Peter makes good, and stories of other dogs

Petite’s Story

The white poodle told her story in a winsome way. One of her sisters had attended the wedding of one of the nobility in France. The bride was so fond of her little pet that she wanted the poodle with her on this, the happiest day of her life.

The tiny poodle was bathed and combed until she looked like a fluff of cotton. Around her neck a pink ribbon was tied and arranged in a smart bow between her ears. She behaved beautifully, never stepping on the bride’s train, nor did she blush as the groom did. She made only one little break.

After the ceremony, when the groom kissed the bride, she let out one little growl, which she could never refrain from doing when this occurred. For her nice behavior, she was given a piece of the bride’s cake to put under her pillow to sleep on.

As she was a very smart poodle in many ways, she seemed to understand everything that was said to her, and she answered one and all with the tail language. This is the accepted lingo of such favored dogs, especially as they have such fine, feathery tails, that show to advantage when waved in a wig-wag message.

When the poodle was asked if she wanted to go walking, she would hop onto a chair, and look toward the place where her leash was kept and wait for her mistress to put it on her neck. As soon as it was put on, she would jump down from the chair, run to the door and wag her tail, as if to say she was ready.

On the street, she would walk along beside her mistress in a nice way, never running on ahead nor pulling on the leash, as do some rude dogs.

Petite was exceedingly proud because she belonged to such a fine breed of dogs; she waved her beautiful tail in acknowledgment of the applause which was given her.

Bob’s Story

Judge required even his own son to relate a story, in punishment for his rudeness in barking that terrible bass solo at Pixie, which a well mannered dog should not have done. The father had had Bob rehearse just what he would say, to make certain that nothing in regard to the family skeleton would be disclosed, although almost every family has some such secret to guard. However, Judge thought it best to be on the safe side in regard to theirs.

Right now I will tell you what this great secret was, but it must go no further. Some ancestor of Judge’s was killed for slaughtering sheep. That was about the most disgraceful thing of which a dog could be guilty—to be called a kill-sheep dog! Of course younger generations had done honor to the Airedale name, and nobody would hold them responsible for what had occurred in their family so long ago. Still, they seldom mentioned it among themselves, and never, never, to outsiders.

Bob was inclined to be boastful, and was more than anxious to square himself with the little Pom. After asking his father many questions in regard to their family history, he finally succeeded in ferreting out some very interesting facts.

The Airedale family are noted for their ability to look after their own welfare, and as guards for children and for property liable to be invaded by burglars. They are not beautiful, but what is of far more value, they are useful. As they are partly Irish, they have a sense of humor and do many comical things.

As an instance of the cleverness and humor of the Airedale terrier, one that was young liked to dig holes in his master’s front lawn. He had been repeatedly punished for this naughtiness. Yet whenever he saw the tracks of a ground mole, he would forget everything and start digging until he had made another large hole. Then he would stop and look at what he had done. Feeling guilty, he would run to the porch, where there was a large door mat. This he would drag to the place and cover the hole. Satisfied that his guilt was hidden, he would run off to play.

Another of Bob’s stories was about a clever dog named King who took care of a baby.

King

King and Junior, a baby boy, were devoted pals. When Junior was in his pen on the lawn, King would take his place as guard and master of ceremonies. While the baby was good, King would lie quietly by, with one eye always on the child. If the baby got tired and fretted, King would jump up, run around the pen and bark to attract Junior’s attention, and would keep it up until the baby would smile.

One day when Junior’s teeth were hurting, he was unusually fretful. King did his stunts in vain. Seeing that he must try some other way to comfort his pal, he stood in thought for a moment. Then he bounded off down the street to a place where another family with children lived. Presently he came dashing back with a woolly dog in his mouth, which he dropped into Junior’s pen, much to the delight of the crying youngster.

Bob also told another story about a dog who was fond of scrambled eggs.

Scrambled Eggs

Snappy was a small Irish terrier who was fond of scrambled eggs. As his owners were obliged to buy their eggs at a good price, he did not get one as often as he would have liked. So he would go to the back of the lot and lie there until he heard a neighbor’s hen cackle. Immediately he would crawl through a hole in the fence, and presently return with an egg in his mouth. He would carry the egg to the kitchen, lay it very carefully on the floor, and wait patiently by it until some one had time to cook it for him. No objections were made, as the neighbor thought this was so clever of him.