That Dirty Dog and Other Naughty Stories for Good Boys and Girls Read Free Page B

another one go!

Brian and Keith Taylor used to fight like no other brothers before them. They fought from the moment they woke up until last thing at night, when their poor parents would drag them apart and force them to bed. Even then, Brian would still sometimes sneak into Keith’s room for one last punch, or maybe to pull his pillow away or rip his blankets off.
    Why they fought so much, their parents could never work out. If Keith had a mate around to stay, Brian would crack the nasties and try to spoil their fun. Perhaps by throwing golf balls at Keith’s head. Or pushing him. Or punching him. Or changing the TV to another channel. Or wrecking the cubby-house they’d just spent hours building. Or insisting that whatever they were playing with was his and that he needed it right now!
    And the same when Brian had a mate. One day, Brian was mucking around with his friend Steven when they decided to play bockers. That’s when you take it in turns to punch each other on the arm. As hard as you can. The first one to say he can’t take it anymore is the loser. It’s terrific fun. Especially when the other kid gets tears in his eyes.
    Anyway, with each punch, Brian was saying to Steven, ‘Is that the best you can do?’ Or, ‘That didn’t hurt.’ Suddenly, Keith appeared with a cricket bat and, as hard as he could, went bang , right on Brian’s shoulder.
    â€˜I bet that hurt,’ said Keith.
    Brian and Keith’s fighting drove their parents mad, but never more so than when they started in the car. Sometimes their mother would lean over to give them a smack but they would flatten themselves against the back seat.
    â€˜For the life of me, I’ll stop the car and leave you here!’ their father would scream.
    â€˜It’s not my fault,’ Keith would yell. ‘Brian hit me.’
    â€˜Bull,’ Brian would shout. ‘He had his leg over my side!’
    And so it would go.
    One night, when the boys were being unusually quiet, their father put his arm around both their shoulders and said, ‘When you boys stop fighting for a minute, like now, it makes me and your mum so happy. Doesn’t it feel nice? Have you ever realised that deep down you might actually like each other?’

    Brian and Keith looked at each other and for the first time in ages they agreed on something.
    â€˜Dad, you’re weird,’ said Brian.
    â€˜A real sicko,’ added Keith.
    And off they went to their room for a really good fight.
    Strange as it might sound, Brian and Keith really did like fighting and in a few short years they found themselves grown up and fighting again. This time, in a war! You see, Brian and Keith had seen ads on TV for the army and straight away both had thought, Yes! This is the life for me.
    Like many other brave Australians, they were soon sent overseas to a country where they were fighting to keep the local people safe.
    Then came a terrible day.The officer in charge said that ten men were needed to sneak into an enemy weapons supply and blow it up. It would be dangerous – very dangerous – but it was their only hope.
    Spies had found out that the enemy had three times as many weapons, and unless the Aussies could take some of them out with a surprise attack, there’d be trouble.
    â€˜Any volunteers?’ asked the officer in charge. ‘Anyone want to put their hand up?’
    Straight away, Brian shouted, ‘Yep, count me in.’
    â€˜Me too,’ said Keith. ‘Hate for Brian to get shot and not be there to see it.’
    That night, just before they set out, loaded up with bombs, the officer in charge said there was one order that they must stick to no matter what. If someone got shot, the rest were to leave him there to die. That might sound shocking, but there was just no way a single man could be wasted trying to help another.
    â€˜Is that clear?’ he thundered.
    â€˜Yes, sir,’ they