FREDA SOLVES THE PROBLEM.

Long, long ago in a great, dark English forest stood a huge stone castle. In it lived Lord and Lady Lovejoy and their children, Larry and Lila, plus, of course, a small army of servants to keep them comfortable.

One day when Lord Lovejoy and his men were out on a hunt, they found a cute baby dragon under a tree.

"Do not hurt it," said Lord Lovejoy. "I will take it home to my family."

Lady Lovejoy named the little dragon Freda and trained her carefully. Freda's breath was not very fiery yet, so she was not dangerous. Lila and Larry taught her lots of tricks. Soon they had Freda roasting apples and chestnuts for them. Sometimes she even helped the cook with the fire or dried the wash on rainy days. Their once damp playroom was always toasty warm.

One snowy winter day, Lord Lovejoy started complaining. "This castle is so cold that my arthritis is getting worse. We need to have central heating installed."

"It has not been invented yet," said his wife.

"Well, how about an electric blanket?" asked her husband.

"They have not been invented yet, either," said Larry. "We have to wait for Benjamin Franklin to trap electricity."

"Well , I will call City Hall and get some action," said Lord Lovejoy.

"You cannot call anyone," pointed out Lila. "We are living in the Middle Ages. Telephones have not been invented because Alexander Graham Bell has not been born yet."

"Who are these men Franklin and Bell?" demanded their father.

"American inventors," both children said.

"Well, then, we must move to America!" their father said.

"We cannot," explained his wife patiently. "Columbus has not discovered it yet."

Lord Lovejoy was exceedingly frustrated. "Is there nothing we can do?" he asked.

"Father," said Lila, "we have trained Freda to blow on our sheets and quilts to warm them. She could do yours, too."

"Fine," said her father. "Bring Freda up to our room."

"Hmmm," said Larry. "Freda's breath is getting more fiery every day. Maybe we could get her to heat the whole castle for us."

"Splendid idea!" said Lord Lovejoy.

"It could be dangerous, though," said his wife. "She might set the whole place on fire."

"We could get the Fire Department to control that," said her husband.

"What Fire Department?" chorused his family.

"Oh, blast," grumbled Lord Lovejoy. "Well, I must find a way to warm my feet."

"Just a minute, Father," said Lila. "Here's Freda. She will warm your feet and the room."

The little dragon crouched down and breathed gently on Lord Lovejoy's feet. Then she circled the room, aiming a shower of sparks into all four corners. She was very careful not to set the drapes and curtains on fire or to scorch the stone walls.

"Ahhh," sighed Lord Lovejoy, "this is much better! Who needs the Americans? We have dragon heat!"