The white poodle told her story in a winsome way. One of her sisters
had attended the wedding of one of the nobility in France. The bride
was so fond of her little pet that she wanted the poodle with her on
this, the happiest day of her life.
The tiny poodle was bathed and combed until she looked like a fluff of
cotton. Around her neck a pink ribbon was tied and arranged in a smart
bow between her ears. She behaved beautifully, never stepping on the
bride’s train, nor did she blush as the groom did. She made only one
little break.
After the ceremony, when the groom kissed the bride, she let out one
little growl, which she could never refrain from doing when this
occurred. For her nice behavior, she was given a piece of the bride’s
cake to put under her pillow to sleep on.
As she was a very smart poodle in many ways, she seemed to understand
everything that was said to her, and she answered one and all with
the tail language. This is the accepted lingo of such favored dogs,
especially as they have such fine, feathery tails, that show to
advantage when waved in a wig-wag message.
When the poodle was asked if she wanted to go walking, she would hop
onto a chair, and look toward the place where her leash was kept and
wait for her mistress to put it on her neck. As soon as it was put on,
she would jump down from the chair, run to the door and wag her tail,
as if to say she was ready.
On the street, she would walk along beside her mistress in a nice way,
never running on ahead nor pulling on the leash, as do some rude dogs.
Petite was exceedingly proud because she belonged to such a fine breed
of dogs; she waved her beautiful tail in acknowledgment of the applause
which was given her.