THE FAITHFUL DOG
Shortly after the Swifts fled, on the night of the flood, the walls of
their house had fallen with a thud, and only the strong beams remained
standing. By the time the house collapsed, the baby in its cradle had
drifted many miles down the river, along the banks of which much damage
had been wrought. The cradle passed a village which had been built on an
eminence and had consequently escaped.
The villagers who had gathered near the shore saw various household
goods floating down the river; there a table, here a chair, yonder a
trunk, and in one place even the entire roof of a house.
Two daring boys ventured to stand as near the water's edge as possible,
in order to see things a little better. All of a sudden one of the boys
cried: "Oh, see, there is a cradle afloat in mid-stream!" The other boy,
whose sight was keener, shouted: "See, a dog is swimming after it and is
trying to push it toward the shore!"
Several strong men standing near-by had long hooked poles, and were
busily engaged dragging things out of the river. One of them, a young
fisherman, saw the cradle and cried: "A baby must be in that cradle,
because the dog would not bother about an empty cradle. Up, brothers,
up, let us try to save the child. Let not the fidelity and bravery of a
dog put us to shame."
Notwithstanding the threatening danger of being crushed to death by the
rushing ice-floes, the men launched a boat and jumped into it. They
reached the cradle and discovered the child in it. They placed cradle
and babe in their boat and brought them safely to land.
The people rushed forward and crowded around the cradle to look at the
infant. Among the spectators were a gentleman and his wife, named Trent.
"Oh, what a beautiful child," cried Mrs. Trent, as she bent over the
baby. "See how peacefully it sleeps, not knowing through what dangers it
has passed, not dreaming it has been saved."
Mrs. Trent had lately lost a dear little baby, so she approached her
husband and said: "Do see how this babe resembles our lost Isabel; and
it seems to be of the same age. Let me take this child, and if its
parents cannot be found, I will be a mother to it."
Mr. Trent smiled pleasantly, nodded his head and said: "Well, well, take
it. Let us not be less sympathetic than these three men, and that
pitying dog."
By this time the poor dog had reached the shore, and stood shaking the
water from his coat; so that the bystanders had to rush aside to escape
a good wetting. Then he began to bark with joy and wag his tail,
springing first at this one, then at that one, as if to express his
thanks for the baby's rescue.
Mr. Trent noticed this, and said: "See how thankful this dog is, and
human beings should never be less thankful." He took some gold coins out
of his pocket, and handed two to each of the three fishermen. They
hesitated, not wishing to take the money. "What we have done was purely
out of love for humanity and without any thought of reward," said they.
Mr. Trent was pleased with them, and said: "Yes, I understand and
realize how very noble it is of you to refuse a reward for your
self-sacrificing services, but I must insist that you take it."
"Well, then," said the younger fisherman, "we will accept the money and
help our poor brothers in the neighboring villages who have suffered so
many losses during this flood."
The dog had now passed through the crowd. His loud barks of joy had
awakened the babe, and it started to cry. Mrs. Trent raised the child in
her arms and kissed it. It looked about as if it were seeking something.
"You are looking for your mother," said she, "but little do we know
where she is. Cry not, my dear, I will be your mother."
She then carried it into her house, while the two fishermen followed
with the cradle. The faithful dog did not wait for an invitation, but
followed of his own accord.