_In which a dog tells of worries and troubles at a dog show._
“Everybody says I am a very fine dog. They say I am a collie dog,
and that my mother and father were famous dogs in Scotland. I do
not care about that, however, because when Master Charles, who owns
me, tells people about me they want me to come in and be looked at
while I would rather be in the yard playing. One day Walter carried
me as a prize dog to a dog show. I did not know what it was until
I got there, and I never want to hear of one again. They washed me
with soap and rubbed me till I was dry. They put me in a box with
slats in front, and all round me I could hear other dogs barking.
It was an awful noise.
“I was among the collie dogs like myself, but we could not even
get a look at each other. All I could see was in the boxes in front
of me, a lot of miserable little black and tan terriers--the most
useless of all dogs, I think. They were pleased at being there and
kept growling at me all the time, but I wouldn’t even bark back at
the snappy little things.
“I didn’t see why I had to stay there for four long days, with only
two walks a day with Walter who came to feed me. My master Charles
came along sometimes with other gentlemen, and I begged to be taken
away, but he only said: ‘There, old boy, be a sport! It is all
right; you stay and get the Blue Ribbon.’ I wondered what he meant
until one day I got it.
“Walter and two others took me one day, with some other dogs like
me. They weighed us and punched us, and looked into our ears and
mouths till, if Walter had not been there, I’d have bitten them
hard. Then they put us all back in our boxes and hung a blue
ribbon, with a round shining thing on it on my box. Every one that
came along said: ‘See the Blue Ribbon!’ and then added, ‘Isn’t he a
beauty to get the first prize!’ I didn’t know what they meant, but
I was tired of their poking at me. No one came that I loved, so I
just crept back into the box and had a good cry. I was so homesick,
and it was no fun to win the Blue Ribbon.
“From the way people talked one would think I was that old Blue
Ribbon they spoke of, when it was only the blue ribbon with the
shining round thing on it.
“At last came the joyful day when Walter said: ‘Now, old Sport,
we’ll go home.’ How I jumped and barked at the word and how
delightful it was to get back. But to my surprise, while they all
petted me and were glad to see me, they all shouted: ‘Where’s the
Blue Ribbon, the first prize! Let’s see it!’
“Every one crowded about that shining round blue ribbon thing. It
angered me so that when Walter tied it on my collar I ran as hard
as I could, and then went dog fashion for that old blue ribbon
thing until there was nothing left but torn ribbon and a chewed-up
piece of silver. It was the cause of all my troubles, and I never
wanted to see it again.”