88 DORA AND DUMPV 



a box made soft and warm with cotton batting, 

 and told Dora how to care for it. 



"The leg will get well in a few days, but 

 Dumpy will always limp," said her mother. My 

 little Dora is the best doctor he can have, be- 

 cause all we can do for him is to feed him and 

 give him water and keep him warm." 



Dora devoted herself to her helpless little pet. 

 The chicken would listen to the things she said 

 to him as though he understood every word. 

 The weak leg soon grew stronger and Dumpy 

 could hop about. Then for a few days he 

 lived in a big box where he had gravel to 

 scratch, and which Dora made soft with fresh 

 grass each morning. Dora and Dumpy were 

 now such good friends that master chickie acted 

 as though Dora were the mother-hen, and if the 

 child left him he would cry "Peep, peep, peep," 

 louder than you would think so little a creature 

 could cry. 



If Dora came back while he was calling her, he 

 would stop the instant she came into the room 

 and come hippity-hop toward her as fast as he 

 could. In about a week Dora's mother said 

 that Dumpy would better be put back with the 

 brood and let the mother-hen take care of him, 



