Charlie and His Puppy Bingo — Reading Notes

d to travel in the baggage car _Facing_ 43

The rooster kept Bingo a prisoner “ 63

Charlie blew a tremendous blast “ 77

Charlie and the stage driver talk together “ 81

The boat sailed beautifully “ 99

Charlie watched the builders _Opposite_ 107

One of the strange boys held Bingo _Facing_ 129

Charlie made three villages _Opposite_ 143

Charlie and His Puppy Bingo

Charlie was a little boy who lived with his Mother and his Daddy and his Auntie in a house in the city. The house had a big yard all around it, where Charlie liked to play.

A cat called Jane and her kitten Topsy also lived in the house. Topsy and Charlie were great friends and they played together all day long. Jane sometimes played with them too, but Jane was a cat who loved little babies, both baby cats and baby humans, and she was sad because Charlie was growing to be a big little boy, and Topsy was a big little kitten--so big that he could wash himself and it would have been _ab-surd_ for Jane to go on washing him when he was such a big little kitten!

BINGO COMES TO LIVE WITH CHARLIE

One morning Charlie woke up suddenly because his kitten Topsy had jumped on his bed and was tickling him under the chin!

Charlie woke up, and somehow he felt different--he felt most _awfully old_--and then he remembered why!

“I’m five years old!” he shouted and jumped out of bed. With Topsy on his shoulder, he ran downstairs to the kitchen where his Mother and his Auntie were getting breakfast ready.

“I’m five years old!” he shouted again, and jumped into his Mother’s arms. “I’m a great big boy now.”

His Mother said, “Yes, indeed, you are a great big boy now, think of it! It takes _all_ the fingers of one hand to tell how old you are!” And his Mother hugged him hard and his Auntie hugged him hard too and they both wished him “Many happy returns of the day.”

Then Charlie ran upstairs again and started to dress himself. He could dress himself quite easily, but sometimes when he was lazy he would pretend that he could not and call out for his Auntie to button him up.

But as he was five years old to-day Charlie was going to show everybody what a big boy he was. So he brushed his hair and cleaned his teeth and buttoned _all_ the buttons and came out of his room at the same time as his Daddy came out of _his_.

“_Oh, what_ a big boy you are!” said his Daddy. “I can hardly lift you.” But he did lift him all the same and carried him down the stairs and into the dining room on top of his shoulder!

And when they got into the dining room Charlie scrambled all down his Daddy without waiting to be put down--for there were the most ex-cit-ing looking parcels on the table beside his plate, and one of them was so e-nor-mous that it took up half the room on the table!

Charlie could not wait _one_ minute, he started right away to take the wrapping paper off the great, e-nor-mous parcel.

It was tied with blue ribbons just like the other parcels, for all that it was so e-nor-mous. Charlie pulled and he tugged and at last the wrapping paper was all off. And what do you think it was? You never can guess! _No one_ could ever guess that such a thing could be on the breakfast table beside a little boy’s plate, even though it was the little boy’s birthday and he was five years old. It was an automobile! Yes, it was an automobile that Charlie could sit in and pedal with his feet, and it would go just like a real automobile. Charlie’s Daddy lifted it to the floor and Charlie ex-am-ined it all over. It had real lights and a wind shield and a steering gear. It was the most beautiful automobile that any little boy ever had!

There were a lot of other parcels beside his plate, and they were _all_ interesting. There was a new suit for Charlie, and it was a sailor suit, just like those that big boys wear. It had a lanyard and a whistle, and it had a red stripe and an emblem on the sleeves. Then there were two new cars for his electric train, and a pair of scissors with blunt edges, so that Charlie could cut things out himself and not always have to ask his Mother or his Auntie to do it for him. There was an express wagon that he could haul stones and grass in, and there was a new battery for his flashlight!