THE RIVAL MUSICIANS.

‘There was Punchinello, the pug, who could tum-tum on his trumpet.
There was Patch, who could sing; and Switch, a wide-awake fox terrier,
who, although he could neither sing nor play, could use a stick, and keep
the other three doggies in order. :
Dr. Gibbs was very proud of his pets, and would say to his friends,
“Any cat can sing, but show mea
Scotch terrier who can pom-pom,
Or a Pug dog who can tum-tum,
a dog like Patch, who can sing any tune you like, or a Fox terrier, like
Switch, who can use a baton !” .
Then his friends would —
shake their heads sol-
emnly, and the doctor
would chuckle, and re-
mark, ‘ What a foolish
person Miss Tibbs must
be to be bothered with
cats!”

Well, one Friday
afternoon, when the play-

  
 
  

ground was empty,
Switch, the conductor.
of the band, thought
“it was a good opportunity to have some music,
so he called the dogs together, and told them
to get their instruments.

“Now, we must practise,” he said. ‘

' “Very well,” they agreed. .

Sandy got his trumpet, and Punch got -his trumpet.

“What shall we play, sir?” said Sandy:

Switch looked down his nose fof a moment, and then stroked his
whiskers with one paw, while arranging his collar with the other. This
was all to gain time.

“J think Patch had better sing,” he said at length.