IX 



A CHAPTER OF NOTHINGS 



I HAD left my little companion and friend, 

 Fretful Fanny, in the care of Captain Short at 

 Poona, who had promised to take care of her 

 for me when we left India, and on coming out again 

 after a year and a half I went there to take her back, 

 and found she had changed hands and was at Kirki. 

 I went up to her stable and stood looking at her for 

 a minute to see if she would take any notice of me. 

 She did not seem to know me, so I went into the box 

 and spoke to her ; she looked round at once and came 

 up and licked my hand and then lifted a fore foot, 

 holding it out for me to take : it was a trick that she 

 had taught herself and a thing she always did whenever 

 I went into her stable with lucerne grass or anything 

 nice to eat. The syce had just come up and I said, 

 " The mare still shakes hands then when you or the 

 sahib goes up to her? " He said, No, that he had 

 never seen her shake hands before and they had no 

 notion that she ever did it. But I was very much 

 pleased to get such a warm welcome from her. 



She was a sensible pony ; she called me back one 

 day to the stable by her stampings and short little 

 neighs ; she was turning her head and looking round 

 at me clearly calling me. I had given her some 



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