The puppies found themselves in a hole in two senses of the word. It wasn’t a nice hole either, but a deep one, cold and damp, too, and with no enticing smells. It had once been the home of a lot of rabbits, but it had all been dug up, and the only smell about it now was that of a cold dull spade.
“I want to go home,” whimpered Ann.
“So do I, Cry-baby,” said Timette, “but we shall have to climb out of here first.”
“What a pity you should be
Such a greedy little she!”
Then they both stood on their hind legs and stretched up the sides of the hole, and when this was no good they gave little feeble jumps. A child would have managed to scramble out somehow, and kittens could have reached the top in a twinkling; but puppies are so clumsy and helpless, and poor Timette and Ann’s struggles were all in vain. They only fell on their backs, and at last got so hurt and tired they gave it up. It was their teatime, too, and they were feeling hungry as well as unhappy, and you know how bad that is.
Ann cried, “Oh, I do want my bread and milk! I’m so hungry. Oh! oh! oh!” And Timette began crying, too, “We’re lost, we’re lost! Oh, do come and find us!” and then they both howled as loudly as ever they could, “Help, help, help!” But no one came and all was quiet.
Poor puppies! how miserable and lonely they felt! It did seem hard that no one should trouble about them, and when they couldn’t cry any longer they curled themselves up as close as they could to each other and went to sleep. They were like the lost “Babes in the Wood.”