SOME DOGS THAT I HAVE KNOWN. 



FRANKIE. 



Frankie was a great black Newfound- 

 land dog, the constant companion of two 

 little girls to whom he belonged. He 

 shared in all their plays and was so in- 

 telligent that thev declared he understood 

 what they said to him. 



One day a little cousin came to see 

 them, and the three children and the dog 

 had a grand romp. At length the little 

 girls decided to play "School Exhibi- 

 tion" and chose the front portico for a 

 platform. Each of the two elder ones 

 took her turn in ascending ''the platform'' 

 and reciting a piece. 



Then they announced : 



"We will now have a recitation by 

 Miss Mabel C ." 



Mabel went up the steps with as much 

 dignity as she could assume, and Frankie 

 followed. She tried to drive him away, 

 but he persisted in staying. Finally one 

 of the girls announced : 



"We will now have a dialogue by Ma- 

 bel and Frankie." 



Mabel took her position, and Frankie 

 acted as if he understood, for he sat up 

 quite straight beside her, and put on his 

 most intelligent look. Mabel was very 

 small and her stock of recitations was 

 limited, so she began, with appropriate 

 gestures : 



"Old Mother Hubbard 



"Went to the cupboard 

 To get her poor dog a bone. 



But ^vhen she got there 



The cupboard was bare, 

 And so the po-o-o-or dog had none." 



This closing line was too much for 

 Frankie, who threw back his head and 

 howled "Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo" most dismally. 



The small audience clapped loudly, 

 and the listening grown people indoors 

 added their laughter to the applause over 

 this comical dialogue. 



BONNIE. 



Bonnie was a brown and yellow shep- 

 herd dog belonging to a young farmer 

 in Illinois. He had proved himself very 

 useful as a watch-dog and was some- 



times used to help drive up the stock 

 from the pasture. 



One night there was a heavy rain and 

 wind-storm. Nothing was seen or heard 

 of Bonnie, although usually his frequent 

 bark announced that he was on guard. 



The next morning when the farmer 

 went out to the barnyard, he found that 

 the wind had blown open one of the big 

 barn doors. In this open door lay Bon- 

 nie, and outside was huddled a large 

 drove of sheep that looked with hungry 

 eyes toward the grain bins and hay in 

 which they might be reveling, but for the 

 dog. 



At the coming of the master Bonnie 

 got up, whined and stretched himself, 

 looking up intelligently, as if to say : 



"I am very glad to see you. Do you 

 see what happened last night? I knew 

 you did not want those meddlesome 

 sheep in there, so I stayed here and kept 

 them out. I am pretty stiff and tired 

 for it was cold here, and the boards were 

 a hard bed. And now I'd like a pat on 

 my head, and something extra good for 

 mv breakfast." 



He did not say it with his voice, but 

 his eyes spoke so plainly that his master 

 understood : and the faithful dog re- 

 ceived both the pat and the good break- 

 fast. 



QUEEN VICTORIA. 



AVhen I was but a little girl my father 

 moved from the city to a small farm that 

 he had bought. The former owner of 

 the farm was an aged minister, who was 

 a personal friend of my father. As he 

 was leaving the farm, he said : 



"I will have to leave my dog behind 

 me, as I am going too far away to take 

 her with me. She is quite old, and has 

 been a great pet for several years ; so I 

 trust you will be kind to her as long as 

 she lives. She is an English coach dog, 

 and her name is Queen Victoria." 



Of course father promised to care for 

 the faithful old dog, while we children 

 were delighted over the prospect of hav- 

 ing her for a pet. 



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