Next on the docket was Ted, the water spaniel. When Ted was called to
jury duty, he gave his occupation as “mascot.” He had sailed the seas,
having gone on a cruise around the world on a big battleship. When not
on mascot duty, he was engaged in catching rats that infested the
ship’s hold. He was an excellent sailor and loved the water. The crew,
all of whom were fond of him, enjoyed teaching him many clever tricks.
He was a good sport and would allow the men to throw him into the
water, which they did just for the fun of seeing him swim back to them.
Also, he was a most comical looking animal when he was wet. He would
dive for an egg in ten or twelve feet of water; and would pick a piece
of money from a pail of water.
There was not a lazy bone in his body. He was always up to something.
It was a laughable sight to see him, with his long ears and topknot,
sitting up on his haunches to beg for what he wanted. When he was asked
what he would do for his country, he would salute the flag and play
dead. Many other interesting stunts he did to entertain the sailors and
the officers of the big ship.
When the great guns boomed, he would hide and stay hidden until all the
smoke had cleared away, when he would come cautiously out from his
place of concealment, looking as if he were asking, “Is it all over?”
[Illustration: Ted Performed Many Stunts to Entertain the Sailors]
Of his ancestral history, he knew nothing whatever, as he was picked up
from the street in Liverpool by a sailor. Ever since he had followed
the sea; but now he was retired and living a quiet life. Though he
missed the companionship of the sailors and the wide ocean, he was
happy when he could be taken to the beaches. At other times, he bathed
in the fountains, which he was doing on the day when Princess met him.
The next story, which he related, was one he had heard some one telling
his mistress.