Sticky Wicket at Blandings

"Sticky Wicket at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared, under the title "First Aid for Freddie", in the United States in the October 1966 issue of Playboy magazine, and in the United Kingdom in the April 1967 issue of Argosy. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Plum Pie (1966).

Freddie Threepwood is back at Blandings on Dog-Joy business, and his wife Aggie, finding country life a little dull, has headed to the French Riviera. Freddie has befriended Valerie Fanshawe, in hopes of persuading her father, local hunting bigwig Colonel Fanshawe, to invest in Freddie's dog biscuits for his sizeable pack of hounds.

Gally warns his nephew Freddie of the dangers of consorting with attractive young girls while his wife is away, but Freddie, hungry for the sale, opts to give Valerie an Alsatian she covets, although the dog belongs to Aggie - he believes he can replace it without her noticing. As Freddie leaves with his gift, Gally hears worrying news - his sister Connie is thinking about sacking venerable butler Beach, who has become a little wheezy in his old age.