THE DOGS MEET ONCE MORE.
On the last day of the month, Mop and Frisk, true to their word, came
to the place where they last said good-by. But how each one did look
to see if his mate were the same dog he last saw!
Mop's coat was rough no more--it shone like silk; his ears were cut;
he wore a fine brass neck ring, with a new name on it; and his whole
air was that of a dog in luck.
Poor Frisk was so thin that you could count all his ribs. His tail stood
up in the air no more. He hung his head and crept close by the wall, as
if he did fear some one would beat him if he dared to run or jump.
Good Mop did not look on him with scorn when he saw him in this sad
way; but ran up to him on three legs, with one paw held out for "How
d'ye do," and his great fly-brush of a tail a-wag for joy.
"Why, Frisk, old dog!" he cried, "how glad I am to see you! How have
you been this long time?"
"O Mop!" said Frisk in a sad tone, "will you speak to me now I am so
poor? It is I who am not fit to be seen this time."
"Frisk, my good dog," said Mop in a grave tone, "_real_ worth is not a
thing of looks. Let me tell you that if I knew you to steal a bone,
you would lose my good-will in truth. But I do not look down on dogs
if they are poor and good. Come home with me; we can talk more at our
ease in my nice house, where you will find some first-rate bones, if
you would like them."
"O yes! I guess I would!" cried Frisk.
So the dogs set off on a trot by the side of a fine lake, on the banks
of which the town was built. They soon came to a large house, with a
court-yard in front, tall green rails all round, and a great gate by
which to go in. There was a small gate near the large one, the latch
of which Mop could lift with his nose, for Frisk and him-self to pass;
and then the dogs ran round to the back of the house. On one side of
the yard Frisk saw a fine dog-house, fit for the king, with a roof
that ran to a peak, a porch in front, and a dove-cote on a pole on
top. In-side there was a heap of clean, warm hay, and on a blue plate
were some nice bones.
"There!" said Mop, "don't you call that prime? Help your-self to the
bones, Frisk; I can get lots more."
Frisk did not wait to be asked twice, but fell to, and soon made way
with the legs of a fowl. When these were gone, kind Mop ran to the
house and got a beef-bone for him. Poor Frisk ate as if he was not
used to such fine fare, and the good dog Mop, who gave up his own meal
to feed Frisk, felt as glad as if he had had it all him-self.
When Frisk had made an end of the bones, he and Mop laid down in the
dog-house; and as Frisk had asked him to do so, Mop told his tale, as
you shall hear.
But first he asked Frisk to rise, so he could put more of the soft hay
on his side. "Do you feel quite warm?" he asked.
"O yes! thank you, dear Mop," said Frisk; "as warm as a toast. You
will make me cry, if you are so kind to me. When you were poor, I was
a cross dog to you. Oh! I can not bear to think how bad I was;" and a
great big tear came out of each of Frisk's eyes, and ran off at the
end of his nose.
"Oh! that is all gone. We will be kind old dogs now, and do all the
good we can in the world. And now here goes for the grand tale of all
my joys and woes since I saw you."
MOP'S TALE.
"You know, Frisk, that when we left the court, you chose to go in the
town, and I by the lake. I felt sad to think I had no one to care for
me in the world. But my watch-word is, 'Don't give it up!' and I could
not think that all would leave me to want a bone. So I laid down by
the road-side, in hopes to see some one who would take care of me.
"First, I saw a man on a fine horse; and as he had no dog, I said to
my-self, 'Who knows but what he wants one to keep the flies from his
horse's legs!' So I ran by him a short way, when--would you dream the
man could be so bad?--he gave me a cut with his whip, that made me hop
and yelp for pain. 'Serve you right for a vile cur!' he said with a
loud laugh, and on he rode.
[Illustration: "There was no room for me, and I had to trot on."--P.
88.]
"Next came a blind man; but he had a dog to lead him. The blind man's
hat was laid on the ground, and when a cent was put in it, the dog
gave one bark; when two cents were put in, he gave two barks, and so
on. So, you see, there was no room for me there, and I had to trot on.
"At last I saw a small boy and girl trip down the road, hand in hand,
with their nurse close by them. They wore such fine coats and hats,
that it was plain they were rich; but when the boy put his small hand
on my head, and said, 'Good dog,' and the girl did the same, I knew
they must be kind too.
"So I ran by them, in hopes they would speak to me once more.
"There were some wild rose-buds on the bank of the lake, and when the
girl saw them she cried: 'O Hal! just see those sweet rose-buds! How
nice they look! They have just come out! Won't you pick me a few?'
"'Yes, dear May,' said the boy; and he let go her hand and ran to
where the rose-buds grew.
"'Don't go there, dear child,' cried nurse; 'you may fall in the lake.'
"'No I won't! I'll take care,' cried Hal; and as he spoke he bent way
down the bank. O me! the earth gave way, his foot did slip, and ere
the nurse could run to his aid, the poor child fell, with a loud cry,
in the lake.
"There was no time to be lost; and, more glad than I can say, that I
was on the spot, I leapt in the lake, swam to the side of the child,
and in as short a time as it takes to tell, I had his coat in my
teeth, and got him safe to shore.
"The nurse took her dear boy in her arms and cried for joy; and May was
so glad that she put her arms round my wet head, and gave me a long hug.
"'We must take the good dog home with us, Miss May,' said nurse, 'and
tell your pa-pa what he has done for Hal. And now let me wrap my shawl
round you, Hal, and then we must all run home as fast as we can, for
fear you may take cold.'
"We were soon at this house, where Mr. and Mrs. Grey, the pa-pa and
mam-ma of Hal and May, live; and nurse soon told them how I had saved
the life of their dear son.
"You may think how great was my joy to have them call me, 'Good dog!
brave dog! the best dog in the world!' and give me a hug and say I
must live with them from that time.
"So Mr. Grey sent me out with Hal to the yard; and he got Jim, the
groom, to wash and trim me, while May ran to ask the cook for some
meat to feed me. The dear child did wish so much to make me glad, that
she tied her own white bib round my neck to keep me neat while I ate,
and fed me with her own hand; while Hal, and a wee bit of a girl,
who came to see them, did look on.
[Illustration: "She fed me with her own hand."--P. 46.]
"It was not quite as much to my taste as hers to be fed; but she was
so full of the fun of it, that I would not for the world have made one
growl.
"Next day their pa-pa got me this nice house, and Hal put round my
neck the brass ring you see me wear; which they say has on it: 'To
Dash, the good dog, from Hal and May.'"
When Mop, or Dash, as we must now call him, had come to an end, Frisk
drew a deep sigh, and said: "Well, Dash, as that is your name, if I had
been as good as you, I might be as well off by this time; but I think,
when you hear what a sad life I have led for the past month, you will
say I am well paid for my fine airs to you. So now to my tale."
FRISK'S TALE.
"I made haste to the best part of the town, when I left you and the
court, and, late in the day, found my-self in a fine place. Near the
best house was a group of three small boys; they were at play with
some small, round, smooth stones; and when one stone hit the next, a
boy could cry out: 'That is mine!'
"Well, for my sins, I came to a halt just in front of these boys.
[Illustration: "Near the best house was a group of three small
boys."--P. 50.]
"'Oh! oh! look at that nice dog!' cried one whose name I found was
Bob. 'I guess he is lost. I mean to have him for my dog.'
"'No, you shall not,' said Ned, the next in size. 'He shall be my dog.'
"'No, he shall be mine,' said Sam. 'I want him! I _will_ have him!'
and on that they all tore up the steps of the house, and burst in-to
a room where their mam-ma was, with:
"'Ma, I want the dog!'
"'Ma, give me the dog!'
"'No, no, no, ma!--me! me! me!'
"'O dear! what a noise!' said their mam-ma. 'Do be still. If you want
the dog, take him; but don't whine, or go on as if you all had the
tooth-ache.'
"All this time I was such a gump, I sat quite still; but when I saw
the boys come out and rush at me with rude words, I said to my-self,
'Come on, Frisk; I do not think it will do to get a new place here.'
So I made up my mind to take to my heels; when, O my dog-star! down
came a great bat on my head, and the three boys fell on me all at
once; grab'd me by the ears, tail, and one leg, at the same time, and
would have torn me to bits, I am sure, if their mam-ma had not come
and made Bob and Ned let go.
"I was put in the front room then, in a whole skin, and here, in
spite of all he could do, I broke from Sam and hid my-self at the back
of a couch that stood by the fire-place.
"'Now what's to be done?' said Sam.
"'Let's hunt him out with sticks,' said Ned.
"'Good! come on!' cried Bob and Sam; and with-out more words, Bob
armed him-self with the broom, and Ned and Sam got canes, as if they
were in chase of some wild beast, and all flew, with a loud whoop! to
bang poor me out of my strong-hold.
"I don't know what would have been my fate, if I had not hit on what to
do just in time. The sides and front of the couch, by good luck, came
down past the seat, and bands of broad tape were put from side to side,
to keep the white slip in its place. I gave a jump, made out to land on
the tapes, and sat on them in great fear lest they might give way.
"It was well I did so; for the boys made their sticks fly from side
to side at such a rate, that the first blow would have been the death
of me. This game went on for some time, till they were quite at a loss
to know why I did not come out or make a cry.
"'Why where _can_ he be?' cried Sam. 'Look and see, quick!'
"Ned went down on his knees--'Why he's gone!' he said with a gasp.
"'O the b-a-a-d thing!' cried Sam. 'Ma! ma! our dog's lost! Boo! hoo!
hoo!' and to my great joy, all three left the room to treat their dear
'ma' to a howl. Oh! how I _did_ long to snap at their legs.
"By this time so much fluff and dust had got up my nose in my close
nook, that I was fit to choke; and as the boys were gone, I dared to
come out. There was a large arm-chair close by, with a deep, soft seat
that was just to my taste. I hopt in, laid down, and was soon in a
fine nap.
"Think, then, what was my state of mind to wake up with a yell and a
land-slide on top of me! Up flew a fat old dame from the arm-chair,
where she had just sat down, as if she was shot! Bang! came a great
gilt book, that she let fall in her start, right on the end of my poor
tail, as I leapt to the floor! 'E-e-e!' went she; 'yi! yi! yi!' went
I; and 'Hur-ra! here's the dog!' cried Ned, as he came bang in at the
door, caught me by one ear, and ran up to the top floor with me in
wild joy; which put the last touch to my woes!
"Once in their play-room, the bad boys made me drag a toy-cart full of
dirt, ran straws in-to my ears, beat me with sharp sticks, and shot
peas at me out of a pop-gun. They kept up these nice plays till
tea-time; when they were so kind as to let me go, and treat me to a
few old scraps of cold meat for my share of the meal.
"When tea was done, their mam-ma bid them go right to work and learn
their tasks; and, with pouts and whines from all three, they sat
down. As soon as their mam-ma left the room, Ned took out of his desk
a mouse-trap, with a poor wee mouse in it, all in a shake of fear, and
cried: 'Here, Sam, just see what I've got! An't that gay?'
[Illustration: "Ned took from his desk a mouse-trap."--P. 64.]
"'What? what? let me look!' cried Bob, who had sat till now with
his legs spread out, and a book be-fore him up-side down.
"'No, you shan't. Go 'way!' said Ned, in a whine.
"'I will! I will!' Bob did bawl; and as he spoke he did jump up and
give Ned's hair a great pull! Then Sam gave Bob a punch, and the three
boys did fight and kick each other at a fine rate; in the midst of
which pow-wow I left the room, and ran off down the back stair.
"Here the maids were more kind to me than the boys; for cook made me a
nice soft bed in a box, and gave me some bones to pick; while Jane,
the maid, took me in her lap, and let me sleep there, snug and warm,
till she went to bed.
"But you could no more guess what the next day had in store for me,
than you could say how deep the sea is; so I will tell you.
"Just as Jane came in with the tea-tray, and cook had got a tin pan to
pour me out some milk, down came those vile boys full tilt, to grab
hold of me once more. The kind cook asked them to let me be, till I
had had my milk; but she might as well have asked the wind not to
blow; and with Bob to hold me, and Ned and Sam to mount guard on each
side, they made haste once more to the play-room.
"When they had me safe, and the door shut, Bob cried in great glee:
'Now, boys, I tell you what we'll do: let's play our dog was a slave,
that we had caught just as he was on the point to run off. We will tie
him by the fore paws and flog him well.'
"Oh! oh! how I felt when I heard these words! My hair stood on end
with fear. I threw my-self on the floor, and cried for help. Ah me! no
help came. One would think they might have felt for a poor dog that
could not help it-self. But no; they were with-out heart.
"Bob found a cord, and tied my feet to a large nail in the wall. Ned and
Sam did each fetch the strap that they had round their task-books, and
then these bad boys beat me till I felt as if I must die.
"At last they heard their mam-ma call from her room, 'Boys, boys, come
right to your tasks--it is past nine o'clock;' for she did teach them
her-self I found out. At the sound of her voice, they left off, and
ran to the door to beg for a short time more.
"Now was my time at last. I freed my paws by a great jerk, shot past
Sam's legs, flew down the stair, and out of the house; for by great
good luck, Jane had just gone to the door to let in the post-man. I
am glad to say I sent Sam too down the stair like a shot, with a
boot-jack and a pair of tongs, which Ned and Bob threw, and which were
meant for me, at his heels. This made up, in part, for the pain he had
put me to. But, oh! how sore and lame I was! I sank on the earth when
I was clear out of sight, and felt as if my death was near. If it had
not been for what next took place, my end would have come that day;
but as I lay there all in a shake, I heard a child's voice say: 'O
dear Fred! here is such a poor dog! Just see! he looks half dead! Let
us stop and pat him!'
"'Dear me! Poor toad!' cried Fred. 'Where could he have come from? Pat
him well; don't fear.'
"Her soft hand on my head made me raise my eyes, and I saw a boy and
girl of nine and ten years old. They did not seem to be rich, but they
were just as neat and nice as two pins, and their kind looks and
words made me feel sure they were good.
"'Poor dog! I fear he wants food,' went on Nell. 'I mean to give him a
bit to eat, Fred.'
"'Let me feed him too!' cried the boy. 'Here, take my knife and cut
some bread for him.'
"Nell took a loaf from the bag on her arm, and with Fred's knife cut
off a good thick slice. She gave half to him, and they broke it in
bits and fed me by turns.
"'You dear pet,' said Nell, with a sigh, 'how I wish I could take you
with me! But we are too poor; it can not be.'
"'Oh! don't you think mam-ma would let us have him?' cried Fred.
"'No, dear,' said Nell; 'we must not think of it. Come, bid the dog
good-by, and let us make haste home.'
"I could but lick her hand to thank her for the food, and as I could
rise now, I felt that it was best to run on.
[Illustration: "Good-by, dear doggy!"--P. 78.]
"'Good-by, you dear doggy!" cried both; and they did stand and
watch me till I was out of their sight. Oh! how I did wish I could go
home with them!
"Just as I did turn round the end of the street, I heard an odd
sound----"
Here Frisk rose in haste and said: "But I dare not stay, dear Dash; I
ought now to be at home. Some day when I can get out, I will come and
tell you the rest of my sad tale, for the worst part is yet to come."
"But where must you go, Frisk?" said Dash.
"Why, to the show, where I play," said Frisk.
"You play! Can you act?" cried Dash.
"Yes! come out-side. Now, just see here!" and while Dash did stare at
him, with his mouth and eyes so wide open that you would not think he
could close them at all, Frisk stood on his hind legs, and went thro'
a jig, with a look on his face as if he had lost his last hope; then
fell down on the grass, stiff and stark, as if he had been shot; got
up, made a low bow, and then went lame on three legs.
"Dear me!" cried Dash, "how smart you are! Where _did_ you learn all
that?"
"It would take a long time to tell," said Frisk. "If I can, I will
come and see you next week, and you shall then hear all. Now, good-by."
"Here, take this nice sweet bone with you," cried Dash. "Good-by, old
chap. I hope I shall see you soon;" and the good dog went back to his
house, full of Frisk's tale. He tried so hard to think of a way to do
him some good, that he got quite a bald spot on the top of his head,
and at last laid down with his nose in his paws, to sleep on it, and
dream of bones with-out end; for, you know, he gave up his own to feed
one worse off than him-self. Good Dash! I hope each dear girl and boy
who reads this will try to be like him, for that is the way to be
loved by all.