After that day no one spoke of "The Rat" or "The Odd Puppy," or used any
of the numberless nicknames that they had given him, such as "The
Specimen," "The Object," "Number 6," "Bully-Beef," (because he got his
head stuck in a half-pound tin one day), "The Scrap"; and even "The Duke
of Wellington" ceased to be a gibe. They still laughed at his
ridiculous dignity; and they loved to tease him to see him stiffen with
rage and hear his choky little growls; but they liked his independence
and admired his tremendous pluck. So they respected his name when he
got one.