8 A Quick-Running Squash.

heart, for when he reached the house again, he
of his own accord turned in at the gate and
ran up to the wall of Charles’s garden. There
he stopped, for he was now so big that he could
not climb walls, and indeed had he been able to
get in he would have filled the little garden
to overflowing, for he was really enormous.
Charles’s father had actually to get a ladder for
the poor little fellow to climb down, and he was
so tired that he had to be carried to the
house. But the squash was tired, too, dreadfully
tired. J suppose it is a very bad thing for a
growing squash to take much exercise. This
certainly was a growing squash, and there is also
no doubt that he had taken a great deal of exercise
that morning. Be that as it may, when the family
were at luncheon, they were alarmed by hearing
a violent explosion near the house. Rushing out to
see what could have happened, they found that the
marvellous quick-running squash had durs¢// It
lay spread all over the lawn in a thousand pieces.

The family, and all the neighbors’ families for
miles around, had squash pie for a week.