner, all the while talking of
47:22
Speaker 1: the terrible amount of hard work there was to do,
47:24
Speaker 1: and grumbling that she had never seen such a dirty
47:27
Speaker 1: house in all her life. But down in her heart
47:30
Speaker 1: she enjoyed it, for she liked nothing better than to
47:33
Speaker 1: scrub and clean. As for the dirty house, a fly
47:37
Speaker 1: would have slipped and broken its neck. The rooms were
47:39
Speaker 1: so clean from cellar to garret, there being only the
47:43
Speaker 1: doctor to keep house for and no children to clutter
47:46
Speaker 1: up things. But just the same on the first of
47:49
Speaker 1: May and first of September, the house had to be
47:52
Speaker 1: upset from top to bottom and cleaned thoroughly, for Martha
47:56
Speaker 1: was born in New England and lived up to the
47:58
Speaker 1: rules of housekeeping she had learned in her girlhood. As
48:03
Speaker 1: for Zip, he loved it, for it gave him such
48:05
Speaker 1: a chance to nose into everything, and you can rest
48:09
Speaker 1: assured he did it. There was not a bandbox of
48:12
Speaker 1: any kind that he did not push the lid off
48:14
Speaker 1: with his nose and look into it, or a bag
48:17
Speaker 1: of any kind that he did not smell and smell
48:19
Speaker 1: until he discovered what was in it. He got under
48:22
Speaker 1: everyone's feet and nearly tripped them when their arms were
48:25
Speaker 1: full of things and they could not see where they
48:27
Speaker 1: were stepping. He was kicked by Noah, hit with the
48:31
Speaker 1: mop by Martha, and had the scrubbing brush thrown at
48:34
Speaker 1: him by the scrub woman. But these things did not
48:37
Speaker 1: disconcert him in the least. They only added to the excitement.
48:41
Speaker 1: As for Tabby, she hated it as much as the
48:44
Speaker 1: doctor did, and generally took advantage of these times to
48:48
Speaker 1: go to visit her cousin, who lived across the fields
48:50
Speaker 1: a mile and a half away. Zip had just come
48:54
Speaker 1: from the watering trough where he had been trying to
48:56
Speaker 1: get the dirt and cobwebs off his coat, which he
48:59
Speaker 1: had got an under the eaves in the attic, and
49:02
Speaker 1: was up on a table nosing around when he thought
49:05
Speaker 1: he smelt mice in a bandbox. He cocked his head
49:08
Speaker 1: to listen, and sure enough he heard the mice moving
49:11
Speaker 1: around inside, so he cautiously tried to open the lid.
49:16
Speaker 1: It fitted loosely, so slipped off easily, and Zip peered in.
49:21
Speaker 1: What he saw made him smile at the horror it
49:24
Speaker 1: was going to give Martha when she discovered it. There
49:27
Speaker 1: on the crown of her best winter bonnet was a
49:30
Speaker 1: mouse nest with three tiny little mice in it, and
49:33
Speaker 1: the father and mother scampering around. At the sight of Zip,
49:38
Speaker 1: the old mice ran for the hole they had nod
49:41
Speaker 1: in the side of the box and tried to escape,
49:43
Speaker 1: but Zip saw them and gave chase. They jumped from
49:47
Speaker 1: the table and tried to hide under a sofa, but
49:50
Speaker 1: Zip was on their track and under he crawled after them.
49:54
Speaker 1: Then they dodged in and out of some boxes, and
49:56
Speaker 1: at last jumped into a cracker box, thinking to hide
49:59
Speaker 1: safe under the crackers, but Zip soon scratched the layer
50:03
Speaker 1: of crackers off and again they had to run. This
50:06
Speaker 1: time they saw a nice, big black hole, and into
50:10
Speaker 1: it they scampered, thinking it too small a place for
50:13
Speaker 1: Zip to follow. But they did not know Zip. The
50:16
Speaker 1: hole was black enough inside and out to suit any one,
50:19
Speaker 1: for it was nothing more or less than a long
50:22
Speaker 1: piece of stove pipe from the kitchen stove, which had
50:25
Speaker 1: been put there for Noah to clean out the soot
50:27
Speaker 1: when he was through beating the carpets. It was a
50:30
Speaker 1: pretty tight squeeze for Zip, but he never thought of
50:33
Speaker 1: that until he had himself wedged into it. Neither did
50:36
Speaker 1: he think of his clean white coat. All he thought
50:39
Speaker 1: of was to catch the mice. So in he rushed,
50:43
Speaker 1: but he had to crouch down and literally squeeze himself through,
50:47
Speaker 1: and once or twice he thought he would suffocate from
50:49
Speaker 1: the amount of soot he shook down. He grew so
50:52
Speaker 1: tired creeping with his legs doubled up under him that
50:55
Speaker 1: when he was half way through, he gave up and
50:58
Speaker 1: howled for help. It was a long time before anyone
51:02
Speaker 1: heard him, and when they did, they could not, for
51:05
Speaker 1: the life of them tell where the sound came from,
51:08
Speaker 1: for the pipe made his howls sound so queer. When
51:11
Speaker 1: at last he heard Martha and Noah talking, he barked
51:15
Speaker 1: and howled most dismally, as when a dog bayed at
51:17
Speaker 1: the moon. They looked everywhere, under boxes and barrels, thinking
51:23
Speaker 1: he might have turned one over on himself, and under
51:26
Speaker 1: piles of carpet and bedding. Still they could not find him.
51:31
Speaker 1: The sound seems to come from the earth, right down
51:34
Speaker 1: under my feet, said Martha. The poor simple minded Noah,
51:39
Speaker 1: with tears in his eyes, for he was very fond
51:42
Speaker 1: indeed of Zip, replied he's done and gone and buried
51:46
Speaker 1: his self. Just then the doctor drove up the lane,
51:51
Speaker 1: and Martha ran to him to tell him that Zip
51:53
Speaker 1: was fast under something somewhere, and that they could not
51:56
Speaker 1: find him. When the doctor reached the side yard where
52:00
Speaker 1: all the household things were piled, he began to look
52:03
Speaker 1: puzzled and move the things, just as the others had done.
52:07
Speaker 1: Martha declared it was no use, as they had already
52:09
Speaker 1: looked under all that stuff. Do listen to him now.
52:14
Speaker 1: His cries were growing fainter. He surely is dying, she wailed,
52:19
Speaker 1: and threw her apron over her head and began to cry.
52:23
Speaker 1: At this moment, the doctor stepped back and accidentally struck
52:27
Speaker 1: his foot against the side of the stovepipe, which brought
52:30
Speaker 1: another howl of agony from Zip. The doctor picked up
52:34
Speaker 1: the pipe and quickly disjointed it in the middle, and
52:37
Speaker 1: out fell the dirtiest but most delighted little dog you
52:40
Speaker 1: ever saw, For he was free once more. And every
52:43
Speaker 1: one was as pleased that he was found as he
52:46
Speaker 1: was that he was rescued, and their tears were turned
52:49
Speaker 1: to smiles at the comical picture he made, all covered
52:52
Speaker 1: with soot after trying to jump up on the doctor
52:56
Speaker 1: to lick his hands and thanks for his freedom, he
52:59
Speaker 1: started for his usual bath tub, the watering trough. Here,
53:05
Speaker 1: where are you going so fast? Zip? Better stay here
53:08
Speaker 1: until I get a bucket of hot soap SuDS to
53:10
Speaker 1: wash you off, called his master. But Zip did not stop,
53:15
Speaker 1: and the doctor followed him. Imagine his surprise when he
53:19
Speaker 1: saw him jumping the trough where he always watered his horses.
53:24
Speaker 1: So you are the cause of my finding the water
53:27
Speaker 1: so often dirty and all stirred up? Are you? I
53:31
Speaker 1: have been wondering and wondering what caused it? Well, you
53:34
Speaker 1: can just stop riling Old Jim's drinking water. But to
53:38
Speaker 1: Zip's dismay the soot would not come off, as the
53:42
Speaker 1: mud and dough had it stuck and made him look
53:44
Speaker 1: greasy and black, eerie, little rascal. Come with me and
53:49
Speaker 1: I will get soap and towels and give you a
53:51
Speaker 1: good bath. And that is how it happened that when
53:55
Speaker 1: Tabby came home from her visit to her cousin, the
53:58
Speaker 1: first thing she saw was the doctor, said on the
54:00
Speaker 1: lower step of the side porch, with scrubbing brush in
54:03
Speaker 1: one hand and a cake of soap in the other,
54:06
Speaker 1: scrubbing Zip for all he was worth. Well, whatever has
54:12
Speaker 1: happened to you? Zip, asked Tabby. Oh, go lie down
54:17
Speaker 1: and I'll tell you after a while, barked Zip in
54:20
Speaker 1: a cross voice, for he was not enjoying the scrubbing
54:23
Speaker 1: in the least as every once in a while a
54:25
Speaker 1: lot of soap SuDS would run into his eyes, making
54:28
Speaker 1: them smart dreadfully. But the doctor kept on rubbing, not
54:32
Speaker 1: knowing what was making Zip squirm, so he thought it
54:36
Speaker 1: was just because he hated to be washed in this way.
54:39
Speaker 1: At last, Zip could stand it no longer, and he
54:42
Speaker 1: bounded from the doctor's hands and shot out of the
54:44
Speaker 1: yard into the road and deliberately lay down in the softest,
54:48
Speaker 1: dirtiest place he could find, and then rolled and rolled
54:52
Speaker 1: trying to dry himself. And though the doctor called and
54:55
Speaker 1: called and whistled himself hoarse, Zip did not come back.
55:00
Speaker 1: He waited until it grew dark, and then he sneaked
55:03
Speaker 1: in and jumped into the watering trough again. This time
55:07
Speaker 1: he came out nice and clean, for the soft sand
55:10
Speaker 1: had acted as a scrubbing brush, and his coat was
55:13
Speaker 1: all shiny and glossy and clean when he jumped out,
55:16
Speaker 1: And this time he managed to keep it so until
55:19
Speaker 1: the next day. End of chapter five, chapter six of
55:31
Speaker 1: Zip The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier by Francis
55:36
Speaker 1: Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
55:42
Speaker 1: Recording by Leanne Howlott, Zip and Peterkin's. Several days after this,
55:50
Speaker 1: Zip was asleep on the seat of the buggy in
55:52
Speaker 1: front of the house of one of the doctor's patients,
55:55
Speaker 1: who was so very ill that he had been visiting
55:58
Speaker 1: there each day for a week. Consequently, Zip, as usual,
56:03
Speaker 1: had called on every dog and cat in this neighborhood.
56:07
Speaker 1: To day he thought he would sleep instead of running
56:09
Speaker 1: around to visit and making the doctor wait and whistle
56:12
Speaker 1: for him to come back. But presently he was awakened
56:16
Speaker 1: by hearing the doctor's whistle across the street. He was
56:19
Speaker 1: up in a moment, looking in all directions, for though
56:22
Speaker 1: he heard him, he could not see his master. He
56:26
Speaker 1: leaped out of the buggy and ran across the street
56:29
Speaker 1: from where the sound seemed to come. As he ran,
56:32
Speaker 1: the whistle was repeated loud and shrill, but no doctor
56:36
Speaker 1: could Zip see. He must be hiding behind that thick
56:41
Speaker 1: bush in the yard, decided Zip, so he crawled under
56:45
Speaker 1: the fence and went nosing around the shrubbery, but the
56:48
Speaker 1: doctor was not there. He sniffed here and there, but
56:52
Speaker 1: could not get so much as a tiny whiff of
56:54
Speaker 1: the doctor's scent. He stood still at last, with ears
56:59
Speaker 1: standing up straight and one foot held off the ground
57:03
Speaker 1: as he did when listening intently. Again, he heard the
57:06
Speaker 1: doctor whistle right over his head. He looked up to
57:10
Speaker 1: see if the doctor was in an aeroplane, but all
57:13
Speaker 1: he discovered was the clear blue sky. Then a laugh
57:17
Speaker 1: sounded behind him, and turning quickly, he saw Miss Belinda
57:21
Speaker 1: Simpkin's pet Paul Parrot, swinging on the limb of a
57:25
Speaker 1: tree laughing at him. This was too much for Zip's
57:29
Speaker 1: dignity to have a paul parrot make a fool of him,
57:34
Speaker 1: so he ran to the tree where she sat and
57:37
Speaker 1: barked furiously up at her. But to make Zip still
57:40
Speaker 1: more angry, Polly kept on whistling and laughing at him.
57:45
Speaker 1: She had heard the doctor whistle for Zip every day
57:48
Speaker 1: and had learned to imitate him perfectly. She really was
57:52
Speaker 1: a very smart bird. And everyone in the village knew
57:55
Speaker 1: of Miss Belinda's parrot and monkey, for they were always
57:58
Speaker 1: doing exceedingly smart mischievous things, some of which I will
58:03
Speaker 1: tell you about. But now I must finish relating what
58:06
Speaker 1: happened to Zip. He was still looking angrily at Polly
58:10
Speaker 1: when he heard a queer chattering and squeaking noise up
58:13
Speaker 1: in a tree behind him, and turning to look, he
58:16
Speaker 1: saw a gray object drop from one of the limbs.
58:20
Speaker 1: He looked down at the ground, expecting to see whatever
58:23
Speaker 1: it was drop under the tree, but nothing landed. Still,
58:27
Speaker 1: he knew he had seen something start to fall. What
58:31
Speaker 1: could it be that could stop in mid air, for
58:34
Speaker 1: there was no other branch under the one from which
58:36
Speaker 1: it had dropped, on which it could catch. But when
58:39
Speaker 1: he glanced up, what should he discover but miss Belinda's
58:43
Speaker 1: pet monkey, swinging by its tail from the branch on
58:46
Speaker 1: which it had been sitting. Now. Zip hated monkeys as
58:50
Speaker 1: a cat does rats, how as nice a little old
58:53
Speaker 1: maiden lady as miss Belinda could stand it. To live
58:57
Speaker 1: all alone in a house with only a parrot and
58:59
Speaker 1: a monkey for companions was more than he could understand.
59:04
Speaker 1: Zip ignored the monkey and began barking again at the parrot,
59:08
Speaker 1: telling her just to wait until another day, then he
59:11
Speaker 1: would come back and get even with her yet, and
59:14
Speaker 1: that the next time he left it would be with
59:16
Speaker 1: a mouthful of her tail feathers help help sweeched Polly.
59:22
Speaker 1: And her voice was so nearly like that of a
59:25
Speaker 1: human that the doctor, hearing it, hurried across the street
59:28
Speaker 1: to see who was calling for aid. As he opened
59:31
Speaker 1: the gate to go into the yard, something tore past him.
59:35
Speaker 1: Looking around to see what it was, he beheld Zip
59:39
Speaker 1: running for all he was worth, with a little gray
59:42
Speaker 1: monkey perched on his back, clinging to his silver collar
59:46
Speaker 1: which the judge had given to him. The doctor was
59:50
Speaker 1: about to go to his rescue when Zip dove under
59:53
Speaker 1: the fence, which knocked off the monkey, and he rolled
59:56
Speaker 1: over and over on the ground, dazed for several secondckens
1:00:01
Speaker 1: he had hit his head on the fence so hard
1:00:03
Speaker 1: that it had stunned him. The doctor took a step
1:00:06
Speaker 1: forward to pick him up, when again he heard that
1:00:09
Speaker 1: piercing scream, help, Help, Help, that seemed to come from
1:00:14
Speaker 1: the upper window of Miss Belinda's cottage. Gracious, exclaimed the doctor.
1:00:21
Speaker 1: Someone must be trying to kill Miss Belinda, and he
1:00:25
Speaker 1: started for the cottage, intending to break down the door
1:00:28
Speaker 1: if it should be locked. Before he had gone two steps,
1:00:31
Speaker 1: the voice he heard before called once more, help help
1:00:37
Speaker 1: beat it, beat it, And then looking up, he saw Polly,
1:00:44
Speaker 1: you rascal, said the doctor, shaking his finger in a
1:00:48
Speaker 1: playful manner at her. You surely did fool me, But
1:00:52
Speaker 1: I must go and see if Zip has killed your playfellow.
1:00:56
Speaker 1: When he reached the gate, he found the monkey sitting up,
1:01:00
Speaker 1: rubbing his head with his fore foot, and running slowly
1:01:03
Speaker 1: toward home on three legs. Seeing he was all right,
1:01:07
Speaker 1: the doctor whistled for Zip to come, but no Zip appeared,
1:01:12
Speaker 1: so after calling him once or twice more, the doctor
1:01:15
Speaker 1: concluded he did not wish to come back, for fear
1:01:18
Speaker 1: the monkey would get him again and try to take
1:01:20
Speaker 1: a free ride. He probably has trotted home across lots,
1:01:25
Speaker 1: thought the doctor, or else he may be waiting for me.
1:01:28
Speaker 1: Part way home. On hearing the doctor whistle, the monkey
1:01:33
Speaker 1: ran to the side of the road, jumped up on
1:01:36
Speaker 1: the fence, and ran along its top until he reached
1:01:39
Speaker 1: Miss Belinda's yard. Once there, he ran up a tall
1:01:43
Speaker 1: tree to a place of safety where no dogs could
1:01:46
Speaker 1: reach him, and there the doctor left him rubbing his head.
1:01:51
Speaker 1: As Zip trotted home across lots. He made up his
1:01:55
Speaker 1: mind that he would go to Miss Belinda's every day
1:01:58
Speaker 1: until he had a chance to get even, not only
1:02:00
Speaker 1: with Polly, but with the monkey too. For I am
1:02:04
Speaker 1: sorry to say that Zip was a very revengeful dog,
1:02:07
Speaker 1: and he never forgot an injury, at least not until
1:02:10
Speaker 1: he had paid back in like coin anything he had suffered.
1:02:15
Speaker 1: You may rest assured. He said to himself that I
1:02:19
Speaker 1: shall take one at a time, however, and look around
1:02:22
Speaker 1: well before tackling either one, to see that the other
1:02:25
Speaker 1: is nowhere about. Miss Belinda was out when all this happened,
1:02:31
Speaker 1: so was very much alarmed when she returned to see
1:02:34
Speaker 1: Peterkins hopping around on two legs, holding his head with
1:02:38
Speaker 1: his hands, and still more so when she took him
1:02:41
Speaker 1: in her arms and saw that there was a big
1:02:43
Speaker 1: bump on his forehead the size of a hen's egg,
1:02:46
Speaker 1: which was still swelling, and by this time threatening to
1:02:49
Speaker 1: close one eye. You poor darling, little pet, did you
1:02:54
Speaker 1: fall out of the tree and bump your head? I
1:02:57
Speaker 1: is so sorry, and talking such baby talk to him.
1:03:02
Speaker 1: She carried him off into the house to put witch
1:03:05
Speaker 1: hazel and a bandage on his head. All this time
1:03:09
Speaker 1: Polly kept screaming, help, help, help. Some one must have
1:03:15
Speaker 1: thrown a stone and hurt. Peterkins decided Miss Belinda or
1:03:20
Speaker 1: Polly would not be calling for help. The next time
1:03:24
Speaker 1: I go out, I will shut them in the house
1:03:26
Speaker 1: so nothing can happen to them. End of chapter six
1:03:38
Speaker 1: Chapter seven of ZIP, The Adventures of a Frisky Fox
1:03:42
Speaker 1: Terrier by Francis Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording is in
1:03:48
Speaker 1: the public domain. Recording by Leanne Howlett ZIP, Peterkins and
1:03:56
Speaker 1: the Turkey Gobbler. Promptly at nine thirty the next morning,
1:04:02
Speaker 1: the doctor's carriage appeared in front of his patient's house
1:04:05
Speaker 1: opposite Miss Belinda's cottage. Zip lay quietly on the seat
1:04:10
Speaker 1: until the doctor had disappeared in the house, and then
1:04:14
Speaker 1: he quickly jumped out of the buggy, tiptoed across the street,
1:04:18
Speaker 1: and quietly slipped under the fence. Once under, he stood
1:04:23
Speaker 1: stock still and listened, eyes up and ears alert to
1:04:27
Speaker 1: catch any sound or see any movement of his old enemies.
1:04:31
Speaker 1: The monkey and the parrot. All was quiet in the
1:04:34
Speaker 1: front yard, and not even Polly's cage was to be
1:04:37
Speaker 1: seen swinging on its accustomed hook beside the front door. Still,
1:04:42
Speaker 1: Zip listened and looked in every tree and bush to
1:04:45
Speaker 1: make sure the monkey was not hiding under the leaves
1:04:48
Speaker 1: ready to pounce on him. He had just come to
1:04:51
Speaker 1: the conclusion that they had been shut in the house
1:04:55
Speaker 1: when he heard a terrible commotion and cackling going on
1:04:57
Speaker 1: in the chicken yard, and above all Polly's voice screaming, help, Help,
1:05:04
Speaker 1: naughty Peterkinks. This was Polly's name for Peterkins. Spank, spank,
1:05:11
Speaker 1: help Help. Polly had heard Miss Belinda say this so
1:05:15
Speaker 1: many times that she had learned to imitate her perfectly.
1:05:20
Speaker 1: That monkey is up to some mischief, thought Zip I'll
1:05:25
Speaker 1: run and see what he's up to, and maybe I'll
1:05:27
Speaker 1: have a chance to get even with him for running
1:05:29
Speaker 1: his claws into my back when he was taking that ride.
1:05:33
Speaker 1: Soon Zip was at the fences that divided the chicken
1:05:36
Speaker 1: yard from the lawn and looking through the pails, this
1:05:39
Speaker 1: is what he saw. Peterkins ran down the trunk of
1:05:44
Speaker 1: a big elm tree that shaded part of the chicken yard.
1:05:48
Speaker 1: Then he grabbed up a tiny, little fluffy yellow chicken
1:05:52
Speaker 1: right from under the old hen's very bill, and made
1:05:55
Speaker 1: off with it up the tree. This made the old
1:05:58
Speaker 1: hens so angry and frightened that she cackled and carried on,
1:06:02
Speaker 1: just like people do when terrified. Then, just when all
1:06:06
Speaker 1: the rest of the chickens had quieted down a little
1:06:09
Speaker 1: and the old hen had gathered the rest of her
1:06:11
Speaker 1: brood under her wings, Peterkins threw the little peep at
1:06:15
Speaker 1: mother Hen's head, which killed the little chicken instantly and
1:06:19
Speaker 1: upset all the rest of the fowls in the barnyard
1:06:22
Speaker 1: once more. I'll just keep hidden and wait till he
1:06:27
Speaker 1: comes down, plans Zip, and then I will pounce out
1:06:31
Speaker 1: and grab him by the back of his neck and
1:06:33
Speaker 1: shake him as if he were a rat. But instead
1:06:36
Speaker 1: of coming down the trunk as he had before, Peterkins
1:06:40
Speaker 1: ran out on one of the long, slender, drooping limbs
1:06:43
Speaker 1: that reached nearly to the ground, And when it bent
1:06:46
Speaker 1: within three feet of the earth, he dropped and lit
1:06:49
Speaker 1: on the back of a rooster. Then the fun began,
1:06:53
Speaker 1: for the poor old rooster was beside himself with fright,
1:06:56
Speaker 1: and ran around and around the yard, trying to get
1:07:00
Speaker 1: between the palings of the fence and to holes no
1:07:03
Speaker 1: larger than his head, and to chicken coops and out
1:07:06
Speaker 1: and amongst the other fowls, squawking and gurgling as he went.
1:07:11
Speaker 1: Then all of a sudden he was relieved of his rider,
1:07:14
Speaker 1: for Peterkins leaped from his back onto a turkey gobbler
1:07:18
Speaker 1: that was strutting around the yard. All swelled out with pride,
1:07:21
Speaker 1: every feather spread out to its fullest extent. Now another
1:07:26
Speaker 1: race began, the turkey gobbling and the monkey chattering as
1:07:30
Speaker 1: they made the rounds now. While Peterkins had been riding
1:07:34
Speaker 1: the rooster, this very gobbler called out, you stupid fellow,
1:07:40
Speaker 1: stop running round and round, Go under the fence and
1:07:43
Speaker 1: scratch that beast off your back. But alas for him,
1:07:49
Speaker 1: he could give advice but not live up to it himself.
1:07:52
Speaker 1: For while he was gobbling, Peterkins leaped from the rooster's
1:07:56
Speaker 1: back to his own, and with shrunken feathers, hegan running
1:08:00
Speaker 1: around and around the yard, just as the rooster had done,
1:08:04
Speaker 1: too frightened to know what he was doing or to
1:08:07
Speaker 1: pay attention to his own advice, while all the chickens
1:08:10
Speaker 1: were now cackling at him. Run under the fence, Run
1:08:14
Speaker 1: under the fence and scratch him off. Run under the
1:08:17
Speaker 1: fence and scratch him off. Quacked the ducks, Run under
1:08:21
Speaker 1: the fence and scratch him off. Hissed the geese, Run
1:08:26
Speaker 1: under the fence and scratch him off. Gobble his wife,
1:08:30
Speaker 1: the old turkey hen. But no, he was deaf to
1:08:34
Speaker 1: their cries, and with pride gone and feathers clinging to
1:08:38
Speaker 1: his sides, he was running and jumping around the yard
1:08:41
Speaker 1: madly and blindly, nearly knocking his head off as first
1:08:45
Speaker 1: he ran dizzily into this and then into that. When
1:08:48
Speaker 1: Zip had watched the excitement as long as he cared to,
1:08:51
Speaker 1: he thought, now is my time to grab Peterkins by
1:08:56
Speaker 1: the tail and pull him off that turkey's back before
1:08:58
Speaker 1: it kills itself. So with one bound he was through
1:09:02
Speaker 1: the fence and had Peterkin's tail in his mouth before
1:09:06
Speaker 1: he ever saw him coming. But the monkey did not
1:09:09
Speaker 1: drop from the turkey's back as Zip thought he would.
1:09:12
Speaker 1: He only clung the tighter, and with his arms around
1:09:16
Speaker 1: the turkey's neck and with his knees digging into the
1:09:19
Speaker 1: turkey's sides, Zip could not dislodge him. Zip being too
1:09:24
Speaker 1: stubborn to let go the monkey's tail. The three queer
1:09:28
Speaker 1: looking objects went running around and around the barnyard together
1:09:32
Speaker 1: under wagons, between coops, across the watering trough, sometimes running,
1:09:38
Speaker 1: sometimes jumping or half flying through the long legged turkey
1:09:42
Speaker 1: with a bobbing monkey on its back, whose tail was
1:09:45
Speaker 1: in the little dog's mouth. This was what Miss Belinda
1:09:49
Speaker 1: saw when she returned from market and looked into her
1:09:52
Speaker 1: barnyard to see what was causing all her fowls to
1:09:55
Speaker 1: make such a fuss. Well, I declare, if there isn't
1:10:01
Speaker 1: a little dog chasing my chickens and turkeys, But what
1:10:05
Speaker 1: is that on the big gobbler's back? Sure as I live,
1:10:08
Speaker 1: it is Peterkin's hear you, horrid little dog? Let go
1:10:13
Speaker 1: my darling Peterkin's tail, and Miss Belinda picked up a
1:10:17
Speaker 1: long handled rake that was leaning against the fence and
1:10:20
Speaker 1: went after Zip. All this time Polly had been sweeching, Help, Help,
1:10:27
Speaker 1: naughty Peterkinks, Spank, Spank. Zip held on the monkey's tail
1:10:32
Speaker 1: until the rake appeared over his head. Then he let go,
1:10:36
Speaker 1: quickly giving an extra bite to the tip, which came
1:10:39
Speaker 1: off in his mouth. He jumped back just in time
1:10:43
Speaker 1: to save himself from being hit on the head, for
1:10:45
Speaker 1: the rake came down with such force that it laid
1:10:49
Speaker 1: both the turkey and Peterkins out flat on their backs,
1:10:52
Speaker 1: where they lay kicking as if in the throes of death.
1:10:56
Speaker 1: Miss Belinda thought she had killed her pets and began
1:10:59
Speaker 1: to cry as she picked them up. As for Zip,
1:11:03
Speaker 1: he slunk away and ran back to the doctor's buggy,
1:11:06
Speaker 1: just in time to jump in as the doctor started
1:11:08
Speaker 1: for home. So by the time Miss Belinda had gathered
1:11:12
Speaker 1: up Peterkins and saw that the turkey was more frightened
1:11:15
Speaker 1: than hurt, Zip was blocks away, laughing to himself at
1:11:19
Speaker 1: the whack the monkey and turkey had gotten instead of him,
1:11:23
Speaker 1: and at the funny spectacle the three of them must
1:11:25
Speaker 1: have made as they ran around and around the yard.
1:11:30
Speaker 1: And won't Tabby laugh when I tell her about it?
1:11:33
Speaker 1: He thought? End of chapter seven, chapter eight of Zip
1:11:46
Speaker 1: The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier by Francis Trego Montgomery.
1:11:52
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by
1:11:58
Speaker 1: Leanne Howlott. Zip at the candy Pull that evening, the
1:12:04
Speaker 1: doctor had no calls to make, so Zip was left
1:12:08
Speaker 1: to amuse himself as best he could. He had finished
1:12:11
Speaker 1: telling Tabby about the monkey and the turkey and was
1:12:14
Speaker 1: wondering what to do with himself when he heard children
1:12:17
Speaker 1: laughing in the back yard of the house opposite. Looking up,
1:12:21
Speaker 1: he saw that the house was lighted more than was usual,
1:12:25
Speaker 1: and he knew right away that they must be having
1:12:27
Speaker 1: a little dance or a children's party of some kind.
1:12:31
Speaker 1: Just then he thought he got a whiff of boiling molasses.
1:12:35
Speaker 1: He stuck his nose up in the air and gave
1:12:37
Speaker 1: a long sniff. Yes, it was molasses, he smelled. They
1:12:44
Speaker 1: are having a candy pull, That's what is going on.
1:12:48
Speaker 1: I'll just go on over and stick around until they
1:12:50
Speaker 1: have refreshments, and then perhaps I can sneak into the
1:12:53
Speaker 1: kitchen and steal a piece of cake, thought zip. But alas,
1:12:59
Speaker 1: he was so oh busy gazing up at the lighted
1:13:01
Speaker 1: windows to see what was going on inside the house
1:13:05
Speaker 1: that he neglected to look where he was stepping. And
1:13:07
Speaker 1: the first thing he knew he was standing with all
1:13:11
Speaker 1: four feet in a pan of hot molasses candy, and
1:13:14
Speaker 1: he found himself sticking fast in an entirely different way
1:13:18
Speaker 1: than he had meant when he left home. The candy
1:13:22
Speaker 1: was just in that state of cooling when the top
1:13:25
Speaker 1: is a little hard and the bottom is soft and sticky.
1:13:28
Speaker 1: So when he tried to lift his feet, the candy
1:13:31
Speaker 1: pulled up from the bottom of the pan and made long,
1:13:34
Speaker 1: stringy ends, but did not leave his feet. Instead, it
1:13:38
Speaker 1: got between his toes and held him still faster. He
1:13:42
Speaker 1: tried to bite it off, but instead of coming off,
1:13:46
Speaker 1: it only stuck to his teeth, and he found himself
1:13:48
Speaker 1: sticking to the pan with his mouth as well as
1:13:51
Speaker 1: his feet. Indeed, he was held securely by the sticky,
1:13:54
Speaker 1: stringy candy. Just then he thought he heard the children
1:13:58
Speaker 1: coming to see if there're sweets were cool. Yes, they
1:14:02
Speaker 1: were surely coming. He could not stand it to have
1:14:05
Speaker 1: these children he saw every day find him in such
1:14:08
Speaker 1: a fix, he would never hear the last of it.
1:14:11
Speaker 1: So he made a frantic effort to loosen himself. In
1:14:15
Speaker 1: doing this, he pulled backwards so far that his feet
1:14:19
Speaker 1: slipped somehow, and he sat down in the candy. And
1:14:23
Speaker 1: now he was caught, for his four feet, mouth, one ear,
1:14:28
Speaker 1: and tail were all sticking to the pan of candy.
1:14:31
Speaker 1: As the children began to come down the back steps,
1:14:34
Speaker 1: he gave one yelp, doubled himself up and began to roll,
1:14:39
Speaker 1: so that what the children saw was a big ball
1:14:42
Speaker 1: of molasses candy rolling down the sloping walk. All they
1:14:46
Speaker 1: could see in the semi darkness was the candy, for
1:14:50
Speaker 1: Zip was too bald up to show a bit of
1:14:52
Speaker 1: dog sticking out of the soft mess. The children ran
1:14:56
Speaker 1: after it, screaming with laughter. But when they caught up
1:14:59
Speaker 1: to the rolling ball and discovered their well known mischievous
1:15:03
Speaker 1: Zip rolled up so tight he was helpless, they clapped
1:15:06
Speaker 1: their hands with delight. He looked so crestfallen and funny
1:15:11
Speaker 1: that they forgave him on the spot for the loss
1:15:13
Speaker 1: of their candy. How they did shout with laughter as
1:15:16
Speaker 1: they were trying to get the candy off him. I
1:15:20
Speaker 1: know the best way to get the sticky stuff off,
1:15:22
Speaker 1: said Helen hard Away, the little girl who was giving
1:15:25
Speaker 1: the party. Let's put him in the bathtub and soak
1:15:29
Speaker 1: it off, just the very thing. One of the boys replied,
1:15:34
Speaker 1: wait till I get something to wrap him in so
1:15:36
Speaker 1: I won't get all stuck up with the candy. On
1:15:40
Speaker 1: hearing this, Zip began to struggle and squirm, for he
1:15:44
Speaker 1: had visions of hot water and soap SuDS in his eyes,
1:15:48
Speaker 1: with each one of the children feeling it was their
1:15:50
Speaker 1: duty to give him an extra scrub. Here, use Zip,
1:15:55
Speaker 1: keep still or you'll slip out of the apron you're
1:15:58
Speaker 1: wrapped in, and get my best suit. All sticky, called
1:16:01
Speaker 1: the little boy, who held him in his arms and
1:16:03
Speaker 1: was carrying him up to the bathroom. By squeezing him tightly,
1:16:08
Speaker 1: the boy managed to get him to the room and
1:16:10
Speaker 1: was just about to drop him in the tub from
1:16:12
Speaker 1: the apron when he discovered that the apron was sticking
1:16:15
Speaker 1: to the candy. One of the boys gave it a
1:16:18
Speaker 1: jerk to loosen it, but sad to relate, he gave
1:16:22
Speaker 1: too vigorous a pull and Zip dropped from the boy's arms.
1:16:26
Speaker 1: Not into the tub, but at one side, and by
1:16:29
Speaker 1: a mighty effort he gave himself two rolls, which brought
1:16:33
Speaker 1: him to the head of the stairs. Another roll sent
1:16:36
Speaker 1: him tumbling bumpety bumped down the long flight that led
1:16:39
Speaker 1: to the kitchen. On the way, he hit a hamper
1:16:42
Speaker 1: of clothes on the landing, and it joined him and
1:16:45
Speaker 1: went bumpety bump, bangety bang to the bottom and out
1:16:48
Speaker 1: into the kitchen, hitting the waitress, who was carrying a
1:16:51
Speaker 1: tray of glasses filled with fruit lemonade to the little
1:16:54
Speaker 1: guests and the parlors who had not joined the dog hunt.
1:16:58
Speaker 1: The sudden appearance of a hamper, apparently on legs, coming
1:17:02
Speaker 1: toward her surprised her, but nothing like the queer thing
1:17:06
Speaker 1: that was rolling about her feet, in which she could
1:17:09
Speaker 1: not see. For the big tray in her hands, she
1:17:11
Speaker 1: could not seem to escape it, and finally she stumbled
1:17:15
Speaker 1: and fell, sending the glasses of delicious lemonade flying in
1:17:19
Speaker 1: all directions. Hearing a noise on the back stairs as
1:17:23
Speaker 1: if the house was falling, Missus Hardaway went to see
1:17:27
Speaker 1: what the trouble was and opened the kitchen door just
1:17:30
Speaker 1: in time to receive a full glass of lemonade squarely
1:17:33
Speaker 1: on the chest. When the waitress stumbled, she fell on zip,
1:17:39
Speaker 1: pinning him under her. In his roll down the stairs,
1:17:42
Speaker 1: he had lost some of the candy, so that now
1:17:45
Speaker 1: his mouth and nose were free, though he was minus
1:17:48
Speaker 1: a tooth and several of his long smell or whiskers.
1:17:52
Speaker 1: Now he began to howl, as if being killed. This
1:17:55
Speaker 1: brought more of the guests to the spot, and you
1:17:58
Speaker 1: would have laughed, could you have seen there the faces
1:18:00
Speaker 1: when first they peered into the kitchen, which looked as
1:18:03
Speaker 1: if a cyclone had struck it. A few feet from
1:18:07
Speaker 1: the door was the maid sitting with limbs outspread, two
1:18:11
Speaker 1: dazed to move, while from under the corner of her
1:18:14
Speaker 1: skirt rolled a big, sticky ball of some kind that
1:18:17
Speaker 1: howled as it rolled. Beyond him was an overturned hamper
1:18:21
Speaker 1: of soiled clothes, with stockings, collars, sheets, and petticoats spilling
1:18:26
Speaker 1: out of it. At the other end of the room
1:18:28
Speaker 1: stood Missus Hardaway, wiping the lemonade off her dress, while
1:18:33
Speaker 1: all over the place were slices of lemon and pieces
1:18:36
Speaker 1: of fruit and marasino cherries. When all the children came
1:18:39
Speaker 1: from upstairs, they told missus hardaway how it had all
1:18:43
Speaker 1: come about from Zip getting in their candy and their
1:18:46
Speaker 1: trying to wash it off his coat. As Zip was
1:18:49
Speaker 1: still on a ball and could not extricate himself, the
1:18:53
Speaker 1: same boy who had carried him to the bathroom before
1:18:56
Speaker 1: put the apron around him again and took him back upstairs.
1:19:00
Speaker 1: This time they got him in the tub safely and
1:19:02
Speaker 1: began to turn The water in the tub was slippery,
1:19:06
Speaker 1: and so was the candy. And as the water crept
1:19:09
Speaker 1: up to where Zip was tied not hand and foot,
1:19:12
Speaker 1: but worse still head, nose, ears, and all four legs,
1:19:16
Speaker 1: as well as tail, he howled and howled until one
1:19:19
Speaker 1: could have heard him a block away. He was so
1:19:22
Speaker 1: afraid of being drowned before the water would soak off
1:19:25
Speaker 1: the candy, And when the children tried to pull it off,
1:19:28
Speaker 1: it nearly killed him with pain, for it took all
1:19:31
Speaker 1: the little fine hairs of his coat with it. The
1:19:34
Speaker 1: window of the bathroom was open, and the doctor, coming
1:19:37
Speaker 1: out on his front porch to look at the sky
1:19:39
Speaker 1: before retiring, heard Zip howling somewhere across the street. He
1:19:44
Speaker 1: was crying in such a pitiful, frightened manner that the
1:19:48
Speaker 1: doctor knew he must be fast somewhere or hurt, so
1:19:51
Speaker 1: he could not get home. Consequently, he hurried across the
1:19:54
Speaker 1: street to see where his pet was. With the worried
1:19:57
Speaker 1: tabby close at his heels, the doctor made the circuit
1:20:01
Speaker 1: of the house and stable yard, but could find no Zip.
1:20:05
Speaker 1: The howls seemed to come from up in the air
1:20:07
Speaker 1: somewhere as from the top of the house. So finally
1:20:11
Speaker 1: the doctor rapped on the hardaway kitchen door to ask
1:20:14
Speaker 1: the maid if Zip had not slipped in the house
1:20:16
Speaker 1: and gotten up on the roof. He knocked repeatedly, but
1:20:20
Speaker 1: no one answered. As he still heard Zip howling, and
1:20:24
Speaker 1: several people were talking all at once, he made bold
1:20:27
Speaker 1: to open the door and step in. What he saw
1:20:31
Speaker 1: you already know, as by this time the children had
1:20:35
Speaker 1: started to bathe Zip. The doctor was told to go
1:20:38
Speaker 1: right upstairs. When he appeared in the door, all the
1:20:41
Speaker 1: children stopped laughing and stepped back to give him a
1:20:44
Speaker 1: chance to see Zip. And this is what he saw.
1:20:49
Speaker 1: Just one of Zip's eyes stuck out of a hole
1:20:51
Speaker 1: where the candy had dropped off, and his poor little
1:20:54
Speaker 1: tail stuck out like a handle on the other side
1:20:57
Speaker 1: of the ball. That was all that could be seen
1:21:00
Speaker 1: of Zip at that moment, for in his numerous rolls,
1:21:03
Speaker 1: the candy had spread all over him, until he was
1:21:06
Speaker 1: no longer a dog with legs, but just one round
1:21:10
Speaker 1: ball of molasses candy. Seeing the water was fast climbing
1:21:15
Speaker 1: up to where it would reach Zip's mouth, and knowing
1:21:17
Speaker 1: it would drown him, the doctor turned off the spicot.
1:21:21
Speaker 1: The children had never thought that the poor dog could
1:21:24
Speaker 1: not move his head to keep out of the water.
1:21:26
Speaker 1: Now the doctor hurriedly took off his coat, rolled up
1:21:30
Speaker 1: his sleeves, and in a jiffy had Zip and the
1:21:33
Speaker 1: molasses ball in his hands and was holding it so
1:21:36
Speaker 1: that the water could not get to Zip's head. Then,
1:21:40
Speaker 1: with one hand, he gently threw the water upon the
1:21:42
Speaker 1: candy until it began to loosen and fall off. First,
1:21:47
Speaker 1: he released the little dog's head, which had been bent
1:21:50
Speaker 1: down between his fore legs. As the candy began to
1:21:54
Speaker 1: loosen and drop off, first one black ear stood up,
1:21:57
Speaker 1: and then the other, and last the little legs began
1:22:01
Speaker 1: to shoot out. All this made the children laugh to
1:22:04
Speaker 1: see what appeared to be a big ball of candy
1:22:06
Speaker 1: develop into a little dog. At last, when Zip was
1:22:11
Speaker 1: entirely clean and had been wrapped in a big bath
1:22:14
Speaker 1: towel to dry. Doctor Ellsworth apologized to Helen for his
1:22:18
Speaker 1: little dog spoiling her candy pull, but she declared that
1:22:22
Speaker 1: he had given them more fun than if he had
1:22:23
Speaker 1: not come over, and the molasses had cooled and they
1:22:27
Speaker 1: had had a regular candy pull. But when it came
1:22:31
Speaker 1: to apologizing to Missus Hardaway for the mess Zip had
1:22:34
Speaker 1: caused in the kitchen, the doctor did not know what
1:22:37
Speaker 1: to say. He felt so badly about it, but he
1:22:40
Speaker 1: could have saved himself all the worry, for Missus Hardaway
1:22:44
Speaker 1: was a sensible woman and knew that accidents will happen,
1:22:48
Speaker 1: and she met with the doctor smilingly. Besides, the doctor
1:22:52
Speaker 1: had been her family physician for years and they were
1:22:55
Speaker 1: all very, very fond of him, as well as of Zip.
1:23:00
Speaker 1: It was hard to think of the doctor without Zip,
1:23:02
Speaker 1: as they were always together. So when the doctor began
1:23:05
Speaker 1: to apologize, Missus Hardaway stopped him short and told him
1:23:10
Speaker 1: to drink Zip's health in a glass of freshly made
1:23:13
Speaker 1: lemonade and say no more about it. The doctor, thanking
1:23:17
Speaker 1: her from the bottom of his heart, drank not to
1:23:20
Speaker 1: Zip's health but to hers, and thus the exciting evening
1:23:24
Speaker 1: ended peacefully and everyone was happy, including Zip, as the
1:23:28
Speaker 1: doctor gave him all the Marasino cherries in his glass,
1:23:32
Speaker 1: something he dearly loved, though you may think it was
1:23:35
Speaker 1: a queer thing for a little dog to like. End Ip.
1:23:42
Speaker 1: Chapter eight, Chapter nine of Zip The Adventures of a
1:23:52
Speaker 1: Frisky Fox Terrier by Francis Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording
1:23:59
Speaker 1: is in the public Don't recording by Leanne Howlett. Zip
1:24:05
Speaker 1: and Peterkins have a fight. For several days after the
1:24:10
Speaker 1: molasses candy episode. Zip stayed at home and did not
1:24:13
Speaker 1: go snooking into anybody's backyard. But on the fifth day
1:24:17
Speaker 1: he felt he needed a little excitement, so he decided
1:24:21
Speaker 1: to call at Miss Belinda's and see what Peterkins and
1:24:24
Speaker 1: Polly were doing and incidentally get a snap at Peterkin's. So,
1:24:29
Speaker 1: about three o'clock in the afternoon, when the doctor was
1:24:32
Speaker 1: taking a little snooze in the hammock under the big maple,
1:24:35
Speaker 1: Zip sneaked off across the gardens and down the side
1:24:38
Speaker 1: streets to Miss Belinda's. When he arrived, everything was quiet,
1:24:44
Speaker 1: not even a leaf on the trees stirred or a
1:24:46
Speaker 1: chicken crowed. The blinds were all down in the house,
1:24:50
Speaker 1: which showed that Miss Belinda was either taking a nap
1:24:53
Speaker 1: or gone calling. Polly's cage was nowhere in sight, so
1:24:57
Speaker 1: she must be indoors, thought Zip. And if Polly was
1:25:01
Speaker 1: in the house, Peterkins was sure to be also, he reasoned.
1:25:06
Speaker 1: After making a tour of the garden and barn yard,
1:25:09
Speaker 1: he was about to return home when chancing to raise
1:25:13
Speaker 1: his eyes to the kitchen window. Whom should he see
1:25:17
Speaker 1: but Peterkins perched on the back of a chair looking
1:25:19
Speaker 1: out at him. So so thought Zip. Miss Belinda has
1:25:27
Speaker 1: gone out, and for fear something would happen to her pets,
1:25:30
Speaker 1: she has shut them in the house. Oh what a
1:25:33
Speaker 1: chance for some fun if I only could get in.
1:25:37
Speaker 1: As he stood gazing at the monkey, Peterkins began making
1:25:41
Speaker 1: faces at him. You have heard boys call out to
1:25:44
Speaker 1: one another stop making monkey faces at me, haven't you. Well,
1:25:49
Speaker 1: I guess they get the habit from seeing some monkey
1:25:52
Speaker 1: making faces. At any rate, the horrible faces Peterkins made
1:25:56
Speaker 1: at Zip were enough to drive a boy crazy, much
1:26:00
Speaker 1: less a little dog with Zip's snappy disposition, and he
1:26:03
Speaker 1: barked back, just you wait until I get a hold
1:26:07
Speaker 1: of you again, and I'll not only snip a piece
1:26:10
Speaker 1: off your tail, but I'll bite the whole tail right off.
1:26:15
Speaker 1: At this, Peterkins ran his tongue out at Zip. Then
1:26:19
Speaker 1: Zip flew at the door and barked and scratched as
1:26:22
Speaker 1: if he would tear the house down. Peterkins pressed his
1:26:26
Speaker 1: face close to the window pane and grinned at him.
1:26:29
Speaker 1: Right then the grocery boy came and, seeing a little
1:26:32
Speaker 1: dog barking and scratching on the door, thought he belonged
1:26:35
Speaker 1: there and was trying to get in. So when he
1:26:39
Speaker 1: opened the door to put the groceries on the kitchen table,
1:26:42
Speaker 1: he let Zip in, deposited his parcels on the table,
1:26:45
Speaker 1: and left, shutting the door after him. Regardless of the
1:26:49
Speaker 1: fact that Polly was screeching help murder thieves fire at
1:26:56
Speaker 1: the top of her voice and Peterkins was jumping around
1:26:59
Speaker 1: wildly at the end of the string with which he
1:27:02
Speaker 1: was tied to a chair, Zip sat quietly in the
1:27:05
Speaker 1: middle of the kitchen floor, enjoying their fright until the
1:27:09
Speaker 1: sound of the grocery wagon had died out down the street.
1:27:12
Speaker 1: Then he barked, ha, ha, I've gotten you now just
1:27:17
Speaker 1: where I want you, and I'm going to bite your
1:27:19
Speaker 1: tail clear off. I see you have it done up
1:27:22
Speaker 1: in a white rag with witch hazel on it, for
1:27:24
Speaker 1: I smell the stuff. Zip really did not intend to
1:27:28
Speaker 1: bite his tail off, but only pretended to do so,
1:27:32
Speaker 1: giving it a good pinch between his teeth. With a
1:27:35
Speaker 1: shrill scream of fright, the monkey jumped onto the kitchen
1:27:39
Speaker 1: table that stood beside his chair, and he pulled so
1:27:42
Speaker 1: hard that the string broke it's giving way, so suddenly
1:27:46
Speaker 1: sent him flying off the table on to the floor.
1:27:49
Speaker 1: But he was up in a minute and leaped to
1:27:51
Speaker 1: the stove. The fire was out, but the stove was
1:27:54
Speaker 1: still warm, so he jumped upon the tea kettle. There
1:27:58
Speaker 1: he perched, hanging to the hand until Zip, seeing there
1:28:02
Speaker 1: was no fire in the stove, jumped on the hearth,
1:28:05
Speaker 1: and from the hearth up on the stove. As Zip
1:28:08
Speaker 1: landed there, Peterkins ran up the stovepipe, but he kept
1:28:12
Speaker 1: slipping back it was so smooth. From there, he leaped
1:28:16
Speaker 1: to the top of the roller towel, but horrors, it
1:28:19
Speaker 1: began to roll up, and when he stuck his claws
1:28:22
Speaker 1: into the towel, it unwound and took him nearly to
1:28:25
Speaker 1: the floor. He was afraid to let go and drop
1:28:27
Speaker 1: to the floor. Still, if he held on, Zip could
1:28:31
Speaker 1: reach him too. He was wondering just where he could
1:28:35
Speaker 1: go to escape the dog. When Zip jumped off the
1:28:37
Speaker 1: stove and grabbed the end of his long tail. Peterkins
1:28:41
Speaker 1: gave a jerk and tried to run up the towel,
1:28:43
Speaker 1: leaving his bandage in Zip's mouth. While Zip was trying
1:28:47
Speaker 1: to get the cloth out of his mouth, Peterkins dropped
1:28:50
Speaker 1: to the floor and climbed up on the kitchen table.
1:28:53
Speaker 1: Seeing a basket of eggs the grocery boy had left,
1:28:57
Speaker 1: he began throwing them at Zip, who was having a
1:29:00
Speaker 1: hard time getting rid of the bandage, for the more
1:29:03
Speaker 1: he pulled, the tighter it wedged itself between his sharp teeth.
1:29:08
Speaker 1: Now Zip was in a pretty fix, for he could
1:29:10
Speaker 1: not bite with the water of cotton in his mouth,
1:29:13
Speaker 1: neither could he run and jump, for in trying to
1:29:16
Speaker 1: get the bandage from between his teeth, he had gotten
1:29:18
Speaker 1: it twisted around his legs and fast between two of
1:29:21
Speaker 1: his toes, which made it only possible for him to
1:29:24
Speaker 1: walk slowly. And all this time Peterkins kept pelting him
1:29:29
Speaker 1: with the eggs, which broke and ran all over his
1:29:32
Speaker 1: back and down into his eyes, while Polly shrieked and
1:29:35
Speaker 1: cried out all the names she had ever been taught,
1:29:37
Speaker 1: without the least knowing what they meant. Every time an
1:29:41
Speaker 1: egg would hit Zip, she would laugh and call out,
1:29:44
Speaker 1: soak him, Jimmy. Then Zip would glare at her and
1:29:48
Speaker 1: make as if going for which would cause her to
1:29:50
Speaker 1: cry out help, fire, murder, thieves, buttons, Polly, want cup, coffee,
1:29:57
Speaker 1: naughty boy, spank, spank, tea, d t dull, dumb, catchum, catchum, crackers, crackers,
1:30:05
Speaker 1: pretty Polly, all on a jumble. At last, Zip managed
1:30:10
Speaker 1: to get his leg loose, and he was working on
1:30:12
Speaker 1: the plug in his mouth and not watching Peterkins, when
1:30:15
Speaker 1: he had the surprise of his life by getting a
1:30:17
Speaker 1: full dipper of water thrown all over him, for the
1:30:21
Speaker 1: monkey had dipped it from the pail of water on
1:30:23
Speaker 1: the table. The sudden twist Zip gave his head when
1:30:26
Speaker 1: the water hit him full force loosened the cotton in
1:30:29
Speaker 1: his mouth and out it flew with a bound. Zip
1:30:33
Speaker 1: was now on the chair, then on the table, snapping
1:30:36
Speaker 1: and barking while the monkey was trying to hit him
1:30:38
Speaker 1: with the empty dipper when the kitchen door unexpectedly opened,
1:30:43
Speaker 1: and in the doorway stood Miss Belinda. Without a second's thought,
1:30:48
Speaker 1: Zip jumped past her and ran for dear life toward home,
1:30:51
Speaker 1: never stopping to look back even once, until he was
1:30:55
Speaker 1: safe in his own barnyard, standing beside the watering trough
1:30:59
Speaker 1: preparatory to jumping in and washing the eggs off his
1:31:02
Speaker 1: coat again. His encounter with the monkey had been unsatisfactory.
1:31:07
Speaker 1: And as for what poor miss Belinda thought when she
1:31:10
Speaker 1: saw the mess in her nice clean kitchen, it is
1:31:13
Speaker 1: beyond words to tell. End of chapter nine, Chapter ten
1:31:26
Speaker 1: of Zip, The Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier by
1:31:30
Speaker 1: Francis Trego Montgomery. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
1:31:37
Speaker 1: Recording by Leanne Howlett. Zip's curiosity is his undoing. About
1:31:45
Speaker 1: a week after Zip's last visit to Miss Belinda's, he
1:31:48
Speaker 1: was out on one of his midnight prowls, about which
1:31:51
Speaker 1: the doctor had scolded him time and time again. In fact,
1:31:56
Speaker 1: he had forbidden him to leave the yard at night,
1:31:58
Speaker 1: warning him that some day he would be shot while
1:32:01
Speaker 1: poking around in other people's back yards, or that he
1:32:04
Speaker 1: would be poisoned by eating some meat that had been
1:32:06
Speaker 1: prepared purposely for stray cats or dogs. But Zip thought
1:32:10
Speaker 1: he was smart enough not to get caught, and he
1:32:13
Speaker 1: did not believe that anyone could put poison on meat
1:32:16
Speaker 1: and he not be able to smell it. So this
1:32:20
Speaker 1: night he went with a rat terrier, a friend of his,
1:32:23
Speaker 1: down into a poor quarter of the town where they
1:32:26
Speaker 1: often went to kill rats just for the fun of
1:32:29
Speaker 1: it and to see who could kill the most. Tonight,
1:32:33
Speaker 1: there seemed to be no rats in sight, and while
1:32:36
Speaker 1: nosing around to get on the track of some Zip
1:32:39
Speaker 1: smelt meat and soon came upon a small piece of fresh,
1:32:42
Speaker 1: juicy beefsteak, which he gobbled down without a thought. As
1:32:47
Speaker 1: he swallowed the last bit, he thought he detected a
1:32:50
Speaker 1: queer taste to it, and the thought flashed through his mind,
1:32:55
Speaker 1: I have been poisoned. I might have known. No one
1:32:58
Speaker 1: would throw away so good a piece of meat. Is
1:33:00
Speaker 1: that without a purpose, That meat was prepared for some cat,
1:33:04
Speaker 1: dog or rat to eat and die. Oh my, I
1:33:07
Speaker 1: am beginning to have fearful pains in my stomach now,
1:33:10
Speaker 1: and I feel myself beginning to swell already. Rats, He
1:33:15
Speaker 1: called for that was his friend's nickname. I've eaten a
1:33:19
Speaker 1: piece of meat with rat poison on it, and I
1:33:21
Speaker 1: must get home before I swell up, so I can't
1:33:24
Speaker 1: walk at all. If I'm able to get to the doctor,
1:33:27
Speaker 1: he will help me. I know, I thought you had
1:33:31
Speaker 1: more sense than to eat a piece of meat, cheese,
1:33:34
Speaker 1: or anything else you saw lying around in places where
1:33:36
Speaker 1: they have lots of rats. You might have known and
1:33:39
Speaker 1: had rat poison on it, replied his friend. I know,
1:33:44
Speaker 1: but I did not think. For mercy's sake, don't scold
1:33:48
Speaker 1: me when I am in such awful pain, but help
1:33:50
Speaker 1: me get home, wailed Zip. They made as good headway
1:33:55
Speaker 1: as they could, though Zip had to roll on the
1:33:58
Speaker 1: grass every once in a while to relieve it pain.
1:34:01
Speaker 1: But he did not dare stop often, for his stomach
1:34:03
Speaker 1: was swelling so rapidly that he felt it would burst
1:34:06
Speaker 1: before he reached his home. At last, they reached the
1:34:10
Speaker 1: doctor's house, but too late to find the doctor still up.
1:34:14
Speaker 1: He had gone to bed, so Zip told his friend
1:34:17
Speaker 1: to howl as if he was being killed, and the
1:34:20
Speaker 1: doctor would hear him and think it was his own
1:34:22
Speaker 1: dog and come down to see what was the matter.
1:34:25
Speaker 1: The rat terrier howled lustily, while Zip dropped down on
1:34:29
Speaker 1: the door mat and groaned as loudly as he could.
1:34:33
Speaker 1: Rats barked, howled, and threw himself against the front door,
1:34:36
Speaker 1: making a terrible noise generally. Presently, the doctor stuck his
1:34:41
Speaker 1: head out of an upper window and called Zip, for
1:34:45
Speaker 1: mercy's sake, shut up, what is the matter with you?
1:34:49
Speaker 1: But when in the bright moonlight he saw it was
1:34:52
Speaker 1: not Zip, but a strange dog instead, with Zip lying
1:34:56
Speaker 1: at his feet. And when he heard Zip groan, heard
1:35:00
Speaker 1: gurriedly stepped into his bathrobe and slippers and came downstairs.
1:35:04
Speaker 1: Then he opened the front door and saw Zip on
1:35:06
Speaker 1: the mat, all swollen up the size of two pups.
1:35:10
Speaker 1: He knew at a glance, of course, that his pet
1:35:13
Speaker 1: had been poisoned. So he picked him up tenderly in
1:35:16
Speaker 1: his arms and carried him up straight to the bathroom
1:35:19
Speaker 1: and began pumping out the contents of his stomach. This done,
1:35:24
Speaker 1: he heeded some milk and made Zip drink a lot
1:35:26
Speaker 1: of it, as milk is a very good thing to
1:35:29
Speaker 1: take when one has been poisoned. Besides, it was warm
1:35:32
Speaker 1: and soothing to his poor stomach. Then he rolled him
1:35:36
Speaker 1: up in a big blanket shawl and carried him to
1:35:38
Speaker 1: his own room, where he put him on the cushion
1:35:41
Speaker 1: of a big cozy rocking chair and pulled it up
1:35:44
Speaker 1: close beside his bed, where he could watch him the
1:35:46
Speaker 1: rest of the night and give him medicine every once
1:35:49
Speaker 1: in a while. You poor little fellow, said the doctor.
1:35:55
Speaker 1: I am awfully sorry you are in such pains, but
1:35:58
Speaker 1: I hope it will teach you a lesson to stay
1:36:00
Speaker 1: at home nights and not disobey my orders and go
1:36:03
Speaker 1: gallivanting off into other people's yards. Why you are shaking
1:36:07
Speaker 1: as if you had a chill. Just a second now,
1:36:10
Speaker 1: and I will get a hot water bag and put
1:36:12
Speaker 1: it on your stomach. Oh my, oh my, I believe
1:36:18
Speaker 1: I am going to die, wailed Zip to himself. If
1:36:23
Speaker 1: ever I get well, I never will disobey the doctor again.
1:36:27
Speaker 1: He is so good to me, and I am ashamed
1:36:29
Speaker 1: to think what a naughty dog I have been. But
1:36:32
Speaker 1: I do so love to go snooking around and not
1:36:35
Speaker 1: stay at home nights like Tabby does. I never saw
1:36:38
Speaker 1: such a good cat as Tabby is. She never goes
1:36:42
Speaker 1: prowling around though most cats do, and it isn't because
1:36:45
Speaker 1: she is not coaxed to go either, for nearly every
1:36:48
Speaker 1: night the neighbor's cats come and try to persuade her
1:36:51
Speaker 1: to go with him to somebody's house or barn. Just
1:36:54
Speaker 1: then the doctor came back with a nice, warm, hot
1:36:57
Speaker 1: water bag, which he put close against zip stomach, and
1:37:01
Speaker 1: then he wrapped him up snugly in the shawl. Once again, there,
1:37:06
Speaker 1: little fellow, you will be all right in the morning.
1:37:09
Speaker 1: Go to sleep now and forget all your trouble. But
1:37:12
Speaker 1: if you hadn't gotten to me when you did, you
1:37:14
Speaker 1: would have been a little angel dog. By this time,
1:37:17
Speaker 1: the poison was working so fast that I could not
1:37:20
Speaker 1: have saved you had you come twenty minutes later. By
1:37:23
Speaker 1: the way, that is a smart friend you have, and
1:37:26
Speaker 1: he has good lungs. I think by the noise he
1:37:28
Speaker 1: was making, he must have awakened all our neighbors. If
1:37:32
Speaker 1: he is around in the morning, I will give him
1:37:34
Speaker 1: a good hot breakfast. I never would have known you
1:37:37
Speaker 1: were home and sick if he had not kicked up
1:37:39
Speaker 1: such a racket, for you were far too ill to
1:37:42
Speaker 1: make noise enough to awaken me. And patting Zip on
1:37:46
Speaker 1: the head, the doctor crawled into his bed and was
1:37:49
Speaker 1: soon fast asleep. Zip was about to fall into a
1:37:53
Speaker 1: doze when he heard a noise down on the front porch.
1:37:57
Speaker 1: Listening intently, the voices of Tabby and his friend Rats
1:38:01
Speaker 1: came floating in the window, and he knew by the
1:38:04
Speaker 1: soft murmur they made that they were talking in a
1:38:06
Speaker 1: most friendly manner and not fighting with each other. I
1:38:10
Speaker 1: am glad that Tabby found Rats, for now he can
1:38:13
Speaker 1: tell her all that has happened to me, thought Zip.
1:38:18
Speaker 1: The warm milk and the hot water bottle were beginning
1:38:20
Speaker 1: to soothe Zip and make him feel comfortable, And in
1:38:24
Speaker 1: fifty winks he was fast asleep and snoring, And so
1:38:28
Speaker 1: once more Zip's adventures ended happily for him. End of
1:38:34
Speaker 1: chapter ten. End of Zip The Adventures of a Frisky
1:38:39
Speaker 1: Fox Terrier by Francis Trego Montgomery, recording by Leanne Howlett