slight snapping sound of the man’s fingers accidentally rubbing together.
Suddenly Selby came to his senses.
‘Oh my god, I was hypnotised!’ Selby thought. ‘Harry had me hypnotised and I didn’t know it! He made me give away my secret! Oh, no! I’ll never get out of this one! I’m a done dog! Why did I ever come here?’
‘This is all your fault! You’ve ruined my life!’ Selby yelled at Harry. A tear formed in Selby’seye and then rolled down his face, disappearing into his fur.
‘One minute he’s happy and the next minute he’s angry. What is it with this pooch?’ Harry said.
For a moment, all Selby could think of were the wonderful times he’d had living with the Trifles and the great adventures he’d had as he struggled to keep his secret a secret. Now it was over. Soon he’d be famous. People from all over would come by the busload to see the world’s greatest freak of nature — an actual, real live, talking dog.
More tears formed in Selby’s eyes and through them he saw the blurry shape of the man who had destroyed him — High Hat Harry. Suddenly his sadness turned to rage.
‘Get out of my sight before I tear your leg off!’ Selby screamed.
One sight of Selby’s teeth and Harry shot out the door. In a second his car started and drove off down the road.
Selby suddenly noticed the hatful of money. He handed it to someone in the front row.
‘Take back your money, everyone,’ Selby said.
‘The hat was passed around and everyone took out what they’d put in.
‘Please tell us how did you learn to talk?’ Mrs Trifle said finally.
‘I might as well tell you everything,’ Selby said with a sigh. ‘It happened a few years ago when I was watching TV. Suddenly I could understand everything everyone was saying. Then I practised and practised till I could talk.’
‘You must have been so surprised to just understand like that,’ Dr Trifle said.
‘You can say that again,’ Selby said.
‘You must have been so surprised to just understand like that,’ Dr Trifle said again.
Selby laughed a little Selby laugh in spite of himself.
‘No, I didn’t mean for you to say it again,’ he said. ‘It’s just an expression.’ Dr Trifle stared at him blankly. ‘It’s just like saying, “Shake a leg,” when you want someone to hurry up,’ Selby added.
Just then, everyone stood up and started shaking their legs.
‘That’s just an expression too,’ Selby said. ‘What’s wrong with you people? It’s like saying, “Well blow me down,” when you’re surprised.’
Suddenly everyone started blowing all at once and a gust of wind hit Selby that nearly blew him down.
‘Stop!’ Selby yelled. ‘You’re being silly! I’m trying to be serious here!’
‘Crumbs!’ Selby thought. ‘They’re all hypnotised! No wonder they gave all of their money! Harry told them to. He was robbing them! They’re still hypnotised because they didn’t hear Harry’s fingers snap. I think I’ve just been saved!’
‘All right, everyone,’ Selby announced. ‘The show is over. Now, when I count to three, you’re going to wake up. You’ll forget everything — especially the bit about me talking, okay? One, two, three,’ Selby said. ‘Uh-oh, I can’t snap my fingers. I don’t have any fingers ! What am I going to do? The whole of Bogusville could be hypnotised forever! Now wait a minute. Could you all please snap your fingers?’
There was an almighty clatter of snapping and everyone suddenly woke up.
‘I guess the show’s over,’ someone said. ‘But where’s High Hat Harry?’
‘Well, Harry said he was a lucky dog to be in Bogusville,’ someone else yelled, pointing at Selby, ‘and now I guess he’s turned into one.’
Everyone roared with laughter as Selby raced from the stage and headed for home.
‘Lucky dog is right,’ Selby thought. ‘Now I’m the luckiest dog in Australia — and perhaps the world!’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Duncan Ball is an Australian author best
Suddenly Selby came to his senses.
‘Oh my god, I was hypnotised!’ Selby thought. ‘Harry had me hypnotised and I didn’t know it! He made me give away my secret! Oh, no! I’ll never get out of this one! I’m a done dog! Why did I ever come here?’
‘This is all your fault! You’ve ruined my life!’ Selby yelled at Harry. A tear formed in Selby’seye and then rolled down his face, disappearing into his fur.
‘One minute he’s happy and the next minute he’s angry. What is it with this pooch?’ Harry said.
For a moment, all Selby could think of were the wonderful times he’d had living with the Trifles and the great adventures he’d had as he struggled to keep his secret a secret. Now it was over. Soon he’d be famous. People from all over would come by the busload to see the world’s greatest freak of nature — an actual, real live, talking dog.
More tears formed in Selby’s eyes and through them he saw the blurry shape of the man who had destroyed him — High Hat Harry. Suddenly his sadness turned to rage.
‘Get out of my sight before I tear your leg off!’ Selby screamed.
One sight of Selby’s teeth and Harry shot out the door. In a second his car started and drove off down the road.
Selby suddenly noticed the hatful of money. He handed it to someone in the front row.
‘Take back your money, everyone,’ Selby said.
‘The hat was passed around and everyone took out what they’d put in.
‘Please tell us how did you learn to talk?’ Mrs Trifle said finally.
‘I might as well tell you everything,’ Selby said with a sigh. ‘It happened a few years ago when I was watching TV. Suddenly I could understand everything everyone was saying. Then I practised and practised till I could talk.’
‘You must have been so surprised to just understand like that,’ Dr Trifle said.
‘You can say that again,’ Selby said.
‘You must have been so surprised to just understand like that,’ Dr Trifle said again.
Selby laughed a little Selby laugh in spite of himself.
‘No, I didn’t mean for you to say it again,’ he said. ‘It’s just an expression.’ Dr Trifle stared at him blankly. ‘It’s just like saying, “Shake a leg,” when you want someone to hurry up,’ Selby added.
Just then, everyone stood up and started shaking their legs.
‘That’s just an expression too,’ Selby said. ‘What’s wrong with you people? It’s like saying, “Well blow me down,” when you’re surprised.’
Suddenly everyone started blowing all at once and a gust of wind hit Selby that nearly blew him down.
‘Stop!’ Selby yelled. ‘You’re being silly! I’m trying to be serious here!’
‘Crumbs!’ Selby thought. ‘They’re all hypnotised! No wonder they gave all of their money! Harry told them to. He was robbing them! They’re still hypnotised because they didn’t hear Harry’s fingers snap. I think I’ve just been saved!’
‘All right, everyone,’ Selby announced. ‘The show is over. Now, when I count to three, you’re going to wake up. You’ll forget everything — especially the bit about me talking, okay? One, two, three,’ Selby said. ‘Uh-oh, I can’t snap my fingers. I don’t have any fingers ! What am I going to do? The whole of Bogusville could be hypnotised forever! Now wait a minute. Could you all please snap your fingers?’
There was an almighty clatter of snapping and everyone suddenly woke up.
‘I guess the show’s over,’ someone said. ‘But where’s High Hat Harry?’
‘Well, Harry said he was a lucky dog to be in Bogusville,’ someone else yelled, pointing at Selby, ‘and now I guess he’s turned into one.’
Everyone roared with laughter as Selby raced from the stage and headed for home.
‘Lucky dog is right,’ Selby thought. ‘Now I’m the luckiest dog in Australia — and perhaps the world!’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Duncan Ball is an Australian author best
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