The King and the Queen loved Princess June, though she was quite scatter-brained. She lost dozens of things and maids had been specially employed to find them. She misplaced books, jewellery, ribbons, shoes, perfumes, pencils, handkerchiefs, her tiara, the needlework and what not.
One day, Princess June lost her puppy, Doodle. She had been playing with her friends in the garden and Doodle had been with them. Suddenly, she found that Doodle was missing. There was a great hue and cry as all the attendants, the guards and the maids were ordered to search for the puppy. Even the cook and the kitchen maids, the stable hands and the grooms joined in the search for Doodle.
June wept. The King and the Queen tried to pacify her while the search went on. By dinner time, everyone was hungry and exhausted, but they couldn’t stop the search. Princess June fell asleep on the couch in the hall, her face streaked with tears. There was a little bit of respite and the Queen asked everyone to have his dinner quickly before resuming the hunt for Doodle. The cupboards, the rooms, the attics, the kitchen and pantry, the yard and the stables, even the carriages had been thoroughly searched, but there was no sign of the puppy.
“Perhaps he has run away,” whispered the King to the Queen. “Shh…!” she admonished, “Don’t even suggest it or she will create a big storm in the palace!”
It was getting late. Some of the attendants and the maids had fallen asleep in corridors, exhausted. Even the King and the Queen dozed off sitting on their thrones. Princess June slept on.
Suddenly, a small snuffling noise was heard followed by a bark. Doodle! The Queen shot out of the throne. The King sat up suddenly, his crown askew over one eye. The maids and the attendants came running from all over the palace. The butler ran to open the massive front door.
On the mat outside stood Doodle, covered in mud. With him stood another puppy that must have been white but was equally dirty right now. Doodle had been out and had brought a friend home!
The Queen woke Princess June up who was so delighted to get Doodle back that she hugged him, quite forgetting the mud! The two puppies were bathed and given new ribbons to wear. Doodle’s friend is named Gina.
