"What do you want to do, Teddy?" she asked.
"Play cowboy," he answered.
"Girls can't be cowboys," Janet said.
"Well, I don't want _you_ to be one," went on Teddy. "I'll be
the cowboy."
"Then what'll _I_ be?" asked Jan. "That won't be any fun, for you to
do that and me do nothing!"
"Oh, I've got something for you to do," said Teddy, and he was quite
serious over it. "You see, Jan, I've got to learn to lasso something
that moves. The post won't move, but you can run."
"Do you mean run and play tag?" Jan asked.
Teddy shook his head.
"You make believe you're a wild cow or a pony," he explained, "and
you run along in front of me. Then I'll throw my rope around your
head, or around your legs, and I'll pull on it and you--"
"Yes, and I'll fall down and get all dirt!" finished Jan. "Ho! I
don't call _that_ any fun for me!"
"Well, I won't lasso you very hard," promised Ted; "and I've got to
learn to throw my rope at something that moves, the cowboys say, else
I can't ever be a real wild-wester. Go on, Jan! Run along and let me
lasso you!"
Jan did not want to, but Teddy teased her so hard that she finally
gave in and said she would play she was a pony for a little while.
Teddy wanted her to be a wild steer, but she said ponies could run
faster than the cattle, and Jan was a good runner.
"And if I run fast it will be harder for you to lasso me," she said,
"and that's good practice for you, same as it is good for me when I
practice my music scales fast, only I don't do it very much.
Pages:
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103