Crossing the Road by A. Marshall

Part I

Two little girls and a dog stood at a crossing in a town in Australia.

They wanted to cross the road. Annie was eight years old. She was thin with long legs and arms. The girl's cotton dress was old, and her jacket was too large for her. Her little sister was a small girl with fair hair and a nice face. The dog was very small, but he stood and looked at the people around him like a very large and important dog. He had long hair which some time ago was black, but now it was a dirty grey colour. His black eyes watched the girls.

Cars ran quickly along the street. Trams were slow and very important because they carried many people. Annie took her little sister by the dress and said, "Be ready, Maisie, and run when I say." She watched the cars and looked to the right and to the left. When there were only a few cars on the road, Annie said, "Come on!" And the girls ran to the middle of the street. The dog ran in front of them. But when the children were in the middle of the street, they suddenly saw a big car near them.

"Run back, quickly!" said Annie. She turned round, and the girls ran back. When they stopped, they saw that the dog was not with them. He was already on the other side of the street.

Part II

The dog looked at the girls and did not know what to do. Then he jumped into the street and began to run back to them. Annie tried to stop him. "Go back there!" she cried. Maisie called out some words to the little dog, too. The big car stopped in the middle of the road, but it hit the little dog and he fell down.

When Annie saw this, she ran quickly to her little friend. She did not see the cars — she saw only the dirty little dog on the road. Maisie ran after her. Tram bells rang, and men from cars and buses called out to the children to stop, but they did not hear them and ran on.

When they came up to the dog, Annie took him, caught Maisie's hand, and they walked to the other side of the street. When the children were there, Annie looked at the dog and touched his legs and his head. The little dog looked at Annie and licked her hands. Maisie watched them and touched the dog's legs too. Annie put the dog down, and he ran in front of the girls as they walked to a food shop.