poor little chap as he waddled up. I had forgotten 

 him in the excitement of getting Billy's pup ; but the 

 sight of him made me think of his funny ways, his pluck 

 and independence, and of how he had not a friend in 

 the world except Jess and me ; and I felt downright 

 sorry for him. I picked him up and talked to him ; 

 and when his wizened little face was close to mine, 

 he opened his mouth as if laughing, and shooting 

 out his red tongue dabbed me right on the tip of my 

 nose in pure friendliness. The poor little fellow 

 looked more ludicrous than ever : he had been feeding 

 again and was as tight as a drum ; his skin was so 

 tight one could not help thinking that if he walked 

 over a mimosa thorn and got a scratch on the tummy 

 he would burst like a toy balloon. 



I put him back with the other puppies and returned 

 to the tree where Ted and the rest were sitting. As 

 I came up there was a shout of laughter, and turning 

 round to see what had provoked it I found " The 

 Rat " at my heels. He had followed me and was 

 trotting and stumbling along, tripping every yard 

 or so, but getting up again with head erect, ears cocked 

 and his stumpy tail twiddling away just as pleased 

 and proud as if he thought he had really started in life 

 and was doing what only a ' really and truly ' grown- 

 up dog is supposed to do that is, follow his master 

 wherever he goes. 



All the old chaff and jokes were fired off at me again, 

 and I had no peace for quite a time. They all had 

 something to say : " He won't swap you off ! " " I'll 

 back * The Rat ' ! " " He is going to take care 

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