How Polly Had Her Picture Taken
: Happy Days: Boys And Girls Bookshelf
BY EVERETT WILSON
It was a bright spring morning, and all the animals on the Meadowbrook
Farm had been given their breakfast, and the Piggy-wig family had
settled down to a cozy nap. Suddenly there was heard a great noise and
rushing out in the apple orchard. Old Mother Piggy-wig jumped up on her
hind legs and looked over the fence of her sty to see what it was all
about. The little pig that went to marke
stayed at home, also jumped up, quite as excited as their mother. Then
the little pig that had roast beef, and the little pig that had none,
woke up, and they, too, scampered about, wishing to know what was going
on down under the apple-trees. But before old Mother Piggy-wig could
tell them, the little pig, who, one day, could not find his way home,
found a big hole in the lower board of the sty, and at once shouted:
"Oh, I see what it is! It is little Polly going to have her picture
taken."
And, sure enough, there was Polly's brother Ned with his camera; and
after him came Polly, and after Polly came--guess what!
Well, first there came Blackie, the cat, then came Banty, the hen; and
then came Gyp, the dog. And such a mew-mewing, and cluck-clucking, and
bow-wowing you never heard!
Polly had often had her picture taken, but it was always with her papa
or her mamma, and she had never had her picture taken with her pets. So
brother Ned had promised that on her birthday he would take her picture
with all of her pets--if they would only keep still. This day was
Polly's birthday, and, as the weather was fine, her brother had told her
to follow him out to the orchard.
Ned fastened his camera on its three sprawling legs, while Polly tried
to gather her pets around her. But by this time Blackie, the cat, was
chasing a squirrel (though he did not catch him), and Banty, the hen,
was away off scratching for worms; and Gyp, the dog, was barking at a
bossy calf down by the brook, for, of course, Polly's pets did not know
it was her birthday and that they were to have their pictures taken with
her.
Polly called, as loud as she could, "Here, Blackie, Blackie; here,
Banty, Banty; here, Gyp, Gyp," and as quick as a wink the animals came
running up to her.
At first she sat down, but all three of her pets got in her lap until
you could scarcely see Polly behind them. That would not do, of course,
because it was Polly's picture that was the most important.
Finally, she stood up and made her pets stand up, too. Then she had more
trouble, for Gyp wanted to stand next to her, and so did Banty, and so
did Blackie, but she told them if they were not good and did not stand
just where she put them, they could not have their pictures taken at
all. She even said she would get the little pig that could not find his
way home, and would have her picture taken with him. They did not like
that, so they promised to be good. She stood Banty on one side of her,
and Gyp on the other side, and then she put Blackie on one end next to
Banty. But Gyp and Blackie jumped around so lively that Brother Ned ran
into the house and brought out Polly's toy cow, and stood her next to
Blackie, and that kept him quiet, because he was afraid the cow would
hook him with her horns--he did not know it was not a real cow. Then
Ned brought out Polly's toy lion and put him next to Gyp, and that kept
him quiet, because he thought the lion would eat him up,--he did not
know it was not a real lion.
So, after they were all nice and quiet, Ned called out:
"Ready! Look pleasant! One, two, three--all over!"
And here is the way they looked in the picture that Ned took that
morning:
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