Chapter IV: At the Football Match

There was great excitement in Golliwog football circles, for everybody was discussing the final match, between Poodleton and Kitten Town Tabbies, in the fight for the Golliwog Cup.

The G. & T.B.R. were running special excursions from all parts and nearly everybody was going to see the match.

You ought to have seen Tommy Stapleton's face when he heard the news. It was just like any other boy's face would have been if you had suddenly told him that Cats and Dogs played football--and that is what John James had just been saying.

"You don't mean it," said Tommy. "Football? Not really? Here, let's have a look at the league table."

He seized _The Golliwog News_ and read it eagerly for a few minutes. In a very short space of time he could remember just how the clubs stood and could repeat them in their proper order with his eyes shut.

"Here goes," he said: "Poodleton, Kitten Town, Frogland, Fish Town, Toy Town, Teddy Bear Rovers, Dolls House City."

"How _ever_ do you remember them?" asked Freda.

"Why, that's easy enough!" cried Tommy. "I can remember that all right. Lessons? Not much! They're different. I say, John James, shall we take them to see the cup-tie?"

John James had had a fit of the sulks, and so had Carlo. The fact was that the former played for Dolls House City and had been badly beaten by the Poodleton and Kitten Town clubs. As for Carlo, he was just dying to play for Poodleton, and, of course he couldn't, because he was not a Poodle!

However, they both brightened up when they heard Tommy's suggestion, and the long and the short of it was, that the party of little folks in whom we are interested was found upon the grand stand at Dolls House City waiting for the match to begin.

Gladys and Freda had never been on a football ground before and they thought what good fun it was.

Two thousand Cats had come in by excursion train from Kitten Town, and most of them wore little red and white rosettes, the colours worn by the Tabbies.

"Look at that funny Cat over there, with a red and white striped top hat on his head," said Gladys.

Freda nearly shrieked, he looked so comical.

He was turning round and round playing a concertina and cutting all sorts of silly capers.

John James was holding his sides with laughter, and making a queer little gurgling noise in his throat.

"My Golly always sees the funny side of things," said Gladys proudly.

A crowd of friends had gathered round the Cat with the concertina, all singing and shouting and asking him wherever he got his hat.

A little distance away another Pussy was playing a lively catty tune on a mouth organ, which made the listening crowd very merry indeed.

The Poodles too had brought a large number of supporters with them from Poodleton, and they also wore the colours of their favourites, which were black and yellow. One of them was actually wearing a suit striped all over with black and yellow.

When he came in through the turnstiles he was greeted with roars of laughter from all sides.

"It is more like a circus than a football match," said Gladys, glancing around.

A brass band had been engaged specially from Frogland-in-the-Marshes and the bandsmen were grouped in a ring in the centre of the field playing all kinds of lively airs.

There were about three thousand Teddy Bears all gathered together at one end of the field, and about the same number of Golliwogs at the other. The two ends of the field were known as the Teddy Bear end and the Golliwog end, as they always congregated together in that way.

There were also a great number of Hoppers and Jumpers present from Frogland and hundreds of Toys from Toy Town.

"I wouldn't have missed this on any account," said Freda. "I had no idea football was so amusing."

Tommy then explained that they had not begun to play yet.

Two minutes before the kick off, the Tabbies came on the field dressed in red and white jerseys and white knicker-bockers.

"Here they come!" shouted Tommy, and everybody began to cheer.

In another minute the Poodles in their black and yellow jerseys and white knickerbockers came trotting out wagging their tails.

The cheering was again deafening, and it was very infectious too, for Gladys and Freda joined in. How were they to help it when Tommy and the big Golly were cheering like mad?

"What is that Teddy Bear with a whistle doing on the field?" asked Freda. "He isn't going to play, is he?"

John James chuckled: "That's the referee," he said.

"Oh, look!" exclaimed Gladys. "I can see a Pussy and a Poodle shaking paws. What's that for?"

Tommy explained that the two captains always shook paws before they began to play.

"They'll spin a coin next for choice of ends," he continued. "There it goes," he said. "Head or tail?"

The Tabbies won, and chose to play towards the Golliwog end. The teams lined up, the Teddy Bear blew his whistle and the players began kicking the ball about. Or, at least, that was how it seemed to Gladys and Freda!

Tommy explained that the Tabbies were trying to kick the ball between the posts at the Golliwog end.

"Oh, I see," said Gladys, "and the Poodles are trying to stop them."

"Yes, and to kick the ball between the posts at the Teddy Bear end," he added, pleased to think that Gladys was beginning to understand the game.

Freda looked puzzled.

"Haven't they got enough to do to keep the Tabbies from getting the ball through at that end, without trying to get it through at the other end themselves?" she enquired.

Poor Tommy began to look worried. He said he did not know what sort of a game that would be, but it would not be football.

After that Freda was very quiet for a time and Gladys did not like to ask questions.

Still they enjoyed watching the game. The way the Tabbies ran after the ball, and arched their backs when the Poodles made a dash for it, was so very funny that the little girls laughed more heartily than ever.

There was a good deal of growling on the part of the Poodles, and the Teddy Bear referee often blew his whistle to give what Tommy called a foul.

"That's a foul," he would say to Gladys.

"Where?" she would return. "I didn't see it. Where is it? What, another? Well, I don't see it anywhere, neither does Freda."

Then Tommy had to explain once more that it was not a "fowl" that was meant, but a "foul."

"It sounds just the same," said Gladys. "I'm sure I thought you were talking about a chicken."

Tommy sighed at this remark and appeared deeply interested in the game.

"The referee must be very tired with so much running about," whispered Freda.

And just at that moment the poor little Teddy got hit in the waistcoat with the ball, and rolling over like a ninepin he nearly swallowed his whistle.

"Oh, wasn't that funny!" shrieked John James, who had been very quiet for some minutes.

"Funny!" repeated Gladys sternly. "I should think the poor thing is hurt. It is much too dreadful to laugh at."

He was not very much injured, however, for he soon got up and the game went on as merrily as ever.

Whenever the Tabbies got the ball near the Golliwog end, the two thousand Pussies from Kitten Town would get very much excited and caterwaul for all they were worth.

And when the Poodles looked like getting the ball through the Teddy Bear end, two thousand tails belonging to as many Poodles from Poodleton would start wagging. And they would continue to wag until the ball went back to the other end of the field. In fact, once or twice they nearly wagged the grand stand down.

The game went on for about half an hour, then the players rested for a few minutes, while the Frogland brass band came out and paraded from one end of the field to the other, playing several martial airs.

When the band got tired of that, the footballers came out to play again, at least, that was what Gladys and Freda thought.

The sides had changed about and the Tabbies were kicking the ball towards the Teddy Bear end of the field.

"Oh," thought Gladys to herself, "aren't they artful? If they can't get it through at one end they mean to get it through at the other."

The Poodles growled and worried away, and the Tabbies arched their backs with more vigour than before. First a Puss would get rolled over, and then a Poodle, and their nice clean white knicker-bockers were beginning to get very dirty.

Carlo barked in high glee when he saw a Pussy bowled over, and John James was highly amused when a Poodle and a Puss fell over each other.

Several times each side came near to scoring a goal, and once a Tabby could easily have done it, only his tail got twisted round his legs, and when he tried to kick the ball he went tumbling head over heels.

The Teddy referee got quite hot racing about, and he borrowed a large handkerchief from a Golliwog policeman to mop his face with. And the policeman held his whistle the while!

"Oh," cried Gladys, "do look! If he isn't having a blow with it!"

Sure enough, the silly policeman was blowing himself quite fat in the face, and the players all thought the match was finished.

But the referee took a watch from his pocket and looked at it, and then told them they had another five minutes to play.

So they all went at it again very hard, and a Poodle stopped the ball with his head. The ball rolled away and the Poodle ran round in a circle in a ridiculous kind of way and then lay flat on his back with his four legs sticking in the air.

The other players, Tabbies and Poodles alike, all gathered round him and after a time they stood him on his legs. He was only a bit stunned, however, and was soon able to play again.

The Tabbies were a sturdy lot of players and had been in special training at the seaside. They scampered about and played all sorts of tricks on the Poodles, until at last one of the Dogs lost his temper and bit at a Pussy's tail!

There were loud cries all round the field: "Turn him off." And the assembly of strange animals and toys became very angry. The referee had the two offenders up together and cautioned them, for he knew very well that the Tabby must have done something too.

"I saw him scratch the Poodle," said Freda. "He did it before, and I thought it was part of the game."

It seemed as if neither side would be able to score a goal, but at last the Poodles got one. It was just two minutes before the end of the game and everybody howled with delight--except, perhaps, the two thousand Cats from Kitten Town. The air was thick with hats and the multitude of strange noises was so deafening it must have been heard a mile away!

Gladys and Freda, Tommy and the big Golliwog all stood on their seats and waved their hats in the air as madly as the rest of them.

"Wasn't that a fine goal!" they were all saying.

And there were cries of "Play up, my little Poodles!" from several of the admirers of the Doggies in black and Yellow.

All the Poodles who were playing ran to shake paws with the one who scored the goal. He was very good looking for a Poodle and wore a smart blue bow on his tail.

He was greeted with shouts of "Pretty boy!" from all round the ground.

There was no more scoring after that. The Tabbies quite lost their tempers and played like mad things, biting and scratching for all they were worth.

After the match was over the Frogland brass band paraded through the streets of Dolls House City playing "See the Conquering Hero Comes." In front of them marched a very solemn looking Froggie carrying on his shoulder a large board on which was chalked

POODLETON . . . . . . . 1
KITTEN TOWN TABBIES . . 3

CHAPTER V.

We hear the views of Henry Toad,
Of Dolls, and Cats and Dogs,
And angry shouting in the road
Of "Votes for Pollywogs."
While Mortimer turns out to be,
A very popular M.P.