THE RAT 



never return until I find him on the other side, 

 and then httle Sammy will have a good time for 

 one more year, scampering about the banks and 

 making fun of the owls, who will think that they 

 see a rat, and will swoop down and catch nothing. 

 I hope that they will hurt their nasty claws against 

 a stone. Also he will tickle the noses of the sleep- 

 ing dogs until they twitch their legs and utter little 

 squeaky barks in the excitement of the dream chase ; 

 he will rustle mysteriously about the rooms at night 

 until he frightens people into declaring that the 

 house is haunted. All these things and more will 

 little Sammy do, and I almost wish that the time 

 had come. 



I wonder if you would like to take a stout stick 

 and settle the question for me. I believe that 1 

 will sit quite still and take it as it comes. It is 

 all rather a bore now, and yet, at times, I believe 

 that I enjoy it. There is a certain amount of 

 pleasure to be got out of sitting still, though you 

 may not believe it, and out of thinking over all the 

 fun that one has enjoyed. 



I cannot venture to hope that it has been as 

 great a pleasure to you to read as it has been to 

 me to write ; all that I ask is that you should look 

 with some slight touch of toleration on our many 



