It
was
one
of
those
days
when
everything
went
wrong
and
when
it
was
no
fun
at
all
to
be
Eric
.
As
a
rule
,
it
was
quite
nice
to
be
Eric
.
He
was
the
darling
and
pet
of
the
whole
family
,
and
they
spoiled
him
for
all
they
were
worth
.
But
there
were
days
when
things
kept
going
wrong
.
Then
you
were
scolded
by
Mommy
because
you
had
worn
a
hole
in
your
trousers
,
and
Betty
would
say
,
"
Blow
your
nose
,
child
,
"
and
Daddy
would
make
a
fuss
because
you
were
late
coming
home
from
school
.
"
Why
do
you
hang
around
the
street
corners
?
"
asked
Daddy
.
"
Hang
around
the
street
corners
?
"
Of
course
,
Daddy
did
n't
know
that
Eric
had
met
a
dog
--
a
nice
,
beautiful
,
friendly
dog
,
who
had
sniffed
at
Eric
and
wagged
his
tail
and
looked
as
if
he
would
very
much
like
to
be
Eric
's
own
dog
.
If
Eric
had
had
any
choice
,
it
would
certainly
have
become
his
at
once
.
But
the
difficulty
was
that
Daddy
and
Mommy
did
not
want
a
dog
in
the
house
.
And
also
a
lady
had
suddenly
appeared
,
shouting
,
"
Rickey
,
come
here
!
"
and
then
Eric
knew
that
this
dog
could
never
belong
to
him
.
"
It
does
n't
look
as
if
I
'll
ever
have
a
dog
as
long
as
I
live
,
"
said
Eric
bitterly
that
day
when
everything
seemed
to
go
wrong
.
"
You
,
Mommy
--
you
've
got
Daddy
;
and
Bobby
and
Betty
always
stick
together
;
but
I
--
I
've
got
nobody
.
"
"
But
darling
Eric
,
you
've
got
us
all
,
"
said
Mommy
.
"
I
have
n't
,
"
said
Eric
more
bitterly
still
,
feeling
suddenly
that
he
was
quite
alone
in
the
world
.
He
had
one
thing
,
though
.
He
had
a
room
of
his
own
,
and
that
was
where
he
went
.
It
was
a
light
and
beautiful
spring
evening
,
and
the
window
was
wide
open
.
The
white
curtains
blew
gently
in
and
out
as
if
waving
to
the
pale
little
stars
in
the
spring
sky
.
Eric
went
to
the
window
and
stood
there
,
looking
out
.
He
thought
about
the
friendly
dog
and
wondered
what
it
was
doing
now
...
maybe
lying
in
a
dog
basket
in
a
kitchen
somewhere
,
and
maybe
a
boy
(
another
boy
,
not
Eric
)
was
sitting
on
the
floor
beside
it
,
patting
its
shaggy
head
,
saying
,
"
Rickey
!
Good
dog
,
Rickey
!
"
Eric
sighed
heavily
.
Then
he
heard
a
little
buzzing
sound
.
The
buzzing
got
louder
and
louder
,
and
he
suddenly
saw
a
fat
little
man
slowly
flying
past
the
window
.
It
was
Karlsson-on-the-Roof
!
But
,
of
course
,
Eric
did
not
know
that
.
