A third time it was
thrown into the water, and a third time saved from drowning; but now the
dog brought it to the opposite side of the pool, carried it home in his
mouth, and laid it beside the fire to dry. In this case which would you
rather be like--the man or the dog?
The children often say that our Tippoo, the little white dog of which I
told you, does things "just like a person"; he will contentedly eat what
he does not care for, because he expects to get something he likes, as a
reward. If he has been naughty, you can generally know it by his face, and
he will hide away under the sofa, until brought out from his refuge, and
made to show what he has been doing. He cannot bear to be laughed at;
nothing hurts his feelings so sorely, unless indeed it be seeing a little
child petted: this is almost more than he can bear. But he behaves better
than Psyche, another little Maltese terrier of my acquaintance, who used to
fly at anyone who dared to kiss her mistress. Poor little Psyche's was a
sad end, for she was killed by a carriage while crossing the street to get
to her mistress.
Dogs have all sorts of ways of making their wants known, but I think you
will admit that a little dog called Button was particularly clever in his
way of doing it, when you hear how he managed. He used to have goat's milk
for breakfast, and one morning, when he thought breakfast-time had passed
without any being brought to him, he made up his mind that he had been
forgotten; so he went to the closet where the china was kept, fetched the
cup in which his milk was always given him, carried it in his teeth, and
laid it down at the feet of the maid who used to milk the goat for him.
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