The Old Man's Bag
sometimes, you know." 

 "I don't like such mistakes," said the old woman. "Now kindly leave the house." 

 "Oh, please don't turn me out," said the red policeman, "it is raining very hard indeed, and I might get my feet wet." 

 "We should always be kind," said the old woman, "even to policemen, and as it is raining and I left my umbrella in an omnibus the other day, I will lend you my sunshade. But please go." 

 The old woman put the sunshade into the policeman's hand. He looked at it very hard. 

 "It is a blue one," he said. "It is not fashionable to wear a blue sunshade with a red suit. Thank you all the same, but I think I will go without it." 

 He went. 

 The old man, who had been quietly laughing to himself, danced about with joy when he saw the policeman leave. Then he ran to the window and put his head out, and called out after the policeman, "I say. When your clothes are quite wet enough be sure you come back and have them dried." 

 But the red policeman took no notice of him. 

 CHAPTER VII. 

 The red policeman got so wet that by the time he reached his house all the dye had come out of his suit. He felt very angry indeed. 

 "I must try not to make mistakes," he said, "sometimes they bring one into fearful trouble. As my suit is spoilt I think I will give up being a policeman. A policeman without a suit is no good at all." 

 So he went to bed and had hot bricks to his feet and a mustard plaster on his chest, and sent for the tailor to measure him for a new suit of clothes. 

 When the tailor came the policeman said to him, "I am quite tired of being a policeman, and I think I should now like to be a soldier. Please measure me for a soldier's suit. The coat you will make of green cloth and the trousers must be yellow." 

 "Please measure me for a soldier's suit."

 "But," said the tailor, "soldiers wear scarlet coats and blue trousers." 

 "That is just the point," said the policeman. "I don't want to be like all the others. If I did I should go in for khaki. Just you do what I tell you, and make me a green coat and yellow trousers at 
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