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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b1a517 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65001 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65001) diff --git a/old/65001-0.txt b/old/65001-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4a68217..0000000 --- a/old/65001-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3359 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Story My Doggie Told to Me, by Ralph -Henry Barbour - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Story My Doggie Told to Me - -Author: Ralph Henry Barbour - -Illustrator: John Rae - -Release Date: April 05, 2021 [eBook #65001] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY MY DOGGIE TOLD TO ME *** - - - The Story My Doggie Told to Me - - - - -[Illustration: We had some fine times together!] - - - - - The Story My Doggie - Told to Me - - - [Illustration] - - - By - Ralph Henry Barbour - - Author of “The Crimson Sweater,” “The Half-Back,” - “Tom, Dick and Harriet,” etc. - - - With Illustrations by - John Rae - - - New York - Dodd, Mead and Company - 1914 - - - - - Copyright, 1914, - By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY - - - - - TO GRETCHEN - - in the hope that she will - read it to her children and that they - may profit by its lessons, this - book is dedicated by - her Master - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PART ONE - WHEN I WAS A PUPPY - - CHAPTER PAGE - I PLAY DAYS 3 - II WHAT WE LEARNED 11 - III PUPPY TROUBLES 18 - IV WHEN I ATE MY COLLAR 25 - V HOW I DUG FOR A BADGER 34 - VI THE FROG WHO WAS A TOAD 43 - VII THE CROSS DUCK 50 - VIII THE OLD LADY WHO DIDN’T LIKE DOGS 61 - IX THE LITTLE BOY FROM THE CITY 69 - - - PART TWO - WHEN I GREW UP - - I HOW WE WENT HUNTING 87 - II HOW WE SPENT CHRISTMAS 98 - III MORE LESSONS 106 - IV A VISIT TO JACK 115 - V THE TURTLE 123 - VI AT THE DOG SHOW 130 - VII THE STRANGE MAN 143 - VIII HOW I WAS STOLEN 153 - IX IN THE ANIMAL STORE 162 - X BACK HOME AGAIN 175 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - We had some fine times together _Frontispiece_ - - She used to think they were to chase _Page_ 12 - - ... And thought now they were just to look at ” 13 - - Most of the batter went on Freya _Facing Page_ 14 - - He had to help William do all sorts of things ” ” 20 - - We learned to stand on our hind legs and beg ” ” 30 - - He was what the Family called a “bird dog” _Page_ 42 - - All of a sudden I backed right over the side of - the bank into the brook _Facing Page_ 52 - - I chewed that rubber cat until it stopped - squeaking and then tried the duck _Page_ 105 - - I had never seen one before _Facing Page_ 124 - - At the dog show _Page_ 142 - - Alfred took me to bed with him _Facing Page_ 146 - - Jim _Page_ 161 - - Oh, it was a funny, queer place _Facing Page_ 166 - - He lives in the fourth tree ” ” 178 - - - - -PART ONE - -WHEN I WAS A PUPPY - - - - -CHAPTER I - -PLAY DAYS - - -Bow! - -I always begin a story that way. It is what you Two-Legged Folks call -“making your bow.” With us dogs it means “Hello” and “How do you do” -and “Good morning” and――and lots of other things too. And sometimes it -means “Look out!” You see, we have so many ways of saying it! - -Perhaps some day I’ll tell you how to know just what we mean when we -say “Bow!”――like that――sort of quick and friendly; and what we mean -when we say it slow and gruff, way down in our throats. - -And then there’s “Wow!” too. “Wow” is different from “Bow.” And -“Bow-wow” is still different. But this isn’t telling my story, is it? - -Of course, you haven’t said you wanted me to tell you my story, but I’m -almost sure you do. I think you’ll like it, because I am a very good -story-teller――for a dog. And, although I am not quite three years old, -I have seen a lot of things in my day. - -You won’t mind if I wag my tail now and then, will you? It is very hard -for a dog to tell a tale without wagging. Some folks say a dog talks -with his tail. He doesn’t though; not really. He just uses his tail -the way you Two-Legged Folks use your hands, to make others understand -better what you are saying. - -When you tell a story you should always start right at the very -beginning, and that is what I am going to do. - -The first thing I remember was when I was about two weeks old. I’m sure -you can’t remember when you were two weeks old. I think that is very -clever of me, don’t you? It shows what a fine memory I have. I was -lying in a sort of cage made of criss-cross wires. There was sawdust -on the floor. There were four of us in all, for I had two sisters and -one brother. My mother’s name was Gretchen and my father’s name was -Fritz. I am named after my father. He had two or three other names -besides, but they’re very hard to say, being German. You see my father -and mother were both born in Germany and brought to this country when -they were very young, and so, of course, they spoke German very nicely. -But they never taught it to me. I suppose there wasn’t time. There are -so many, many things a puppy has to learn. I didn’t see much of my -father when I was a tiny puppy. Sometimes he came to the cage where we -lived and licked our noses through the wires, but he was a very busy -dog and had lots of things to attend to. - -My mother was very beautiful, with the loveliest soft brown eyes and -the longest, silkiest ears and quite the crookedest front legs you -ever saw. (You see, in my family crooked front legs are much admired.) -We all loved her very dearly, but I am afraid we caused her a lot of -trouble. But she was very fond of us and very proud of us. Sometimes -I wished she wasn’t so careful about keeping us clean, for lots of -times when I wanted to play with my brother and sisters I couldn’t -because she had to wash me all over. You see, puppies don’t like being -washed much more than you do; and I heard you making an awful fuss this -morning! - -We lived very happily in the cage for several weeks. We ate and slept -and played, but most of all we ate and slept. At first it must have -been funny to see us trying to walk, for our legs were so weak that -they just sprawled out under us when we wanted to use them. But it -wasn’t long before we could run and jump as much as we pleased. I was -the biggest and the strongest of us all, and I think my mother was -every bit as fond of me as she was of my two sisters and my brother, -but it _did_ seem to me as if I got most of the punishment. Maybe I was -the naughtiest one, too! - -As we grew older and stronger our mother used to leave us alone for a -little while every day, and we didn’t like that at all at first. We -used to whine and cry and feel very lonesome until she came back. But -she always _did_ come back, and pretty soon we got to know that she -would, and so we didn’t mind so much. We had some lovely frolics, we -puppies. We used to make believe that we were very cross, and tumble -each other over in the sawdust and bite each other’s ears and legs and -growl such funny little growls! - -A man named William looked after us. He wore leather gaiters. They -tasted very well. Mother said he was a coachman. He was very kind to -us and brought us things to eat and water to drink and petted us a -lot. Then there was another man who only came to see us a few times. -We didn’t like him so well. He was a Doctor and smelled of medicine. -He came to see us once when my sister Freya was sick and once when I -had an awful pain in my insides. That was later, though, after we were -out of the cage and running around in the yard. It was when I ate the -harness soap. Mother told me afterwards that it was a mistake to eat -any kind of soap. I think she was right. - -Then, of course, there was the Master, and the Mistress, and, best of -all, the Baby. She wasn’t exactly a baby, because she was almost two -years old, but every one called her the Baby. We all loved her very -much. She used to take us up one by one and kiss us on our noses and -call us “Booful dogums” and hug us. Sometimes she hugged so hard it -hurt, but we never let her know it. She had golden hair and blue eyes -and two little fat red cheeks and was always laughing. Her real name -was Mildred. The Master was a very big man, so big that I could only -see to the tops of his riding-boots when I was little. He had a very -deep, gruff voice and called us “Those little rascals!” But we knew he -didn’t mean it and we liked him. But we liked the Baby best of all, and -after her the Mistress, who was the Baby’s mother. She was quite small -for a grown-up and had such a nice voice that we loved to hear it and -would all go running to the front of the cage or the yard fence when -she came. - -The Family――we called the Master, the Mistress and the Baby the -Family――lived in the country in a beautiful white house with green -blinds that stood on top of a little hill and had trees and fields -all around it. There was a pond, too, and a brook that ran out of it. -That’s where the ducks lived. Ducks are very funny things. Later I’ll -tell you something about them. There was a stable, as well, and outside -the stable was a yard fenced in with wire netting, and in the corner of -the yard was what they called the Kennel. That was where I was born. -The yard was quite large and after we were allowed to run around in it, -we had a fine time. There was so much to see from it: the house and the -duck-pond and the country road, with people going by that had to be -barked at, and the place where William washed the carriages when the -weather was fine, and many other things. Also, there were squirrels in -the trees, and birds, too. And there was Ju-Ju. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -WHAT WE LEARNED - - -[Illustration: She used to think they were to chase] - -Ju-ju was a cat. She was grey, like smoke, and had a bushy tail and -long hair and yellow eyes. I don’t think yellow eyes are very pretty, -do you? None of us ever liked Ju-ju very much, although we soon got to -respect her. She was very vain of her long hair and thick tail and used -to spend hours doing nothing but washing herself. Cats are very lazy, I -think, and waste too much time on themselves. Once I asked Mother what -cats were for and she sighed and said she used to think they were to -chase but she had changed her mind and thought now they were just to -look at. Mother had a place on her nose like a scratch where the hair -never grew and sometimes I’ve wondered whether Ju-ju made it. When we -first got out into the yard Ju-ju used to come and jump on top of one -of the fence-posts and look down at us just as though we were funny and -strange. That used to make us very angry and we would bark and jump at -the post for the longest time. But of course we couldn’t reach her and -after awhile she would blink and blink at us and then go to sleep up -there! Cats are very annoying. They’re almost as bad as ducks! - -[Illustration: ... and thought now they were just to look at] - -We were born in the Spring and lived in the yard until we were four -months old. Then my brother, whose name was Franz, and one of my -sisters, whose name was Franzchen, left us. They went away off to live -in the city and Freya and I were quite lonely at first, and our mother -felt very badly about it. But she told us that they had gone to live -with some nice, kind people and would be very happy, and after that we -didn’t feel so badly about it. - -After Franz and Franzchen left us we were no longer kept in the Kennel -yard, but were allowed to go anywhere we pleased――except the house. -We weren’t allowed in the house, but sometimes we got in. When we did -we scampered straight for the kitchen. The first time we did it Cook -had a tin dish filled with cake-batter in her hand and when we ran at -her and barked and jumped up on her she was so surprised and scared -that she cried “Saints presarve us!” and dropped the dish. Most of -the batter went on Freya and she ran out as quick as she could go, -much more frightened than Cook, and I after her. We had a fine time -licking the batter off. It was nice and sweet and sticky and lasted all -day. Father was quite angry with us, but Mother said “Puppies will be -puppies.” - -[Illustration: Most of the batter went on Freya] - -After that it was very hard to get in the kitchen, and when we did get -in Cook would drive us out with a broom. Of course we tried not to go -and made believe we didn’t know what she meant when she cried “Shoo!” -and “Scat!” We would run under the tables and into the pantry and quite -often she would have to coax us out with pieces of meat or something -nice. It was very exciting. If we thought she really meant to hit us -with the broom we would lie on our backs with our feet in the air -and pretend we were awfully frightened. Then Delia, who was the maid -and a great friend of ours, would say “Oh, the poor little dears. Don’t -you dare hit them, Mary McGuire!” Then we would have a piece of cake -each and Delia would pet us and put us outside. - -Father was a very busy dog and had a great many things to look after. -He always went to drive with our Mistress and sat very straight and -fine beside William on the front seat. Then, too, he had to help -William do all sorts of things, like wash the carriages and feed the -chickens and ducks and cut the grass and rake the leaves. He must have -been a great comfort to William. - -[Illustration: He had to help William do all sorts of things] - -Mother had her paws full looking after us most of that summer and so -she was not able to help much with the work. Of course she kept watch -and taught us to, and we soon learned who to bark at and who not. -When the man from the butcher’s came Mother always made it a point -to be very polite to him. She wagged her tail and sniffed his boots -and followed him around to the kitchen door. He smelled very nice. -Sometimes he gave us small pieces of meat and we were always glad to -see him. But when a tramp or a pedlar came Mother barked and the hair -stood up all along her back. We soon learned to do the same and tramps -didn’t very often come much farther than the gate. - -Of course we learned a great many other things too. Such as to stand -on our hind legs and beg when we wanted anything and not get under the -feet of the horses and keep away from the carriage wheels. Once a wheel -went over the end of my tail and it hurt a good deal and I crawled into -a stall and cried. Mother came and told me I was too old to cry and -that it would teach me to keep out of the way. - -[Illustration: We learned to stand on our hind legs and beg] - -Another thing we learned was not to jump up on the Baby. We did it -because we loved her and wanted to lick her face, but she always -tumbled over. That was because she only had two legs and was no fault -of ours. Once when she tumbled she struck her head against something -hard and cried dreadfully. We licked her face as hard as we could to -comfort her, because that is what Mother always did to us when we were -hurt, but it didn’t seem to do her much good. Then William came running -up and cuffed us pretty hard and picked Baby up. I don’t think he -should have punished us, but maybe he didn’t understand. After that we -didn’t do it any more. - -Another thing we soon learned was to let Ju-ju alone. One day, soon -after we were allowed to go where we liked, Freya and I came across -Ju-ju in the kitchen yard. She was fast asleep and we thought it would -be great fun to jump at her and bark. So we did it and she woke up -awfully quick and scratched me on the nose and chased Freya half-way to -the stable. Cats can’t take a joke. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -PUPPY TROUBLES - - -We learned a good deal about what was good to eat and what wasn’t, too. -Once Delia left a tin pan filled with some whitish stuff on the back -steps and I ate quite a lot of it before she came out and found what I -was doing. When she did she cried “Cook! Cook! One of the Puppies has -eaten the starch!” Of course I went right away, as I didn’t want to -have any trouble about it, and pretty soon I felt very funny inside and -crawled into a stall where it was quiet and dark. But William found me -after a while and made me swallow something that didn’t taste at all -nice and pretty soon I felt better. I didn’t think it was very kind of -Delia to tell William what I had done, but maybe it was all for the -best, because until he made me swallow the nasty medicine I was pretty -sure I was going to die. Starch and soap taste all right but they -aren’t good for puppies. I found that out. - -It seems that we all have to learn a lot of things by what Mother calls -“sad experience.” Like bees. Bees look very much like flies but they’re -different. Once Freya and I saw some bees going in and out of a tiny -hole in the ground back of the stable. They were very large bees and -growled. We wondered why they went into the hole and so we scratched -at it to find out. While we were doing it quite a lot of bees came -out and Freya gave a yelp and began to paw at her nose. She looked so -funny that I laughed at her and asked why she did it. Then I gave a -yelp and forgot all about Freya. Those bees were very angry and sat -down on us wherever our hair was thin, and every time they sat down -they scratched. We didn’t stay there long, I can tell you! We ran as -fast as we could run, but the bees flew right along with us and chased -us way down to the duck-pond. By that time I had five scratches and -Freya had four and they hurt a good deal and swelled up. We licked the -scratches and whined and after a while we rolled over in the mud at the -edge of the pond and that made them feel better. But they didn’t stop -hurting for a long time. After that if a bee came _buzz-buzzing_ around -us we always made believe we didn’t see it. But we got up very quietly -and moved away. - -Then there are balls. Some balls are nice to play with and chew on. -They are made of rubber. William had one and he used to throw it, and -Freya and I, and sometimes Mother and Father, too, would scamper after -it and see who could get it and bring it back to him. If Freya got it -I always took it away from her, because I am bigger and stronger than -she is. Besides, she’s only a girl dog! Once Freya found the ball in -the harness room, where it had dropped off a shelf, and so she took it -out under a tree and chewed on it until there was a hole in it. Then -she wanted to see what was in the hole and so she tore the ball all to -pieces. There wasn’t a thing in it. She ate some of the pieces and that -afternoon the Doctor came and stayed quite a long time and Freya was -very sick. William got another ball, but Freya would never go near it. - -At the side of the house toward the orchard there was a lawn where the -Family played a game they called croquet. They had mallets and a lot of -different coloured wooden balls and they made the balls roll by hitting -them with the mallets. Once Freya and I were there and we chased the -balls. The Master laughed at us and said we mustn’t do it. But he -didn’t really care, and the Baby, who was there with Nurse, clapped -her hands and thought it was fine fun. So did we. We would run at the -balls and bark at them and try to pick them up in our mouths. But we -couldn’t because they were too big. The Master and Mistress laughed and -laughed at us. Then I saw a ball rolling along very fast and I made -believe it was a rat and ran for it as hard as I could go. But when I -tried to bite it it wouldn’t stop but kept right on rolling. And so I -rolled too. I rolled several times and when I found my feet I hurried -off with a terrible pain in my head. Rubber balls and wooden balls are -very different, like flies and bees. - -About that time we had our first collars. Mine was black and Freya’s -was brown. William said that was so people could tell us apart. I -thought it was very silly of him because we didn’t look at all alike. -I was bigger and, if I do say it myself, much finer looking. But that -is what he said. The collars had little round brass tags on them and on -the tags were numbers. They were quite like the collars that Father -and Mother wore, only a great deal smaller, and we were very proud of -them. William put a strap from Freya’s collar to mine and then snapped -a leash on to the strap and said “Come on.” I trotted right along, but -Freya sat down and wouldn’t budge an inch. So, of course, I had to pull -her all the way to the house. It was very hard work for me, and Freya -didn’t like it much, either. She howled all the way up the drive and -William just laughed at her. I was quite ashamed of her for acting so. -The Master and Mistress and the Baby came out to see us and I tried -to put a good face on it by laughing too, but Freya just howled and -howled! Girl dogs are very silly sometimes! Then the Master said: - -“Take the leash off, William, and see what they’ll do.” - -So he did and I ran up to the Mistress and Freya tried to run toward -the stable. I wasn’t going to have that, so I dragged Freya after me -and the Baby was between us and the strap upset her into the flower -bed. I was sorry about it, but I thought we had better not stay there -any longer, so I turned and ran as hard as I could, pulling Freya -after me, toward the orchard. The orchard is quite a large place and -one needn’t be caught there unless one wants to. But Freya, of course, -had to spoil it all. When we came to a tree she went on the other side -of it and the strap held us there. I told her to come around my side, -but she just whimpered and tugged at the strap and paid no attention -to what I said. Of course I wasn’t going to give in to her whim, so -I pulled and pulled and would have pulled her around the right way -at last if William hadn’t come up just then and caught us. We got a -cuffing, which was all Freya’s fault for being so obstinate. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -WHEN I ATE MY COLLAR - - -After that William put the strap on us every day for a while and we -got used to it. It was all right as soon as Freya understood that she -was to go the way I wanted to go. But it took her some time to do it. -Freya is very stupid at times. About a week after I got my collar it -was the cause of much pain to me. The Baby took it off one day and laid -it on the ground. After she had gone I went back and found it. There is -something about leather that I like. I didn’t mean to do any harm to -the collar, but it tasted very good and so I closed my eyes and chewed -and chewed and chewed. Freya came and watched me and asked me to give -her some. - -“You’ve got a collar of your own,” I growled. “Go away.” - -“All right,” she said. “But you’ll catch it. Just you wait!” - -She went off to bark at Ju-Ju, who was asleep on a window-sill, and I -thought of what she had said. I looked at the collar. It was a very sad -looking collar. There wasn’t much left except the brass tag. Freya was -right; I would catch it if any one saw it. So I took what was left of -it and dug a hole in a flower-bed and buried it. Not ten minutes after -that the Mistress came out and called me. I made believe I didn’t hear -her, but it did no good, for she kept on calling me and so I had to go -to her. When I got near her I rolled over on my back and whined. - -“Why,” she said, “you funny dog! I’m not angry with you, even if you -didn’t come as soon as you should have. You’re a nice puppums and――why, -where’s your collar?” - -I didn’t say anything, of course. Instead I pounced on a twig and shook -it and ran around with it in my mouth. I thought perhaps she would -forget about the collar. But she didn’t even smile. - -“Naughty Fritz!” she said. “What have you done with your collar?” - -Freya came up and looked at me in a way which said: “There! Now you are -in for it! And I’m glad, because you were selfish and wouldn’t give me -any.” And then she trotted over to the Mistress with her tail curled up -very proudly as much as to say: “See what a good dog I am! I haven’t -lost my collar!” - -“You wait till I catch you,” I growled. - -Then the Baby came out and the Mistress said: “Look, Baby, at what a -naughty, bad dog Fritz has been. He’s lost his nice new collar.” - -Baby laughed and gurgled. “Collar!” she said. - -“Yes, dear, and see how ashamed he looks. Naughty dog!” - -“Mild’ed tooked it off,” said the Baby. - -“You took it off? Oh, you shouldn’t have done that, dear,” said the -Mistress. “What did you do with it?” - -“Tooked it off!” said the Baby, and clapped her hands. - -By that time William had come up, with a rake in his hands, and the -Mistress told him about it. William scratched his head, which is what -he always does when he tries to think very hard. - -“Where were you when you took it off, dear?” asked the Mistress. - -The Baby toddled across to the lawn and we all followed her. I -pretended to be very much surprised when we found that the collar -wasn’t there. - -“Are you sure this is the place, dear?” asked the Mistress. - -The Baby nodded hard. “Mild’ed tooked off collar!” she cried and looked -very proud of herself. I hunted all around, but couldn’t find anything -but a small stone. So I took that to the Mistress, but she just tossed -it away. Freya chased it. William scratched his head some more. - -“If she took it off him, mum,” he said, “it’s gone by now. Sure, he -chews up everything he finds, he’s that de-struct-ive, mum.” - -I didn’t know what “de-struct-ive” meant, but I didn’t like the sound -of it. - -“Oh, I hope not,” said the Mistress, looking at me very hard. I turned -my head away and made believe I didn’t hear. Freya wagged her tail and -trotted off to the flower bed. I watched her and growled. - -“Well, perhaps we’ll find it,” said the Mistress. “You’d better look -around, William.” - -“Yes, mum,” said William. Then he cried “Hi, there! Stop that!” and -ran over to the flower bed where Freya was digging. By the time he got -to her she had the collar in her mouth and was holding it out to him, -wagging her tail. - -“Here it is, mum,” called William. “And all chewed up, mum, just like I -said, mum!” - -I didn’t wait to hear any more, but very quietly slipped away from -them and ran for the stable. But William found me. He dragged me out -by the scruff of my neck from behind a pile of flower-pots and showed -me the collar. Then he――but I don’t like to think of what he did. It -was very painful. After he had gone I cried myself to sleep behind the -flower-pots and slept quite a while. And when I woke up again I didn’t -come out until I was sure that William had gone to his dinner. I was -very hungry, too, but I was afraid to go near the house. So I went -off to the meadow and dug up a bone I had buried a long while before. -I heard them calling me to come to dinner, but I didn’t go. I hoped -they would be sorry they had treated me as they had. After a while, -though, they stopped calling me. So I chewed on my bone, which was very -good but a little too dry. Still, when you’re very hungry most any bone -tastes good. After that I felt much better and set off to find Freya. -I met my father in the stable yard and asked him where she was, and he -said she was in the kitchen. - -“Delia is giving her gingerbread because she found your collar. If you -go up there perhaps they’ll give you some, too.” - -“I guess I don’t want any,” I said. - -“You don’t deserve any,” said Father. “After this you will know better -than to eat your collar.” - -I went on toward the house and lay down behind a bush and waited. -After awhile Freya came out looking very pleased with herself. She had -a piece of cake in her mouth and went over to the orchard to bury it -because she had had so much already she couldn’t eat it. I followed -her, keeping away from the house, and went up to her very quietly while -she was digging a hole. When she saw me she dropped the cake and tried -to run, but I got her.... - -Afterwards I ate the cake. - -Of course Freya told Mother that I had hurt her. She’s such a -tattle-tale! When I went back to the stable Mother wanted to punish me, -but Father said: “No, Freya deserved what she got. She should not have -told on Fritz.” So Mother said we were both very bad children and we -must go to the Kennel and stay there until we could behave. So we went. -After a while Freya crawled over to me and licked my ear and said she -was sorry. I just growled. So then she licked the other ear and said -she was sorry again, and I forgave her and we made it up and went off -together to the pond to hunt frogs. - -A day or two later William came with another collar and wanted to put -it on me, but I ran as fast as I could and hid behind the flower-pots -again. I don’t know why I always went there when I wanted to hide, -because William always found me right away, just as he did this time. I -whined a little when he pulled me out, but he patted me and rubbed my -neck and said he wasn’t going to hurt me. - -“Look at the fine new collar I have for you,” he said. “Hold still now -till I get it on.” - -So I held still, as still as I could for trembling, and he put it -around my neck and buckled it. - -“There, now,” he said. “Aren’t you the proud puppy? Sure, it looks fine -on you. Run along now and show it to your father and mother. But don’t -you be eating it up, mind!” - -Just as though I would! Why, I’ve hated the taste of collars ever -since! - - - - -CHAPTER V - -HOW I DUG FOR A BADGER - - -Next door to us was a dog named Jack. There was a wide field between -our house and Jack’s and so he lived quite a way from us. But he used -to come over to our place pretty often and after we got big we went -over to see him. Jack and Father were great friends and used to go -hunting together. Jack was a pointer and the first time I saw him -I asked Mother what sort of an animal he was, because as he was so -different from us I didn’t think of his being a dog too. He had very -long legs and was white with brown spots, one on each side of his head -and one on each side of his body and a little one where his tail began. -He was dreadfully big, ten times as big as Father, and I was afraid of -him at first. But I need not have been, for he was a very nice, kind -dog. - -He was what the Family called a “bird dog.” When his Master went out -with a gun to hunt partridges or grouse Jack would go ahead and scent -the birds in the grass or bushes, and then he would stand very still, -with his tail pointing straight out behind him and his nose pointing -straight out in front of him, and his Master would know that there -were partridges ahead and say “Hie on!” Then Jack would creep on very -quietly and all of a sudden the birds would fly up in the air and his -Master’s gun would go _bang-bang!_ and then there would be partridges -for dinner. I thought it was very clever of Jack and wondered why -Father didn’t hunt birds too. I asked Mother about it once and she said: - -[Illustration: He was what the Family called a “bird dog”] - -“Every dog to his trade, my dear. Jack is a pointer and pointers were -made to hunt birds. Your father is a dachshund and dachshunds were -made to hunt badgers and rabbits and animals that live underground. -Jack is a very fine dog, but he couldn’t dig out a badger or a fox or -even a rabbit.” - -“Oh,” I said, “could Father do that?” - -“Of course, and so can I; and so can you when you grow up. That’s why -you are made as you are. Badgers and foxes live in holes that they make -far under the ground. The holes are small and they turn and twist, and -that’s why your body is made so long and your legs so short; so that -you can follow a fox or a badger into his hole.” - -“What is a badger?” I asked. - -“A badger,” said Mother, “is a very savage animal, much larger than -your father. He lives underground and comes out at night to hunt. He -has short legs and very long claws and a long nose. He catches smaller -animals and eats them and sometimes he steals the farmer’s chickens. -He has a very loose skin, just like yours, that is covered with fine -grey hairs. Folks make brushes out of the hairs. The brush the Master -lathers his face with in the morning when he shaves is made of badger -hair and the brush that William used the other day to paint the old -wagon with is made of it too.” - -“I wish I could catch a badger,” I said. Mother smiled. - -“The first time you found one at the end of his tunnel you might wish -differently,” she said. “Badgers fight hard, with tooth and claw, my -dear.” - -“Are they more savage than foxes?” I asked. - -“Yes, but no braver. A fox has only his teeth to fight with but he -makes good use of them.” - -“I wouldn’t be afraid,” I boasted. “Are there any badgers or foxes -about here?” - -“Foxes, yes, but no badgers that I have ever heard of.” - -“There are rabbits, though,” I said. “Some day I shall catch me a -rabbit.” - -“I hope not, my dear. Rabbits are harmless and they can’t fight -underground. We have no quarrel with rabbits, we dachshunds.” - -“Then,” I said, “I’ll have to find a fox.” - -“It will be a good while before you are big enough to bring a fox -out of his hole,” said Mother. “Some day, though, you shall try it, -perhaps. You have good digging paws, Fritz.” - -“They――they’re awfully big,” I said. - -“As they should be, my dear. They’re made for digging. Each one is a -little shovel, or, rather, a hoe. When you go into a hole that isn’t -big enough you begin to dig. And that is why your front legs are made -so crooked. If they were straight you would throw the dirt right under -you. As they are, with your feet turning out, they throw the dirt on -each side of you, out of your way.” - -“I’m glad you told me that,” I said, “because I’ve always wondered -about my legs and feet and been a little ashamed of them. They seemed -so funny and crooked and big. Now I see that they are just as they -should be.” I looked at my feet quite proudly. “I guess,” I said, “I’ll -go and dig a hole somewhere.” - -“Very well,” said Mother, stretching herself out to go to sleep, “but -keep away from the flower beds, Fritz.” - -So I found a field-mouse hole at the root of an apple tree in the -orchard and dug and dug and had got down so far that only my tail was -sticking out when Freya came along. - -“What are you doing?” she asked. She might have seen for herself that I -was digging a hole, but she is always asking silly questions like that. - -“I’m digging for a badger,” I said. “Want to help?” - -“Oh, yes, indeed!” cried Freya. “Is there really a badger down there?” - -“Never you mind,” I said. “You don’t suppose I’d be digging a hole as -deep as this one if there wasn’t something there, do you?” So I crawled -out and Freya got in and went to work. I looked on a minute and then I -said: - -“You don’t dig very well, do you? I suppose your feet aren’t big -enough.” - -“They’re as big as yours,” said Freya, stopping to rest. - -“Then you don’t know how to use them,” I said. “Digging is an art, and -not every dachshund knows how.” - -“Humph!” said Freya. “Let me see you do it, then.” - -So I got back in the hole and dug as hard as ever I could, and the dirt -just flew out, I tell you! “There,” I said at last, much out of breath, -“that’s the way to do it!” - -But when I looked around, would you believe it, that silly dog had -gone! And there was William hurrying up with a stick in his hand. - -“What do you think you’re doing?” he cried, real crossly. “Trying to -dig up that apple tree? Get out o’ that, you pesky critter!” - -So I got out in a big hurry and ran off around the house and down to -the stable and crept behind the flower-pots. For once William didn’t -find me and, as I was very tired, I went to sleep and dreamed that I -had crawled down a long, long hole in the ground and that in front of -me was a horrible grey badger with long teeth and glaring yellow eyes -and great sharp claws. And when I tried to turn around and run out I -couldn’t because the hole was too small, and when I tried to back out -I couldn’t because the dirt had fallen in around me. And the badger -said: “Hah, you’re the smart young dog who said he wanted to catch -a badger, aren’t you?” And I said: “N-no, sir, that――that was my -brother.” “You’re fibbing,” said the badger, “and for that I shall eat -you all up. _Raow!_” Then he crept toward me and just as he reached out -one great big paw with dozens and dozens of ugly, sharp claws I woke up -with a howl, shivering and shaking! And, oh, my, wasn’t I glad to see -those flower-pots and know that I was in the stable and not in a long, -deep hole with a badger coming at me! I ran out and found Mother and -cuddled up very close to her and told her my dream. She just smiled and -licked my eyes and pretty soon I went to sleep again in the sunlight. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE FROG WHO WAS A TOAD - - -When I thought about it afterwards it seemed strange that I should not -be allowed to dig holes when digging holes was what I was for. But -every time I did it some one, William or the Master or the Mistress, -came up and said “No, no, Fritz! Naughty dog! Mustn’t dig up the -ground.” It was most discouraging. (Discouraging is a long word, and -if you don’t know what it means I shan’t tell you. Any one as old -as you are ought to know.) Freya never got in trouble that way. She -didn’t seem to care much for doing the things I did, like digging for -badgers in the orchard or for foxes on the front lawn. (I know now -that I should not have expected to find a fox under the lawn, but then -one place seemed as good as another.) Freya liked to stay around the -back door and look hungry and coax Delia or Cook to give her things to -eat. When she wasn’t doing that she was most always asleep somewhere. -She got very fat and lazy and it was all I could do to get her to go -hunting with me. She wasn’t much good at hunting, anyway. She always -got tired just when the fun began. - -We used to go down to the pond and the brook and hunt frogs. Frogs -aren’t good to eat, but it is a lot of fun chasing them. You creep up -on them very quietly along the edge of the pond and try to get them -before they can jump back into the water. Most always you miss them, -because their eyes are in the wrong place, being on the top of their -head, and they can see behind them. But sometimes you catch one. When -you do you play with it awhile and let it go. Freya, though, never -would play with them. She said they were ugly-looking and she didn’t -like the smell of them. Girl-dogs are like that, though, sort of -finicky and fussy about little things. - -You wouldn’t think that such a silly, no-account animal as a frog could -get a decent dog into trouble, would you? It can, though, and it did. -And I was the dog. I’ll tell you about it because it may be a warning -to you some time when you are hunting frogs. - -One afternoon when it was very hot weather and we had all kept very -quiet in the shade most of the day I got tired of keeping still and -told Freya to get up and we’d hunt frogs. She didn’t want to at all, -being, as I’ve said, fat and lazy, but I nipped her ear and made her. -So we trotted down the road and across the meadow, and when we were -still a long way from the pond I saw a frog. I told Freya to be quiet -and then I stole ahead very softly and there he was in the grass just -sitting and looking at me out of two big goggly eyes. He was quite -different from any frog I’d ever seen before, being fatter and uglier -and having more warts. - -Freya whispered, “Oh, isn’t he horrid? Don’t touch him, Fritz!” But I -wasn’t going to let any frog make faces at me and so I jumped for him -and caught him. He tried to get away but I took him in my mouth and -shook him just in play, of course, and then――Oh dear, the most awful -thing happened! The inside of my mouth got on fire and I dropped that -frog and ran as hard as ever I could run to the pond and stuck my head -right into the water! - -But water didn’t do much good. My mouth and my tongue were hot and -stingy and smarty and felt just as though they were burning up. I drank -water and shook my head and pawed my mouth and howled just as loud as I -could. Freya ran around and asked what the matter was and got awfully -excited. I was too busy trying to stop the pain to tell her what was -wrong. Besides, when I wasn’t gulping water or pawing at my mouth I was -howling! Father and Mother heard me and came running down to the pond. -But I couldn’t tell them what the matter was and so Freya showed them -the frog. I was still sitting up to my neck in the pond and howling -frightfully when they came back. - -“Stop making that noise,” said Father, “and keep your mouth in the -water.” - -So I did it and whimpered instead of howled and my mouth began to feel -better. But my tongue was swollen all up and when I tried to talk -I just made funny noises. After a while I crawled out of the pond -and shook myself, feeling sort of ashamed because I had made such a -fuss. But Mother licked my face, and Freya, who had been lying nearby -whining, came running up and leaped about and barked. Even Father -seemed sorry for me. Then he took us back to the frog, which was still -sitting where I had left him, and said: - -“Have a good look at him, children.” - -So we looked at the frog and the frog blinked at us and seemed to be -laughing. I growled and backed away from him. - -“The next time you take a frog in your mouth,” said Father, “be sure -it _is_ a frog and not a toad. Toads are very unhealthy for dogs and -that thing there is a toad. When you took him up he put poison in your -mouth. It was a good thing you were near the pond, for water is the -only thing I know of that will help. I heard of a dog once who was -poisoned by a frog and there was no water around and so he ran for -home. The poison made froth in his mouth and Two-Legged Folks thought -he was mad and a policeman tried to shoot him. Luckily for him the -policeman aimed wrong and the dog got away. Now do you think you will -know a toad the next time you see one?” - -I said I was sure of it and then we went home and I crawled behind the -flower-pots and stayed there a long time. I didn’t want any supper that -day. You wouldn’t have wanted any, either, if your mouth had felt the -way mine did. I think it is quite wrong to have things look so much -alike as frogs and toads do; and flies and bees, too. How is a puppy to -know? - -When it was almost dark I crept out from behind the flower-pots and -went to get a drink of water. Ju-Ju was outside, playing with a beetle, -and when she saw me she grinned. She must have found out somehow about -that toad. I hate cats. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE CROSS DUCK - - -The next day my mouth and tongue were quite well once more, but it was -more than a week before I got brave enough to hunt frogs again. In -fact, I have never cared for frog-hunting very much since, and I only -did it after that just to show Freya that I wasn’t afraid to. But I -couldn’t get her to go with me. She’s rather a coward, Freya is. Just -look at the time I scared the duck! The way she acted then made me -quite ashamed of her! - -That was months before I made the mistake about the toad and I was -younger and sillier. I told you that there were ducks on our place. -Well, they lived in a house next door to where the chickens were, -and in the day time they all waddled out as soon as William opened -the gate for them and went down to the pond. They are stupid things, -ducks. They don’t do anything all day long but waddle around and wag -their tails and eat and swim and say “quack!” I don’t know what “quack” -means and I don’t believe they do, for they always say it just the same -way and no matter what happens. If they see William with their dinner -they say “quack” and if they see a chicken-hawk sailing about they say -“quack” and if I so much as look at them――from a distance――they say -“quack” just the same. I don’t believe “quack” means a thing. They just -want you to think it does. - -Well, one day I was trotting around by myself looking for something to -do when I caught sight of a duck sitting in the grass on the side of -the brook quite a ways beyond the pond. She didn’t see me because she -had her head hidden under her wing in the silly way ducks have. It had -been a very dull day so far and I wanted some fun. So I thought it -would be a good joke to creep up on Mrs. Duck and give her a good scare -and see if she would say anything more than just “Quack!” - -Well, I did. I crept up very, very softly and when I was about two feet -away I said “_Bow-wow!_” as loudly as I could. Mrs. Duck gave a start, -pulled her head out and said “_Quack!_” much louder than I had said -“Bow-wow!” And then, before I knew what she was up to, she spread her -wings very wide and jumped right at me! - -It――well, it sort of surprised me, because I didn’t know ducks did -that. Besides, with her wings all spread open like that and her mouth -very wide open, too, she looked almost as big as ten ducks! So――so I -sort of backed away, not because I was afraid of her but just because -I was so surprised. Besides, I’d had my fun and was ready to go away, -anyhow. But she didn’t seem to understand that it was all just a -joke and she came right at me, saying “_Quack! Quack! Quack!_” quite -crossly. So I kept on backing away, and the faster I backed the faster -she came for me and the louder she “quacked!” - -I don’t know exactly how it happened, but I got between Mrs. Duck and -the brook. I didn’t know it, of course, or I should have backed another -way. Another thing I didn’t know――and I wished I had known it――was that -she had a nest full of eggs there and was hatching out some little -ducks. If I had known that I would not have gone near her. But I -didn’t know it until afterwards. So I kept on backing and she kept on -“quacking” and making dabs at me with her yellow bill and flapping her -wings and all of a sudden I backed right over the side of the bank into -the brook! - -[Illustration: All of a sudden I backed right over the side of the bank -into the brook!] - -There was not much water in the brook and I sat right down in a lot of -soft, sticky mud. Of course I tried to get out, but the more I tried -the faster I stuck in that nasty mud. And all the time that horrid, -quarrelsome duck stood on the bank and said “Quack!” and scolded me. I -was afraid she might come in after me, and that is why I tried so very -hard to get out. But she didn’t. She just stood there and said a lot of -mean things to me while the mud got stickier and stickier. And then I -howled. Any one would have howled. I didn’t howl because I was afraid. -I howled because I couldn’t get my feet out of the mud. No dog likes to -be stuck in horrid black mud. Pretty soon Freya came and looked over -the edge of the bank at me. But she didn’t come very near where Mrs. -Duck stood. - -“Why,” she said, “what are you doing down there, Fritz? William will be -very angry with you for getting so dirty. You’d better come right out -and take a bath in the pond before you go home.” - -“I can’t get out!” I howled. “I’m stuck in this mud. Help me!” - -But Freya looked at the duck, who was still “quacking” at a great rate, -and shook her head. - -“I――I’m afraid of her,” said Freya. - -“Afraid of a duck!” I said. “Well, I’d be ashamed to own it!” But I -kept a watch on the duck because I was afraid she might understand what -I said. She didn’t though. “Bark at her and scare her away,” I told -Freya. “She――she won’t hurt you. Ducks are great cowards.” - -But Freya shook her head again. “I――I don’t like her looks,” she said. -“Couldn’t you――couldn’t you pull yourself out if you tried very hard?” - -“No, I couldn’t,” I snapped. “If I could I wouldn’t be here now. If you -can’t help me out of here you’d better run home and tell Mother. You’re -an awful scare-baby!” - -So Freya walked two or three steps toward the duck and said “Bow-wow!” -just as if she was frightened to death, which she was, and the duck -paid no attention to her at all. Then Freya went a little nearer and -barked again. That time Mrs. Duck heard her and turned around and made -straight for her. Freya gave one awful yelp, tucked her tail between -her legs and flew. And the duck went after her, flapping her wings and -“quacking!” And somehow just then I managed to get a front paw on a -stone at the side of the brook and dragged myself out. And when I got -to the top of the bank Freya was half-way across the meadow, still -yelping, and Mrs. Duck was waddling back again. - -I didn’t stay there long, I can tell you. Not that I was afraid of that -stupid old duck, but I wanted to get the mud off me before it dried -on. So I hurried back to the pond. But when I got there it was full -of other ducks and they looked at me so queerly that I thought I’d -better not go into the pond after all. So I sneaked back to the stable, -thinking I’d get behind the flower-pots before any one could see me. -But just as I came to the door who should come out but William! - -“_Well!_” he said, just like that; “_Well!_” I made a dash for the -corner where the flower-pots were and got there, but he hauled me right -out by my neck and held me at arm’s length and looked at me. “I never -see a dirtier pup,” he said. “Where have you been?” Of course I didn’t -tell him and he said: “Well, wherever you’ve been I know where you’re -going. You’re going into the tub!” - -What followed was awful. William filled the tub in the stable half-full -of cold water and put me in it. I thought at first I would drown, but -he held me up with one hand and lathered me all over with harness soap -with the other. And then he took a horrid, stiff brush and scrubbed me -until it hurt. The soap got in my eyes and smarted and it got into my -mouth and tasted badly, and all the time William scolded. - -I had to cry a little. You’d have cried too. I’ve heard you cry when -Nurse got soap in your eyes, and you needn’t pretend you haven’t. -Besides, it was all very unfair. I didn’t want to fall in the mud and -get dirty. It was all that duck’s fault. But William just blamed it all -on me without trying to find out how it really happened, and I had to -suffer. Once I caught sight of Freya peeking around the corner of the -door and I said to myself: “Just you wait till I get out of here, if I -ever do, and see what will happen to you, Miss!” - -But when, after a long, long time, William thought he could not get any -more dirt off me and so put me out on the floor, and when I had shaken -myself half a dozen times, felt so good that I forgot all about the way -Freya had behaved and ran circles and barked until I was almost dry. -Then I found a nice warm spot against the side of the stable and went -to sleep. - -But even if I did forgive Freya that time you can see that she behaved -very badly and is not at all brave. Still, I suppose that being a girl -dog has a lot to do with it. You mustn’t expect a girl-dog to be as -brave as a boy-dog. - -That was my first real bath. I’ve had many since then and I’ve grown -to put up with them just as one must put up with castor-oil and pills. -But I’m sure I shall never get fond of them. I don’t mind wading in the -pond or even swimming a little, but baths are quite different. Besides, -I am not a water-dog, like a spaniel or a retriever, and folks ought -to think of that. They don’t, though. About once a month I have to go -through with it, and the mere sight of a cake of soap quite takes my -appetite away for hours. I once heard the Mistress tell the man who -comes for the laundry that she wanted something “dry-cleaned.” I wonder -why dogs can’t be dry-cleaned too! - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE OLD LADY WHO DIDN’T LIKE DOGS - - -Are you scared of thunder storms? I am, too. Well, not exactly scared, -maybe, but I――I don’t like them very well. I don’t mind the lightning -so much, but the thunder is very noisy and it affects my nerves. I -am quite a nervous dog. All highly-bred dogs are nervous, you know. -And when you can trace your family back for dozens of years, the way -I can, you have every right to dislike thunder. Perhaps you didn’t -know I had such a long pedigree? Mother told us all about it once. We -are descended from Hansel von Konigsberg, who was the Champion of all -Germany for many years and quite the finest dachshund that ever lived. -He won all sorts of prizes wherever he was shown and was a very fine, -proud dog. Every one in Germany knows about Hansel von Konigsberg. -Mother says it is a fine thing to be descended from such a dog and that -I should always try to live up to it. Well, that isn’t telling about -the time I got under the bed in the guest-room when there was a thunder -storm, is it? - -There were visitors at the house, and one was an elderly lady who wore -a black silk dress and had her eye-glasses on a little stick. When she -saw us puppies she held the glasses up to her eyes and looked at us -just as though we were something quite strange. “Dear me,” she said, -“what ugly little things. What are they?” The Master laughed and told -her we were dachshund puppies. “You mean they’re dogs?” she asked. -“Why, they look like alligators! Don’t let them come near me, please. I -never could stand dogs, anyway, and these are quite――quite disgusting!” - -Neither Freya or I knew then what an alligator was, but we didn’t like -the sound of it. Besides, she had said we were ugly and disgusting. So -I looked at Freya and Freya looked at me and we made a rush for the Old -Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs and jumped all over her. Of course we made -believe we were awfully pleased to see her, but we weren’t. She gave -a screech and dropped her eye-glasses. They were on a black ribbon, -though, and so they didn’t break. But I got the ribbon in my teeth and -laid back and pulled and growled, and Freya took hold of the old lady’s -skirt and shook it. And all the time the old lady said “Shoo! Shoo, you -nasty little brutes! Oh, somebody take them away!” - -So the Master caught me and made believe spank me and the Mistress -caught Freya and told her she was a naughty dog, and we both ran off, -making believe we were very sorry and scared, and the old lady hurried -into the house. - -Afterward Freya and I laid down under the lilac hedge and talked it -over. We decided that we didn’t like the old lady and that we’d wait -there until she came out again to see the garden and then we’d make -another dash for her and scare her again. But she didn’t come back and -it was pretty hot and so we both fell fast asleep there. - -When we woke up it was quite late in the afternoon and the sky was -cloudy and there was a rumbly noise that sounded like thunder. Freya -whined and said she was afraid. I told her not to be a silly; that -thunder never hurt any one. She said the lightning might, though, and -she was going to the stable and crawl under the hay. She wanted me to -go with her, but of course it would not have done to let Freya think I -was frightened too, and so I said, No, I was going to stay where I was. -Freya ran to the stable and just when she got to it there was a most -awful crash of thunder and I forgot how brave I was and looked for a -place to hide. - -Well, William had taken the screen-door off that morning, to mend a -place Freya and I had torn in the wire, and the other door happened to -be open. So I looked around very carefully and then ran into the big -room. Just then there was more thunder and a flash of lightning and -I hid under the couch. But I knew that wouldn’t do because some one -would surely find me there and put me out. So I listened and didn’t -hear any one and went upstairs very quietly. And when I got to the top -of the stairs there was a door open and I went in and crept under the -bed. It was nice and dark there and I couldn’t see the lightning. But -every time it thundered I trembled and whined and had a pretty bad time -of it. I could hear the rain drumming on the tin roof outside, and it -seemed to me that the storm lasted for hours. But after a while it -stopped and the thunder got farther and farther away and at last it -died out in little growls and grumbles and I rolled over on my side and -went to sleep, quite worn out. - -When I awoke I heard some one moving around in the room and just to be -friendly I thumped my tail on the floor. Then some one came near the -bed and looked under. It was too dark to see who the person was, but -I thumped harder than before, and, will you believe it, it was that -Old Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs! She gave a most horrible scream and -just flew through the door into the hall. Why, she almost scared me -out of a year’s growth! She cried “Help! Help! There’s some one under -my bed!” and I heard the Master shout from his room and come running. -And the first thing I knew the room was full of folks and the old lady -was telling how she had heard a noise and had looked down and seen two -“fierce yellow eyes glaring at her.” Delia shouted “’Tis a burglar, -mum! We’ll all be murdered, sir!” But the Master told her to be quiet. - -“I dare say it is only the cat,” he said, and then he knelt down and -looked under the bed and I thumped my tail harder than ever and the -Master sat right down on the floor and laughed and laughed! Then the -Mistress said: - -“What is it, George? Do stop that silly laughing! Is it Ju-ju?” - -So the Master reached in and pulled me out by the scruff of my neck and -held me up. “Here’s your burglar,” he said. And then they all laughed; -all except the Old Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs. She was very angry about -it. - -“I am glad you all think it so funny,” she said with a sniff. “For my -part I fail to see the humour. And what is more I refuse to remain in a -house where I am to be pestered by dogs and scared out of my wits every -minute. I’m thankful my trunk is not fully unpacked.” - -But she didn’t go, after all, for which Freya and I were sorry. And -even though we stayed around the house a lot in the hope that she -would come out so we could run at her and jump on her, she didn’t once -set her foot off the piazza, and all we could do was get close to the -screen and growl at her. The Mistress said: “It’s too bad you don’t -like dogs, Miss Mumford, they’re such company for one, and living alone -as you do a dog would be a great comfort to you. Just see the little -dears begging to be let in. Wasn’t it funny how they took to you at -once the day you came? They seem quite fond of you.” - -And the Mistress glanced at me and then smiled at the thing she was -sewing on. And Freya and I looked at each other and laughed. And the -Old Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs said “Humph!” Just like that. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE LITTLE BOY FROM THE CITY - - -More company came after that. It was in the Fall, when the leaves were -turning to beautiful colours and falling off the trees and when the -mornings and nights were quite cool and the best place to take a nap -was in the stable doorway where the sun shone warmly on the floor. -Freya and I were about six months old then and were getting to be -pretty big for puppies. We weren’t as big as Father or Mother, but when -we romped with either of them Freya and I together could do just about -as we pleased with them. Lots of times Mother used to run away from us -because we were so strong that we could roll her over on her back and -bite her and shake her until she yelped. - -Others had grown up, too. All the fluffy little yellow chicks that -Freya and I used to watch through the chicken yard wires were quite -big, almost as big as their parents. And all the little ducklings had -grown up into ducks and could say “Quack!” just like their mothers and -fathers. In the garden the flowers had gone, all but a few, and it -was a great relief to me. I was always very fond of flowers and liked -to pick them and eat them, but William didn’t like me to and would -get after me whenever he caught me at it. I got a lot of cuffings -on account of my love for flowers. I couldn’t understand why it was -they were so selfish with them when they had so many. It seemed to -me that one or two more or less would not have made any difference. -But Two-Legged Folks are peculiar in many ways. They aren’t nearly so -sensible as dogs. - -Even the Baby was getting bigger and older. She could talk quite nicely -by Fall, although you had to listen very closely to understand all she -said. You see, she talked very quickly and ran her words together. It -was the Baby who told me about the company coming. It was one morning -on the piazza. The screens had been taken off then and the Baby and I -were in the hammock together. Freya didn’t like the hammock. She said -it made her feel funny inside when it swung. I did, though. It was full -of nice soft cushions and I was very proud when I found one day that I -could jump up on it all by myself and didn’t have to be lifted up or -pulled up any more. Well, the Baby and I were there together, swinging, -and she was pulling my ears the way she liked to do, and chatting all -the time. I wasn’t paying very much attention to what she was saying -because I was a little bit sleepy. It always makes me sleepy to have my -ears pulled. Well, pretty soon the Baby said: - -“Booful little boy’s coming to play wiv Mild’ed. All way f’om City. -Coming to-day, I dess.” - -I pricked up my ears then. At least, I pricked up one of them, the one -that wasn’t being pulled. I had never seen a little boy very near, but -I had heard Mother speak of them and from what she had said I didn’t -think I should like them. So I didn’t look very pleased at what the -Baby said. Perhaps she saw it, for she went on: - -“Is very nice little boy. Is coming all way f’om City to play wiv -Mild’ed. Little boy’s name is A’fed.” - -I thought Afed was a very silly name for any one, even a boy. I found -out afterwards that his name was Alfred, but I didn’t like it much -better. I hoped he would be nicer than his name. The Baby talked on -about him for a long time and I pretended to listen. Finally I got -tired hearing about him and jumped down and went away. I made up my -mind that I wasn’t going to like A’fred, and when I told Freya she -made up her mind she wasn’t going to like him either. We decided that -we would bite his legs when he came. - -William drove to the railway station to meet Alfred and his mother, -and Freya went along. William was very partial to Freya and used to -take her with him quite often. He took me once and said he would never -do it again because I barked at everything I saw and fell out of the -carriage. I didn’t mean to fall out, though, and it hurt a good deal. -Anyhow, he took Freya with him that day and I found a warm place on a -flower bed beside the house and waited for them to come back. William -didn’t like to have us lie on the flower beds, even after the flowers -were through blooming, but I knew he wouldn’t see me and I meant to go -away when I heard the carriage coming up the drive. - -But it was so warm there and the earth smelled so nice that I fell -asleep. When I woke up the first thing I did was to howl and the next -thing to run. Because William had come back without my hearing him and -had crept over to me, and what had wakened me up was the carriage whip! -I thought it was rather a mean thing to surprise me like that. When I -had stopped hurting and running I looked back and there was the little -boy with Freya in his arms going into the house. And, would you believe -it, Freya was actually licking his face! Isn’t that like a girl-dog, to -break her promise the very first thing? Just pat Freya and she thinks -you are perfectly lovely and follows you all around. For my part, I’d -have more self-respect and pride. Folks can’t make friends with me by -just patting my head and saying “Nice doggie!” No, sir! - -I was quite disgusted with Freya and I told her so later. - -Alfred’s mother was a very sweet looking lady and I knew right away I -should like her. I did, too. Not two hours afterwards she came out to -see us and fed us peppermint drops. I am very fond of peppermint drops -because they make your tongue feel sort of cold and tingley, and I -liked the lady at once. Oh, not just because of the candy, of course, -but because she was nice to look at and understood dogs and loved them. -We can tell right off whether a person likes us. Alfred came out with -his mother, and the Baby followed Alfred. She wouldn’t let him out of -her sight and paid almost no attention to me. Alfred was really rather -nice looking, for a boy, with golden hair, dark eyes and a sun-burned -face. He was older than the Baby. When he saw me he cried: - -“Oh, there’s another of them! Come here, puppy! What’s your name?” - -Of course I paid no heed to him. I meant to show Freya that I had more -sense than to grovel to folks just because they whistled to me and paid -me a little attention! When he saw that I didn’t mean to come to him he -started after me, and I showed my teeth and growled. He stopped then -and made a face at me. “You’re not as nice as the other one,” he said. -Then he picked up a pebble and threw it at me and I growled again. -“What’s this one’s name, Mildred?” he asked the Baby. - -“He name F’itz. Him booful dogums!” - -Alfred laughed. “Fits! That’s a funny name, isn’t it? Does he have them -often?” - -“She means Fritz, dear,” said his mother. “Here, Fritz, come and see -me.” - -So I went, but I wouldn’t let Alfred touch me, and he didn’t like it a -bit. He fed candy to Freya and she fairly licked his shoes! Girl-dogs -have no pride. It so disgusted me that I turned right around and went -down to the stable and crawled behind the flower-pots. - -Even Father and Mother seemed to like Alfred, and they and Freya played -with him and the Baby a lot. I didn’t. I stayed away. It was pretty -lonesome, though. Now and then Alfred would try to make friends with -me. He begged cake from Cook and tried to get me to take it, but I -wouldn’t. I’m fond of cake, too. I spent a good deal of time behind -the flower-pots those days. You see I was afraid that some time when I -was fearfully hungry Alfred would offer me cake and I’d take it. And -I didn’t want to, for I had made up my mind not to be friends with -him. One morning he and the Baby came out of the house when we were -having breakfast at the back door and called to us. Of course Father -and Mother and Freya trotted right over to them, but I stayed and made -believe I had found something more to eat in the dish. When Freya saw -that she came back, but I growled at her and she went off again. - -“Come, F’itz!” called the Baby. “Come F’itz, booful dogums!” - -And Alfred called me too, but I wouldn’t go, and finally Alfred said: -“Oh, come on. We don’t want him anyway!” - -So they went off toward the orchard to hunt squirrels. Of course I felt -pretty lonesome and wanted to go with them very much. Hunting squirrels -is awfully exciting, even though we never catch any. I licked the -breakfast dish quite clean and then went to the corner of the house and -peeked around. They were all over in the orchard and Father was barking -at a great rate, making believe he had found a fox’s nest or something, -and Freya was trotting behind Alfred and trying to lick his hand. The -Baby was toddling along, laughing, and Mother was barking at a bird. It -looked very jolly and I crept along after them, keeping out of sight. - -They didn’t find any squirrels. I never saw but one in the orchard -and he wasn’t much to look at, having almost no hair on his tail. But -we always pretended the trees were full of them. After they had been -all around the orchard they climbed the wall on the other side, which -they were not allowed to do, and went into the thicket over there where -the ground is all soft and squishy. I could have told them that they -would soon find themselves in trouble, and I came very near barking and -warning them, but I didn’t. It was no affair of mine. - -After a bit I heard Alfred shout and then Mother barked and the Baby -began to cry and I knew just what had happened. I went back to the -house and sat on the lawn and waited, and pretty soon they came back -looking very sorrowful. The Baby had fallen down in the swamp and she -was covered with black mud from head to toes. Alfred was leading her -with one hand and trying to wipe off the mud with the other, and -Freya, who never knows when she isn’t wanted, was getting in the way -and barking and acting perfectly stupid. Father and Mother stayed -behind, trying to look as if nothing much had happened. When they all -passed me I just looked at them without a word and I can tell you they -felt silly! The Mistress saw them from a window and came hurrying out -to meet them, and Alfred’s mother came out, too. - -“Oh, Mildred, what have you done?” cried the Mistress. “Just see that -nice clean dress I put on you not half an hour ago!” - -“She――she fell down in the mud over there,” said Alfred. “We――we were -hunting Indians.” - -Did you ever hear anything so foolish? Just as though there were any -Indians around there! Even if there had been Freya and I would soon -have scared them away. Well, the Mistress led the Baby into the house -and Alfred’s mother said: “Alfred, come with me, please,” and Alfred -said “Yes’m,” in a voice that seemed to come from his shoes. Father and -Mother went down to the stable in a hurry and Freya came over and sat -down beside me. - -“A nice thing you did,” I said. - -“It wasn’t my fault,” said Freya with a whine. - -“You should have watched out for the Baby,” I said sternly. “You’ll -catch it when the Mistress finds you.” - -So Freya suddenly remembered that she had left a bone behind the stable -and trotted off after it, looking back now and then at the front door. -Presently Alfred came out all alone. He had one arm over his eyes, -but he couldn’t fool me. I knew he was crying. I guess his mother had -whipped him, or maybe just scolded him, for letting the Baby fall in -the mud. He didn’t see me and he went around the house and sat down on -the back door-step and sniffled. I followed him. If you don’t like -a person you enjoy seeing them cry. At least, you ought to, I think. -But Alfred kept on crying kind of softly, just as though his heart was -broken, and I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to go away and leave him -there, but――but somehow I couldn’t do that either. - -So after a bit I crept over to him and got up on the step beside -him and licked his face. He peeked out and saw it was me and was so -surprised that he forgot to cry for a minute. Then he put his arm -around me and I licked his face some more and――and, oh, well, after -that we liked each other a lot. - -Mother said afterwards that it was just jealousy that had kept me away, -and I guess it was. Alfred stayed a whole week after that and we had -some fine times together. When he went back to the City I missed him a -great deal. The place seemed very lonely. I think I missed him almost -as much as the Baby did, and the Baby cried all one day. I tried my -best to comfort her and I licked her nose and her cheeks and her ears, -but it didn’t do much good. She kept right on saying that she wanted -her “booful A’fed.” The Mistress told her that she would see him again -very soon because they were all going to the City to stay a long, -long time. But that didn’t help me any, because I was quite sure they -wouldn’t take me. - -And they didn’t. They all went off, bag and baggage, about a week -later, and only William and Cook and Delia were left. Mother and I were -very sad and lonesome at first. I don’t think Father minded so much, -because he and William were great chums, and as for Freya, why, as long -as she had enough to eat and some one to say “Good dog” to her, she -didn’t care what happened. But Mother and I missed the Baby a whole -lot, and the Mistress too, and the Master not so much because he was -busy a good deal of the time and we saw less of him. - -And then one day we woke up and the world was all white, and Mother -said it had snowed in the night. And William picked up some of the -white stuff and made a ball of it and threw it at Delia at the back -door. And Delia squealed and ran inside. William said: “Well, well, -winter’s here at last!” - -I think I have told you enough for now. You have almost fallen asleep -two or three times. Besides, it is time for my nap. I always like a -short nap before dinner. And really I have talked an awful lot. I hope -you liked my story. - -[Illustration] - - - - -PART TWO - -WHEN I GREW UP - - - - -CHAPTER I - -HOW WE WENT HUNTING - - -Bow! - -So you want to hear some more of my story, do you? Very well. It’s a -very good day to sit here by the fire and tell stories, because it is -raining hard and there isn’t much a dog can do in the City on a rainy -day. For my part I think cities are rather stupid places, anyway. Of -course, on bright days, there’s the Park and the Avenue, and I like -those very much. But it’s a bother always having to be on a leash. When -I see a dog on the other side of the street whom I am quite sure I -should like to know, all I can do is just say “Hello!” In the country I -could trot over to him and make friends and, like as not, we’d go off -on a nice long hunt in the woods. There’s lots to see in the City, but -it is awfully noisy and crowded and at first it made me quite nervous. -I’m getting used to it now. I do think it’s a mistake to have so little -yard about the house, though, especially when it is paved with stone -and brick. Even the stable floor is stone and I’m sure there are some -fine fat rats under it if I could only get at them. Why, I haven’t had -but one good dig since I got here! And that was that day in the Park -when the big Policeman came running over, waving a funny short stick -at us, and said he would have us both taken to jail if I didn’t stop -digging. - -Yes, I do miss the digging. The other day I made believe I smelled -a fox in the corner of the back hall and was scratching away at the -boards and having a real good time when Cook came and drove me away. I -forgave her, though, for she gave me a chicken leg to eat. I _do_ have -good things to eat here; better than I used to in the country; more -different kinds of things, anyway. And a dog likes variety as well as -you Two-Legged Folks do. I don’t want you to think I am at all unhappy -here, for I am not. If only there was a garden bed to dig in now and -then I wouldn’t ask for more. And, anyhow, what a dog wants most is -love and kindness, and I get lots of that. I guess I don’t care about -the flower bed. Excuse me just a moment while I lick your face. - -Well, I left off where the Family had gone to the City, didn’t I? We -dogs had a good deal of fun in that snow. It was the first snow I had -ever seen and I had a fine time running around in it and biting it. -Freya said it made her paws cold and she sat in the stable door and -just looked at it and shivered until I chased her out and rolled her -over in it. After that she didn’t mind it a bit. William made snowballs -and threw them for us to chase. It was great fun for they went into the -snow, quite out of sight, and we had to burrow down and dig them out. -And then when we tried to take them in our teeth to bring them back to -William they would fall to pieces! - -After that there was no more snow for quite a long time and we hunted -a good deal. Jack used to come over and he and Father, and sometimes -the rest of us, would go trotting off into the woods and stay for -hours. Sometimes Jack would see a pheasant or a grouse and get awfully -excited and run and run after it and get so tired that when he came -back he would have to throw himself down and rest. Usually, though, we -never saw much except chipmunks and squirrels; but one day Jack found a -rabbit in a clump of bushes and we all had a merry time chasing him. Of -course the rest of us, with our short legs, couldn’t keep up with Jack -and he and the rabbit were soon way ahead of us. And when we came up to -him he was sitting by a hole in the ground where the rabbit had gone. - -Freya and I began to dig at a great rate and just made the dirt fly. -Mother wanted to stop us, but Father said “No, let them have their -fun.” Freya kept getting in my way, so I had to nip her on the leg and -chase her away. Pretty soon all you could see of me was just the tip -of my tail sticking out of the hole. And just then I heard a lot of -barking and when I had backed out all the others were tearing across -the field after that rabbit! He had crept out of a hole on the other -side of the little hill where he lived and run off again. I felt rather -silly. The others came back pretty soon without the rabbit. Mother said -that rabbits lived in houses with a great many doors, and when you went -in one door they came out another. I don’t think that’s a fair way -to play, do you? Afterwards, though, I was glad we hadn’t caught the -rabbit, for he was such a tiny, pretty little thing that it would have -been a shame to hurt him. - -The weather got colder and colder and there was more snow. We didn’t -mind the cold, though, for our coats had been growing thicker and -warmer since summer, and our house was nice and cosy. One day Mother -took Freya and me down to the pond and when we got there it looked -very queer. I asked what had happened to the water and she said it had -frozen into ice, and while I was looking at it she gave me a push and I -had to run down the bank and when I got to the bottom and came to the -pond my feet went up in the air and I went over on my back and I slid -way out on the ice. Mother and Freya stood there and laughed at me, and -when I tried to get on my feet they just slipped from under me and I -was scared and whined. But Mother told me not to be a baby and pretty -soon I got back to the shore and then I pushed Freya down the bank and -she slid, too, and made a worse fuss about it than I had. Then Mother -showed us how we could walk quite nicely by taking very short steps and -soon we were all three chasing each other about and falling down and -rolling over and having a grand time. - -One morning we awoke to find the snow above the bottom of the Kennel -windows, and there was William out there with a red muffler around his -neck digging a path to us with a wooden shovel. The snow that time was -so deep that we could only go where William had made paths. But Father -showed us how to have a lot of fun by digging tunnels and Freya and I -dug one all the way from the Kennel to the stable door. The funny thing -was that in the tunnels, under all that cold snow, it was warmer than -it was outside! - -When William went to the village for the mail and other things now he -went in a sleigh, and one afternoon he took all us dogs with him and -we had the finest sort of a time. We barked at everything we saw, -and once Freya fell out of the sleigh into a snowbank and went out -of sight! (I pushed her off the seat, but William didn’t know it.) -In the village a lady who kept the little store where William bought -his newspaper came out and petted us and fed us peanuts. Peanuts are -very nice. The part you eat is inside a shell and you have to crack -the shell open first. Sometimes you eat some of the shell too, without -meaning to, but it doesn’t hurt you. The lady thought it was very funny -to see us eat the peanuts and she laughed a lot and said we were clever -dogs. - -“Sure, ma’am, they’ll eat anything at all,” said William, and the lady -laughed some more and said: - -“I know one thing they won’t eat.” - -“What’s that?” asked William. - -So she went back into the little store and came out with something that -looked like a lemon but wasn’t. “Let me see them eat that,” she said -to William. - -“A pickled lime, is it?” said William. “They’re that fond of ’em, -ma’am, I can’t keep enough of ’em on hand, but they’re bad for dogs, -ma’am.” - -The lady laughed again. “That’s a fib,” she said. “You know they -wouldn’t touch it.” - -“Won’t they then,” said William. “Just watch ’em, ma’am.” So he took -the pickled lime and looked at us, trying to make up his mind which of -us to give it to. I hoped he wouldn’t give it to me, but he did. “Eat -it, Fritzie,” he said coaxingly. “Good dog.” - -Well, William was a friend of mine and I wanted to help him out of his -fix, and so I took it and laid it down on the seat and ate it. It was -quite the worst tasting thing I ever had. It was sort of sour and sort -of salt and full of puckery juice. But I ate it, and when it was all -gone I tried to make the lady think that I wanted more, and William -was so pleased with me that afterwards he stopped at the butcher’s and -brought out a piece of meat for each of us. I’m sure that meat saved -me from being a very sick dog. Even as it was I felt quite unhappy for -awhile and didn’t bark once all the way home. - -A few days after that the Family came back and maybe I wasn’t glad -to see them again. William brought them from the station in the big -sleigh, and as soon as they were in the house William called to us dogs -and we all went running in to see them. And the Master said how well -we all looked and how Freya and I had grown, and the Baby sat down on -the floor and we all jumped about her and licked her face and I ran -off with one of her fur mittens and took it under the couch and chewed -it a little. It was a very happy time. William told the Master how I -had eaten the pickled lime for him in the village and the Master and -Mistress laughed and laughed about it and said I was a fine dog, and -after that for a long time the Master called me “the limehound”! - -It was wonderful the way the Baby had grown in such a short time. I had -to jump now when I wanted to lick her face! She was awfully glad to see -us and cried a little when William took us back to the Kennel. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -HOW WE SPENT CHRISTMAS - - -The next day the Master, the Mistress, the Baby, William and us dogs -went for a walk together. William carried an axe and a piece of rope. I -thought we were going hunting. The snow was quite deep and the Master -and the Mistress wore funny flat things under their shoes which kept -them from sinking through the snow. The Master carried the Baby in his -arms until we had got to the woods, and she kept saying “Kismas twee! -Kismas twee! Booful Kismas twee!” all the way. When we were at the -edge of the woods the Master and William walked around and looked at -the trees and at last the Master said “This one, William,” and William -swung his axe and down came the tree. It was only a small one and I -tried to tell them that there were very much larger ones further on, -but no one paid any attention to me. When the tree was cut down William -tied the rope to it and we went home, William dragging the tree after -him over the snow. I thought it was a pretty poor sort of hunt. - -It began to snow again before we were back at the house and William put -us to bed early that evening. The next morning the snow had stopped and -the sun was shining brightly. William let us out and we all tore up to -the back door, very hungry indeed. And when Cook gave us our breakfast -what do you suppose it was? What’s the nicest thing you can think of? -Mince pie? Why, of course not; dogs don’t care for mince pie. No, nor -candy――much. What we had that morning was liver and corn-bread, with -lots of gravy! How was that for a feast? And Cook and Delia and William -stood around and saw us eat it and laughed and seemed very gay and -happy. And after that William took us into the house. - -There was the Baby and the Master and the Mistress, and they all -cried “Merry Christmas!” as we came tumbling in; only the Baby said -“Maykismas!” instead, which was the best she could do. Between the -windows in the big room was that tree we had brought home the day -before, but you would never have known it for the same tree. I didn’t -know whether to bark at it or wag my tail. So I growled. That tree -was all covered with the most wonderful sparkly things! There were -glass balls of red and yellow and green and white and blue, and long -strings of shiny stuff that glittered in the sunlight, and strings of -pop-corn――only I’d never seen any pop-corn just like it before, because -it was pink!――and all sorts of little toys and coloured paper bags and, -at the very tip-top of the tree, a little white angel with wings like -a dragon-fly! And underneath the tree were many things wrapped in paper -and tied with red ribbons. - -“Just see Freya!” laughed the Mistress. Would you believe it, that dog -had helped herself to one of the packages and had taken it under the -table and was tearing the paper off it! I was terribly ashamed of her, -I can tell you! But the Master and the Mistress didn’t seem to mind -it. They only laughed. And the Master looked at what Freya had taken -and said: “Smart dog! It had her name on it!” And the Baby clapped -her hands and every one seemed to think that Freya had really done -something very clever! - -The Master reached under the tree then and picked up one of the -packages and looked at it and said: “Now then, Young Fritz, here’s a -present for you. Sit up and ask for it, you rascal!” - -So I sat up on my hind legs and begged and he put it in my mouth and I -took it off to a corner and smelled of it. It didn’t smell very nice, -I thought. It made me think of something but I couldn’t remember what. -So I tore the paper off it and――can you guess what I found? A pickled -lime! Wasn’t that a mean joke? I backed away from it in a hurry and -they all laughed at me and I crawled under the couch where Freya was -chewing on a rubber ball with her eyes closed. I took it away from her, -but the Mistress said “No, no, Fritzie! You mustn’t take Freya’s ball -away. Here’s something nice for you.” - -So I sat up and begged again and the Master gave me another present and -when I’d got the paper and ribbon off it there was a rubber cat that -squeaked every time I bit it! It looked a little like Ju-Ju, who was -sitting on the window-sill with a new pink bow around her neck, and -when I saw that I bit it harder. - -Father got a new collar and a rabbit made of cloth, Mother got a -Teddy bear and a tin bug that walked across the floor and went -_click-click-click_, Freya got the ball and a cloth cat which was -bigger than mine but didn’t taste so good and I got a wooden duck that -flapped its wings and opened its mouth when you moved it. I didn’t -think that the Family knew about the time the duck made me fall into -the brook, but they must have. I suppose Ju-Ju told them. That cat -talks too much, anyway. - -And we all had sweet biscuits and candy which the Baby fed to us until -the Mistress told her we had had enough. After that we were allowed -to stay there and play a long time. I chewed that rubber cat until it -stopped squeaking and then tried the duck. The paint tasted very good. -Freya stole a bag of candy from the tree and ate half of it before I -found out about it and took it away from her. Really, her manners were -awful that day! - -[Illustration: I chewed that rubber cat until it stopped squeaking and -then tried the duck] - -I ate the rest of the candy so as to punish her for stealing it, but I -didn’t really want it and after I had eaten it I began to feel sick. -It was just as well, I think, that they let us out just then. I don’t -know what the rest did, but I hurried right down to the stable and -got behind the flower-pots and had quite a miserable time of it for a -while. You see, besides the sweet biscuits and all that candy, I had -eaten most of a rubber cat and one wing of a wooden duck. I think, -though, that it was the yellow paint that made me sick. - -I felt better in the afternoon and crawled out and went back to the -house. The Baby had a new sled and she was coasting down a little hill -behind the house. She would sit on the sled and take one of us dogs in -her arms and then Nurse would give her a push and off she would go. I -coasted twice but didn’t care much for it. I wasn’t feeling quite well -yet. For dinner that day we had turkey, and it was fine; almost as -good as liver and corn-bread. I was very glad that I felt well enough -by that time to eat all that was given to me――and some of Freya’s. Then -William took us down and put us to bed and that ended that Christmas -Day. I had had a very good time, on the whole, but I was a little glad -that Christmas didn’t come very often! - - - - -CHAPTER III - -MORE LESSONS - - -It was in February that Father and Mother began going away from home -for three and four days at a time. William usually went with them, but -once the Master went. Each time they came back they brought a bunch -of pretty ribbons, blue and red and yellow and white, and William put -them in a glass case in the harness room where there were lots more. Of -course we asked Mother where the ribbons came from and she said from -the dog shows and told us about them. But we didn’t understand very -well. It seemed that the ribbons were prizes given to Father and Mother -because they were such fine dogs, and William and the Master and every -one was very pleased and proud each time Father and Mother came home. - -Father was proud, too. He got more ribbons than Mother. I didn’t think -that was fair, but Mother didn’t seem to mind. After each show Father -would be very lazy and just lie around and look proud and Mother would -fetch him bones. But after a day or two Father would forget to be proud -and find his own bones. It wasn’t much fun for Freya and I when Father -was being proud, because he slept a lot and if we made the least noise -Mother would say “Hush, children! Your father is taking a nap and you -mustn’t waken him. Go somewhere else and play.” So we were glad when -the dog shows stopped for a while. - -Freya and I were to learn about dog shows for ourselves, though. When -we were almost a year old William began putting a leash on my collar -and Freya’s and walking us about. At first I didn’t like it at all. It -made me quite nervous to have that strap holding me back. The first -time William put it on I stood still and he kept tugging at it and -saying “Come on, now, Fritzie! Come on now!” I was quite willing to go -with him, but I didn’t like the feeling of that collar up around my -ears. Still, it didn’t do any good to put my feet out and hold back -because William dragged me, and when I found that out I decided I’d run -away from him. So I started off in a hurry. But there was that horrid -strap, and when I’d gone a little ways my feet went out from under me -and I turned a somersault. That frightened me and I ran off in another -direction. But each time that leash stopped me. Then I began to run -around William in circles and howl and presently, when I couldn’t run -any more, because the leash was wrapped around William’s legs, I gave -a final tug and William fell over on his back in a flower-bed where -there were some sweet peas just coming up. He was very angry. I saw -that at once and so I tried my best to get away from there. But the -more I tried to run the angrier William got. You see, he couldn’t get -the strap from around his legs and so he couldn’t get on his feet. And -just then I heard the Baby clapping her hands and Nurse saying “Why, -William! Whatever are you doing there?” - -And then William was so surprised and felt so silly that he let go -the leash and I pulled it loose and ran as hard as I could run to the -stable and crawled behind the flower-pots. But of course he found me -and pulled me out. He always did. Sometimes now I wonder why I didn’t -find a better place to hide in. - -Well, William had his way in the end and I got so I didn’t mind being -on the leash and would walk along ahead of him quite nicely. Freya had -to learn too. She didn’t mind it as much as I had, but then she never -had much spirit. After we got used to the leash William would put a -flat box in the middle of the carriage room floor and make us get up -on it and stand there for minutes at a time. I didn’t see much fun in -that, and at first when he got me on the box I jumped right down again. -But he was very――very――Now what was it that Mother said he was? Oh, -patient; that was it; very patient. That was what Mother called it, but -I said he was stubborn. - -Anyway, he kept at me until I did just what he wanted me to, and after -a while I didn’t mind standing on the box, although I couldn’t see much -sense in it and it seemed a dreadful waste of time. But Mother told us -what it was all for, and then I was quite willing to do what William -wanted. You see, we were being trained for the dog shows. I thought -that was very nice because it meant going on a journey, just as Father -and Mother had, and bringing back a lot of pretty ribbons. Father -said, though, that if I didn’t behave better than I’d been behaving I -wouldn’t get any ribbons. Father can be quite gruff at times. Freya was -so excited about it that she could talk of nothing else. - -“Won’t it be fine,” she would say, “to be in a show and have hundreds -of people admiring you and patting you and saying what a lovely dog you -are? I know I shall just love it, Fritz!” - -Girl-dogs are always vain, you see. Vanity is not becoming in dogs any -more than in Two-Legged Folks and so I growled and said: “I guess no -one will look twice at you, Miss Stuck-Up! You’re much too homely.” - -That made Freya cry and she ran off to ask her mother if it was so. -Of course she really wasn’t homely. I only said that so she wouldn’t -be vain and proud. Freya in some ways was a better looking dog than I -was. Her coat was what the Master called “perfectly wonderful.” It was -very black and very shiny; just like satin. And her ears were fine and -long and silky. And she had nice eyes, too, and a good tail. My tail -had a place on the tip where there was no hair. Poor William troubled -a lot about that spot and rubbed it with grease for weeks and weeks. -The grease didn’t seem to do much good, though. Perhaps I licked it -off too soon. That place never has got quite right and I don’t think -it ever will. But even if Freya was a little better looking than I, -she couldn’t run as fast or dig as deep or do useful things as well as -I could. I was lots stronger and bigger. Mother said that was as it -should be; that girl-dogs were not supposed to be as big and brave and -strong as boy-dogs. - -Well, William taught us all sorts of things that Spring. It was a good -deal of a bother, but the thought of being taken to the dog show helped -me to be patient and go through with it. After we had been in training -for a month or more I asked Mother when the show was to be and she -said she didn’t know; that maybe it wouldn’t come for a long time. I -didn’t like that and I had made up my mind that there wasn’t any use in -going through with so many lessons if nothing was to come of it when, -one morning, the Master came down to the stable. - -“Well, how are they getting on, William?” he asked. - -“Fair, sir,” said William. “Freya takes to it like the lady she is, -sir, but Young Fritz is slower. He’s as stubborn as his father, sir.” - -Now I thought that very unkind of William after all the trouble I had -taken to please him, and just to show that my feelings were hurt I -sneaked off and got behind the flower-pots. But I could hear what they -were saying in the carriage room, and pretty soon the Master said: - -“Well, I think we’ll try them out at the Oak Cliff Show in June. It’s -nearby and there’s only one day of it. They’re bound to be nervous the -first time and a small show is a good one to start them with.” - -I pricked up my ears at that, because it was already the last of May, -and crawled out from back of the flower-pots. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A VISIT TO JACK - - -“Freya won’t mind it a bit, sir,” William was saying. “She’s the sort -that loves a bit of fuss and excitement. She’ll show well, she will, -sir.” - -William always thought whatever Freya did was all right. I made up my -mind to show them that I could behave just as well as she could, and so -I went back to the carriage room. - -“Well, let me see how they act,” said the Master. - -So William snapped the leash on my collar and walked me slowly around -in a circle several times. Then he stopped and I stopped and stood -quite still. Then he led me to the box and said “Up, boy!” and I jumped -up on the box and stood there very straight, with my head up and my -body stretched as long as I could stretch it. Then William took hold -of my tail and lifted my back legs up by it, and felt me all over and -opened my mouth and looked at my teeth and went through with all the -things he always did when I was on the box. And finally he said “All -right, boy!” and I jumped down and looked at the Master and wagged my -tail. I could see at once that he was very pleased. - -“Why, there’s nothing wrong with him, William!” said the Master. “I -never saw a dog have any better ring manners than that.” - -William scratched his head and shook it and looked at me in a puzzled -way. “Well, sir,” he said at last, “I never knew him to do it like that -before. Seems as if he was sort of showing off, don’t it, sir?” - -“Why, yes,” laughed the Master, “and that’s what we want him to do!” - -Then Freya went through with it and didn’t do as well as I had because -she kept wiggling all the time, wanting the Master to speak to her and -pet her. Girl-dogs are silly that way. There’s a time for everything, -but they don’t understand it. They always want to play when it’s time -to work, which is quite wrong. Well, the Master was much pleased with -both of us and said that we’d surely be shown at the Oak Cliff Show -next month, and that he’d send in the entries at once. I ran off to -tell Mother about it and she was pleased too. - -“You must be a very good dog,” she said, “and do just as William tells -you to. And when you get to the show you must mind your own affairs and -pay no attention to other dogs or to people. I don’t think your father -or I will be there, so you must look after yourself and Freya.” - -I was sorry Father and Mother were not going, but I was quite excited -at the thought of Freya and I going alone, and I hunted up Freya to -tell her. When I found her she was looking very sad and I asked her -what the matter was. - -“I have a pimple,” she whined. “William just found it. He says if I -don’t get rid of it before the show I won’t get a prize.” - -And she absolutely began to cry! Aren’t girl-dogs funny? I looked at -the pimple and it was so small I couldn’t see it at first. It wasn’t -worth bothering about. I’d had them five times as large as hers. Why, -the time I ate the crow that I found in the truck garden I had dozens -of great huge ones! And William put some smelly stuff on them and -gave me a dose of nasty medicine and they went right away again. So I -laughed at Freya and she stopped crying, and after William had rubbed -something on the pimple I told her what Mother had said. I thought she -would be quite pleased about it, but she wasn’t. You never can tell -what a girl-dog will do! - -“Oh,” said Freya, “I should be frightened to death to go away without -Father and Mother! I just couldn’t do it!” - -“Well,” I said, “you’ll just have to. Besides, William will be there -and maybe the Master, too.” - -“But it isn’t the same as having your own parents,” said Freya, looking -teary again. “Suppose――suppose anything happened to us!” - -“What could happen?” I asked. “Besides, _I’m_ going to be there!” - -That ought to have satisfied her, I thought, but it didn’t, and she -went running off to tell Mother how frightened she was. That was too -much for me and I trotted over to call on Jack and tell him the news. - -I found him in the back yard eating a fine big veal bone. “Hello, -Fritz,” he said, pushing the bone to me. “Want to chew on that? It -isn’t half bad. I’m afraid I’ve eaten the best of it, though.” - -It was very nice and sweet, that bone, and I settled down to enjoy it, -and between crunches I told him about Freya and I going alone to the -dog show. He didn’t seem to think it was so grand, though. He kind of -turned up his lip at it. - -“The Oak Cliff Show?” he said. “Oh, that’s just a small affair, a -one-day show, managed by the women folks. It’s pretty good fun, of -course, but even if you do bring back some ribbons they don’t amount to -much.” - -I guess he saw that I was disappointed, because he went on: “Not that -it isn’t worth while, of course. I used to go to it when I was a little -fellow. You’ll like it and I dare say Freya will get a ‘blue.’ You too, -maybe. A ‘red,’ anyhow. I have five or six ‘blues’ that I got there.” -He yawned. “When is it to be?” - -“Some time in June,” I said. - -“Of course; it always is in June. I meant what day?” - -I couldn’t tell him that, though. - -“Well, you’ll have a good time. Don’t let folks handle you too much, -Fritz. It upsets you and you don’t do so well in the ring. And don’t -pay any attention to the judges. Act as if you didn’t see them. When I -was a puppy I was too friendly and bit one of the judges on the nose -when he was bending over me. I just did it in play, but I guess I bit -too hard, because he made a great to-do about it and sent me right out -of the ring and I didn’t even get a mention.” - -“I suppose,” I said, “a great many dogs go to it?” - -“Oh, about a hundred, I think. You’ll meet all kinds. Don’t have much -to do with them. Some of them are no-account dogs. It takes all sorts -of dogs to make a world, you know.” - -“A hundred!” I said. “My, but that’s a lot of dogs, isn’t it? I didn’t -know there were so many in the world, Jack!” - -Jack laughed. “A hundred’s nothing,” he said. “In the New York show -I’ve seen nearly five hundred! That’s a show that is a show, Fritz! -Maybe if you do pretty well at Oak Cliff the Master will send you there -next winter.” - -“I wish he would,” I answered. “It must be fine.” - -Jack yawned again. “It’s rather good fun until you get used to it,” he -said. “Going? Well, come again. I’ll drop over and see you before the -show.” - -So I thanked him for the loan of his bone and trotted home. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE TURTLE - - -A week before we were to go to Oak Cliff William began to groom us -every morning and evening. We were rubbed all over with a cloth that -was wet with something that smelled good and left our coats smooth and -glossy. We were brushed, too, and our claws were cut and our teeth were -cleaned and he even washed our ears! I stood everything very well but -that. I do hate to have my ears washed. Don’t you? - -As for that bare spot on the end of my tail, poor William worked and -worked and fussed and fussed and worried and worried over that. “I’m -thinking,” he told me once, “that it would be fine if you’d wag your -tail hard when the judge is looking at you and maybe he won’t see where -the hair’s off!” I suspected that William put some sort of medicine -in our food those days. I couldn’t find it, but there was a little -different taste to things. I think that is a very mean thing to do to -a dog. Poor Freya had a hard time getting enough to eat that week, -because William said she was a little too fat and so he only gave her -about half what he usually did. Sometimes, if I wasn’t awfully hungry -and William wasn’t looking, I’d leave a little in my dish and let her -finish it. - -Of course all the attention we had took a lot of time and it was hard -to stay quiet so long. But I went through with it as best I could -because I knew that the nicer I looked at the show the more likely I -was to get a pretty ribbon. The worst of it was that after William had -groomed us we were supposed to be very good and keep ourselves clean. -That wasn’t much trouble for Freya. She liked being fussed over and I -think she was glad of an excuse to be lazy and lie around in the sun -and not go hunting. But it wasn’t so easy for me, and try as hard -as I might I seemed to be always getting into scrapes. Like the time I -caught the turtle. - -William had just fixed me all up until I felt much too clean for -comfort and told me to be good and not get dirty. I really meant to -obey him, but I didn’t think it was much fun to just lie around the -stable and so I asked Freya to go for a run with me. She wouldn’t, -though. She said William wouldn’t like it if she did. So I went off -alone and wandered down into the meadow and chased grasshoppers for -awhile. There isn’t much fun in that, though. They’re not good to eat -when you catch them. So I went on down to the brook and presently I saw -the funniest looking thing you can imagine. When I told Mother about -it afterwards she said it was a turtle, but I didn’t know what it was -then because I had never seen one before. It lived in a shell that -was a sort of greenish-brown on top and yellow underneath. There were -two funny little paws on each side and a funny little tail behind and -a much funnier little head in front, and it was crawling along very -slowly toward the brook. I watched it a minute and then I ran up to it -and barked. Then it did the queerest thing! Instead of barking back or -saying “quack” like the ducks or “cluck” like the hens it just pulled -itself inside that shell until there wasn’t anything in sight but the -place it lived! - -[Illustration: I had never seen one before] - -I thought that was very impolite and so I turned it over with my nose -and barked again. But it wouldn’t come out. I barked at it a long time -but it did no good, and then I lay down a little ways off and watched. -Pretty soon the turtle thought I’d gone away and out came his head -very, very slowly and he looked around with two little glittering -yellow eyes. I think he was quite surprised to find himself on his -back. He looked surprised, anyway, and he worked his paws and tried to -turn himself over. Then he saw me, I guess, for he went back into his -house very quickly again. - -“You are a very stupid fellow,” I said, “whatever you are. Come on out -and play.” - -But he wouldn’t, and so pretty soon I went over to him and patted him -with my paw. That didn’t bring him out, either. I made up my mind then -that I’d take him home to Mother and ask her what he was. So I just -picked him up in my mouth, house and all, and started along the brook -with him. I had gone just a little ways when I felt a sharp pain in my -lip, and I looked and that turtle had put his head out and was biting -me! You may believe that I let go of him pretty quick! But he wouldn’t -let go of me. He hung right on to my lip and swung there. I pawed at -him and rubbed my head on the ground and howled, but it did no good. -That turtle held on tight. By that time he was hurting a lot and I -began to yelp and roll around and shake my head and do everything I -could think of to get rid of him. And in the middle of it I slipped -over the side of the bank and rolled down into the brook on my back! - -After that I don’t remember just what did happen for a minute or two. -I know that the turtle was still there and that I stuck my head into -the mud and rolled over and over in the water and had an awful time -and almost drowned myself before that horrid turtle finally let go of -me. When I crawled out I was covered with mud and water and my lip was -bleeding and I was shaking all over. I laid down for a while on the -bank to get my breath and then I went back to the stable, hoping I -could get behind the flower-pots before William saw me. But I didn’t. -He was washing a carriage, and Father was helping him, when I got -there, and he saw me before I could get by. My, but he was angry! -He just took hold of me by the neck and held me with one hand and -turned the hose on me with the other. Being washed with a hose is very -unpleasant. The water gets in your eyes and mouth and ears. I had a -very bad time of it. William scolded and scolded until he saw the place -on my lip where the turtle had bitten me. Then he was sorry for me and -dried me with a big chamois-skin and put some salve on the wound and it -felt better. And I crawled behind the flower-pots and went to sleep. - -Turtles and toads and ducks and bees are not good for dogs. They don’t -play fair. It’s funny the lot of trouble I got into down by that brook. -There was the time the duck “quacked” at me and I fell into the mud and -the time the toad poisoned my mouth and the time the turtle bit me. You -would think that I’d have learned to stay away from the brook, but I -never did. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -AT THE DOG SHOW - - -We started out, William and Freya and I, very early one morning for the -dog show. I think it was a Saturday. Anyhow, I remember that we had -liver for breakfast the next day, and we usually had liver on Sundays. -Freya and I were put in the dog crate and the crate was put in the -little wagon and William drove. The Master, the Mistress and the Baby -went in the carriage. Father and Mother were left at home. Father made -quite a fuss about it and climbed into the wagon twice and had to be -put out, but Mother just told us to be good children and not get into -trouble and went back and laid down in the stable doorway. - -Freya was so excited that she couldn’t keep still. I was excited, too, -but I didn’t show it. I just laid down on the bottom of the crate and -peeked out between the slats and tried to see the world. It was hard -work, though, because the slats were very close together and the wagon -bumped a good deal. After a while the wagon slowed down and we heard a -lot of barking and knew that we were almost there. When William lifted -the crate down and opened it the Master looked in and said “Hello, you -rascals! Have a good trip?” Freya and I licked his hand and he put -chains on our collars and we jumped out. - -[Illustration: At the dog show] - -I was a little frightened at first. Never had I seen so many people -or heard so many dogs. And as for carriages and automobiles, why, I -suppose there must have been hundreds! Folks were walking around over -the grass and dogs were being taken out of hampers and crates and it -was a strange and wonderful scene. In front of us was a monstrous big -tent, oh, quite the largest tent you can possibly imagine! And from the -tent came such a barking and yelping as I’d never heard. Freya tugged -at her chain and seemed very anxious to get to it, but I held back and -sort of wished myself back home. But just then the Mistress and the -Baby came up with some other folks, and the Baby put her arms around my -neck and said I was her “booful dogums” and I felt braver. So we all -went into the tent. - -It was full of platforms, or “benches” as they called them, which were -open in front and closed at back and divided into little pens by wire -screens. William led us to one of the pens and as we went all the dogs -who saw us barked and yelped and said things to us and made a frightful -noise. We jumped up on the bench and William tied our chains to rings -in the back of the pen. There were two pieces of paper with numbers on -them tacked there, and the Master tied tags to our collars, and the -tags had the same numbers that were on the back of the pen. Mine was 86 -and Freya’s was 87. William brought a big armful of nice clean straw -and put it on the bottom of the pen and I got as far away into a corner -as I could and laid down and shivered a little. But Freya jumped and -tugged at her chain and barked and went on very rudely. William took a -piece of cloth and rubbed us hard with it and then he brought us some -water. - -While I was lying in the corner a dog in the next pen tried to put his -nose through the grating and I turned around quickly and nipped it. It -didn’t hurt him much, I guess, but he made an awful fuss about it and a -lady who was sitting on the edge of his pen scolded me and said I was a -horrid dog and that if I did that again she’d have me taken away. She -took that other dog in her arms and petted him and gave him something -to eat out of a little bag, and the dog whined and sniffled and acted -terribly silly. I made up my mind that if he put his nose into our pen -again I’d give him another nip. And just then he saw me looking over at -him and he winked at me, and I knew that he had been making all that -fuss so his Mistress would give him something out of the little bag! - -I asked him later on what it was she gave him and he said it was raw -meat. He said I didn’t hurt him much but he wanted the meat. He was the -same kind of a dog as I, only he was all brown and very fat. We got to -be very good friends later. His name was Sigismund. He told me that his -Mistress took him to all the shows but he never got a prize but once -and then there were only two other dachshunds there. He said he didn’t -mind not getting prizes, but that his Mistress always felt very badly -about it and was quite cross to the judges. - -“She thinks I’m a very fine dog,” he said, “but I’m not, you know. You -can see yourself that I’m too short in the body and too high at the -back. Besides, my teeth are bad. That comes from too much meat. It’s -all rather tiresome, this sort of thing, but she likes it and I put up -with it. Who is the dog with you?” - -I told him she was my sister and he said she was very pretty and he -guessed she’d get a blue ribbon. All this was later in the day, though, -after I’d got sort of used to the noise and all the people. They kept -walking around and walking around until it made my head spin to see -them. I did wish they’d sit down somewhere or go away. They’d stop in -front of us and say the rudest things! Why, one lady looked at us and -said “Did you ever see such funny things, Tom? The idea of any one -thinking them nice!” Freya let folks pat her but I didn’t. I growled. - -Across the aisle from us were a lot of big, long-haired dogs with -pointed noses. I heard William say they were collies. They did nothing -but bark all the time. They were the most excited dogs I ever saw. -Further along were some fox terriers, and besides those there were all -kinds of other dogs whose names I didn’t know. - -All the time dogs were going by on chains, and Sigismund said they were -going to the judging pen. I couldn’t see the judging pen but I could -hear people clapping their hands, and every little while a dog would -pass us with a blue or a red or a yellow ribbon on his collar which -the judges had given him. And if it was a blue ribbon he would look -very, very proud, and if it was another coloured ribbon he looked just -a little bit proud. I asked Sigismund if it was very hard being judged -and he said it wasn’t and that he usually took a nap while it was going -on. - -It got very warm in the tent after a while and William gave us some -fresh water and a piece of biscuit, which was all we had for dinner. -Pretty soon after that a man in overalls went around saying: “Class -49, Dachshunds! All entries to the judging pen!” Then William made us -jump down and he and the Master led us to where there was a square -pen fenced off with boards. All around it on the outside were people -looking over the top of the fence. Inside there were many dachshunds -when we got there and more followed us through the gate. Sigismund was -there, too, with his mistress. He winked at me and then closed his eyes -and looked exactly as if he was going to sleep! - -Presently we all began to walk around in a circle at the end of our -chains while two men stood in the centre of the pen and watched us. -Then we stopped walking and the two men came and looked us all over, -and one by one we stood on a little platform in the centre and the two -judges felt of us and pulled us and looked into our mouths and made -me very nervous. But when my time came I remembered what William had -taught me and what Mother had said and stood very quiet and held my -head up and stretched my legs out. It really wasn’t bad at all because -the man who judged me was very gentle and I didn’t mind what he did. - -After me three other dogs went on the box and were judged. And then the -two judges talked together a minute and went over to a little table in -one corner and picked up some ribbons and came back. I wondered whether -they would give one of them to William, and they did, but it was a red -ribbon and William didn’t look very pleased even if he did say “Thank -you” quite nicely. A very handsome dog named Champion Hillside Carl got -the blue ribbon, which was the first prize. I was sorry I had got only -the second prize because William looked so disappointed. - -Then it was Freya’s turn to try and she and five other girl-dogs were -put on the box one after the other, and Freya looked so pretty that the -people watching over the fence clapped their hands. That pleased Freya -and she wagged her tail and smiled at the judge and he patted her head. -And when it was all over the judge walked right up to the Master and -gave him the blue ribbon, and every one clapped some more and all the -dogs barked. William didn’t feel so badly after Freya had got the first -prize. - -I thought then that we would be led back to our bench, but it seemed -that we were to try for other prizes first. There were prizes for what -they called “novices,” which were dogs who had never been in a show -before. There was a prize for boy novices and one for girl novices, -and Freya and I each won a first, and by that time William was all -smiles. Then Freya and I were judged as a pair and we each got a second -prize. The first prize went to Champion Hillside Carl and a girl-dog -who was quite good-looking but not nearly so pretty as Freya. - -Then we went back to the bench and William and the Master said how -well we had done and how nicely we had behaved in the pen. Besides the -lovely ribbons, which had gold letters on them and which William at -once hung up at the back of the bench, we had won money. Freya had won -eleven dollars and I had won nine. The Master said we should each have -a fine new collar. I wanted to wear my ribbons, but William wouldn’t -let me. Sigismund had not won anything at all and I was very sorry for -him, and told him so. But he only laughed. - -“I didn’t expect to,” he said. “I never do. For my part I’d much -rather stay at home, but my Mistress likes this sort of thing. She -told the judges that they didn’t know their business. She always tells -them that. You did very well, you and your sister both. You’d have got -that other blue if that Hillside Carl dog hadn’t been there. He’s been -winning first prizes for two years now. I meet him everywhere I go. -He’s an awfully stuck-up chap.” He yawned and stretched himself. “Well, -it’s about over now and I shall be glad to get home again.” - -I curled up and took a little nap and when I awoke William was taking -the ribbons down and it was time to go home. We jumped back in the -crate and pretty soon we were bumping along the road once more. Freya -was still too excited to keep still, but I managed to get a few more -winks of sleep on the way back. When we reached the stable Father and -Mother were waiting for us and maybe they weren’t pleased when we told -them about the prizes! Mother jumped around and licked our faces and -barked. Father didn’t say much, but I could see that he was every bit -as glad as Mother. When I told him about Champion Hillside Carl he sort -of growled. - -“Humph,” he said, “was that dog there to-day? I’ve beaten Carl twice -and I could have done it again. He isn’t so fine. His ears are too -short, and he is deaf in the left one. Only the judges are too stupid -to find it out! I wish _I’d_ been there!” - -We had a supper of broth and bread and went to sleep early, being -pretty well tired out. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE STRANGE MAN - - -There were no more dog shows for us that summer, although Father and -Mother went to one in August and Father came back with three blue -ribbons and Mother with a blue and two reds. Father had beaten Champion -Hillside Carl quite easily and was very proud for several days and -Mother trotted her feet off finding bones for him. - -It was just after the show that Alfred and his mother came to visit -us again, and I was awfully glad to see him. He had grown a good deal -since the summer before. But then I had grown too and he said he would -scarcely have known me! I don’t know which of us was gladder to see -him, the Baby or I. We had some fine times in the next two weeks. We -hunted squirrels in the orchard and had picnics in the woods and played -all sorts of games. But we didn’t look for Indians in the swamp, I can -tell you! - -Alfred liked me best of all the dogs and one evening he came down to -the Kennel after it was dark and carried me to the house and took me to -bed with him and I slept there all night curled up in his arms. In the -morning we had a fine romp when we woke up, but I guess we must have -made too much noise, for Nurse heard us and came in and said, “Why, -Master Alfred, wherever did you get that dog? Put him right off the bed -this very instant!” - -[Illustration: Alfred took me to bed with him] - -Nurse had left the door open and so I ran out as hard as I could and -down the stairs. It wasn’t my fault that Delia was coming up just then -with a tray of toast and coffee for Alfred’s mother, was it? Besides, -she might have seen me if she had been looking. She didn’t, though, and -I was in a great hurry and tried to run between her feet. I was almost -at the bottom of the stairs when I heard the tray fall, and a piece of -toast came rolling down after me. I thought it best not to stop for -it, however, although I am very fond of buttered toast. Fortunately, -William was shining the brass knocker on the front door and I was able -to get out without more trouble. - -I went right down to the stable and got behind the flower-pots and -stayed there until the middle of the forenoon, but nothing happened, -and so, when I heard Alfred whistling, I came out. William was there, -too, and when I saw him I laid down on my back and put my feet up. But -he only laughed. - -“Don’t be letting Delia get hold of you to-day,” he said. “Keep away -from the kitchen, Fritzie, my boy.” - -And then he and Alfred both looked at each other and laughed again, and -Alfred and I found the Baby and Freya and went down to the brook and -waded. When I saw Delia she had a piece of white cloth tied around her -head. I don’t know why she did it, because it didn’t make her look any -prettier. - -After that Alfred took me to bed with him several times and I liked it -a lot. And Nurse didn’t say a thing when she found me there. Delia and -I made it up and were good friends again in a day or two. And then it -came time for Alfred to go back to the city and I felt very sad and -lonesome. So did the Baby, and she and I used to sit together in the -hammock on the piazza and talk about Alfred and wish him back again. I -was a great comfort to the Baby, I’m sure. - -I was a year and a half old that Autumn, which, for a dog, is quite -grown-up, you know. When I did anything silly Mother would say: -“Remember, Fritz, you are no longer a puppy.” It was hard to do that, -though, and I was just as fond of play as ever. But, of course, I -had grown much more sensible and wise. Experience is a great teacher. -I heard Father say that once, and I guess it must be so. I didn’t get -into scrapes any more; at least, not many. I did dig a hole under the -stable one day and then couldn’t get out again until William had taken -some of the stones out of the wall. But that was because I didn’t know -that the ground under the stable was so much lower than it was outside. -It was rather a jolly place down there and I think there were rats -there, but I was too frightened when I found I couldn’t get out again -to do any hunting. And after that William put a stone where I’d gone in -and I was never able to get back to make sure. - -And then there was another scrape, too, which was quite the worst I -ever got into. I shall not forget that very soon, I can tell you! It -happened that October and this was the way of it. - -Freya cared less for hunting and running around than ever that Fall and -so I used to go about a good deal alone. Sometimes Father would take -me to look for foxes, but that wasn’t very often, and we never found -any. And sometimes Jack and I would go for a run together. It wasn’t -much fun for him, though, because my legs were so short that he had -to wait for me to catch up to him every little while. So very often -I went alone. I didn’t mind. There is so much to see if you use your -eyes and so much to smell if you use your nose. And there are lots of -nice things to listen to, besides. Like the songs that the birds sing -and the whispers the breezes make in the trees and the chattering of -the squirrels and chipmunks and so many, many other sounds. There are -lots of wonderful and interesting things in the world, and a dog who is -treated kindly and has a nice home to live in has a very good time. The -nice home has a lot to do with a dog’s happiness, as I found out when -I didn’t have one. - -One nice sunny day, when the leaves on the trees were all yellow and -red and were fluttering down, I found myself on the road that passes -our gate. I had been chasing a chipmunk. He ran along on top of the -wall and the fence, making a funny little squeaky noise, and every -time I got near him he would give a long jump and get away again. And -sometimes he would run down to the ground and hide and I’d have to -hunt him out. When I lost him finally in a hole that went down under -the stone wall I was nearly half a mile from home and there was a man -walking toward me along the road. - -He didn’t look quite like a nice man and I started to trot away from -him. But he called to me in a kind voice and so I stopped and looked -back. And when I looked he stooped and held something toward me in his -hand and it had a very good smell. William doesn’t give us raw meat -except once in a great while when we aren’t feeling very well, but -I knew the smell of it and I knew that it was raw meat that the man -wanted to give me. I was hungry and so I thought it over and decided -that if he really didn’t want the meat himself I might as well have it. - -But I was a little bit afraid and didn’t go right up to him. He tossed -a piece toward me and I went back and got it and it surely tasted -awfully nice. Then he tossed me another piece and I ate that, and -almost before I knew it I was eating the rest of the meat out of his -hand and he was patting me and saying “Good dog.” And then he slipped -a piece of string through the new collar that the Master had bought -me with the money I had won at the dog show and when I tried to turn -around and go home he wouldn’t let me! Instead of that he pulled me -down the road right in the opposite direction. At first I went along -without any fuss, but when we got farther and farther away I began to -pull back and whine. Then he got very angry with me and when he saw I -would not go unless he pulled me he called me names and kicked me! - -I had never been kicked before and it frightened me even more than it -hurt, and it hurt a good deal. I yelped and tried to run away then, -but the string held me, and every time I sat down and wouldn’t walk he -kicked me with his boot. I soon saw that if I didn’t want to be kicked -I must go with him, and so I went. But I was awfully frightened and I -wanted to bite him but didn’t dare to. Pretty soon we came to a cross -road which was winding and narrow and we turned into that and walked -and walked for the longest way before we came to a house. It was a very -small house and it needed paint and the yard in front was dirty and -untidy. And when we went through the gate a horrid ugly big bulldog -came running toward us, barking and growling. But the man kicked him -too, and the bulldog howled and ran into a shed near the house. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -HOW I WAS STOLEN - - -The man took me into the house, which was just as dirty and untidy as -the yard and smelt badly, and tied the string to the leg of a table -there. He went into another room for a few minutes and I sat there -and shivered until he came back. Then he took off my nice new collar, -with its silver name-plate and silver buckle, and slipped a horrid old -leather strap around my neck. He read what it said on the name-plate -and then tossed the collar aside. - -“You ought to fetch a good price, old boy, if they give you a collar -like that,” he said. “Come on now.” - -So he led me outdoors again and across to the shed where the bulldog -was. When the bulldog saw the man come in he howled and ran out -quickly. There were some boxes in one corner of the shed that had bars -in front of them and I was put into one of these. Then the man went out -and closed the door behind him. - -It was quite dark in there, and cold and damp too, and there was -nothing in the box to lie on, and I was very unhappy. I sat and -shivered and whimpered for a long time, and it got darker and darker. -No one came to see me. I heard the bulldog prowling about outside and -sniffing at the door and I heard the man whistle to him once. Then it -got quite dark and after a while I cried myself to sleep. But I was too -cold to sleep soundly and I was very glad when the light began to come -back and I knew that it was morning again. - -The man brought me two or three bones without much meat on them and a -broken dish with some water in it. I didn’t care much for the bones, -but wanted the water a good deal. The man left the door open a little -when he went out and pretty soon the bulldog came sneaking in. - -“Well,” he said gruffly, “and where’d he pick you up?” - -I told him. - -“So you’re one of those pet dogs I’ve heard of,” he sneered. “Lie on a -cushion and eat cake, they tell me. Well, you won’t get any cake here. -Bones and kicks are all you’ll have now for a while. I know. I’ve lived -here four years. Pass out one of those bones. They’re mine by rights, -anyway.” - -I told him he could have them all and pushed them through the bars -where he could get them, and he seemed more good-natured after that. He -ate them just as though he was half-starved, and growled and growled -over them. He had very bad table manners. After he had chewed them -until there was nothing left on them he laid down and we talked. - -He wasn’t really a bad sort of dog at heart, only he had been treated -cruelly all his life, kicked and beaten and half-starved. Dogs, you -know, are very much like you Two-Legged Folks. Be gentle and kind to -us and we will be gentle and kind, too. Treat us crossly and we may -grow to be cross and snappy like you. You are the ones we serve, and -so it is not strange that we should learn our manners from you. Poor -Jim――for that was the bulldog’s name――had had only blows and ugly words -ever since he was a puppy and he didn’t know what it was to be well-fed -and petted and looked after. He had heard of dogs who had nice homes -and kind masters and he pretended to make fun of them and called them -“pets,” but I knew very well that he envied them all the time. - -[Illustration: “Jim”] - -I asked him what his master would do with me and why he had taken me -from my home, and he said that I would be taken to the City and sold. -“You’re not the first dog who has been here,” he said. “Every month or -so he brings one home with him. I’ve met a lot of them in my time.” - -“But he has no right to do that,” I said. “If I did a thing like that -William would say I was stealing.” - -“Of course,” said Jim. “He’s a thief. He makes his living by it. He -will get twenty or thirty dollars for you, perhaps. He would have sold -me long ago if I had been worth selling. Besides, he needs me here to -keep people away.” - -“Did――did he steal you, too?” I asked him. - -“I don’t know. I suppose so. I’ve been here ever since I can remember. -Probably he stole me when I was a very little puppy. Sometimes I’ve -thought I’d run away, but I never have. I’m afraid to. I’m such an ugly -looking dog that no one would want me, I guess. So I just stay here and -take what comes. I wouldn’t mind what he did if he would only give me -a kind word once in a while.” - -Just then there was a noise outside and Jim sprang up with a growl and -went to the door. - -“Some one coming along the lane in a carriage,” he said. “I must be -off.” - -He went out and in a moment I heard him begin to bark loudly. Then his -master spoke to him and he was still and I heard another voice that I -knew. - -“Hello,” said William. “Seen a stray dachshund around here?” - -“What might that be?” asked the man. - -“A black dog with tan markings; long body and short legs,” answered -William. - -“No, I ain’t seen any dog except this one here. Want to buy him?” - -What William said to that I don’t know, because I began to bark as -loudly as I could. But as soon as I barked Jim barked too and barked a -lot louder than I could, and I suppose William couldn’t hear me at all. -At any rate, when I stopped a moment to listen all I could hear was -the sound of the buggy rattling off down the road. I felt very sorry -for myself then and I laid down in a corner of the box and whined and -whimpered as though my heart was broken. After a while Jim came back. - -I think he pitied me a little. “I’m sorry I had to do it,” he said. “If -I hadn’t he’d have beaten me, you know.” - -“You could have run away for awhile,” I whimpered. - -“I’ve tried that. It doesn’t do. He doesn’t forget. When I come back I -get the beating just the same. Cheer up, Fritz. Maybe you’ll have luck -and find a nicer home than the one you had.” - -“It couldn’t be nicer,” I said, “and even if it was I wouldn’t like it. -I want to go home!” - -“Where is this home of yours?” he asked. - -So I told him, and told him all about William and the Master and the -Mistress and the Baby and my parents and Freya and everything. It made -me cry some more, but I liked to talk about the folks I had lost and -Jim listened very politely and seemed interested. - -“That must be fine,” he sighed. “You say they fed you twice a day, -regular?” - -“Yes.” - -“Think of that!” he said. “You aren’t making it up, are you?” - -“Of course not!” - -“I didn’t know,” he said. “I’ve heard of such things, but I never -really believed them. Say, if I could help you get away I would, -honest, Fritz! But it’s no use. There isn’t anything I can do.” - -We talked over two or three plans, but there didn’t seem to be any way -out of it. When it was getting dark again the man came in and took me -out of the box and led me into the house. As soon as he let go of the -string I made for the door, but he caught me and cuffed me and closed -the door tightly. Then he took a box and put me into it and nailed a -lid down on top of me. There were some little holes bored in the sides -of the box which barely let in enough air for me to breathe. Pretty -soon he took the box under his arm and set out with it. As we went out -of the yard Jim called “Good-bye, Fritz! Good luck!” But I was too -unhappy to reply. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -IN THE ANIMAL STORE - - -It was a long journey and I was terribly frightened. After the man had -walked a long way there was a lot of noise and then we were in a train, -only I didn’t know what it was at the time. The motion made me very -uncomfortable and I felt a little bit sick at my stomach. But I managed -to go to sleep presently, with my nose close up to one of the holes in -the box. - -The next thing I knew the box was being lifted up and then the man -carried me for awhile. It was very noisy where we went and it smelled -differently from any place I’d ever been. I guessed it was the City, -and I was right. When we reached the end of the journey the cover of -the box was taken off and I found myself in a little room with the -man who had stolen me and another man who looked very dirty and fat. -I could hear a lot of funny noises; dogs barking and cats meowing and -birds chirping. The man who had brought me there said: - -“Thirty dollars takes him, Bill, and not a cent less. He’s a -prize-winner, he is. Belongs to――” - -“I don’t want to hear who he belongs to,” said the other man. “You -bring him to me and say you want to sell him. That’s enough. If he -wasn’t your dog I wouldn’t be buying him. But twenty dollars is all I -can pay for him. There ain’t much call for dachshunds just now. They -ain’t in style.” - -So the two men talked and talked for a long time, the man who had -brought me saying he must have thirty dollars and the other man saying -he could only pay twenty. But after awhile they agreed on a price and -the new man gave the other some money and he went away. Then the new -man took me into another room that was filled with cages and put me -into one and gave me water and food. I was very thirsty and a little -bit hungry, but the place was so strange that I didn’t do more than -drink a little water at first. - -There were lots of dogs there in cages, some of them just little -puppies, and there were cats, too, cats with long hair and bushy -tails and cats with short hair, and one cat with no tail at all! And -there was a goat, too, and parrots and canaries and queer birds whose -names I didn’t know, and lizards and turtles and goldfish swimming -about in tanks of water. Oh, it was a funny, queer place, and as for -noise――well, I’d never heard anything like it! Even the dog show was -a quiet place compared to that store. People came in from the street -outside and stared at us through the bars of the cages and poked their -fingers at us and laughed when we were frightened, as I was, or when -we tried to lick their hands, as the puppies did. - -[Illustration: Oh, it was a funny, queer place] - -Right across the aisle from where I was there was a little cage made -mostly of glass and in it were some tiny white mice with funny pink -noses. Every little while one of the mice would come out of a loaf of -bread where they lived and get in the middle of the cage and go around -and around and around in a circle as fast as he could spin! I suppose -he was chasing his tail, just as I used to do when I was a puppy, but -he did it so fast that my eyes ached. Sometimes two of the mice would -spin at the same time and it made me dizzy to see them. - -Well, I stayed in that store for many days, just how many I don’t -remember. Several times folks asked about me; what my name was, how -old I was, had I any tricks, what my price was; and once I was nearly -bought by a very stout lady who had lots of rings on her fingers. But -I didn’t like her smell――you know we dogs judge folks a good deal by -their smell――and so I snapped at her when she went to stroke me and she -said right away that she wouldn’t take me. I thought that the man would -be very angry with me, but he wasn’t. He just chuckled as he put me -back in the cage. - -After that I made up my mind that I would have to stay right there in -that store all the rest of my days, for I had heard the man tell folks -that my price was fifty dollars, and fifty dollars seemed a great deal -of money and I didn’t believe that any one would ever give that much -for me. The man used to tell folks a great many fibs about me. He said -my name was Kaiser and that I was raised in Germany and had taken -twenty-four prizes at dog shows since I had been in this country. He -said I was just two years old and as sound as a whistle. He wasn’t far -wrong as to my age, and I was sound, but the rest of the things -he said were just plain fibs. I was sorry about the fibs, for he was -rather a nice man and treated us all quite kindly, and I was afraid -something dreadful would happen to him for telling stories. It is very -wrong to tell fibs, of course, and dogs never do it. - -I made several friendships at that store. There was Mouser, who lived -next cage to me. I never thought that I should like a cat, but I did. -He was a big grey cat and had the longest whiskers I ever saw. He and I -would put our heads through the bars and have fine long talks together. -He had seen a great deal of life and had always lived in the City. At -first he wouldn’t believe the things I told him about the country. He -took quite an interest in Ju-Ju and said he thought she was a very -lucky cat. Mouser didn’t know who his parents were or where he was -born. Isn’t that strange? Fancy not knowing your own father or mother! -I wouldn’t like that, would you? - -Mouser said that when he was a tiny little kitten he lived just -anywhere; under doorsteps and on roofs and in sheds; and all he had -to eat was what he could find in the gutters. I guess he had a pretty -hard time of it until a little girl picked him up one day and took him -home with her. After that he had a nice home for nearly a year. Then -the little girl’s family went away and closed the house up and Mouser -was put out into the street again to get along as best he could. It was -harder then than it was before, because he had got used to having his -food given to him and to having a nice warm place to sleep each night. -For awhile he almost starved, he said, and had to fight other cats, and -dogs, too, and even rats sometimes, to get anything to eat. He said he -stayed around the house he had been living in for a long time, hoping -the family would come back again and let him in, but they never did -and so finally he wandered away to another part of the town where there -were many more garbage barrels. He said he was like the cat in the -verse that the little girl used to recite to him. I asked him what the -verse was and he repeated it to me. This was it: - - Poor little Kitty-in-the-Street! - Ain’t got no thing to eat; - Ain’t got no garbage pails, - Ain’t got no fishes’ tails; - Poor little Kitty-in-the-Street - Ain’t got no thing to eat! - -I think it is quite a sad little verse, don’t you? - -One day when Mouser was prowling about looking for his dinner a man -with a net on the end of a pole came along and slipped the net over him -and took him off in a wagon to a place where there were lots and lots -of cats who had no homes, like Mouser. The next day a lady came looking -for a cat who would catch mice and a man whose place it was to find -homes for the cats said: - -“Got just what you want, Lady. Here’s a fine big fellow that’s a -regular mouser.” - -So the lady liked his looks and carried him to her home in a basket and -named him Mouser. Before that he had had another name, but he didn’t -remember what it was. He stayed with the lady for a long time and then -she, too, went away to live in a place where cats were not allowed and -so she brought Mouser to the animal dealer’s, and here he was looking -for a new home. I told him I didn’t think I would like having so many -homes, but he said you got used to it in time and that almost anything -was better than no home at all and being just a “Kitty-in-the-Street!” - -Then there was Prince. Prince was a funny, good-natured dog who lived -in a big cage across the aisle. He wasn’t any regular kind of dog, but -a little of every kind. He had a long brown coat and a shaggy tail and -a pointed nose and very yellow eyes. One of his ears stood up straight -and the other fell over just as if it was tired. But he was a real -nice, jolly fellow, and had the finest, deepest bark I ever heard. He -was just about my age and had been born in the country. One day he came -with his master to the city to sell a load of vegetables at the market -and another dog quarrelled with him and they had an awful fight and -the other dog bit him so that he had to run away. And when he stopped -running he was quite lost! He hunted around and at last he found the -market again, but his master had gone. So he stayed there for a long -time and the marketman gave him pieces of meat and he got along very -nicely. He thought that some day his master would come back again. And -perhaps he did, but Prince wasn’t there because one day a boy tied a -piece of rope about his neck and took him to the animal dealer’s and -sold him for fifty cents. - -He was quite happy and contented, though, and I liked him very much. -And I hope that he and Mouser each found a nice home. There was a -little white and tan dog whose name was Peaches――which is a funny name -for a dog, isn’t it?――and he lived in a cage next to Prince for awhile. -He was sold while I was there and taken away by a big man with a gruff -voice to hunt rats in a stable. Peaches was not a very gentlemanly dog, -but he was full of fun and we all liked him a lot. One of the funny -things he did was to stand on his front legs, with his hind legs in the -air, and walk around the cage. And while he did it he would say: - - “Mary had a little dog, - He was a noble pup; - He’d stand upon his front legs - When you held his hind legs up!” - -The parrots were noisy things. I don’t see why any one should want a -parrot around, do you? There was one that used to look at me by the -hour with his head on one side until I got quite nervous. When I barked -at him he would laugh and say “Here, Fido! Here, Fido! Good dog! Good -dog! Who killed the chicken?” I wished very much that I could have got -hold of that parrot and pulled some of his tail-feathers out! - -Well, I stayed in that store a long time, and I got so I didn’t mind -the noise much. We had plenty to eat and drink and once a day we were -taken into a tiny yard at the back to run around. Of course I wasn’t -happy, and I used to long for my home and Mother and Father and the -Baby and William and Freya and, most of all, I think, for Alfred. When -I got to thinking about them I felt very sad and would often cry myself -to sleep, just as I used to do behind the flower-pots. I tell you I -missed those flower-pots a great deal those days! I had quite given up -the hope of ever getting back to my home, or even getting away from -the animal store, when one day a wonderful thing happened, a thing so -wonderful that it deserves a chapter all to itself! - - - - -CHAPTER X - -BACK HOME AGAIN - - -I was having a little nap at the back of my cage when I heard a lady’s -voice say: “No, thank you, we are just looking about. My little boy -wants to see the dogs.” - -I pricked up my ears, for I seemed to know that voice, but I couldn’t -think whose it was. The lady was out of sight and I waited eagerly -for her to reach my cage. And while she was still at the front of the -store I heard another voice say, “Mother, do you suppose they have any -dachshunds?” and my heart just jumped right up into my throat. For the -voice was Alfred’s! I leaped against the bars and barked and barked, I -can tell you! And Alfred and his mother heard me and came to see what -all the noise meant. And when Alfred saw me he cried: - -“Oh, Mother, here’s a dear little dachshund! Oh, please may I have him?” - -“Why, I don’t know, dear,” said his mother. “He _is_ a nice looking -dog, isn’t he? Are you sure you want him?” - -“Oh, yes, yes!” said Alfred. “Really, I do, Mother! He looks so much -like Fritzie, doesn’t he? Don’t you think he does?” - -Alfred put his hand into the cage to pat my head and I licked it and -tried to reach his face with my tongue and whined and whined. And -Alfred’s eyes got rounder and rounder, and suddenly he cried very -loudly: - -“Oh, Mother, it _is_ Fritzie! It is! It is! He knows me, Mother!” - -And――oh, well, I don’t remember much about what happened after that -for a while! I know the man came and let me out of the cage and I -jumped and barked and whined and went on terribly silly, I guess. But -you didn’t mind, did you? And then, almost before I knew it, I was -snuggled up in――in Alfred’s arms in a carriage and we were rattling -over the cobblestones at a great rate. And Alfred was crying and -hugging me and his mother was smiling and crying a little too. I -wasn’t, though; not then; I was far too happy to cry! - -And then――but you know the rest of my story as well as I do. How the -Master came up to the City and took me home again and how glad I was -to see Mother and Father and Freya and every one else. And how William -blew his nose over and over again and seemed to have a very bad cold in -his head, and how the Baby said “Booful dogums!” and hugged me until I -had almost no breath left! But there was one thing I don’t think you -ever knew about fully, and that was how the brindle bulldog came to be -there. - -I had been home nearly an hour and was lying in the doorway talking to -Mother and Father and Freya, telling them all about what had happened -to me while I was away, when a brindled bulldog came trotting up the -road. He was a very ugly looking dog and when I saw him I growled. But -the others paid no attention to him. As he came nearer he reminded me -of some dog I had seen somewhere and so I asked who he was. - -“Oh,” said Mother, “that’s just Jim. He came here a month ago and -wouldn’t let William drive him away. So he lives here now. He’s a -very nice dog. Rather coarse in his ways and not much to look at, but -good-hearted and kind and a fine fellow to keep watch.” - -Then I remembered him. He was the dog who had belonged to the man who -had stolen me. Of course I ran right out and said “Bow!” to him and we -were very glad to see each other. He told me that after his master had -gone away to take me to the City he got to thinking about my home -and how fine it would be to live in such a place and have regular meals -and be spoken to kindly now and then and he had made up his mind to run -away and go there. You see, he thought that as the Family had lost me -maybe they’d like a dog to take my place. That was quite clever of Jim, -don’t you think? And so he left his home before his master came back -and trotted down the lane and into the big road and so up to the stable. - -At first Father tried to drive him away and there was quite a rumpus, -but Jim wouldn’t go. Then William tried to drive him away and got after -him with the carriage whip. (Of course William didn’t hurt him any, -because he never would hurt a dog more than was good for him.) And -still Jim wouldn’t go. So William felt sorry for him then and gave him -some food and Jim slept outside the stable that night. When William -found him there the next day he tried to drive him away again. But -Jim came right back and so William fixed him up a box in the yard and -ever since Jim had been one of the family. He told me that he was very -happy and that he had never had so much to eat in all his life! The -Master took a great fancy to Jim and Jim to the Master and they were -fine friends. Of course the Family didn’t know that his name was Jim, -because he never told them, and so they called him Tramp. - -It was awfully nice to be back home once more, I can tell you, and -Mother and Father and Freya were so glad to see me that they just -couldn’t do enough for me. Freya hung around so close that she got to -be rather a bother! She never got tired of hearing about the wonderful -things that had happened to me, and about Mouser and Prince and, -especially, about Peaches, the dog who stood on his front legs. Even -Ju-Ju seemed glad to have me back. I may be wrong about that, though. -Cats are queer animals and you can’t tell much about what they’re -thinking. - -But glad as I was to be back home I was a little sad all the time. I -missed Alfred a lot. And when, a few weeks later, the Family got ready -to go to the City for a visit and I learned that I was to go with them -I was awfully pleased because I thought that I should see Alfred again. -And I did, didn’t I? Do you remember when the Baby brought me in here -that morning and said: - -“Afed, here is Kismus present for oo, Mild’ed’s booful dogum!” - -You were almost as glad as I was, weren’t you? - -Well, there, that’s all my story. Next month we’re going back to see -them all, aren’t we? I shall like that. I suppose Freya is fatter than -ever now. She doesn’t hunt enough. I shall tell Mother so, too. - -Heigho! I think I’m getting sleepy. I have talked a great deal for a -dog, and this pillow is very comfy. If you will lean over I’d like to -lick your face. Then I shall take a nap. But don’t forget to call me -when you are ready to go to walk. There’s a squirrel in the Park――he -lives in the fourth tree after you go through the big gate――and he made -a face at me yesterday ... or was it the day before? Anyway, ... he -ought ... to be taught ... manners.... - -[Illustration: He lives in the fourth tree....] - - -THE END OF THE TAIL - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate. - - ――Printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently - corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY MY DOGGIE TOLD TO ME *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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-} - -.works { - font-size: .75em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Advertisement formatting. */ -.adauthor { - font-size: 1.25em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Hanging indent. */ -.hang { - text-indent: -2em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Story My Doggie Told to Me, by Ralph Henry Barbour</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Story My Doggie Told to Me</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Ralph Henry Barbour</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: John Rae</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 05, 2021 [eBook #65001]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY MY DOGGIE TOLD TO ME ***</div> - - -<div class="figcenter" id="cover"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" title="cover" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="noi halftitle">The Story My Doggie Told to Me</p> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis"> - <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_82">We had some fine times together!</a></p> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h1>The Story My Doggie<br /> -Told to Me</h1> - -<div class="pad2"> -<div class="logocenter" id="i_logo"> - <img src="images/i_logo.jpg" alt="logo" title="logo" /> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noic">By</p> - -<p class="noi author">Ralph Henry Barbour</p> - -<p class="noi works">Author of “The Crimson Sweater,” “The Half-Back,”<br /> -“Tom, Dick and Harriet,” etc.</p> - -<p class="p2 noic">With Illustrations by</p> - -<p class="noi illustrator">John Rae</p> - -<p class="p4 noi adauthor">New York<br /> -Dodd, Mead and Company<br /> -1914</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="noic"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1914,<br /> -By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY</span></p> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="noi author">TO GRETCHEN</p> - -<p class="noic">in the hope that she will<br /> -read it to her children and that they<br /> -may profit by its lessons, this<br /> -book is dedicated by<br /> -her Master</p> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<col style="width: 15%;" /> -<col style="width: 75%;" /> -<col style="width: 10%;" /> -<tr> - <td class="tdc author" colspan="3">PART ONE<br /> -<small><a href="#PART_ONE">WHEN I WAS A PUPPY</a></small></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <th class="smfontr">CHAPTER</th> - <th class="tdl"></th> - <th class="smfontr">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">I</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1I">Play Days</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">3</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">II</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1II">What We Learned</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">11</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">III</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1III">Puppy Troubles</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">18</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">IV</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1IV">When I Ate My Collar</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">25</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">V</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1V">How I Dug for a Badger</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">34</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VI</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1VI">The Frog Who was a Toad</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">43</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VII</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1VII">The Cross Duck</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">50</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VIII</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1VIII">The Old Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">61</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">IX</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_1IX">The Little Boy from the City</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">69</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt"> </td> - <td class="tdl"> </td> - <td class="tdrb"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdc author" colspan="3">PART TWO<br /> -<small><a href="#PART_TWO">WHEN I GREW UP</a></small></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">I</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2I">How We Went Hunting</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">87</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">II</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2II">How We Spent Christmas</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">98</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">III</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2III">More Lessons</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">106</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">IV</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2IV">A Visit to Jack</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">115</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">V</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2V">The Turtle</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">123</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VI</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2VI">At the Dog Show</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">130</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VII</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2VII">The Strange Man</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">143</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VIII</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2VIII">How I Was Stolen</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">153</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">IX</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2IX">In the Animal Store</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">162</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">X</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_2X">Back Home Again</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">175</td> -</tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> -<col style="width: 70%;" /> -<col style="width: 20%;" /> -<col style="width: 10%;" /> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_frontis">We had some fine times together</a></td> - <td class="tdrb" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_012">She used to think they were to chase</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">12</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_013">... And thought now they were just to -look at</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">” </td> - <td class="tdrb">13</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_014fp">Most of the batter went on Freya</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Facing Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">14</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_020fp">He had to help William do all sorts -of things</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">” ” </td> - <td class="tdrb">20</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_030fp">We learned to stand on our hind legs -and beg</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">” ” </td> - <td class="tdrb">30</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_042">He was what the Family called a “bird -dog”</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">42</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_052fp">All of a sudden I backed right over -the side of the bank into the brook</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Facing Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">52</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_105">I chewed that rubber cat until it -stopped squeaking and then tried the duck</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">105</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_124fp">I had never seen one before</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Facing Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">124</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_142">At the dog show</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">142</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_146fp">Alfred took me to bed with him</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Facing Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">146</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_161">Jim</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">161</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_166fp">Oh, it was a funny, queer place</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Facing Page</i></td> - <td class="tdrb">166</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_178fp">He lives in the fourth tree</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">” ” </td> - <td class="tdrb">178</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_ONE">PART ONE<br /> -WHEN I WAS A PUPPY</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span></p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<small>PLAY DAYS</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>Bow!</p> - -<p>I always begin a story that way. It is -what you Two-Legged Folks call “making -your bow.” With us dogs it means “Hello” -and “How do you do” and “Good morning” -and—and lots of other things too. And -sometimes it means “Look out!” You see, we -have so many ways of saying it!</p> - -<p>Perhaps some day I’ll tell you how to know -just what we mean when we say “Bow!”—like -that—sort of quick and friendly; and -what we mean when we say it slow and gruff, -way down in our throats.</p> - -<p>And then there’s “Wow!” too. “Wow” is -different from “Bow.” And “Bow-wow” is -still different. But this isn’t telling my story, -is it?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span></p> - -<p>Of course, you haven’t said you wanted me -to tell you my story, but I’m almost sure you -do. I think you’ll like it, because I am a very -good story-teller—for a dog. And, although -I am not quite three years old, I have seen a -lot of things in my day.</p> - -<p>You won’t mind if I wag my tail now and -then, will you? It is very hard for a dog to -tell a tale without wagging. Some folks say -a dog talks with his tail. He doesn’t though; -not really. He just uses his tail the way you -Two-Legged Folks use your hands, to make -others understand better what you are saying.</p> - -<p>When you tell a story you should always -start right at the very beginning, and that is -what I am going to do.</p> - -<p>The first thing I remember was when I was -about two weeks old. I’m sure you can’t remember -when you were two weeks old. I -think that is very clever of me, don’t you? It -shows what a fine memory I have. I was lying<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -in a sort of cage made of criss-cross wires. -There was sawdust on the floor. There were -four of us in all, for I had two sisters and one -brother. My mother’s name was Gretchen -and my father’s name was Fritz. I am -named after my father. He had two or three -other names besides, but they’re very hard to -say, being German. You see my father and -mother were both born in Germany and -brought to this country when they were very -young, and so, of course, they spoke German -very nicely. But they never taught it to me. -I suppose there wasn’t time. There are so -many, many things a puppy has to learn. I -didn’t see much of my father when I was a -tiny puppy. Sometimes he came to the cage -where we lived and licked our noses through -the wires, but he was a very busy dog and -had lots of things to attend to.</p> - -<p>My mother was very beautiful, with the -loveliest soft brown eyes and the longest, silkiest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -ears and quite the crookedest front legs you -ever saw. (You see, in my family crooked -front legs are much admired.) We all loved -her very dearly, but I am afraid we caused her -a lot of trouble. But she was very fond of us -and very proud of us. Sometimes I wished -she wasn’t so careful about keeping us clean, -for lots of times when I wanted to play with -my brother and sisters I couldn’t because she -had to wash me all over. You see, puppies -don’t like being washed much more than you -do; and I heard you making an awful fuss this -morning!</p> - -<p>We lived very happily in the cage for several -weeks. We ate and slept and played, but -most of all we ate and slept. At first it must -have been funny to see us trying to walk, for -our legs were so weak that they just sprawled -out under us when we wanted to use them. -But it wasn’t long before we could run and -jump as much as we pleased. I was the biggest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -and the strongest of us all, and I think -my mother was every bit as fond of me as -she was of my two sisters and my brother, but -it <em>did</em> seem to me as if I got most of the punishment. -Maybe I was the naughtiest one, too!</p> - -<p>As we grew older and stronger our mother -used to leave us alone for a little while every -day, and we didn’t like that at all at first. We -used to whine and cry and feel very lonesome -until she came back. But she always <em>did</em> come -back, and pretty soon we got to know that she -would, and so we didn’t mind so much. We -had some lovely frolics, we puppies. We used -to make believe that we were very cross, and -tumble each other over in the sawdust and bite -each other’s ears and legs and growl such funny -little growls!</p> - -<p>A man named William looked after us. He -wore leather gaiters. They tasted very well. -Mother said he was a coachman. He was very -kind to us and brought us things to eat and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -water to drink and petted us a lot. Then there -was another man who only came to see us a few -times. We didn’t like him so well. He was -a Doctor and smelled of medicine. He came -to see us once when my sister Freya was sick -and once when I had an awful pain in my insides. -That was later, though, after we were -out of the cage and running around in the -yard. It was when I ate the harness soap. -Mother told me afterwards that it was a mistake -to eat any kind of soap. I think she was -right.</p> - -<p>Then, of course, there was the Master, and -the Mistress, and, best of all, the Baby. She -wasn’t exactly a baby, because she was almost -two years old, but every one called her the -Baby. We all loved her very much. She -used to take us up one by one and kiss us on -our noses and call us “Booful dogums” and -hug us. Sometimes she hugged so hard it -hurt, but we never let her know it. She had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -golden hair and blue eyes and two little fat -red cheeks and was always laughing. Her real -name was Mildred. The Master was a very -big man, so big that I could only see to the -tops of his riding-boots when I was little. He -had a very deep, gruff voice and called us -“Those little rascals!” But we knew he didn’t -mean it and we liked him. But we liked the -Baby best of all, and after her the Mistress, -who was the Baby’s mother. She was quite -small for a grown-up and had such a nice voice -that we loved to hear it and would all go running -to the front of the cage or the yard fence -when she came.</p> - -<p>The Family—we called the Master, the Mistress -and the Baby the Family—lived in the -country in a beautiful white house with green -blinds that stood on top of a little hill and had -trees and fields all around it. There was a -pond, too, and a brook that ran out of it. -That’s where the ducks lived. Ducks are very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -funny things. Later I’ll tell you something -about them. There was a stable, as well, and -outside the stable was a yard fenced in with -wire netting, and in the corner of the yard -was what they called the Kennel. That was -where I was born. The yard was quite large -and after we were allowed to run around in it, -we had a fine time. There was so much to see -from it: the house and the duck-pond and the -country road, with people going by that had -to be barked at, and the place where William -washed the carriages when the weather was -fine, and many other things. Also, there were -squirrels in the trees, and birds, too. And -there was Ju-Ju.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<small>WHAT WE LEARNED</small></h3> -</div> - - -<div class="figleft" id="i_012"> - <img src="images/i_012.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_11">She used to think they were to chase</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Ju-ju was a cat. She was grey, like smoke, -and had a bushy tail and long hair and yellow -eyes. I don’t think yellow eyes are very -pretty, do you? None of us ever liked Ju-ju -very much, although we soon got to respect -her. She was very vain of her long hair and -thick tail and used to spend hours doing nothing -but washing herself. Cats are very lazy, -I think, and waste too much time on themselves. -Once I asked Mother what cats were -for and she sighed and said <a href="#i_012">she used to think -they were to chase</a> but she had changed her -mind <a href="#i_013">and thought now they were just to look -at</a>. Mother had a place on her nose like a -scratch where the hair never grew and sometimes -I’ve wondered whether Ju-ju made it.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -When we first got -out into the yard -Ju-ju used to come -and jump on top of -one of the fence-posts -and look down -at us just as though -we were funny and -strange. That used -to make us very -angry and we would -bark and jump at -the post for the -longest time. But -of course we -couldn’t reach her -and after awhile she -would blink and -blink at us and then -go to sleep up there! -Cats are very annoying.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -They’re almost as bad as ducks!</p> - -<div class="figright" id="i_013"> - <img src="images/i_013.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_11">... and thought now they were just to look at</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>We were born in the Spring and lived in the -yard until we were four months old. Then -my brother, whose name was Franz, and one -of my sisters, whose name was Franzchen, left -us. They went away off to live in the city -and Freya and I were quite lonely at first, and -our mother felt very badly about it. But she -told us that they had gone to live with some -nice, kind people and would be very happy, and -after that we didn’t feel so badly about it.</p> - -<p>After Franz and Franzchen left us we were -no longer kept in the -Kennel yard, but were -allowed to go anywhere -we pleased—except the -house. We weren’t allowed -in the house, but -sometimes we got in. -When we did we -scampered straight for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -the kitchen. The first time we did it Cook had -a tin dish filled with cake-batter in her hand -and when we ran at her and barked and -jumped up on her she was so surprised and -scared that she cried “Saints presarve us!” and -dropped the dish. <a href="#i_014fp">Most of the batter went on -Freya</a> and she ran out as quick as she could go, -much more frightened than Cook, and I after -her. We had a fine time licking the batter off. -It was nice and sweet and sticky and lasted -all day. Father was quite angry with us, but -Mother said “Puppies will be puppies.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_014fp"> - <img src="images/i_014fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_14">Most of the batter went on Freya</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>After that it was very hard to get in the -kitchen, and when we did get in Cook would -drive us out with a broom. Of course we tried -not to go and made believe we didn’t know -what she meant when she cried “Shoo!” and -“Scat!” We would run under the tables and -into the pantry and quite often she would have -to coax us out with pieces of meat or something -nice. It was very exciting. If we thought -she really meant to hit us with the broom we<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -would lie on our backs with our feet in the -air and pretend we were awfully frightened. -Then Delia, who was the maid and a great -friend of ours, would say “Oh, the poor little -dears. Don’t you dare hit them, Mary McGuire!” -Then we would have a piece of cake -each and Delia would pet us and put us outside.</p> - -<p>Father was a very busy dog and had a great -many things to look after. He always went -to drive with our Mistress and sat very straight -and fine beside William on the front seat. -Then, too, <a href="#i_020fp">he had to help William do all sorts -of things</a>, like wash the carriages and feed the -chickens and ducks and cut the grass and rake -the leaves. He must have been a great comfort -to William.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_020fp"> - <img src="images/i_020fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_15">He had to help William do all sorts of things</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Mother had her paws full looking after us -most of that summer and so she was not able -to help much with the work. Of course she -kept watch and taught us to, and we soon -learned who to bark at and who not. When<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -the man from the butcher’s came Mother always -made it a point to be very polite to him. -She wagged her tail and sniffed his boots and -followed him around to the kitchen door. He -smelled very nice. Sometimes he gave us -small pieces of meat and we were always glad -to see him. But when a tramp or a pedlar -came Mother barked and the hair stood up all -along her back. We soon learned to do the -same and tramps didn’t very often come much -farther than the gate.</p> - -<p>Of course <a href="#i_030fp">we learned</a> a great many other -things too. Such as <a href="#i_030fp">to stand on our hind legs -and beg</a> when we wanted anything and not get -under the feet of the horses and keep away -from the carriage wheels. Once a wheel went -over the end of my tail and it hurt a good deal -and I crawled into a stall and cried. Mother -came and told me I was too old to cry and -that it would teach me to keep out of the way.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_030fp"> - <img src="images/i_030fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_16">We learned to stand on our hind legs and beg</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Another thing we learned was not to jump -up on the Baby. We did it because we loved<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -her and wanted to lick her face, but she always -tumbled over. That was because she only had -two legs and was no fault of ours. Once when -she tumbled she struck her head against something -hard and cried dreadfully. We licked -her face as hard as we could to comfort her, -because that is what Mother always did to us -when we were hurt, but it didn’t seem to do -her much good. Then William came running -up and cuffed us pretty hard and picked Baby -up. I don’t think he should have punished us, -but maybe he didn’t understand. After that -we didn’t do it any more.</p> - -<p>Another thing we soon learned was to let -Ju-ju alone. One day, soon after we were allowed -to go where we liked, Freya and I came -across Ju-ju in the kitchen yard. She was -fast asleep and we thought it would be great -fun to jump at her and bark. So we did it -and she woke up awfully quick and scratched -me on the nose and chased Freya half-way to -the stable. Cats can’t take a joke.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<small>PUPPY TROUBLES</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>We learned a good deal about what was good -to eat and what wasn’t, too. Once Delia left -a tin pan filled with some whitish stuff on the -back steps and I ate quite a lot of it before -she came out and found what I was doing. -When she did she cried “Cook! Cook! One of -the Puppies has eaten the starch!” Of course -I went right away, as I didn’t want to have -any trouble about it, and pretty soon I felt -very funny inside and crawled into a stall -where it was quiet and dark. But William -found me after a while and made me swallow -something that didn’t taste at all nice and -pretty soon I felt better. I didn’t think it was -very kind of Delia to tell William what I had -done, but maybe it was all for the best, because<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -until he made me swallow the nasty medicine -I was pretty sure I was going to die. Starch -and soap taste all right but they aren’t good -for puppies. I found that out.</p> - -<p>It seems that we all have to learn a lot of -things by what Mother calls “sad experience.” -Like bees. Bees look very much like flies but -they’re different. Once Freya and I saw some -bees going in and out of a tiny hole in the -ground back of the stable. They were very -large bees and growled. We wondered why -they went into the hole and so we scratched at -it to find out. While we were doing it quite -a lot of bees came out and Freya gave a yelp -and began to paw at her nose. She looked so -funny that I laughed at her and asked why she -did it. Then I gave a yelp and forgot all -about Freya. Those bees were very angry -and sat down on us wherever our hair was thin, -and every time they sat down they scratched. -We didn’t stay there long, I can tell you! We<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -ran as fast as we could run, but the bees flew -right along with us and chased us way down -to the duck-pond. By that time I had five -scratches and Freya had four and they hurt a -good deal and swelled up. We licked the -scratches and whined and after a while we -rolled over in the mud at the edge of the pond -and that made them feel better. But they -didn’t stop hurting for a long time. After -that if a bee came <em>buzz-buzzing</em> around us we -always made believe we didn’t see it. But we -got up very quietly and moved away.</p> - -<p>Then there are balls. Some balls are nice -to play with and chew on. They are made of -rubber. William had one and he used to -throw it, and Freya and I, and sometimes -Mother and Father, too, would scamper after -it and see who could get it and bring it back -to him. If Freya got it I always took it away -from her, because I am bigger and stronger -than she is. Besides, she’s only a girl dog!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -Once Freya found the ball in the harness room, -where it had dropped off a shelf, and so she -took it out under a tree and chewed on it until -there was a hole in it. Then she wanted to see -what was in the hole and so she tore the ball -all to pieces. There wasn’t a thing in it. She -ate some of the pieces and that afternoon the -Doctor came and stayed quite a long time and -Freya was very sick. William got another -ball, but Freya would never go near it.</p> - -<p>At the side of the house toward the orchard -there was a lawn where the Family played a -game they called croquet. They had mallets -and a lot of different coloured wooden balls and -they made the balls roll by hitting them with -the mallets. Once Freya and I were there and -we chased the balls. The Master laughed at -us and said we mustn’t do it. But he didn’t -really care, and the Baby, who was there with -Nurse, clapped her hands and thought it was -fine fun. So did we. We would run at the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -balls and bark at them and try to pick them up -in our mouths. But we couldn’t because they -were too big. The Master and Mistress -laughed and laughed at us. Then I saw a ball -rolling along very fast and I made believe it -was a rat and ran for it as hard as I could go. -But when I tried to bite it it wouldn’t stop but -kept right on rolling. And so I rolled too. -I rolled several times and when I found my -feet I hurried off with a terrible pain in my -head. Rubber balls and wooden balls are very -different, like flies and bees.</p> - -<p>About that time we had our first collars. -Mine was black and Freya’s was brown. William -said that was so people could tell us apart. -I thought it was very silly of him because we -didn’t look at all alike. I was bigger and, if -I do say it myself, much finer looking. But -that is what he said. The collars had little -round brass tags on them and on the tags were -numbers. They were quite like the collars<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -that Father and Mother wore, only a great -deal smaller, and we were very proud of them. -William put a strap from Freya’s collar to -mine and then snapped a leash on to the strap -and said “Come on.” I trotted right along, -but Freya sat down and wouldn’t budge an -inch. So, of course, I had to pull her all the -way to the house. It was very hard work for -me, and Freya didn’t like it much, either. She -howled all the way up the drive and William -just laughed at her. I was quite ashamed of -her for acting so. The Master and Mistress -and the Baby came out to see us and I tried to -put a good face on it by laughing too, but -Freya just howled and howled! Girl dogs are -very silly sometimes! Then the Master said:</p> - -<p>“Take the leash off, William, and see what -they’ll do.”</p> - -<p>So he did and I ran up to the Mistress and -Freya tried to run toward the stable. I wasn’t -going to have that, so I dragged Freya after<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -me and the Baby was between us and the strap -upset her into the flower bed. I was sorry -about it, but I thought we had better not stay -there any longer, so I turned and ran as hard -as I could, pulling Freya after me, toward the -orchard. The orchard is quite a large place -and one needn’t be caught there unless one -wants to. But Freya, of course, had to spoil -it all. When we came to a tree she went on -the other side of it and the strap held us there. -I told her to come around my side, but she -just whimpered and tugged at the strap and -paid no attention to what I said. Of course -I wasn’t going to give in to her whim, so I -pulled and pulled and would have pulled her -around the right way at last if William hadn’t -come up just then and caught us. We got a -cuffing, which was all Freya’s fault for being -so obstinate.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<small>WHEN I ATE MY COLLAR</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>After that William put the strap on us every -day for a while and we got used to it. It -was all right as soon as Freya understood that -she was to go the way I wanted to go. But it -took her some time to do it. Freya is very -stupid at times. About a week after I got my -collar it was the cause of much pain to me. -The Baby took it off one day and laid it on -the ground. After she had gone I went back -and found it. There is something about -leather that I like. I didn’t mean to do any -harm to the collar, but it tasted very good and -so I closed my eyes and chewed and chewed -and chewed. Freya came and watched me and -asked me to give her some.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got a collar of your own,” I -growled. “Go away.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></p> - -<p>“All right,” she said. “But you’ll catch it. -Just you wait!”</p> - -<p>She went off to bark at Ju-Ju, who was -asleep on a window-sill, and I thought of what -she had said. I looked at the collar. It was -a very sad looking collar. There wasn’t much -left except the brass tag. Freya was right; I -would catch it if any one saw it. So I took -what was left of it and dug a hole in a flower-bed -and buried it. Not ten minutes after that -the Mistress came out and called me. I made -believe I didn’t hear her, but it did no good, -for she kept on calling me and so I had to go -to her. When I got near her I rolled over on -my back and whined.</p> - -<p>“Why,” she said, “you funny dog! I’m not -angry with you, even if you didn’t come as soon -as you should have. You’re a nice puppums -and—why, where’s your collar?”</p> - -<p>I didn’t say anything, of course. Instead I -pounced on a twig and shook it and ran around<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -with it in my mouth. I thought perhaps she -would forget about the collar. But she didn’t -even smile.</p> - -<p>“Naughty Fritz!” she said. “What have -you done with your collar?”</p> - -<p>Freya came up and looked at me in a way -which said: “There! Now you are in for it! -And I’m glad, because you were selfish and -wouldn’t give me any.” And then she trotted -over to the Mistress with her tail curled up -very proudly as much as to say: “See what a -good dog I am! I haven’t lost my collar!”</p> - -<p>“You wait till I catch you,” I growled.</p> - -<p>Then the Baby came out and the Mistress -said: “Look, Baby, at what a naughty, bad dog -Fritz has been. He’s lost his nice new collar.”</p> - -<p>Baby laughed and gurgled. “Collar!” she -said.</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear, and see how ashamed he looks. -Naughty dog!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span></p> - -<p>“Mild’ed tooked it off,” said the Baby.</p> - -<p>“You took it off? Oh, you shouldn’t have -done that, dear,” said the Mistress. “What -did you do with it?”</p> - -<p>“Tooked it off!” said the Baby, and clapped -her hands.</p> - -<p>By that time William had come up, with a -rake in his hands, and the Mistress told him -about it. William scratched his head, which -is what he always does when he tries to think -very hard.</p> - -<p>“Where were you when you took it off, -dear?” asked the Mistress.</p> - -<p>The Baby toddled across to the lawn and we -all followed her. I pretended to be very much -surprised when we found that the collar wasn’t -there.</p> - -<p>“Are you sure this is the place, dear?” asked -the Mistress.</p> - -<p>The Baby nodded hard. “Mild’ed tooked -off collar!” she cried and looked very proud of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -herself. I hunted all around, but couldn’t find -anything but a small stone. So I took that to -the Mistress, but she just tossed it away. -Freya chased it. William scratched his head -some more.</p> - -<p>“If she took it off him, mum,” he said, “it’s -gone by now. Sure, he chews up everything -he finds, he’s that de-struct-ive, mum.”</p> - -<p>I didn’t know what “de-struct-ive” meant, -but I didn’t like the sound of it.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I hope not,” said the Mistress, looking -at me very hard. I turned my head away and -made believe I didn’t hear. Freya wagged -her tail and trotted off to the flower bed. I -watched her and growled.</p> - -<p>“Well, perhaps we’ll find it,” said the Mistress. -“You’d better look around, William.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mum,” said William. Then he cried -“Hi, there! Stop that!” and ran over to the -flower bed where Freya was digging. By the -time he got to her she had the collar in her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -mouth and was holding it out to him, wagging -her tail.</p> - -<p>“Here it is, mum,” called William. “And -all chewed up, mum, just like I said, mum!”</p> - -<p>I didn’t wait to hear any more, but very -quietly slipped away from them and ran for the -stable. But William found me. He dragged -me out by the scruff of my neck from behind a -pile of flower-pots and showed me the collar. -Then he—but I don’t like to think of what he -did. It was very painful. After he had gone -I cried myself to sleep behind the flower-pots -and slept quite a while. And when I woke -up again I didn’t come out until I was sure -that William had gone to his dinner. I was -very hungry, too, but I was afraid to go near -the house. So I went off to the meadow and -dug up a bone I had buried a long while before. -I heard them calling me to come to -dinner, but I didn’t go. I hoped they would -be sorry they had treated me as they had.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -After a while, though, they stopped calling -me. So I chewed on my bone, which was very -good but a little too dry. Still, when you’re -very hungry most any bone tastes good. After -that I felt much better and set off to find -Freya. I met my father in the stable yard -and asked him where she was, and he said she -was in the kitchen.</p> - -<p>“Delia is giving her gingerbread because she -found your collar. If you go up there perhaps -they’ll give you some, too.”</p> - -<p>“I guess I don’t want any,” I said.</p> - -<p>“You don’t deserve any,” said Father. -“After this you will know better than to eat -your collar.”</p> - -<p>I went on toward the house and lay down -behind a bush and waited. After awhile -Freya came out looking very pleased with herself. -She had a piece of cake in her mouth and -went over to the orchard to bury it because she -had had so much already she couldn’t eat it.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -I followed her, keeping away from the house, -and went up to her very quietly while she was -digging a hole. When she saw me she dropped -the cake and tried to run, but I got her....</p> - -<p>Afterwards I ate the cake.</p> - -<p>Of course Freya told Mother that I had hurt -her. She’s such a tattle-tale! When I went -back to the stable Mother wanted to punish -me, but Father said: “No, Freya deserved -what she got. She should not have told on -Fritz.” So Mother said we were both very -bad children and we must go to the Kennel and -stay there until we could behave. So we went. -After a while Freya crawled over to me and -licked my ear and said she was sorry. I just -growled. So then she licked the other ear and -said she was sorry again, and I forgave her and -we made it up and went off together to the -pond to hunt frogs.</p> - -<p>A day or two later William came with another -collar and wanted to put it on me, but I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span> -ran as fast as I could and hid behind the flower-pots -again. I don’t know why I always went -there when I wanted to hide, because William -always found me right away, just as he did this -time. I whined a little when he pulled me out, -but he patted me and rubbed my neck and said -he wasn’t going to hurt me.</p> - -<p>“Look at the fine new collar I have for you,” -he said. “Hold still now till I get it on.”</p> - -<p>So I held still, as still as I could for trembling, -and he put it around my neck and -buckled it.</p> - -<p>“There, now,” he said. “Aren’t you the -proud puppy? Sure, it looks fine on you. -Run along now and show it to your father and -mother. But don’t you be eating it up, mind!”</p> - -<p>Just as though I would! Why, I’ve hated -the taste of collars ever since!</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<small>HOW I DUG FOR A BADGER</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>Next door to us was a dog named Jack. -There was a wide field between our house and -Jack’s and so he lived quite a way from us. -But he used to come over to our place pretty -often and after we got big we went over to see -him. Jack and Father were great friends and -used to go hunting together. Jack was a -pointer and the first time I saw him I asked -Mother what sort of an animal he was, because -as he was so different from us I didn’t think -of his being a dog too. He had very long legs -and was white with brown spots, one on each -side of his head and one on each side of his -body and a little one where his tail began. He -was dreadfully big, ten times as big as Father, -and I was afraid of him at first. But I need<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -not have been, for he was a very nice, kind -dog.</p> - -<p><a href="#i_042">He was what the Family called a “bird dog.”</a> -When his Master went out with a gun to hunt -partridges or grouse Jack would go ahead and -scent the birds in the grass or bushes, and then -he would stand very still, with his tail pointing -straight out behind him and his nose pointing -straight out in front of him, and his Master -would know that there were partridges ahead -and say “Hie on!” Then Jack would creep -on very quietly and all of a sudden the birds -would fly up in the air and his Master’s gun -would go <em>bang-bang!</em> and then there would be -partridges for dinner. I thought it was very -clever of Jack and wondered why Father didn’t -hunt birds too. I asked Mother about it once -and she said:</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_042"> - <img src="images/i_042.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_35">He was what the Family called a “bird dog”</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>“Every dog to his trade, my dear. Jack is -a pointer and pointers were made to hunt birds. -Your father is a dachshund and dachshunds<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -were made to hunt badgers and rabbits and -animals that live underground. Jack is a very -fine dog, but he couldn’t dig out a badger or a -fox or even a rabbit.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” I said, “could Father do that?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, and so can I; and so can you -when you grow up. That’s why you are made -as you are. Badgers and foxes live in holes -that they make far under the ground. The -holes are small and they turn and twist, and -that’s why your body is made so long and your -legs so short; so that you can follow a fox or a -badger into his hole.”</p> - -<p>“What is a badger?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“A badger,” said Mother, “is a very savage -animal, much larger than your father. He -lives underground and comes out at night to -hunt. He has short legs and very long claws -and a long nose. He catches smaller animals -and eats them and sometimes he steals the -farmer’s chickens. He has a very loose skin,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -just like yours, that is covered with fine grey -hairs. Folks make brushes out of the hairs. -The brush the Master lathers his face with in -the morning when he shaves is made of badger -hair and the brush that William used the other -day to paint the old wagon with is made of it -too.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could catch a badger,” I said. -Mother smiled.</p> - -<p>“The first time you found one at the end of -his tunnel you might wish differently,” she -said. “Badgers fight hard, with tooth and -claw, my dear.”</p> - -<p>“Are they more savage than foxes?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but no braver. A fox has only his -teeth to fight with but he makes good use of -them.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t be afraid,” I boasted. “Are -there any badgers or foxes about here?”</p> - -<p>“Foxes, yes, but no badgers that I have ever -heard of.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span></p> - -<p>“There are rabbits, though,” I said. “Some -day I shall catch me a rabbit.”</p> - -<p>“I hope not, my dear. Rabbits are harmless -and they can’t fight underground. We -have no quarrel with rabbits, we dachshunds.”</p> - -<p>“Then,” I said, “I’ll have to find a fox.”</p> - -<p>“It will be a good while before you are big -enough to bring a fox out of his hole,” said -Mother. “Some day, though, you shall try -it, perhaps. You have good digging paws, -Fritz.”</p> - -<p>“They—they’re awfully big,” I said.</p> - -<p>“As they should be, my dear. They’re made -for digging. Each one is a little shovel, or, -rather, a hoe. When you go into a hole that -isn’t big enough you begin to dig. And that -is why your front legs are made so crooked. -If they were straight you would throw the dirt -right under you. As they are, with your feet -turning out, they throw the dirt on each side of -you, out of your way.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p> - -<p>“I’m glad you told me that,” I said, “because -I’ve always wondered about my legs and -feet and been a little ashamed of them. They -seemed so funny and crooked and big. Now -I see that they are just as they should be.” I -looked at my feet quite proudly. “I guess,” I -said, “I’ll go and dig a hole somewhere.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Mother, stretching herself -out to go to sleep, “but keep away from the -flower beds, Fritz.”</p> - -<p>So I found a field-mouse hole at the root -of an apple tree in the orchard and dug and -dug and had got down so far that only my -tail was sticking out when Freya came -along.</p> - -<p>“What are you doing?” she asked. She -might have seen for herself that I was digging -a hole, but she is always asking silly questions -like that.</p> - -<p>“I’m digging for a badger,” I said. “Want -to help?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, indeed!” cried Freya. “Is there -really a badger down there?”</p> - -<p>“Never you mind,” I said. “You don’t -suppose I’d be digging a hole as deep as this -one if there wasn’t something there, do you?” -So I crawled out and Freya got in and went -to work. I looked on a minute and then I -said:</p> - -<p>“You don’t dig very well, do you? I suppose -your feet aren’t big enough.”</p> - -<p>“They’re as big as yours,” said Freya, stopping -to rest.</p> - -<p>“Then you don’t know how to use them,” I -said. “Digging is an art, and not every -dachshund knows how.”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” said Freya. “Let me see you do -it, then.”</p> - -<p>So I got back in the hole and dug as hard as -ever I could, and the dirt just flew out, I tell -you! “There,” I said at last, much out of -breath, “that’s the way to do it!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span></p> - -<p>But when I looked around, would you believe -it, that silly dog had gone! And there -was William hurrying up with a stick in his -hand.</p> - -<p>“What do you think you’re doing?” he cried, -real crossly. “Trying to dig up that apple -tree? Get out o’ that, you pesky critter!”</p> - -<p>So I got out in a big hurry and ran off -around the house and down to the stable and -crept behind the flower-pots. For once William -didn’t find me and, as I was very tired, I -went to sleep and dreamed that I had crawled -down a long, long hole in the ground and that -in front of me was a horrible grey badger with -long teeth and glaring yellow eyes and great -sharp claws. And when I tried to turn around -and run out I couldn’t because the hole was -too small, and when I tried to back out I -couldn’t because the dirt had fallen in around -me. And the badger said: “Hah, you’re the -smart young dog who said he wanted to catch<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -a badger, aren’t you?” And I said: “N-no, -sir, that—that was my brother.” “You’re fibbing,” -said the badger, “and for that I shall -eat you all up. <em>Raow!</em>” Then he crept -toward me and just as he reached out one great -big paw with dozens and dozens of ugly, sharp -claws I woke up with a howl, shivering and -shaking! And, oh, my, wasn’t I glad to see -those flower-pots and know that I was in the -stable and not in a long, deep hole with a -badger coming at me! I ran out and found -Mother and cuddled up very close to her and -told her my dream. She just smiled and licked -my eyes and pretty soon I went to sleep again -in the sunlight.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<small>THE FROG WHO WAS A TOAD</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>When I thought about it afterwards it seemed -strange that I should not be allowed to dig -holes when digging holes was what I was for. -But every time I did it some one, William or -the Master or the Mistress, came up and said -“No, no, Fritz! Naughty dog! Mustn’t dig -up the ground.” It was most discouraging. -(Discouraging is a long word, and if you -don’t know what it means I shan’t tell you. -Any one as old as you are ought to know.) -Freya never got in trouble that way. She -didn’t seem to care much for doing the things -I did, like digging for badgers in the orchard -or for foxes on the front lawn. (I know now -that I should not have expected to find a fox -under the lawn, but then one place seemed as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -good as another.) Freya liked to stay around -the back door and look hungry and coax Delia -or Cook to give her things to eat. When she -wasn’t doing that she was most always asleep -somewhere. She got very fat and lazy and it -was all I could do to get her to go hunting -with me. She wasn’t much good at hunting, -anyway. She always got tired just when the -fun began.</p> - -<p>We used to go down to the pond and the -brook and hunt frogs. Frogs aren’t good to -eat, but it is a lot of fun chasing them. You -creep up on them very quietly along the edge -of the pond and try to get them before they -can jump back into the water. Most always -you miss them, because their eyes are in the -wrong place, being on the top of their head, -and they can see behind them. But sometimes -you catch one. When you do you play -with it awhile and let it go. Freya, though, -never would play with them. She said they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -were ugly-looking and she didn’t like the smell -of them. Girl-dogs are like that, though, sort -of finicky and fussy about little things.</p> - -<p>You wouldn’t think that such a silly, no-account -animal as a frog could get a decent dog -into trouble, would you? It can, though, and -it did. And I was the dog. I’ll tell you about -it because it may be a warning to you some -time when you are hunting frogs.</p> - -<p>One afternoon when it was very hot weather -and we had all kept very quiet in the shade -most of the day I got tired of keeping still -and told Freya to get up and we’d hunt frogs. -She didn’t want to at all, being, as I’ve said, -fat and lazy, but I nipped her ear and made -her. So we trotted down the road and across -the meadow, and when we were still a long -way from the pond I saw a frog. I told Freya -to be quiet and then I stole ahead very softly -and there he was in the grass just sitting and -looking at me out of two big goggly eyes.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -He was quite different from any frog I’d ever -seen before, being fatter and uglier and having -more warts.</p> - -<p>Freya whispered, “Oh, isn’t he horrid? -Don’t touch him, Fritz!” But I wasn’t going -to let any frog make faces at me and so I -jumped for him and caught him. He tried to -get away but I took him in my mouth and shook -him just in play, of course, and then—Oh dear, -the most awful thing happened! The inside -of my mouth got on fire and I dropped that -frog and ran as hard as ever I could run to -the pond and stuck my head right into the -water!</p> - -<p>But water didn’t do much good. My -mouth and my tongue were hot and stingy -and smarty and felt just as though they were -burning up. I drank water and shook my -head and pawed my mouth and howled just as -loud as I could. Freya ran around and asked -what the matter was and got awfully excited.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -I was too busy trying to stop the pain to tell -her what was wrong. Besides, when I wasn’t -gulping water or pawing at my mouth I was -howling! Father and Mother heard me and -came running down to the pond. But I -couldn’t tell them what the matter was and -so Freya showed them the frog. I was still -sitting up to my neck in the pond and howling -frightfully when they came back.</p> - -<p>“Stop making that noise,” said Father, “and -keep your mouth in the water.”</p> - -<p>So I did it and whimpered instead of howled -and my mouth began to feel better. But my -tongue was swollen all up and when I tried -to talk I just made funny noises. After a -while I crawled out of the pond and shook -myself, feeling sort of ashamed because I had -made such a fuss. But Mother licked my face, -and Freya, who had been lying nearby whining, -came running up and leaped about and -barked. Even Father seemed sorry for me.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -Then he took us back to the frog, which was -still sitting where I had left him, and said:</p> - -<p>“Have a good look at him, children.”</p> - -<p>So we looked at the frog and the frog -blinked at us and seemed to be laughing. I -growled and backed away from him.</p> - -<p>“The next time you take a frog in your -mouth,” said Father, “be sure it <em>is</em> a frog and -not a toad. Toads are very unhealthy for dogs -and that thing there is a toad. When you -took him up he put poison in your mouth. It -was a good thing you were near the pond, for -water is the only thing I know of that will -help. I heard of a dog once who was poisoned -by a frog and there was no water around and -so he ran for home. The poison made froth in -his mouth and Two-Legged Folks thought he -was mad and a policeman tried to shoot him. -Luckily for him the policeman aimed wrong -and the dog got away. Now do you think you -will know a toad the next time you see one?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span></p> - -<p>I said I was sure of it and then we went home -and I crawled behind the flower-pots and -stayed there a long time. I didn’t want any -supper that day. You wouldn’t have wanted -any, either, if your mouth had felt the way -mine did. I think it is quite wrong to have -things look so much alike as frogs and toads -do; and flies and bees, too. How is a puppy -to know?</p> - -<p>When it was almost dark I crept out from -behind the flower-pots and went to get a -drink of water. Ju-Ju was outside, playing -with a beetle, and when she saw me she grinned. -She must have found out somehow about that -toad. I hate cats.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<small>THE CROSS DUCK</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>The next day my mouth and tongue were -quite well once more, but it was more than a -week before I got brave enough to hunt frogs -again. In fact, I have never cared for frog-hunting -very much since, and I only did it -after that just to show Freya that I wasn’t -afraid to. But I couldn’t get her to go with -me. She’s rather a coward, Freya is. Just -look at the time I scared the duck! The way -she acted then made me quite ashamed of her!</p> - -<p>That was months before I made the mistake -about the toad and I was younger and -sillier. I told you that there were ducks on -our place. Well, they lived in a house next -door to where the chickens were, and in the -day time they all waddled out as soon as William<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -opened the gate for them and went down -to the pond. They are stupid things, ducks. -They don’t do anything all day long but waddle -around and wag their tails and eat and -swim and say “quack!” I don’t know what -“quack” means and I don’t believe they do, -for they always say it just the same way and -no matter what happens. If they see William -with their dinner they say “quack” and if they -see a chicken-hawk sailing about they say -“quack” and if I so much as look at them—from -a distance—they say “quack” just the -same. I don’t believe “quack” means a thing. -They just want you to think it does.</p> - -<p>Well, one day I was trotting around by myself -looking for something to do when I caught -sight of a duck sitting in the grass on the side -of the brook quite a ways beyond the pond. -She didn’t see me because she had her head -hidden under her wing in the silly way ducks -have. It had been a very dull day so far and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -wanted some fun. So I thought it would be -a good joke to creep up on Mrs. Duck and -give her a good scare and see if she would say -anything more than just “Quack!”</p> - -<p>Well, I did. I crept up very, very softly -and when I was about two feet away I said -“<em>Bow-wow!</em>” as loudly as I could. Mrs. Duck -gave a start, pulled her head out and said -“<em>Quack!</em>” much louder than I had said “Bow-wow!” -And then, before I knew what she was -up to, she spread her wings very wide and -jumped right at me!</p> - -<p>It—well, it sort of surprised me, because I -didn’t know ducks did that. Besides, with her -wings all spread open like that and her mouth -very wide open, too, she looked almost as big -as ten ducks! So—so I sort of backed away, -not because I was afraid of her but just because -I was so surprised. Besides, I’d had my fun -and was ready to go away, anyhow. But she -didn’t seem to understand that it was all just<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -a joke and she came right at me, saying -“<em>Quack! Quack! Quack!</em>” quite crossly. So I -kept on backing away, and the faster I backed -the faster she came for me and the louder she -“quacked!”</p> - -<p>I don’t know exactly how it happened, but I -got between Mrs. Duck and the brook. I -didn’t know it, of course, or I should have -backed another way. Another thing I didn’t -know—and I wished I had known it—was that -she had a nest full of eggs there and was hatching -out some little ducks. If I had known -that I would not have gone near her. But I -didn’t know it until afterwards. So I kept -on backing and she kept on “quacking” and -making dabs at me with her yellow bill and -flapping her wings and <a href="#i_052fp">all of a sudden I -backed right over the side of the bank into the -brook!</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_052fp"> - <img src="images/i_052fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_53">All of a sudden I backed right over the side of the bank -into the brook!</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>There was not much water in the brook and -I sat right down in a lot of soft, sticky mud.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -Of course I tried to get out, but the more I -tried the faster I stuck in that nasty mud. -And all the time that horrid, quarrelsome duck -stood on the bank and said “Quack!” and -scolded me. I was afraid she might come in -after me, and that is why I tried so very hard -to get out. But she didn’t. She just stood -there and said a lot of mean things to me while -the mud got stickier and stickier. And then -I howled. Any one would have howled. I -didn’t howl because I was afraid. I howled -because I couldn’t get my feet out of the mud. -No dog likes to be stuck in horrid black mud. -Pretty soon Freya came and looked over the -edge of the bank at me. But she didn’t come -very near where Mrs. Duck stood.</p> - -<p>“Why,” she said, “what are you doing down -there, Fritz? William will be very angry with -you for getting so dirty. You’d better come -right out and take a bath in the pond before -you go home.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span></p> - -<p>“I can’t get out!” I howled. “I’m stuck -in this mud. Help me!”</p> - -<p>But Freya looked at the duck, who was still -“quacking” at a great rate, and shook her head.</p> - -<p>“I—I’m afraid of her,” said Freya.</p> - -<p>“Afraid of a duck!” I said. “Well, I’d be -ashamed to own it!” But I kept a watch on -the duck because I was afraid she might understand -what I said. She didn’t though. “Bark -at her and scare her away,” I told Freya. -“She—she won’t hurt you. Ducks are great -cowards.”</p> - -<p>But Freya shook her head again. “I—I -don’t like her looks,” she said. “Couldn’t you—couldn’t -you pull yourself out if you tried -very hard?”</p> - -<p>“No, I couldn’t,” I snapped. “If I could I -wouldn’t be here now. If you can’t help me -out of here you’d better run home and tell -Mother. You’re an awful scare-baby!”</p> - -<p>So Freya walked two or three steps toward<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -the duck and said “Bow-wow!” just as if she -was frightened to death, which she was, and -the duck paid no attention to her at all. Then -Freya went a little nearer and barked again. -That time Mrs. Duck heard her and turned -around and made straight for her. Freya -gave one awful yelp, tucked her tail between -her legs and flew. And the duck went after -her, flapping her wings and “quacking!” And -somehow just then I managed to get a front -paw on a stone at the side of the brook and -dragged myself out. And when I got to the -top of the bank Freya was half-way across the -meadow, still yelping, and Mrs. Duck was -waddling back again.</p> - -<p>I didn’t stay there long, I can tell you. Not -that I was afraid of that stupid old duck, but I -wanted to get the mud off me before it dried -on. So I hurried back to the pond. But -when I got there it was full of other ducks and -they looked at me so queerly that I thought<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -I’d better not go into the pond after all. So -I sneaked back to the stable, thinking I’d get -behind the flower-pots before any one could see -me. But just as I came to the door who -should come out but William!</p> - -<p>“<em>Well!</em>” he said, just like that; “<em>Well!</em>” I -made a dash for the corner where the flower-pots -were and got there, but he hauled me right -out by my neck and held me at arm’s length -and looked at me. “I never see a dirtier pup,” -he said. “Where have you been?” Of course -I didn’t tell him and he said: “Well, wherever -you’ve been I know where you’re going. -You’re going into the tub!”</p> - -<p>What followed was awful. William filled -the tub in the stable half-full of cold water -and put me in it. I thought at first I would -drown, but he held me up with one hand and -lathered me all over with harness soap with -the other. And then he took a horrid, stiff -brush and scrubbed me until it hurt. The soap<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -got in my eyes and smarted and it got into my -mouth and tasted badly, and all the time William -scolded.</p> - -<p>I had to cry a little. You’d have cried too. -I’ve heard you cry when Nurse got soap in -your eyes, and you needn’t pretend you haven’t. -Besides, it was all very unfair. I didn’t want -to fall in the mud and get dirty. It was all -that duck’s fault. But William just blamed -it all on me without trying to find out how it -really happened, and I had to suffer. Once -I caught sight of Freya peeking around the -corner of the door and I said to myself: “Just -you wait till I get out of here, if I ever do, -and see what will happen to you, Miss!”</p> - -<p>But when, after a long, long time, William -thought he could not get any more dirt off -me and so put me out on the floor, and when -I had shaken myself half a dozen times, felt -so good that I forgot all about the way Freya<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -had behaved and ran circles and barked until -I was almost dry. Then I found a nice warm -spot against the side of the stable and went to -sleep.</p> - -<p>But even if I did forgive Freya that time -you can see that she behaved very badly and -is not at all brave. Still, I suppose that being -a girl dog has a lot to do with it. You mustn’t -expect a girl-dog to be as brave as a boy-dog.</p> - -<p>That was my first real bath. I’ve had many -since then and I’ve grown to put up with -them just as one must put up with castor-oil and -pills. But I’m sure I shall never get fond of -them. I don’t mind wading in the pond or -even swimming a little, but baths are quite different. -Besides, I am not a water-dog, like a -spaniel or a retriever, and folks ought to think -of that. They don’t, though. About once a -month I have to go through with it, and the -mere sight of a cake of soap quite takes my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -appetite away for hours. I once heard the -Mistress tell the man who comes for the laundry -that she wanted something “dry-cleaned.” -I wonder why dogs can’t be dry-cleaned too!</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<small>THE OLD LADY WHO DIDN’T LIKE DOGS</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>Are you scared of thunder storms? I am, too. -Well, not exactly scared, maybe, but I—I -don’t like them very well. I don’t mind the -lightning so much, but the thunder is very -noisy and it affects my nerves. I am quite a -nervous dog. All highly-bred dogs are nervous, -you know. And when you can trace your -family back for dozens of years, the way I can, -you have every right to dislike thunder. Perhaps -you didn’t know I had such a long pedigree? -Mother told us all about it once. We -are descended from Hansel von Konigsberg, -who was the Champion of all Germany for -many years and quite the finest dachshund that -ever lived. He won all sorts of prizes wherever -he was shown and was a very fine, proud<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> -dog. Every one in Germany knows about -Hansel von Konigsberg. Mother says it is a -fine thing to be descended from such a dog and -that I should always try to live up to it. Well, -that isn’t telling about the time I got under -the bed in the guest-room when there was a -thunder storm, is it?</p> - -<p>There were visitors at the house, and one -was an elderly lady who wore a black silk -dress and had her eye-glasses on a little stick. -When she saw us puppies she held the glasses -up to her eyes and looked at us just as though -we were something quite strange. “Dear me,” -she said, “what ugly little things. What are -they?” The Master laughed and told her we -were dachshund puppies. “You mean they’re -dogs?” she asked. “Why, they look like alligators! -Don’t let them come near me, please. -I never could stand dogs, anyway, and these -are quite—quite disgusting!”</p> - -<p>Neither Freya or I knew then what an alligator<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -was, but we didn’t like the sound of it. -Besides, she had said we were ugly and disgusting. -So I looked at Freya and Freya -looked at me and we made a rush for the Old -Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs and jumped all -over her. Of course we made believe we were -awfully pleased to see her, but we weren’t. -She gave a screech and dropped her eye-glasses. -They were on a black ribbon, though, -and so they didn’t break. But I got the ribbon -in my teeth and laid back and pulled and -growled, and Freya took hold of the old lady’s -skirt and shook it. And all the time the old -lady said “Shoo! Shoo, you nasty little brutes! -Oh, somebody take them away!”</p> - -<p>So the Master caught me and made believe -spank me and the Mistress caught Freya and -told her she was a naughty dog, and we both -ran off, making believe we were very sorry -and scared, and the old lady hurried into the -house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span></p> - -<p>Afterward Freya and I laid down under the -lilac hedge and talked it over. We decided -that we didn’t like the old lady and that we’d -wait there until she came out again to see the -garden and then we’d make another dash for -her and scare her again. But she didn’t come -back and it was pretty hot and so we both fell -fast asleep there.</p> - -<p>When we woke up it was quite late in the -afternoon and the sky was cloudy and there -was a rumbly noise that sounded like thunder. -Freya whined and said she was afraid. I told -her not to be a silly; that thunder never -hurt any one. She said the lightning might, -though, and she was going to the stable and -crawl under the hay. She wanted me to go -with her, but of course it would not have done -to let Freya think I was frightened too, and -so I said, No, I was going to stay where I -was. Freya ran to the stable and just when -she got to it there was a most awful crash of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -thunder and I forgot how brave I was and -looked for a place to hide.</p> - -<p>Well, William had taken the screen-door off -that morning, to mend a place Freya and I had -torn in the wire, and the other door happened -to be open. So I looked around very carefully -and then ran into the big room. Just then -there was more thunder and a flash of lightning -and I hid under the couch. But I knew that -wouldn’t do because some one would surely -find me there and put me out. So I listened -and didn’t hear any one and went upstairs very -quietly. And when I got to the top of the -stairs there was a door open and I went in and -crept under the bed. It was nice and dark -there and I couldn’t see the lightning. But -every time it thundered I trembled and whined -and had a pretty bad time of it. I could hear -the rain drumming on the tin roof outside, and -it seemed to me that the storm lasted for hours. -But after a while it stopped and the thunder<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -got farther and farther away and at last it died -out in little growls and grumbles and I rolled -over on my side and went to sleep, quite worn -out.</p> - -<p>When I awoke I heard some one moving -around in the room and just to be friendly I -thumped my tail on the floor. Then some one -came near the bed and looked under. It was -too dark to see who the person was, but I -thumped harder than before, and, will you believe -it, it was that Old Lady Who Didn’t Like -Dogs! She gave a most horrible scream and -just flew through the door into the hall. Why, -she almost scared me out of a year’s growth! -She cried “Help! Help! There’s some one -under my bed!” and I heard the Master shout -from his room and come running. And the -first thing I knew the room was full of folks -and the old lady was telling how she had heard -a noise and had looked down and seen two -“fierce yellow eyes glaring at her.” Delia<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -shouted “’Tis a burglar, mum! We’ll all be -murdered, sir!” But the Master told her to -be quiet.</p> - -<p>“I dare say it is only the cat,” he said, and -then he knelt down and looked under the bed -and I thumped my tail harder than ever and -the Master sat right down on the floor and -laughed and laughed! Then the Mistress said:</p> - -<p>“What is it, George? Do stop that silly -laughing! Is it Ju-ju?”</p> - -<p>So the Master reached in and pulled me out -by the scruff of my neck and held me up. -“Here’s your burglar,” he said. And then -they all laughed; all except the Old Lady Who -Didn’t Like Dogs. She was very angry about -it.</p> - -<p>“I am glad you all think it so funny,” she -said with a sniff. “For my part I fail to see -the humour. And what is more I refuse to -remain in a house where I am to be pestered by -dogs and scared out of my wits every minute.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -I’m thankful my trunk is not fully unpacked.”</p> - -<p>But she didn’t go, after all, for which Freya -and I were sorry. And even though we -stayed around the house a lot in the hope that -she would come out so we could run at her and -jump on her, she didn’t once set her foot off -the piazza, and all we could do was get close -to the screen and growl at her. The Mistress -said: “It’s too bad you don’t like dogs, Miss -Mumford, they’re such company for one, and -living alone as you do a dog would be a great -comfort to you. Just see the little dears begging -to be let in. Wasn’t it funny how they -took to you at once the day you came? They -seem quite fond of you.”</p> - -<p>And the Mistress glanced at me and then -smiled at the thing she was sewing on. And -Freya and I looked at each other and laughed. -And the Old Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs said -“Humph!” Just like that.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_1IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<small>THE LITTLE BOY FROM THE CITY</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>More company came after that. It was in -the Fall, when the leaves were turning to beautiful -colours and falling off the trees and when -the mornings and nights were quite cool and -the best place to take a nap was in the stable -doorway where the sun shone warmly on the -floor. Freya and I were about six months old -then and were getting to be pretty big for -puppies. We weren’t as big as Father or -Mother, but when we romped with either of -them Freya and I together could do just about -as we pleased with them. Lots of times -Mother used to run away from us because we -were so strong that we could roll her over on -her back and bite her and shake her until she -yelped.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span></p> - -<p>Others had grown up, too. All the fluffy -little yellow chicks that Freya and I used to -watch through the chicken yard wires were -quite big, almost as big as their parents. And -all the little ducklings had grown up into -ducks and could say “Quack!” just like their -mothers and fathers. In the garden the flowers -had gone, all but a few, and it was a great -relief to me. I was always very fond of flowers -and liked to pick them and eat them, but -William didn’t like me to and would get after -me whenever he caught me at it. I got a lot of -cuffings on account of my love for flowers. I -couldn’t understand why it was they were so -selfish with them when they had so many. It -seemed to me that one or two more or less -would not have made any difference. But -Two-Legged Folks are peculiar in many ways. -They aren’t nearly so sensible as dogs.</p> - -<p>Even the Baby was getting bigger and older. -She could talk quite nicely by Fall, although<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -you had to listen very closely to understand all -she said. You see, she talked very quickly and -ran her words together. It was the Baby who -told me about the company coming. It was -one morning on the piazza. The screens had -been taken off then and the Baby and I were -in the hammock together. Freya didn’t like -the hammock. She said it made her feel funny -inside when it swung. I did, though. It was -full of nice soft cushions and I was very proud -when I found one day that I could jump up -on it all by myself and didn’t have to be lifted -up or pulled up any more. Well, the Baby -and I were there together, swinging, and she -was pulling my ears the way she liked to do, -and chatting all the time. I wasn’t paying -very much attention to what she was saying -because I was a little bit sleepy. It always -makes me sleepy to have my ears pulled. -Well, pretty soon the Baby said:</p> - -<p>“Booful little boy’s coming to play wiv Mild’ed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -All way f’om City. Coming to-day, I -dess.”</p> - -<p>I pricked up my ears then. At least, I -pricked up one of them, the one that wasn’t -being pulled. I had never seen a little boy -very near, but I had heard Mother speak of -them and from what she had said I didn’t think -I should like them. So I didn’t look very -pleased at what the Baby said. Perhaps she -saw it, for she went on:</p> - -<p>“Is very nice little boy. Is coming all way -f’om City to play wiv Mild’ed. Little boy’s -name is A’fed.”</p> - -<p>I thought Afed was a very silly name for -any one, even a boy. I found out afterwards -that his name was Alfred, but I didn’t like it -much better. I hoped he would be nicer than -his name. The Baby talked on about him for -a long time and I pretended to listen. Finally -I got tired hearing about him and jumped -down and went away. I made up my mind<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -that I wasn’t going to like A’fred, and when I -told Freya she made up her mind she wasn’t -going to like him either. We decided that we -would bite his legs when he came.</p> - -<p>William drove to the railway station to meet -Alfred and his mother, and Freya went along. -William was very partial to Freya and used -to take her with him quite often. He took me -once and said he would never do it again because -I barked at everything I saw and fell out -of the carriage. I didn’t mean to fall out, -though, and it hurt a good deal. Anyhow, -he took Freya with him that day and I -found a warm place on a flower bed beside the -house and waited for them to come back. William -didn’t like to have us lie on the flower -beds, even after the flowers were through -blooming, but I knew he wouldn’t see me and -I meant to go away when I heard the carriage -coming up the drive.</p> - -<p>But it was so warm there and the earth<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -smelled so nice that I fell asleep. When I -woke up the first thing I did was to howl and -the next thing to run. Because William had -come back without my hearing him and had -crept over to me, and what had wakened me -up was the carriage whip! I thought it was -rather a mean thing to surprise me like that. -When I had stopped hurting and running I -looked back and there was the little boy with -Freya in his arms going into the house. And, -would you believe it, Freya was actually licking -his face! Isn’t that like a girl-dog, to -break her promise the very first thing? Just -pat Freya and she thinks you are perfectly -lovely and follows you all around. For my -part, I’d have more self-respect and pride. -Folks can’t make friends with me by just patting -my head and saying “Nice doggie!” No, -sir!</p> - -<p>I was quite disgusted with Freya and I told -her so later.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span></p> - -<p>Alfred’s mother was a very sweet looking -lady and I knew right away I should like her. -I did, too. Not two hours afterwards she -came out to see us and fed us peppermint -drops. I am very fond of peppermint drops -because they make your tongue feel sort of -cold and tingley, and I liked the lady at once. -Oh, not just because of the candy, of course, -but because she was nice to look at and understood -dogs and loved them. We can tell right -off whether a person likes us. Alfred came -out with his mother, and the Baby followed -Alfred. She wouldn’t let him out of her sight -and paid almost no attention to me. Alfred -was really rather nice looking, for a boy, with -golden hair, dark eyes and a sun-burned face. -He was older than the Baby. When he saw -me he cried:</p> - -<p>“Oh, there’s another of them! Come here, -puppy! What’s your name?”</p> - -<p>Of course I paid no heed to him. I meant<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -to show Freya that I had more sense than to -grovel to folks just because they whistled to -me and paid me a little attention! When he -saw that I didn’t mean to come to him he -started after me, and I showed my teeth and -growled. He stopped then and made a face -at me. “You’re not as nice as the other one,” -he said. Then he picked up a pebble and -threw it at me and I growled again. “What’s -this one’s name, Mildred?” he asked the Baby.</p> - -<p>“He name F’itz. Him booful dogums!”</p> - -<p>Alfred laughed. “Fits! That’s a funny -name, isn’t it? Does he have them often?”</p> - -<p>“She means Fritz, dear,” said his mother. -“Here, Fritz, come and see me.”</p> - -<p>So I went, but I wouldn’t let Alfred touch -me, and he didn’t like it a bit. He fed candy -to Freya and she fairly licked his shoes! Girl-dogs -have no pride. It so disgusted me that I -turned right around and went down to the -stable and crawled behind the flower-pots.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span></p> - -<p>Even Father and Mother seemed to like -Alfred, and they and Freya played with him -and the Baby a lot. I didn’t. I stayed away. -It was pretty lonesome, though. Now and -then Alfred would try to make friends with -me. He begged cake from Cook and tried to -get me to take it, but I wouldn’t. I’m fond -of cake, too. I spent a good deal of time behind -the flower-pots those days. You see I -was afraid that some time when I was fearfully -hungry Alfred would offer me cake and I’d -take it. And I didn’t want to, for I had made -up my mind not to be friends with him. One -morning he and the Baby came out of the house -when we were having breakfast at the back -door and called to us. Of course Father and -Mother and Freya trotted right over to them, -but I stayed and made believe I had found -something more to eat in the dish. When -Freya saw that she came back, but I growled -at her and she went off again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span></p> - -<p>“Come, F’itz!” called the Baby. “Come -F’itz, booful dogums!”</p> - -<p>And Alfred called me too, but I wouldn’t -go, and finally Alfred said: “Oh, come on. -We don’t want him anyway!”</p> - -<p>So they went off toward the orchard to hunt -squirrels. Of course I felt pretty lonesome -and wanted to go with them very much. -Hunting squirrels is awfully exciting, even -though we never catch any. I licked the -breakfast dish quite clean and then went to the -corner of the house and peeked around. They -were all over in the orchard and Father was -barking at a great rate, making believe he had -found a fox’s nest or something, and Freya was -trotting behind Alfred and trying to lick his -hand. The Baby was toddling along, laughing, -and Mother was barking at a bird. It -looked very jolly and I crept along after them, -keeping out of sight.</p> - -<p>They didn’t find any squirrels. I never saw<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -but one in the orchard and he wasn’t much to -look at, having almost no hair on his tail. But -we always pretended the trees were full of -them. After they had been all around the -orchard they climbed the wall on the other side, -which they were not allowed to do, and went -into the thicket over there where the ground -is all soft and squishy. I could have told -them that they would soon find themselves in -trouble, and I came very near barking and -warning them, but I didn’t. It was no affair -of mine.</p> - -<p>After a bit I heard Alfred shout and then -Mother barked and the Baby began to cry and -I knew just what had happened. I went back -to the house and sat on the lawn and waited, -and pretty soon they came back looking very -sorrowful. The Baby had fallen down in the -swamp and she was covered with black mud -from head to toes. Alfred was leading her -with one hand and trying to wipe off the mud<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -with the other, and Freya, who never knows -when she isn’t wanted, was getting in the way -and barking and acting perfectly stupid. -Father and Mother stayed behind, trying to -look as if nothing much had happened. When -they all passed me I just looked at them without -a word and I can tell you they felt silly! -The Mistress saw them from a window and -came hurrying out to meet them, and Alfred’s -mother came out, too.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mildred, what have you done?” cried -the Mistress. “Just see that nice clean dress -I put on you not half an hour ago!”</p> - -<p>“She—she fell down in the mud over there,” -said Alfred. “We—we were hunting Indians.”</p> - -<p>Did you ever hear anything so foolish? -Just as though there were any Indians around -there! Even if there had been Freya and I -would soon have scared them away. Well, -the Mistress led the Baby into the house and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -Alfred’s mother said: “Alfred, come with me, -please,” and Alfred said “Yes’m,” in a voice -that seemed to come from his shoes. Father -and Mother went down to the stable in a hurry -and Freya came over and sat down beside me.</p> - -<p>“A nice thing you did,” I said.</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t my fault,” said Freya with a -whine.</p> - -<p>“You should have watched out for the -Baby,” I said sternly. “You’ll catch it when -the Mistress finds you.”</p> - -<p>So Freya suddenly remembered that she had -left a bone behind the stable and trotted off -after it, looking back now and then at the front -door. Presently Alfred came out all alone. -He had one arm over his eyes, but he couldn’t -fool me. I knew he was crying. I guess his -mother had whipped him, or maybe just -scolded him, for letting the Baby fall in the -mud. He didn’t see me and he went around -the house and sat down on the back door-step<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -and sniffled. I followed him. If you don’t -like a person you enjoy seeing them cry. At -least, you ought to, I think. But Alfred kept -on crying kind of softly, just as though his -heart was broken, and I couldn’t stand it. I -wanted to go away and leave him there, but—but -somehow I couldn’t do that either.</p> - -<p>So after a bit I crept over to him and got up -on the step beside him and licked his face. He -peeked out and saw it was me and was so surprised -that he forgot to cry for a minute. -Then he put his arm around me and I licked -his face some more and—and, oh, well, after -that we liked each other a lot.</p> - -<p>Mother said afterwards that it was just -jealousy that had kept me away, and I guess -it was. Alfred stayed a whole week after that -and <a href="#i_frontis">we had some fine times together</a>. When -he went back to the City I missed him a great -deal. The place seemed very lonely. I think -I missed him almost as much as the Baby did,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -and the Baby cried all one day. I tried my -best to comfort her and I licked her nose and -her cheeks and her ears, but it didn’t do much -good. She kept right on saying that she -wanted her “booful A’fed.” The Mistress -told her that she would see him again very -soon because they were all going to the City to -stay a long, long time. But that didn’t help -me any, because I was quite sure they wouldn’t -take me.</p> - -<p>And they didn’t. They all went off, bag -and baggage, about a week later, and only -William and Cook and Delia were left. -Mother and I were very sad and lonesome at -first. I don’t think Father minded so much, -because he and William were great chums, and -as for Freya, why, as long as she had enough -to eat and some one to say “Good dog” to her, -she didn’t care what happened. But Mother -and I missed the Baby a whole lot, and the -Mistress too, and the Master not so much because<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -he was busy a good deal of the time and -we saw less of him.</p> - -<p>And then one day we woke up and the world -was all white, and Mother said it had snowed in -the night. And William picked up some of -the white stuff and made a ball of it and threw -it at Delia at the back door. And Delia -squealed and ran inside. William said: -“Well, well, winter’s here at last!”</p> - -<p>I think I have told you enough for now. -You have almost fallen asleep two or three -times. Besides, it is time for my nap. I always -like a short nap before dinner. And -really I have talked an awful lot. I hope you -liked my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_084"> - <img src="images/i_084.jpg" alt="Fritz and Alfred" title="Fritz and Alfred" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_TWO">PART TWO<br /> -WHEN I GREW UP</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<small>HOW WE WENT HUNTING</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>Bow!</p> - -<p>So you want to hear some more of my story, -do you? Very well. It’s a very good day to -sit here by the fire and tell stories, because it -is raining hard and there isn’t much a dog can -do in the City on a rainy day. For my part -I think cities are rather stupid places, anyway. -Of course, on bright days, there’s the -Park and the Avenue, and I like those very -much. But it’s a bother always having to be -on a leash. When I see a dog on the other -side of the street whom I am quite sure I should -like to know, all I can do is just say “Hello!” -In the country I could trot over to him and -make friends and, like as not, we’d go off on a -nice long hunt in the woods. There’s lots to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -see in the City, but it is awfully noisy and -crowded and at first it made me quite nervous. -I’m getting used to it now. I do think it’s a -mistake to have so little yard about the house, -though, especially when it is paved with stone -and brick. Even the stable floor is stone and -I’m sure there are some fine fat rats under -it if I could only get at them. Why, I haven’t -had but one good dig since I got here! And -that was that day in the Park when the big -Policeman came running over, waving a funny -short stick at us, and said he would have us -both taken to jail if I didn’t stop digging.</p> - -<p>Yes, I do miss the digging. The other day -I made believe I smelled a fox in the corner of -the back hall and was scratching away at the -boards and having a real good time when Cook -came and drove me away. I forgave her, -though, for she gave me a chicken leg to eat. -I <em>do</em> have good things to eat here; better than -I used to in the country; more different kinds<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -of things, anyway. And a dog likes variety -as well as you Two-Legged Folks do. I don’t -want you to think I am at all unhappy here, -for I am not. If only there was a garden bed -to dig in now and then I wouldn’t ask for more. -And, anyhow, what a dog wants most is love -and kindness, and I get lots of that. I guess -I don’t care about the flower bed. Excuse me -just a moment while I lick your face.</p> - -<p>Well, I left off where the Family had gone -to the City, didn’t I? We dogs had a good -deal of fun in that snow. It was the first snow -I had ever seen and I had a fine time running -around in it and biting it. Freya said it made -her paws cold and she sat in the stable door -and just looked at it and shivered until I -chased her out and rolled her over in it. After -that she didn’t mind it a bit. William made -snowballs and threw them for us to chase. It -was great fun for they went into the snow, -quite out of sight, and we had to burrow down<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -and dig them out. And then when we tried to -take them in our teeth to bring them back to -William they would fall to pieces!</p> - -<p>After that there was no more snow for quite -a long time and we hunted a good deal. Jack -used to come over and he and Father, and -sometimes the rest of us, would go trotting off -into the woods and stay for hours. Sometimes -Jack would see a pheasant or a grouse and get -awfully excited and run and run after it and -get so tired that when he came back he would -have to throw himself down and rest. -Usually, though, we never saw much except -chipmunks and squirrels; but one day Jack -found a rabbit in a clump of bushes and we all -had a merry time chasing him. Of course the -rest of us, with our short legs, couldn’t keep -up with Jack and he and the rabbit were soon -way ahead of us. And when we came up to -him he was sitting by a hole in the ground -where the rabbit had gone.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span></p> - -<p>Freya and I began to dig at a great rate and -just made the dirt fly. Mother wanted to stop -us, but Father said “No, let them have their -fun.” Freya kept getting in my way, so I -had to nip her on the leg and chase her away. -Pretty soon all you could see of me was just -the tip of my tail sticking out of the hole. -And just then I heard a lot of barking and -when I had backed out all the others were -tearing across the field after that rabbit! He -had crept out of a hole on the other side of the -little hill where he lived and run off again. I -felt rather silly. The others came back pretty -soon without the rabbit. Mother said that -rabbits lived in houses with a great many -doors, and when you went in one door they -came out another. I don’t think that’s a fair -way to play, do you? Afterwards, though, I -was glad we hadn’t caught the rabbit, for he -was such a tiny, pretty little thing that it would -have been a shame to hurt him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span></p> - -<p>The weather got colder and colder and there -was more snow. We didn’t mind the cold, -though, for our coats had been growing thicker -and warmer since summer, and our house was -nice and cosy. One day Mother took Freya -and me down to the pond and when we got -there it looked very queer. I asked what had -happened to the water and she said it had -frozen into ice, and while I was looking at it -she gave me a push and I had to run down -the bank and when I got to the bottom and -came to the pond my feet went up in the air -and I went over on my back and I slid way -out on the ice. Mother and Freya stood there -and laughed at me, and when I tried to get on -my feet they just slipped from under me and -I was scared and whined. But Mother told -me not to be a baby and pretty soon I got back -to the shore and then I pushed Freya down -the bank and she slid, too, and made a worse -fuss about it than I had. Then Mother<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -showed us how we could walk quite nicely by -taking very short steps and soon we were all -three chasing each other about and falling -down and rolling over and having a grand -time.</p> - -<p>One morning we awoke to find the snow -above the bottom of the Kennel windows, and -there was William out there with a red muffler -around his neck digging a path to us with a -wooden shovel. The snow that time was so -deep that we could only go where William had -made paths. But Father showed us how to -have a lot of fun by digging tunnels and Freya -and I dug one all the way from the Kennel to -the stable door. The funny thing was that in -the tunnels, under all that cold snow, it was -warmer than it was outside!</p> - -<p>When William went to the village for the -mail and other things now he went in a sleigh, -and one afternoon he took all us dogs with him -and we had the finest sort of a time. We<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -barked at everything we saw, and once Freya -fell out of the sleigh into a snowbank and went -out of sight! (I pushed her off the seat, but -William didn’t know it.) In the village a -lady who kept the little store where William -bought his newspaper came out and petted us -and fed us peanuts. Peanuts are very nice. -The part you eat is inside a shell and you have -to crack the shell open first. Sometimes you -eat some of the shell too, without meaning to, -but it doesn’t hurt you. The lady thought it -was very funny to see us eat the peanuts and -she laughed a lot and said we were clever dogs.</p> - -<p>“Sure, ma’am, they’ll eat anything at all,” -said William, and the lady laughed some more -and said:</p> - -<p>“I know one thing they won’t eat.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” asked William.</p> - -<p>So she went back into the little store and -came out with something that looked like a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -lemon but wasn’t. “Let me see them eat -that,” she said to William.</p> - -<p>“A pickled lime, is it?” said William. -“They’re that fond of ’em, ma’am, I can’t -keep enough of ’em on hand, but they’re bad -for dogs, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>The lady laughed again. “That’s a fib,” -she said. “You know they wouldn’t touch it.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t they then,” said William. “Just -watch ’em, ma’am.” So he took the pickled -lime and looked at us, trying to make up his -mind which of us to give it to. I hoped he -wouldn’t give it to me, but he did. “Eat it, -Fritzie,” he said coaxingly. “Good dog.”</p> - -<p>Well, William was a friend of mine and I -wanted to help him out of his fix, and so I -took it and laid it down on the seat and ate it. -It was quite the worst tasting thing I ever had. -It was sort of sour and sort of salt and full of -puckery juice. But I ate it, and when it was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -all gone I tried to make the lady think that -I wanted more, and William was so pleased -with me that afterwards he stopped at the -butcher’s and brought out a piece of meat for -each of us. I’m sure that meat saved me from -being a very sick dog. Even as it was I felt -quite unhappy for awhile and didn’t bark once -all the way home.</p> - -<p>A few days after that the Family came back -and maybe I wasn’t glad to see them again. -William brought them from the station in the -big sleigh, and as soon as they were in the -house William called to us dogs and we all -went running in to see them. And the Master -said how well we all looked and how Freya -and I had grown, and the Baby sat down on -the floor and we all jumped about her and -licked her face and I ran off with one of her -fur mittens and took it under the couch and -chewed it a little. It was a very happy time. -William told the Master how I had eaten the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -pickled lime for him in the village and the -Master and Mistress laughed and laughed -about it and said I was a fine dog, and after -that for a long time the Master called me “the -limehound”!</p> - -<p>It was wonderful the way the Baby had -grown in such a short time. I had to jump -now when I wanted to lick her face! She was -awfully glad to see us and cried a little when -William took us back to the Kennel.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<small>HOW WE SPENT CHRISTMAS</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>The next day the Master, the Mistress, the -Baby, William and us dogs went for a walk -together. William carried an axe and a piece -of rope. I thought we were going hunting. -The snow was quite deep and the Master and -the Mistress wore funny flat things under -their shoes which kept them from sinking -through the snow. The Master carried the -Baby in his arms until we had got to the woods, -and she kept saying “Kismas twee! Kismas -twee! Booful Kismas twee!” all the way. -When we were at the edge of the woods the -Master and William walked around and -looked at the trees and at last the Master said -“This one, William,” and William swung his -axe and down came the tree. It was only a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> -small one and I tried to tell them that there -were very much larger ones further on, but -no one paid any attention to me. When the -tree was cut down William tied the rope to it -and we went home, William dragging the tree -after him over the snow. I thought it was a -pretty poor sort of hunt.</p> - -<p>It began to snow again before we were back -at the house and William put us to bed early -that evening. The next morning the snow had -stopped and the sun was shining brightly. -William let us out and we all tore up to the -back door, very hungry indeed. And when -Cook gave us our breakfast what do you suppose -it was? What’s the nicest thing you can -think of? Mince pie? Why, of course not; -dogs don’t care for mince pie. No, nor candy—much. -What we had that morning was -liver and corn-bread, with lots of gravy! How -was that for a feast? And Cook and Delia -and William stood around and saw us eat it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -and laughed and seemed very gay and happy. -And after that William took us into the -house.</p> - -<p>There was the Baby and the Master and the -Mistress, and they all cried “Merry Christmas!” -as we came tumbling in; only the Baby -said “Maykismas!” instead, which was the -best she could do. Between the windows in -the big room was that tree we had brought -home the day before, but you would never -have known it for the same tree. I didn’t -know whether to bark at it or wag my tail. So -I growled. That tree was all covered with -the most wonderful sparkly things! There -were glass balls of red and yellow and green -and white and blue, and long strings of shiny -stuff that glittered in the sunlight, and -strings of pop-corn—only I’d never seen any -pop-corn just like it before, because it was -pink!—and all sorts of little toys and coloured -paper bags and, at the very tip-top of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> -the tree, a little white angel with wings like -a dragon-fly! And underneath the tree were -many things wrapped in paper and tied with -red ribbons.</p> - -<p>“Just see Freya!” laughed the Mistress. -Would you believe it, that dog had helped herself -to one of the packages and had taken it -under the table and was tearing the paper off -it! I was terribly ashamed of her, I can tell -you! But the Master and the Mistress didn’t -seem to mind it. They only laughed. And -the Master looked at what Freya had taken -and said: “Smart dog! It had her name on -it!” And the Baby clapped her hands and -every one seemed to think that Freya had -really done something very clever!</p> - -<p>The Master reached under the tree then and -picked up one of the packages and looked at it -and said: “Now then, Young Fritz, here’s a -present for you. Sit up and ask for it, you -rascal!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span></p> - -<p>So I sat up on my hind legs and begged and -he put it in my mouth and I took it off to a -corner and smelled of it. It didn’t smell very -nice, I thought. It made me think of something -but I couldn’t remember what. So I -tore the paper off it and—can you guess what -I found? A pickled lime! Wasn’t that a -mean joke? I backed away from it in a hurry -and they all laughed at me and I crawled -under the couch where Freya was chewing on -a rubber ball with her eyes closed. I took it -away from her, but the Mistress said “No, no, -Fritzie! You mustn’t take Freya’s ball away. -Here’s something nice for you.”</p> - -<p>So I sat up and begged again and the Master -gave me another present and when I’d got -the paper and ribbon off it there was a rubber -cat that squeaked every time I bit it! It -looked a little like Ju-Ju, who was sitting on -the window-sill with a new pink bow around -her neck, and when I saw that I bit it harder.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span></p> - -<p>Father got a new collar and a rabbit made of -cloth, Mother got a Teddy bear and a tin bug -that walked across the floor and went <em>click-click-click</em>, -Freya got the ball and a cloth cat -which was bigger than mine but didn’t taste so -good and I got a wooden duck that flapped its -wings and opened its mouth when you moved -it. I didn’t think that the Family knew about -the time the duck made me fall into the brook, -but they must have. I suppose Ju-Ju told -them. That cat talks too much, anyway.</p> - -<p>And we all had sweet biscuits and candy -which the Baby fed to us until the Mistress -told her we had had enough. After that we -were allowed to stay there and play a long -time. <a href="#i_105">I chewed that rubber cat until it stopped -squeaking and then tried the duck.</a> The paint -tasted very good. Freya stole a bag of candy -from the tree and ate half of it before I found -out about it and took it away from her. -Really, her manners were awful that day!</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_105"> - <img src="images/i_105.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_103">I chewed that rubber cat until it stopped -squeaking and then tried the duck</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span></p> - -<p>I ate the rest of the candy so as to punish -her for stealing it, but I didn’t really want it -and after I had eaten it I began to feel sick. -It was just as well, I think, that they let us out -just then. I don’t know what the rest did, but -I hurried right down to the stable and got behind -the flower-pots and had quite a miserable -time of it for a while. You see, besides the -sweet biscuits and all that candy, I had eaten -most of a rubber cat and one wing of a wooden -duck. I think, though, that it was the yellow -paint that made me sick.</p> - -<p>I felt better in the afternoon and crawled -out and went back to the house. The Baby -had a new sled and she was coasting down a -little hill behind the house. She would sit on -the sled and take one of us dogs in her arms -and then Nurse would give her a push and off -she would go. I coasted twice but didn’t care -much for it. I wasn’t feeling quite well yet. -For dinner that day we had turkey, and it was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> -fine; almost as good as liver and corn-bread. -I was very glad that I felt well enough by that -time to eat all that was given to me—and some -of Freya’s. Then William took us down and -put us to bed and that ended that Christmas -Day. I had had a very good time, on the -whole, but I was a little glad that Christmas -didn’t come very often!</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<small>MORE LESSONS</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>It was in February that Father and Mother -began going away from home for three and -four days at a time. William usually went -with them, but once the Master went. Each -time they came back they brought a bunch of -pretty ribbons, blue and red and yellow and -white, and William put them in a glass case in -the harness room where there were lots more. -Of course we asked Mother where the ribbons -came from and she said from the dog shows -and told us about them. But we didn’t understand -very well. It seemed that the ribbons -were prizes given to Father and Mother because -they were such fine dogs, and William -and the Master and every one was very pleased -and proud each time Father and Mother came -home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span></p> - -<p>Father was proud, too. He got more ribbons -than Mother. I didn’t think that was -fair, but Mother didn’t seem to mind. After -each show Father would be very lazy and just -lie around and look proud and Mother would -fetch him bones. But after a day or two -Father would forget to be proud and find his -own bones. It wasn’t much fun for Freya -and I when Father was being proud, because -he slept a lot and if we made the least noise -Mother would say “Hush, children! Your -father is taking a nap and you mustn’t waken -him. Go somewhere else and play.” So we -were glad when the dog shows stopped for a -while.</p> - -<p>Freya and I were to learn about dog shows -for ourselves, though. When we were almost -a year old William began putting a leash on -my collar and Freya’s and walking us about. -At first I didn’t like it at all. It made me -quite nervous to have that strap holding me<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span> -back. The first time William put it on I stood -still and he kept tugging at it and saying -“Come on, now, Fritzie! Come on now!” I -was quite willing to go with him, but I didn’t -like the feeling of that collar up around my -ears. Still, it didn’t do any good to put my -feet out and hold back because William -dragged me, and when I found that out I decided -I’d run away from him. So I started -off in a hurry. But there was that horrid -strap, and when I’d gone a little ways my feet -went out from under me and I turned a somersault. -That frightened me and I ran off in -another direction. But each time that leash -stopped me. Then I began to run around -William in circles and howl and presently, -when I couldn’t run any more, because the -leash was wrapped around William’s legs, I -gave a final tug and William fell over on his -back in a flower-bed where there were some -sweet peas just coming up. He was very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -angry. I saw that at once and so I tried my -best to get away from there. But the more I -tried to run the angrier William got. You -see, he couldn’t get the strap from around his -legs and so he couldn’t get on his feet. And -just then I heard the Baby clapping her hands -and Nurse saying “Why, William! Whatever -are you doing there?”</p> - -<p>And then William was so surprised and felt -so silly that he let go the leash and I pulled it -loose and ran as hard as I could run to the -stable and crawled behind the flower-pots. -But of course he found me and pulled me out. -He always did. Sometimes now I wonder -why I didn’t find a better place to hide in.</p> - -<p>Well, William had his way in the end and I -got so I didn’t mind being on the leash and -would walk along ahead of him quite nicely. -Freya had to learn too. She didn’t mind it as -much as I had, but then she never had much -spirit. After we got used to the leash William<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -would put a flat box in the middle of the -carriage room floor and make us get up on it -and stand there for minutes at a time. I -didn’t see much fun in that, and at first when -he got me on the box I jumped right down -again. But he was very—very—Now what -was it that Mother said he was? Oh, patient; -that was it; very patient. That was what -Mother called it, but I said he was stubborn.</p> - -<p>Anyway, he kept at me until I did just what -he wanted me to, and after a while I didn’t -mind standing on the box, although I couldn’t -see much sense in it and it seemed a dreadful -waste of time. But Mother told us what it -was all for, and then I was quite willing to do -what William wanted. You see, we were being -trained for the dog shows. I thought that -was very nice because it meant going on a journey, -just as Father and Mother had, and bringing -back a lot of pretty ribbons. Father said, -though, that if I didn’t behave better than I’d<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -been behaving I wouldn’t get any ribbons. -Father can be quite gruff at times. Freya was -so excited about it that she could talk of nothing -else.</p> - -<p>“Won’t it be fine,” she would say, “to be in -a show and have hundreds of people admiring -you and patting you and saying what a lovely -dog you are? I know I shall just love it, -Fritz!”</p> - -<p>Girl-dogs are always vain, you see. Vanity -is not becoming in dogs any more than in Two-Legged -Folks and so I growled and said: “I -guess no one will look twice at you, Miss -Stuck-Up! You’re much too homely.”</p> - -<p>That made Freya cry and she ran off to ask -her mother if it was so. Of course she really -wasn’t homely. I only said that so she -wouldn’t be vain and proud. Freya in some -ways was a better looking dog than I was. -Her coat was what the Master called “perfectly -wonderful.” It was very black and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span> -very shiny; just like satin. And her ears were -fine and long and silky. And she had nice -eyes, too, and a good tail. My tail had a place -on the tip where there was no hair. Poor William -troubled a lot about that spot and rubbed -it with grease for weeks and weeks. The -grease didn’t seem to do much good, though. -Perhaps I licked it off too soon. That place -never has got quite right and I don’t think it -ever will. But even if Freya was a little better -looking than I, she couldn’t run as fast or -dig as deep or do useful things as well as I -could. I was lots stronger and bigger. -Mother said that was as it should be; that girl-dogs -were not supposed to be as big and brave -and strong as boy-dogs.</p> - -<p>Well, William taught us all sorts of things -that Spring. It was a good deal of a bother, -but the thought of being taken to the dog show -helped me to be patient and go through with it. -After we had been in training for a month or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -more I asked Mother when the show was to -be and she said she didn’t know; that maybe it -wouldn’t come for a long time. I didn’t like -that and I had made up my mind that there -wasn’t any use in going through with so many -lessons if nothing was to come of it when, one -morning, the Master came down to the stable.</p> - -<p>“Well, how are they getting on, William?” -he asked.</p> - -<p>“Fair, sir,” said William. “Freya takes to -it like the lady she is, sir, but Young Fritz is -slower. He’s as stubborn as his father, sir.”</p> - -<p>Now I thought that very unkind of William -after all the trouble I had taken to please him, -and just to show that my feelings were hurt I -sneaked off and got behind the flower-pots. -But I could hear what they were saying in the -carriage room, and pretty soon the Master -said:</p> - -<p>“Well, I think we’ll try them out at the Oak -Cliff Show in June. It’s nearby and there’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -only one day of it. They’re bound to be nervous -the first time and a small show is a good -one to start them with.”</p> - -<p>I pricked up my ears at that, because it was -already the last of May, and crawled out from -back of the flower-pots.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<small>A VISIT TO JACK</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>“Freya won’t mind it a bit, sir,” William was -saying. “She’s the sort that loves a bit of fuss -and excitement. She’ll show well, she will, -sir.”</p> - -<p>William always thought whatever Freya did -was all right. I made up my mind to show -them that I could behave just as well as she -could, and so I went back to the carriage room.</p> - -<p>“Well, let me see how they act,” said the -Master.</p> - -<p>So William snapped the leash on my collar -and walked me slowly around in a circle several -times. Then he stopped and I stopped -and stood quite still. Then he led me to the -box and said “Up, boy!” and I jumped up on -the box and stood there very straight, with my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -head up and my body stretched as long as I -could stretch it. Then William took hold of -my tail and lifted my back legs up by it, and -felt me all over and opened my mouth and -looked at my teeth and went through with all -the things he always did when I was on the -box. And finally he said “All right, boy!” -and I jumped down and looked at the Master -and wagged my tail. I could see at once that -he was very pleased.</p> - -<p>“Why, there’s nothing wrong with him, William!” -said the Master. “I never saw a dog -have any better ring manners than that.”</p> - -<p>William scratched his head and shook it and -looked at me in a puzzled way. “Well, sir,” -he said at last, “I never knew him to do it like -that before. Seems as if he was sort of showing -off, don’t it, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes,” laughed the Master, “and that’s -what we want him to do!”</p> - -<p>Then Freya went through with it and didn’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> -do as well as I had because she kept wiggling -all the time, wanting the Master to speak to -her and pet her. Girl-dogs are silly that way. -There’s a time for everything, but they don’t -understand it. They always want to play -when it’s time to work, which is quite wrong. -Well, the Master was much pleased with both -of us and said that we’d surely be shown at the -Oak Cliff Show next month, and that he’d -send in the entries at once. I ran off to tell -Mother about it and she was pleased too.</p> - -<p>“You must be a very good dog,” she said, -“and do just as William tells you to. And -when you get to the show you must mind your -own affairs and pay no attention to other dogs -or to people. I don’t think your father or I -will be there, so you must look after yourself -and Freya.”</p> - -<p>I was sorry Father and Mother were not -going, but I was quite excited at the thought of -Freya and I going alone, and I hunted up<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span> -Freya to tell her. When I found her she was -looking very sad and I asked her what the -matter was.</p> - -<p>“I have a pimple,” she whined. “William -just found it. He says if I don’t get rid of it -before the show I won’t get a prize.”</p> - -<p>And she absolutely began to cry! Aren’t -girl-dogs funny? I looked at the pimple and -it was so small I couldn’t see it at first. It -wasn’t worth bothering about. I’d had them -five times as large as hers. Why, the time I -ate the crow that I found in the truck garden -I had dozens of great huge ones! And William -put some smelly stuff on them and gave -me a dose of nasty medicine and they went -right away again. So I laughed at Freya and -she stopped crying, and after William had -rubbed something on the pimple I told her -what Mother had said. I thought she would -be quite pleased about it, but she wasn’t. You -never can tell what a girl-dog will do!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Freya, “I should be frightened to -death to go away without Father and Mother! -I just couldn’t do it!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” I said, “you’ll just have to. Besides, -William will be there and maybe the -Master, too.”</p> - -<p>“But it isn’t the same as having your own -parents,” said Freya, looking teary again. -“Suppose—suppose anything happened to us!”</p> - -<p>“What could happen?” I asked. “Besides, -<em>I’m</em> going to be there!”</p> - -<p>That ought to have satisfied her, I thought, -but it didn’t, and she went running off to tell -Mother how frightened she was. That was -too much for me and I trotted over to call on -Jack and tell him the news.</p> - -<p>I found him in the back yard eating a fine -big veal bone. “Hello, Fritz,” he said, pushing -the bone to me. “Want to chew on that? -It isn’t half bad. I’m afraid I’ve eaten the -best of it, though.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>It was very nice and sweet, that bone, and I -settled down to enjoy it, and between crunches -I told him about Freya and I going alone to -the dog show. He didn’t seem to think it was -so grand, though. He kind of turned up his -lip at it.</p> - -<p>“The Oak Cliff Show?” he said. “Oh, -that’s just a small affair, a one-day show, -managed by the women folks. It’s pretty -good fun, of course, but even if you do bring -back some ribbons they don’t amount to much.”</p> - -<p>I guess he saw that I was disappointed, because -he went on: “Not that it isn’t worth -while, of course. I used to go to it when I was -a little fellow. You’ll like it and I dare say -Freya will get a ‘blue.’ You too, maybe. A -‘red,’ anyhow. I have five or six ‘blues’ that -I got there.” He yawned. “When is it to -be?”</p> - -<p>“Some time in June,” I said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span></p> - -<p>“Of course; it always is in June. I meant -what day?”</p> - -<p>I couldn’t tell him that, though.</p> - -<p>“Well, you’ll have a good time. Don’t let -folks handle you too much, Fritz. It upsets -you and you don’t do so well in the ring. And -don’t pay any attention to the judges. Act as -if you didn’t see them. When I was a puppy -I was too friendly and bit one of the judges on -the nose when he was bending over me. I -just did it in play, but I guess I bit too hard, -because he made a great to-do about it and sent -me right out of the ring and I didn’t even get -a mention.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” I said, “a great many dogs go -to it?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, about a hundred, I think. You’ll meet -all kinds. Don’t have much to do with them. -Some of them are no-account dogs. It takes -all sorts of dogs to make a world, you know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span></p> - -<p>“A hundred!” I said. “My, but that’s a lot -of dogs, isn’t it? I didn’t know there were so -many in the world, Jack!”</p> - -<p>Jack laughed. “A hundred’s nothing,” he -said. “In the New York show I’ve seen nearly -five hundred! That’s a show that is a show, -Fritz! Maybe if you do pretty well at Oak -Cliff the Master will send you there next winter.”</p> - -<p>“I wish he would,” I answered. “It must -be fine.”</p> - -<p>Jack yawned again. “It’s rather good fun -until you get used to it,” he said. “Going? -Well, come again. I’ll drop over and see you -before the show.”</p> - -<p>So I thanked him for the loan of his bone -and trotted home.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<small>THE TURTLE</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>A week before we were to go to Oak Cliff -William began to groom us every morning and -evening. We were rubbed all over with a -cloth that was wet with something that smelled -good and left our coats smooth and glossy. -We were brushed, too, and our claws were cut -and our teeth were cleaned and he even washed -our ears! I stood everything very well but -that. I do hate to have my ears washed. -Don’t you?</p> - -<p>As for that bare spot on the end of my tail, -poor William worked and worked and fussed -and fussed and worried and worried over that. -“I’m thinking,” he told me once, “that it would -be fine if you’d wag your tail hard when the -judge is looking at you and maybe he won’t -see where the hair’s off!” I suspected that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -William put some sort of medicine in our food -those days. I couldn’t find it, but there was -a little different taste to things. I think that -is a very mean thing to do to a dog. Poor -Freya had a hard time getting enough to eat -that week, because William said she was a little -too fat and so he only gave her about half what -he usually did. Sometimes, if I wasn’t awfully -hungry and William wasn’t looking, I’d -leave a little in my dish and let her finish it.</p> - -<p>Of course all the attention we had took a lot -of time and it was hard to stay quiet so long. -But I went through with it as best I could because -I knew that the nicer I looked at the -show the more likely I was to get a pretty ribbon. -The worst of it was that after William -had groomed us we were supposed to be very -good and keep ourselves clean. That wasn’t -much trouble for Freya. She liked being -fussed over and I think she was glad of an excuse -to be lazy and lie around in the sun and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -not go hunting. But it wasn’t so easy for me, -and try as hard as I might I seemed to be always -getting into scrapes. Like the time I -caught the turtle.</p> - -<p>William had just fixed me all up until I felt -much too clean for comfort and told me to be -good and not get dirty. I really meant to -obey him, but I didn’t think it was much fun -to just lie around the stable and so I asked -Freya to go for a run with me. She wouldn’t, -though. She said William wouldn’t like it -if she did. So I went off alone and wandered -down into the meadow and chased grasshoppers -for awhile. There isn’t much fun in that, -though. They’re not good to eat when you -catch them. So I went on down to the brook -and presently I saw the funniest looking thing -you can imagine. When I told Mother about -it afterwards she said it was a turtle, but I -didn’t know what it was then because <a href="#i_124fp">I had -never seen one before</a>. It lived in a shell that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -was a sort of greenish-brown on top and yellow -underneath. There were two funny little -paws on each side and a funny little tail behind -and a much funnier little head in front, and it -was crawling along very slowly toward the -brook. I watched it a minute and then I ran -up to it and barked. Then it did the queerest -thing! Instead of barking back or saying -“quack” like the ducks or “cluck” like the hens -it just pulled itself inside that shell until there -wasn’t anything in sight but the place it lived!</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_124fp"> - <img src="images/i_124fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_126">I had never seen one before</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>I thought that was very impolite and so I -turned it over with my nose and barked again. -But it wouldn’t come out. I barked at it a -long time but it did no good, and then I lay -down a little ways off and watched. Pretty -soon the turtle thought I’d gone away and out -came his head very, very slowly and he looked -around with two little glittering yellow eyes. -I think he was quite surprised to find himself -on his back. He looked surprised, anyway,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -and he worked his paws and tried to turn himself -over. Then he saw me, I guess, for he -went back into his house very quickly again.</p> - -<p>“You are a very stupid fellow,” I said, -“whatever you are. Come on out and play.”</p> - -<p>But he wouldn’t, and so pretty soon I went -over to him and patted him with my paw. -That didn’t bring him out, either. I made up -my mind then that I’d take him home to -Mother and ask her what he was. So I just -picked him up in my mouth, house and all, and -started along the brook with him. I had gone -just a little ways when I felt a sharp pain in -my lip, and I looked and that turtle had put -his head out and was biting me! You may -believe that I let go of him pretty quick! But -he wouldn’t let go of me. He hung right on -to my lip and swung there. I pawed at him -and rubbed my head on the ground and howled, -but it did no good. That turtle held on tight. -By that time he was hurting a lot and I began<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> -to yelp and roll around and shake my head and -do everything I could think of to get rid of -him. And in the middle of it I slipped over -the side of the bank and rolled down into the -brook on my back!</p> - -<p>After that I don’t remember just what did -happen for a minute or two. I know that the -turtle was still there and that I stuck my head -into the mud and rolled over and over in the -water and had an awful time and almost -drowned myself before that horrid turtle finally -let go of me. When I crawled out I was covered -with mud and water and my lip was bleeding -and I was shaking all over. I laid down -for a while on the bank to get my breath and -then I went back to the stable, hoping I could -get behind the flower-pots before William saw -me. But I didn’t. He was washing a carriage, -and Father was helping him, when I got -there, and he saw me before I could get by. -My, but he was angry! He just took hold of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -me by the neck and held me with one hand and -turned the hose on me with the other. Being -washed with a hose is very unpleasant. The -water gets in your eyes and mouth and ears. -I had a very bad time of it. William scolded -and scolded until he saw the place on my lip -where the turtle had bitten me. Then he was -sorry for me and dried me with a big chamois-skin -and put some salve on the wound and it -felt better. And I crawled behind the flower-pots -and went to sleep.</p> - -<p>Turtles and toads and ducks and bees are -not good for dogs. They don’t play fair. -It’s funny the lot of trouble I got into down -by that brook. There was the time the duck -“quacked” at me and I fell into the mud and -the time the toad poisoned my mouth and the -time the turtle bit me. You would think that -I’d have learned to stay away from the brook, -but I never did.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<small><a href="#i_142">AT THE DOG SHOW</a></small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>We started out, William and Freya and I, -very early one morning for the dog show. I -think it was a Saturday. Anyhow, I remember -that we had liver for breakfast the next -day, and we usually had liver on Sundays. -Freya and I were put in the dog crate and the -crate was put in the little wagon and William -drove. The Master, the Mistress and the -Baby went in the carriage. Father and -Mother were left at home. Father made quite -a fuss about it and climbed into the wagon -twice and had to be put out, but Mother just -told us to be good children and not get into -trouble and went back and laid down in the -stable doorway.</p> - -<p>Freya was so excited that she couldn’t keep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> -still. I was excited, too, but I didn’t show it. -I just laid down on the bottom of the crate -and peeked out between the slats and tried to -see the world. It was hard work, though, because -the slats were very close together and -the wagon bumped a good deal. After a while -the wagon slowed down and we heard a lot of -barking and knew that we were almost there. -When William lifted the crate down and -opened it the Master looked in and said -“Hello, you rascals! Have a good trip?” -Freya and I licked his hand and he put chains -on our collars and we jumped out.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_142"> - <img src="images/i_142.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_130">At the dog show</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>I was a little frightened at first. Never had -I seen so many people or heard so many dogs. -And as for carriages and automobiles, why, I -suppose there must have been hundreds! -Folks were walking around over the grass and -dogs were being taken out of hampers and -crates and it was a strange and wonderful -scene. In front of us was a monstrous big<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -tent, oh, quite the largest tent you can possibly -imagine! And from the tent came such a -barking and yelping as I’d never heard. -Freya tugged at her chain and seemed very -anxious to get to it, but I held back and sort -of wished myself back home. But just then -the Mistress and the Baby came up with some -other folks, and the Baby put her arms around -my neck and said I was her “booful dogums” -and I felt braver. So we all went into the -tent.</p> - -<p>It was full of platforms, or “benches” as -they called them, which were open in front and -closed at back and divided into little pens by -wire screens. William led us to one of the -pens and as we went all the dogs who saw us -barked and yelped and said things to us and -made a frightful noise. We jumped up on -the bench and William tied our chains to rings -in the back of the pen. There were two pieces -of paper with numbers on them tacked there,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -and the Master tied tags to our collars, and -the tags had the same numbers that were on -the back of the pen. Mine was 86 and -Freya’s was 87. William brought a big armful -of nice clean straw and put it on the bottom -of the pen and I got as far away into a corner -as I could and laid down and shivered a little. -But Freya jumped and tugged at her chain -and barked and went on very rudely. William -took a piece of cloth and rubbed us hard -with it and then he brought us some water.</p> - -<p>While I was lying in the corner a dog in the -next pen tried to put his nose through the grating -and I turned around quickly and nipped it. -It didn’t hurt him much, I guess, but he made -an awful fuss about it and a lady who was sitting -on the edge of his pen scolded me and -said I was a horrid dog and that if I did that -again she’d have me taken away. She took -that other dog in her arms and petted him and -gave him something to eat out of a little bag,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -and the dog whined and sniffled and acted terribly -silly. I made up my mind that if he put -his nose into our pen again I’d give him another -nip. And just then he saw me looking -over at him and he winked at me, and I knew -that he had been making all that fuss so his -Mistress would give him something out of the -little bag!</p> - -<p>I asked him later on what it was she gave -him and he said it was raw meat. He said I -didn’t hurt him much but he wanted the meat. -He was the same kind of a dog as I, only he -was all brown and very fat. We got to be -very good friends later. His name was Sigismund. -He told me that his Mistress took him -to all the shows but he never got a prize but -once and then there were only two other dachshunds -there. He said he didn’t mind not getting -prizes, but that his Mistress always felt -very badly about it and was quite cross to the -judges.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span></p> - -<p>“She thinks I’m a very fine dog,” he said, -“but I’m not, you know. You can see yourself -that I’m too short in the body and too high -at the back. Besides, my teeth are bad. That -comes from too much meat. It’s all rather -tiresome, this sort of thing, but she likes it and -I put up with it. Who is the dog with you?”</p> - -<p>I told him she was my sister and he said she -was very pretty and he guessed she’d get a blue -ribbon. All this was later in the day, though, -after I’d got sort of used to the noise and all -the people. They kept walking around and -walking around until it made my head spin to -see them. I did wish they’d sit down somewhere -or go away. They’d stop in front of us -and say the rudest things! Why, one lady -looked at us and said “Did you ever see such -funny things, Tom? The idea of any one -thinking them nice!” Freya let folks pat her -but I didn’t. I growled.</p> - -<p>Across the aisle from us were a lot of big,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -long-haired dogs with pointed noses. I heard -William say they were collies. They did nothing -but bark all the time. They were the most -excited dogs I ever saw. Further along were -some fox terriers, and besides those there were -all kinds of other dogs whose names I didn’t -know.</p> - -<p>All the time dogs were going by on chains, -and Sigismund said they were going to the -judging pen. I couldn’t see the judging pen -but I could hear people clapping their hands, -and every little while a dog would pass us with -a blue or a red or a yellow ribbon on his collar -which the judges had given him. And if it -was a blue ribbon he would look very, very -proud, and if it was another coloured ribbon -he looked just a little bit proud. I asked -Sigismund if it was very hard being judged -and he said it wasn’t and that he usually took -a nap while it was going on.</p> - -<p>It got very warm in the tent after a while<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -and William gave us some fresh water and a -piece of biscuit, which was all we had for dinner. -Pretty soon after that a man in overalls -went around saying: “Class 49, Dachshunds! -All entries to the judging pen!” Then William -made us jump down and he and the Master -led us to where there was a square pen -fenced off with boards. All around it on the -outside were people looking over the top of -the fence. Inside there were many dachshunds -when we got there and more followed us -through the gate. Sigismund was there, too, -with his mistress. He winked at me and then -closed his eyes and looked exactly as if he was -going to sleep!</p> - -<p>Presently we all began to walk around in a -circle at the end of our chains while two men -stood in the centre of the pen and watched us. -Then we stopped walking and the two men -came and looked us all over, and one by one -we stood on a little platform in the centre and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -the two judges felt of us and pulled us and -looked into our mouths and made me very -nervous. But when my time came I remembered -what William had taught me and what -Mother had said and stood very quiet and held -my head up and stretched my legs out. It -really wasn’t bad at all because the man who -judged me was very gentle and I didn’t mind -what he did.</p> - -<p>After me three other dogs went on the box -and were judged. And then the two judges -talked together a minute and went over to a -little table in one corner and picked up some -ribbons and came back. I wondered whether -they would give one of them to William, and -they did, but it was a red ribbon and William -didn’t look very pleased even if he did say -“Thank you” quite nicely. A very handsome -dog named Champion Hillside Carl got the -blue ribbon, which was the first prize. I was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -sorry I had got only the second prize because -William looked so disappointed.</p> - -<p>Then it was Freya’s turn to try and she and -five other girl-dogs were put on the box one -after the other, and Freya looked so pretty that -the people watching over the fence clapped -their hands. That pleased Freya and she -wagged her tail and smiled at the judge and he -patted her head. And when it was all over the -judge walked right up to the Master and gave -him the blue ribbon, and every one clapped -some more and all the dogs barked. William -didn’t feel so badly after Freya had got the -first prize.</p> - -<p>I thought then that we would be led back -to our bench, but it seemed that we were to try -for other prizes first. There were prizes for -what they called “novices,” which were dogs -who had never been in a show before. There -was a prize for boy novices and one for girl<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> -novices, and Freya and I each won a first, and -by that time William was all smiles. Then -Freya and I were judged as a pair and we -each got a second prize. The first prize went -to Champion Hillside Carl and a girl-dog who -was quite good-looking but not nearly so -pretty as Freya.</p> - -<p>Then we went back to the bench and William -and the Master said how well we had -done and how nicely we had behaved in the -pen. Besides the lovely ribbons, which had -gold letters on them and which William at -once hung up at the back of the bench, we had -won money. Freya had won eleven dollars -and I had won nine. The Master said we -should each have a fine new collar. I wanted -to wear my ribbons, but William wouldn’t let -me. Sigismund had not won anything at all -and I was very sorry for him, and told him so. -But he only laughed.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t expect to,” he said. “I never do.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span> -For my part I’d much rather stay at home, but -my Mistress likes this sort of thing. She told -the judges that they didn’t know their business. -She always tells them that. You did -very well, you and your sister both. You’d -have got that other blue if that Hillside Carl -dog hadn’t been there. He’s been winning -first prizes for two years now. I meet him -everywhere I go. He’s an awfully stuck-up -chap.” He yawned and stretched himself. -“Well, it’s about over now and I shall be glad -to get home again.”</p> - -<p>I curled up and took a little nap and when -I awoke William was taking the ribbons down -and it was time to go home. We jumped back -in the crate and pretty soon we were bumping -along the road once more. Freya was still too -excited to keep still, but I managed to get a -few more winks of sleep on the way back. -When we reached the stable Father and -Mother were waiting for us and maybe they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> -weren’t pleased when we told them about the -prizes! Mother jumped around and licked -our faces and barked. Father didn’t say -much, but I could see that he was every bit as -glad as Mother. When I told him about -Champion Hillside Carl he sort of growled.</p> - -<p>“Humph,” he said, “was that dog there to-day? -I’ve beaten Carl twice and I could have -done it again. He isn’t so fine. His ears are -too short, and he is deaf in the left one. Only -the judges are too stupid to find it out! I -wish <em>I’d</em> been there!”</p> - -<p>We had a supper of broth and bread and -went to sleep early, being pretty well tired out.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<small>THE STRANGE MAN</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>There were no more dog shows for us that -summer, although Father and Mother went to -one in August and Father came back with -three blue ribbons and Mother with a blue and -two reds. Father had beaten Champion Hillside -Carl quite easily and was very proud for -several days and Mother trotted her feet off -finding bones for him.</p> - -<p>It was just after the show that Alfred and -his mother came to visit us again, and I was -awfully glad to see him. He had grown a -good deal since the summer before. But then -I had grown too and he said he would scarcely -have known me! I don’t know which of us -was gladder to see him, the Baby or I. We -had some fine times in the next two weeks.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span> -We hunted squirrels in the orchard and had -picnics in the woods and played all sorts of -games. But we didn’t look for Indians in the -swamp, I can tell you!</p> - -<p><a href="#i_146fp">Alfred</a> liked me best of all the dogs and one -evening he came down to the Kennel after it -was dark and carried me to the house and <a href="#i_146fp">took -me to bed with him</a> and I slept there all night -curled up in his arms. In the morning we had -a fine romp when we woke up, but I guess we -must have made too much noise, for Nurse -heard us and came in and said, “Why, Master -Alfred, wherever did you get that dog? Put -him right off the bed this very instant!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_146fp"> - <img src="images/i_146fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_144">Alfred took me to bed with him</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Nurse had left the door open and so I ran -out as hard as I could and down the stairs. -It wasn’t my fault that Delia was coming up -just then with a tray of toast and coffee for -Alfred’s mother, was it? Besides, she might -have seen me if she had been looking. She -didn’t, though, and I was in a great hurry and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -tried to run between her feet. I was almost -at the bottom of the stairs when I heard the -tray fall, and a piece of toast came rolling -down after me. I thought it best not to stop -for it, however, although I am very fond of -buttered toast. Fortunately, William was -shining the brass knocker on the front door and -I was able to get out without more trouble.</p> - -<p>I went right down to the stable and got behind -the flower-pots and stayed there until the -middle of the forenoon, but nothing happened, -and so, when I heard Alfred whistling, I came -out. William was there, too, and when I saw -him I laid down on my back and put my feet -up. But he only laughed.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be letting Delia get hold of you to-day,” -he said. “Keep away from the kitchen, -Fritzie, my boy.”</p> - -<p>And then he and Alfred both looked at each -other and laughed again, and Alfred and I -found the Baby and Freya and went down to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -the brook and waded. When I saw Delia she -had a piece of white cloth tied around her head. -I don’t know why she did it, because it didn’t -make her look any prettier.</p> - -<p>After that Alfred took me to bed with him -several times and I liked it a lot. And Nurse -didn’t say a thing when she found me there. -Delia and I made it up and were good friends -again in a day or two. And then it came time -for Alfred to go back to the city and I felt -very sad and lonesome. So did the Baby, and -she and I used to sit together in the hammock -on the piazza and talk about Alfred and wish -him back again. I was a great comfort to the -Baby, I’m sure.</p> - -<p>I was a year and a half old that Autumn, -which, for a dog, is quite grown-up, you know. -When I did anything silly Mother would say: -“Remember, Fritz, you are no longer a -puppy.” It was hard to do that, though, and -I was just as fond of play as ever. But, of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> -course, I had grown much more sensible and -wise. Experience is a great teacher. I heard -Father say that once, and I guess it must be -so. I didn’t get into scrapes any more; at -least, not many. I did dig a hole under the -stable one day and then couldn’t get out again -until William had taken some of the stones out -of the wall. But that was because I didn’t -know that the ground under the stable was so -much lower than it was outside. It was rather -a jolly place down there and I think there -were rats there, but I was too frightened when -I found I couldn’t get out again to do any -hunting. And after that William put a stone -where I’d gone in and I was never able to get -back to make sure.</p> - -<p>And then there was another scrape, too, -which was quite the worst I ever got into. I -shall not forget that very soon, I can tell you! -It happened that October and this was the way -of it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span></p> - -<p>Freya cared less for hunting and running -around than ever that Fall and so I used to -go about a good deal alone. Sometimes -Father would take me to look for foxes, but -that wasn’t very often, and we never found -any. And sometimes Jack and I would go for -a run together. It wasn’t much fun for him, -though, because my legs were so short that he -had to wait for me to catch up to him every -little while. So very often I went alone. I -didn’t mind. There is so much to see if you -use your eyes and so much to smell if you use -your nose. And there are lots of nice things -to listen to, besides. Like the songs that the -birds sing and the whispers the breezes make in -the trees and the chattering of the squirrels -and chipmunks and so many, many other -sounds. There are lots of wonderful and interesting -things in the world, and a dog who is -treated kindly and has a nice home to live in -has a very good time. The nice home has a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -lot to do with a dog’s happiness, as I found out -when I didn’t have one.</p> - -<p>One nice sunny day, when the leaves on the -trees were all yellow and red and were fluttering -down, I found myself on the road that -passes our gate. I had been chasing a chipmunk. -He ran along on top of the wall and -the fence, making a funny little squeaky noise, -and every time I got near him he would give -a long jump and get away again. And sometimes -he would run down to the ground and -hide and I’d have to hunt him out. When I -lost him finally in a hole that went down under -the stone wall I was nearly half a mile from -home and there was a man walking toward me -along the road.</p> - -<p>He didn’t look quite like a nice man and I -started to trot away from him. But he called -to me in a kind voice and so I stopped and -looked back. And when I looked he stooped -and held something toward me in his hand and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -it had a very good smell. William doesn’t -give us raw meat except once in a great while -when we aren’t feeling very well, but I knew -the smell of it and I knew that it was raw meat -that the man wanted to give me. I was hungry -and so I thought it over and decided that -if he really didn’t want the meat himself I -might as well have it.</p> - -<p>But I was a little bit afraid and didn’t go -right up to him. He tossed a piece toward me -and I went back and got it and it surely tasted -awfully nice. Then he tossed me another piece -and I ate that, and almost before I knew it I -was eating the rest of the meat out of his -hand and he was patting me and saying “Good -dog.” And then he slipped a piece of string -through the new collar that the Master had -bought me with the money I had won at the -dog show and when I tried to turn around and -go home he wouldn’t let me! Instead of that -he pulled me down the road right in the opposite<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span> -direction. At first I went along without -any fuss, but when we got farther and farther -away I began to pull back and whine. Then -he got very angry with me and when he saw -I would not go unless he pulled me he called -me names and kicked me!</p> - -<p>I had never been kicked before and it -frightened me even more than it hurt, and it -hurt a good deal. I yelped and tried to run -away then, but the string held me, and every -time I sat down and wouldn’t walk he kicked -me with his boot. I soon saw that if I didn’t -want to be kicked I must go with him, and so -I went. But I was awfully frightened and I -wanted to bite him but didn’t dare to. Pretty -soon we came to a cross road which was winding -and narrow and we turned into that and -walked and walked for the longest way before -we came to a house. It was a very small house -and it needed paint and the yard in front was -dirty and untidy. And when we went through<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -the gate a horrid ugly big bulldog came running -toward us, barking and growling. But -the man kicked him too, and the bulldog -howled and ran into a shed near the house.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<small>HOW I WAS STOLEN</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>The man took me into the house, which was -just as dirty and untidy as the yard and smelt -badly, and tied the string to the leg of a table -there. He went into another room for a few -minutes and I sat there and shivered until he -came back. Then he took off my nice new collar, -with its silver name-plate and silver buckle, -and slipped a horrid old leather strap around -my neck. He read what it said on the name-plate -and then tossed the collar aside.</p> - -<p>“You ought to fetch a good price, old boy, -if they give you a collar like that,” he said. -“Come on now.”</p> - -<p>So he led me outdoors again and across to -the shed where the bulldog was. When the -bulldog saw the man come in he howled and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span> -ran out quickly. There were some boxes in -one corner of the shed that had bars in front -of them and I was put into one of these. Then -the man went out and closed the door behind -him.</p> - -<p>It was quite dark in there, and cold and -damp too, and there was nothing in the box -to lie on, and I was very unhappy. I sat and -shivered and whimpered for a long time, and it -got darker and darker. No one came to see -me. I heard the bulldog prowling about outside -and sniffing at the door and I heard the -man whistle to him once. Then it got quite -dark and after a while I cried myself to sleep. -But I was too cold to sleep soundly and I was -very glad when the light began to come back -and I knew that it was morning again.</p> - -<p>The man brought me two or three bones -without much meat on them and a broken dish -with some water in it. I didn’t care much for -the bones, but wanted the water a good deal.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -The man left the door open a little when he -went out and pretty soon the bulldog came -sneaking in.</p> - -<p>“Well,” he said gruffly, “and where’d he pick -you up?”</p> - -<p>I told him.</p> - -<p>“So you’re one of those pet dogs I’ve heard -of,” he sneered. “Lie on a cushion and eat -cake, they tell me. Well, you won’t get any -cake here. Bones and kicks are all you’ll have -now for a while. I know. I’ve lived here -four years. Pass out one of those bones. -They’re mine by rights, anyway.”</p> - -<p>I told him he could have them all and pushed -them through the bars where he could get -them, and he seemed more good-natured after -that. He ate them just as though he was half-starved, -and growled and growled over them. -He had very bad table manners. After he -had chewed them until there was nothing left -on them he laid down and we talked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span></p> - -<p>He wasn’t really a bad sort of dog at heart, -only he had been treated cruelly all his life, -kicked and beaten and half-starved. Dogs, -you know, are very much like you Two-Legged -Folks. Be gentle and kind to us and we will -be gentle and kind, too. Treat us crossly and -we may grow to be cross and snappy like you. -You are the ones we serve, and so it is not -strange that we should learn our manners from -you. Poor <a href="#i_161">Jim</a>—for that was the bulldog’s -name—had had only blows and ugly words -ever since he was a puppy and he didn’t know -what it was to be well-fed and petted and -looked after. He had heard of dogs who had -nice homes and kind masters and he pretended -to make fun of them and called them “pets,” -but I knew very well that he envied them all -the time.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_161"> - <img src="images/i_161.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_156">“Jim”</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>I asked him what his master would do with -me and why he had taken me from my home, -and he said that I would be taken to the City<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span> -and sold. “You’re not the first dog who has -been here,” he said. “Every month or so he -brings one home with him. I’ve met a lot of -them in my time.”</p> - -<p>“But he has no right to do that,” I said. -“If I did a thing like that William would say -I was stealing.”</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said Jim. “He’s a thief. He -makes his living by it. He will get twenty or -thirty dollars for you, perhaps. He would -have sold me long ago if I had been worth selling. -Besides, he needs me here to keep people -away.”</p> - -<p>“Did—did he steal you, too?” I asked him.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. I suppose so. I’ve been -here ever since I can remember. Probably he -stole me when I was a very little puppy. -Sometimes I’ve thought I’d run away, but I -never have. I’m afraid to. I’m such an ugly -looking dog that no one would want me, I -guess. So I just stay here and take what<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -comes. I wouldn’t mind what he did if he -would only give me a kind word once in a -while.”</p> - -<p>Just then there was a noise outside and Jim -sprang up with a growl and went to the door.</p> - -<p>“Some one coming along the lane in a carriage,” -he said. “I must be off.”</p> - -<p>He went out and in a moment I heard him -begin to bark loudly. Then his master spoke -to him and he was still and I heard another -voice that I knew.</p> - -<p>“Hello,” said William. “Seen a stray -dachshund around here?”</p> - -<p>“What might that be?” asked the man.</p> - -<p>“A black dog with tan markings; long body -and short legs,” answered William.</p> - -<p>“No, I ain’t seen any dog except this one -here. Want to buy him?”</p> - -<p>What William said to that I don’t know, -because I began to bark as loudly as I could. -But as soon as I barked Jim barked too and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -barked a lot louder than I could, and I suppose -William couldn’t hear me at all. At any -rate, when I stopped a moment to listen all I -could hear was the sound of the buggy rattling -off down the road. I felt very sorry for myself -then and I laid down in a corner of the -box and whined and whimpered as though my -heart was broken. After a while Jim came -back.</p> - -<p>I think he pitied me a little. “I’m sorry I -had to do it,” he said. “If I hadn’t he’d have -beaten me, you know.”</p> - -<p>“You could have run away for awhile,” I -whimpered.</p> - -<p>“I’ve tried that. It doesn’t do. He doesn’t -forget. When I come back I get the beating -just the same. Cheer up, Fritz. Maybe -you’ll have luck and find a nicer home than the -one you had.”</p> - -<p>“It couldn’t be nicer,” I said, “and even if -it was I wouldn’t like it. I want to go home!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span></p> - -<p>“Where is this home of yours?” he asked.</p> - -<p>So I told him, and told him all about William -and the Master and the Mistress and the -Baby and my parents and Freya and everything. -It made me cry some more, but I liked -to talk about the folks I had lost and Jim listened -very politely and seemed interested.</p> - -<p>“That must be fine,” he sighed. “You say -they fed you twice a day, regular?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Think of that!” he said. “You aren’t making -it up, are you?”</p> - -<p>“Of course not!”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know,” he said. “I’ve heard of -such things, but I never really believed them. -Say, if I could help you get away I would, -honest, Fritz! But it’s no use. There isn’t -anything I can do.”</p> - -<p>We talked over two or three plans, but there -didn’t seem to be any way out of it. When -it was getting dark again the man came in and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -took me out of the box and led me into the -house. As soon as he let go of the string I -made for the door, but he caught me and -cuffed me and closed the door tightly. Then -he took a box and put me into it and nailed a -lid down on top of me. There were some little -holes bored in the sides of the box which barely -let in enough air for me to breathe. Pretty -soon he took the box under his arm and set -out with it. As we went out of the yard Jim -called “Good-bye, Fritz! Good luck!” But -I was too unhappy to reply.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<small>IN THE ANIMAL STORE</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>It was a long journey and I was terribly -frightened. After the man had walked a long -way there was a lot of noise and then we were -in a train, only I didn’t know what it was at -the time. The motion made me very uncomfortable -and I felt a little bit sick at my stomach. -But I managed to go to sleep presently, -with my nose close up to one of the holes in -the box.</p> - -<p>The next thing I knew the box was being -lifted up and then the man carried me for -awhile. It was very noisy where we went and -it smelled differently from any place I’d ever -been. I guessed it was the City, and I was -right. When we reached the end of the journey -the cover of the box was taken off and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span> -found myself in a little room with the man who -had stolen me and another man who looked -very dirty and fat. I could hear a lot of funny -noises; dogs barking and cats meowing and -birds chirping. The man who had brought me -there said:</p> - -<p>“Thirty dollars takes him, Bill, and not a -cent less. He’s a prize-winner, he is. Belongs -to—”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want to hear who he belongs to,” -said the other man. “You bring him to me -and say you want to sell him. That’s enough. -If he wasn’t your dog I wouldn’t be buying -him. But twenty dollars is all I can pay for -him. There ain’t much call for dachshunds -just now. They ain’t in style.”</p> - -<p>So the two men talked and talked for a long -time, the man who had brought me saying he -must have thirty dollars and the other man -saying he could only pay twenty. But after -awhile they agreed on a price and the new man<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -gave the other some money and he went away. -Then the new man took me into another room -that was filled with cages and put me into one -and gave me water and food. I was very -thirsty and a little bit hungry, but the place -was so strange that I didn’t do more than -drink a little water at first.</p> - -<p>There were lots of dogs there in cages, some -of them just little puppies, and there were cats, -too, cats with long hair and bushy tails and -cats with short hair, and one cat with no tail -at all! And there was a goat, too, and parrots -and canaries and queer birds whose names I -didn’t know, and lizards and turtles and goldfish -swimming about in tanks of water. <a href="#i_166fp">Oh, -it was a funny, queer place</a>, and as for noise—well, -I’d never heard anything like it! Even -the dog show was a quiet place compared to -that store. People came in from the street -outside and stared at us through the bars of -the cages and poked their fingers at us and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -laughed when we were frightened, as I was, -or when we tried to lick their hands, as the puppies -did.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_166fp"> - <img src="images/i_166fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_164">Oh, it was a funny, queer place</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Right across the aisle from where I was -there was a little cage made mostly of glass -and in it were some tiny white mice with funny -pink noses. Every little while one of the mice -would come out of a loaf of bread where they -lived and get in the middle of the cage and go -around and around and around in a circle as -fast as he could spin! I suppose he was chasing -his tail, just as I used to do when I was a -puppy, but he did it so fast that my eyes ached. -Sometimes two of the mice would spin at the -same time and it made me dizzy to see them.</p> - -<p>Well, I stayed in that store for many days, -just how many I don’t remember. Several -times folks asked about me; what my name -was, how old I was, had I any tricks, what my -price was; and once I was nearly bought by a -very stout lady who had lots of rings on her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span> -fingers. But I didn’t like her smell—you -know we dogs judge folks a good deal by their -smell—and so I snapped at her when she went -to stroke me and she said right away that she -wouldn’t take me. I thought that the man -would be very angry with me, but he wasn’t. -He just chuckled as he put me back in the -cage.</p> - -<p>After that I made up my mind that I would -have to stay right there in that store all the -rest of my days, for I had heard the man tell -folks that my price was fifty dollars, and fifty -dollars seemed a great deal of money and I -didn’t believe that any one would ever give that -much for me. The man used to tell folks a -great many fibs about me. He said my name -was Kaiser and that I was raised in Germany -and had taken twenty-four prizes at dog shows -since I had been in this country. He said I -was just two years old and as sound as a -whistle. He wasn’t far wrong as to my age,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -and I was sound, but the rest of the things he -said were just plain fibs. I was sorry about -the fibs, for he was rather a nice man and -treated us all quite kindly, and I was afraid -something dreadful would happen to him for -telling stories. It is very wrong to tell fibs, -of course, and dogs never do it.</p> - -<p>I made several friendships at that store. -There was Mouser, who lived next cage to me. -I never thought that I should like a cat, but I -did. He was a big grey cat and had the longest -whiskers I ever saw. He and I would put -our heads through the bars and have fine long -talks together. He had seen a great deal of -life and had always lived in the City. At first -he wouldn’t believe the things I told him about -the country. He took quite an interest in -Ju-Ju and said he thought she was a very lucky -cat. Mouser didn’t know who his parents -were or where he was born. Isn’t that -strange? Fancy not knowing your own<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -father or mother! I wouldn’t like that, would -you?</p> - -<p>Mouser said that when he was a tiny little -kitten he lived just anywhere; under doorsteps -and on roofs and in sheds; and all he had to -eat was what he could find in the gutters. I -guess he had a pretty hard time of it until a -little girl picked him up one day and took him -home with her. After that he had a nice home -for nearly a year. Then the little girl’s family -went away and closed the house up and Mouser -was put out into the street again to get along -as best he could. It was harder then than it -was before, because he had got used to having -his food given to him and to having a nice warm -place to sleep each night. For awhile he almost -starved, he said, and had to fight other -cats, and dogs, too, and even rats sometimes, -to get anything to eat. He said he stayed -around the house he had been living in for a -long time, hoping the family would come back<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span> -again and let him in, but they never did and so -finally he wandered away to another part of -the town where there were many more garbage -barrels. He said he was like the cat in the -verse that the little girl used to recite to him. -I asked him what the verse was and he repeated -it to me. This was it:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Poor little Kitty-in-the-Street!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ain’t got no thing to eat;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ain’t got no garbage pails,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ain’t got no fishes’ tails;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Poor little Kitty-in-the-Street</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ain’t got no thing to eat!</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>I think it is quite a sad little verse, don’t -you?</p> - -<p>One day when Mouser was prowling about -looking for his dinner a man with a net on the -end of a pole came along and slipped the net -over him and took him off in a wagon to a -place where there were lots and lots of cats -who had no homes, like Mouser. The next -day a lady came looking for a cat who would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> -catch mice and a man whose place it was to -find homes for the cats said:</p> - -<p>“Got just what you want, Lady. Here’s -a fine big fellow that’s a regular mouser.”</p> - -<p>So the lady liked his looks and carried him -to her home in a basket and named him Mouser. -Before that he had had another name, but he -didn’t remember what it was. He stayed with -the lady for a long time and then she, too, went -away to live in a place where cats were not allowed -and so she brought Mouser to the animal -dealer’s, and here he was looking for a new -home. I told him I didn’t think I would like -having so many homes, but he said you got used -to it in time and that almost anything was better -than no home at all and being just a -“Kitty-in-the-Street!”</p> - -<p>Then there was Prince. Prince was a -funny, good-natured dog who lived in a big -cage across the aisle. He wasn’t any regular<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> -kind of dog, but a little of every kind. He had -a long brown coat and a shaggy tail and a -pointed nose and very yellow eyes. One of his -ears stood up straight and the other fell over -just as if it was tired. But he was a real nice, -jolly fellow, and had the finest, deepest bark I -ever heard. He was just about my age and -had been born in the country. One day he -came with his master to the city to sell a load -of vegetables at the market and another dog -quarrelled with him and they had an awful -fight and the other dog bit him so that he had -to run away. And when he stopped running -he was quite lost! He hunted around and at -last he found the market again, but his master -had gone. So he stayed there for a long time -and the marketman gave him pieces of meat -and he got along very nicely. He thought -that some day his master would come back -again. And perhaps he did, but Prince wasn’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -there because one day a boy tied a piece of rope -about his neck and took him to the animal -dealer’s and sold him for fifty cents.</p> - -<p>He was quite happy and contented, though, -and I liked him very much. And I hope that -he and Mouser each found a nice home. There -was a little white and tan dog whose name was -Peaches—which is a funny name for a dog, -isn’t it?—and he lived in a cage next to Prince -for awhile. He was sold while I was there -and taken away by a big man with a gruff voice -to hunt rats in a stable. Peaches was not a -very gentlemanly dog, but he was full of fun -and we all liked him a lot. One of the funny -things he did was to stand on his front legs, -with his hind legs in the air, and walk around -the cage. And while he did it he would say:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Mary had a little dog,</div> - <div class="verse indent3">He was a noble pup;</div> - <div class="verse indent1">He’d stand upon his front legs</div> - <div class="verse indent3">When you held his hind legs up!”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span></p> - -<p>The parrots were noisy things. I don’t see -why any one should want a parrot around, do -you? There was one that used to look at me -by the hour with his head on one side until I -got quite nervous. When I barked at him he -would laugh and say “Here, Fido! Here, -Fido! Good dog! Good dog! Who killed -the chicken?” I wished very much that I -could have got hold of that parrot and pulled -some of his tail-feathers out!</p> - -<p>Well, I stayed in that store a long time, and -I got so I didn’t mind the noise much. We -had plenty to eat and drink and once a day we -were taken into a tiny yard at the back to run -around. Of course I wasn’t happy, and I -used to long for my home and Mother and -Father and the Baby and William and Freya -and, most of all, I think, for Alfred. When -I got to thinking about them I felt very sad -and would often cry myself to sleep, just as I -used to do behind the flower-pots. I tell you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -I missed those flower-pots a great deal those -days! I had quite given up the hope of ever -getting back to my home, or even getting away -from the animal store, when one day a wonderful -thing happened, a thing so wonderful -that it deserves a chapter all to itself!</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_2X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<small>BACK HOME AGAIN</small></h3> -</div> - - -<p>I was having a little nap at the back of my cage -when I heard a lady’s voice say: “No, thank -you, we are just looking about. My little boy -wants to see the dogs.”</p> - -<p>I pricked up my ears, for I seemed to know -that voice, but I couldn’t think whose it was. -The lady was out of sight and I waited eagerly -for her to reach my cage. And while she was -still at the front of the store I heard another -voice say, “Mother, do you suppose they have -any dachshunds?” and my heart just jumped -right up into my throat. For the voice was -Alfred’s! I leaped against the bars and -barked and barked, I can tell you! And -Alfred and his mother heard me and came to -see what all the noise meant. And when -Alfred saw me he cried:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, Mother, here’s a dear little dachshund! -Oh, please may I have him?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I don’t know, dear,” said his mother. -“He <em>is</em> a nice looking dog, isn’t he? Are you -sure you want him?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, yes!” said Alfred. “Really, I do, -Mother! He looks so much like Fritzie, -doesn’t he? Don’t you think he does?”</p> - -<p>Alfred put his hand into the cage to pat my -head and I licked it and tried to reach his face -with my tongue and whined and whined. And -Alfred’s eyes got rounder and rounder, and -suddenly he cried very loudly:</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mother, it <em>is</em> Fritzie! It is! It is! -He knows me, Mother!”</p> - -<p>And—oh, well, I don’t remember much -about what happened after that for a while! -I know the man came and let me out of the -cage and I jumped and barked and whined -and went on terribly silly, I guess. But you -didn’t mind, did you? And then, almost before<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -I knew it, I was snuggled up in—in -Alfred’s arms in a carriage and we were rattling -over the cobblestones at a great rate. -And Alfred was crying and hugging me and -his mother was smiling and crying a little too. -I wasn’t, though; not then; I was far too happy -to cry!</p> - -<p>And then—but you know the rest of my -story as well as I do. How the Master came -up to the City and took me home again and -how glad I was to see Mother and Father and -Freya and every one else. And how William -blew his nose over and over again and seemed -to have a very bad cold in his head, and how -the Baby said “Booful dogums!” and hugged -me until I had almost no breath left! But -there was one thing I don’t think you ever -knew about fully, and that was how the brindle -bulldog came to be there.</p> - -<p>I had been home nearly an hour and was -lying in the doorway talking to Mother and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span> -Father and Freya, telling them all about what -had happened to me while I was away, when -a brindled bulldog came trotting up the road. -He was a very ugly looking dog and when I -saw him I growled. But the others paid no -attention to him. As he came nearer he reminded -me of some dog I had seen somewhere -and so I asked who he was.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Mother, “that’s just Jim. He -came here a month ago and wouldn’t let William -drive him away. So he lives here now. -He’s a very nice dog. Rather coarse in his -ways and not much to look at, but good-hearted -and kind and a fine fellow to keep -watch.”</p> - -<p>Then I remembered him. He was the dog -who had belonged to the man who had stolen -me. Of course I ran right out and said -“Bow!” to him and we were very glad to see -each other. He told me that after his master -had gone away to take me to the City he got<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> -to thinking about my home and how fine it -would be to live in such a place and have regular -meals and be spoken to kindly now and -then and he had made up his mind to run away -and go there. You see, he thought that as the -Family had lost me maybe they’d like a dog -to take my place. That was quite clever of -Jim, don’t you think? And so he left his -home before his master came back and trotted -down the lane and into the big road and so up -to the stable.</p> - -<p>At first Father tried to drive him away and -there was quite a rumpus, but Jim wouldn’t -go. Then William tried to drive him away -and got after him with the carriage whip. -(Of course William didn’t hurt him any, because -he never would hurt a dog more than was -good for him.) And still Jim wouldn’t go. -So William felt sorry for him then and gave -him some food and Jim slept outside the stable -that night. When William found him there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -the next day he tried to drive him away again. -But Jim came right back and so William fixed -him up a box in the yard and ever since Jim -had been one of the family. He told me that -he was very happy and that he had never had -so much to eat in all his life! The Master took -a great fancy to Jim and Jim to the Master -and they were fine friends. Of course the -Family didn’t know that his name was Jim, -because he never told them, and so they called -him Tramp.</p> - -<p>It was awfully nice to be back home once -more, I can tell you, and Mother and Father -and Freya were so glad to see me that they -just couldn’t do enough for me. Freya hung -around so close that she got to be rather a -bother! She never got tired of hearing about -the wonderful things that had happened to -me, and about Mouser and Prince and, especially, -about Peaches, the dog who stood on his -front legs. Even Ju-Ju seemed glad to have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span> -me back. I may be wrong about that, though. -Cats are queer animals and you can’t tell much -about what they’re thinking.</p> - -<p>But glad as I was to be back home I was a -little sad all the time. I missed Alfred a lot. -And when, a few weeks later, the Family got -ready to go to the City for a visit and I learned -that I was to go with them I was awfully -pleased because I thought that I should see -Alfred again. And I did, didn’t I? Do you -remember when the Baby brought me in here -that morning and said:</p> - -<p>“Afed, here is Kismus present for oo, Mild’ed’s -booful dogum!”</p> - -<p>You were almost as glad as I was, weren’t -you?</p> - -<p>Well, there, that’s all my story. Next -month we’re going back to see them all, aren’t -we? I shall like that. I suppose Freya is -fatter than ever now. She doesn’t hunt -enough. I shall tell Mother so, too.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span></p> - -<p>Heigho! I think I’m getting sleepy. I -have talked a great deal for a dog, and this pillow -is very comfy. If you will lean over I’d -like to lick your face. Then I shall take a nap. -But don’t forget to call me when you are ready -to go to walk. There’s a squirrel in the Park—<a href="#i_178fp">he -lives in the fourth tree</a> after you go -through the big gate—and he made a face at -me yesterday ... or was it the day before? -Anyway, ... he ought ... to be taught -... manners....</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_178fp"> - <img src="images/i_178fp.jpg" alt="" title="" /> - <div class="caption"> - <p class="noic"><a href="#Page_182">He lives in the fourth tree....</a></p> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="p4 noic">THE END OF THE TAIL</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="tnote"> -<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p> - -<p class="smfont">Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate, so the page number of the - illustration may not match the page number in the Illustrations.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently - corrected.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY MY DOGGIE TOLD TO ME ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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