By Clare Simon
TVE got some exciting news this week—specially from •Slyboots to you. He's going to become an uncle ! As 1 think I've told you before, he is a great friend of the Editor's big grey poodle Michele. Well, Michele has just told us all the happy news that she hopes to have a family of fluffy little poodles about the middle of February.
Can you imagine Slyboots' excitement?, He is a little puzzled, too, and tries hard not to make loud noises with his paws when Michele is having het after-dinner nap. I've drawn a picture of him holding her ball of wool while she knits for the new arrivals. Can you think of any good names for them?
Some people think it nice to give pets Christian names, but I think it more fun for them to have names which mean something. In the days when I used to live on a farm. two of my favourite cows were called "Nasty " and " Kicksie," I expect you can guess why! There was another big black and white one called " Magpie " and one called " Seraphina " because her horns turned downwards like an angel's wings.
Among dogs, we have had "Carmelite," so called because she was black and brown. which are the colours of a Carmelite nun, and " Rusk ie," who was the colour of a beautifully-toasted rusk.
The question you may be asking now is—why is the Editor's poodle called " Michele"? Well, you've only got to find out what the Editor's own first name is and you'll know why.
HAVE you ever heard the story of St. Philip Neri and the adventure hooks which a priest told me the other das.
When St. Philip was going to celebrate Mass he would get so excited at the thought of the tremendous thing that was going to
happen that he would do what is called a " levitation," which meant that his body would rise up in the air. All the congregation would wait first hopefully and then crossly while St. Philip floated about in the air over their heads, and often Mass never got said at all. It was decided that a really good distraction would have to be found to stop St. Philip thinking about the Mass before it actually started.
Well, the only thing St. Philip found anywhere near as thrilling as Mass was a really weII-written adventure story. So, long before Mass started one of the other priests would draw St. Philip aside and say: " Look, Father, what I've got here—I'll let you read it before me." And soon St. Philip would be deep in the pages of some exciting thriller. I expect he put it down quickly, though, when it really was time for Mass. which is a good example for all the other people who like adventure stories. too.