104 LOLA 



very brief explanation I had given her on the subject 

 two months previously. Spontaneous remarks have 

 been allotted a special chapter in this book, and may 

 assist in proving what has already been stated, but I 

 should like here to add an example of how animals put 

 a matter " to themselves," as it were, when the thing 

 heard has not been mentally digested, so to speak or 

 may even be quite incomprehensible to them. 



On 26 July, 1916, 1 said : " Lola I now you think of 

 something to ask me ! " " Yes ! " " Well, what is 

 it to be ? " " Yes, o h o." " What is the question ? 

 What am I to do with that word ; the sentence is 

 not complete, is it ? " " What means ? " " You 

 want to know what oho means ? " " Yes, yes I " 



If we but consider the manner in which a dog will 

 listen with ears erect to every word we say, the 

 question Lola put to me will seem most natural I It 

 even " comes naturally " to her to use words which 

 are " above her head," so to speak, as for instance, 

 when she said " surogat " and in the case of Rolf, 

 who referred to the " Urseele ! " (= the primeval 

 soul !) Words such as these are " picked up " by them 

 much in the way that children use words they do not 

 know the meaning of : there may be something in the 

 sound that attracts them, but sometimes they make a 

 guess at the meaning, and in the case of animals, the 

 guess is often a very good one. In Lola this " Art of 

 Guessing " almost led to a sort of Romance ! 



In my Protocol of 14 December, I have the following 

 entry : Yesterday I asked Lola to tell me why dogs 

 prefer being with human beings rather than with other 

 dogs and I asked her the same question again to-day. 

 Lola answered : " eid" (= oath). " What is that ? 

 you were to answer me to-day : say something 

 properly ! " " ich eid." " Oh ! I don't understand 



