The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-19
TIE Co1oNE1's TALKING DOG.
TITS Owner Satisfied to Have Him Dead who
He Learned what tho Animal said.

This ID the Btory the hentucBy Colonel Uolu MS |
friend. 1t was Proctor Knots story, he said.
However that may be. 1t is told for what 1t Is
worth:
"Theah was an old man up in the Blue Grass
country" said tho Colonel. Everybody in Ken.
lucky lives in the Blue Grass country. by the
way; nobody halls from the Knobs, whore peo-
pie huddle together In huts and live on hard
tack.l AN this old mar owned a dog. 10 was
q sma't doR-a very srna't dog. II you throw o
stick of wood into the watah. he would swim
right out aftAh it an bring 1t back to you
in his mouth. He would chase all the cats
in the nelghborhood up a treo an keep
them theah all day. settin' at tho foot
of It an watchin' EN-. He would prop him
se'f on his hawnches neah the table foah houahs,
waitin' foah You to throw him q bone from
youah plate, almos' Askin' you foah it with his
eyes. They nevah got tiahd of tellin' bout the
sma't things that theah dog could do. at that
theah fam. He was the wondah Of the neigh
borhood. He could do everything but talk. sab,
everything but talk.
tt old man had q son, too. an he was
pretty sma't. Most as smA't as the dog. Ono
day when the dog had rung tho doah bell an
walked in winkln' his lef eye whenthey opened
the doah, tho old man sort O. laughed an said:
THAT'S the sma'test dog in tho world. He
can do everything but talk
Then the son said. 'Fathah, what's the mat
tab with havin' him taught to talki They feline
theah's a place down in Louaville wheah they
teach dogs to talk. Give me bout q hundred
dolIahs an 1 will take him down theah foAh
you an have him taught
"The old man thought an thought. Aftah o
long while no made up his mind to do 1t. The
crops van 80 very good, but he concluded to
spaah the money anyway. He could make it
back on a talkin' dog. Everybody would come
Ro.L ,-naa arnpy,' 70 aaa him nm ha Nvnulh
charge foah admission. So he counted out the
money an gave 1t to his son.
THE son took the money an the dog an
went on down to Louaville. When he had been
gone about a month the old man wrote to ask
how the dog was gettin' along. His son
answered that he was dom fine. His teacher
said he nevah saw a sma'tah dog in his life. or
all the dogs he had taught to talk he was the
sma'test. He had already learned to say Papa
an Mamma an he could spell a few short easy
words like cat an dog But he needed
noah money. 1t took q good deal OF money to
have a dog taught to talk, morn anybody would
think that had nevah tried it. Would he please
send an othah hundred or twoi
1.-The old man grumbled a little. but he sent the
othah hundred. Then he waited anothah month
without hearin' a single word. He wrote again.
wantin' to know how the dog was gettin' along.
an tellin' his son to hurry up an come on home.
HIM h9 T sag sPe ap see an 11e Mamma l8ns H'q h ha an n essh
heard a dog talk, an he wanted to know what
THE SON wrote back that the dog was doln'
| bcttah an bettah. He was the wondah of the
dog school. He was takin' all the prizes foah
many words now. an s%tringin' 'em into. sen:
fences, The teacher Dragged about him all the
as that thcah dog. People came from miles
aroun' to heHh him talk. It was wondahful
n,nah unnnay Nohndy knew how much money
!! tried tSpf i: i looked Itks i Soald tsFe most stPE;
begrudgc IT. He knew that. OF oo'se. he hated
was always aftah him foah pay, an what could
he. DE- o,s 49, 10. mad than nm, can't him
word TO come along home with that theah dog:
He talked well enough foah him: He Want
GGf 9inn to Rls sRSaSd e enGIhf He I Sad S speh ntm a 9 darn Sni
sight NOAH now than he oughter, with the
crops so spindlin'. Bring him home on the next
'F "Thie ssfn' w SSH nSo;t fi1f'At else toah it. so the son
had to stat home with the dog: He want feel:
What IN the name q taSundah he was soin' to
say when he got home an the old man found
couldn't say a single. solitary word.
THE ncRrah he got home, an the NOAH. he
thought, the worse he felt about that thesh dog.
ioVin" like with hftS; biz sol eyes. he hated to xiii
him, but what else could he dot He knew II he
dumb he wouidn't believe him, an theah would
be an overlastin' row. Theah wouldn't, be no
lettin' up to #; He concluded the only thing to
well, The upshot Of it was that IT, he did KIN
a an s i%s' h SGfo ri II re- aS6 SG% iS his H0 s4ae eEs nj Il R %ss a
crul thing TO do. He had to shut his eyes when
he pulled tho triGgah, but theah want no othHh
when the old man found out the dog was
dead he was mHddah than fab. Aftah all the
talk, thoy go an Kill hlml He strung out a
string q, SweOh words a yS'd or two long. He
dog was such a good dog an such a sma't dog.
L1yin' aside the question OF the money he had
ffTP s Ra on h atm hi me s Gefsd a to ion lai amo NJ he was Ssd rf go;
kinder fond O. him. an used to seem him
"Whep he stopped to take breath, the son
tried to got in n word edgewnys. but II want
no use. Tho old man only swo' an swo' thai
much hardah.
".At las, he got clean ont O breath, an the sor
took the no:
sma't. lie was the smallest dog ! ovah saw II
all my bon days. But,.to tel the truth. he wa,
y dsrned sight too sma't. III tel you why; q
help seein' things, things he hadn't any, business
payin' any %.tention to-doVs mustn't have toe
hadn't any right TO blAb. He ouEhter keep hi
mouth shut. an he would er been, Twin yet
That dog saw morn was good foah him, an HI
lie looked ali aroun' the room to see IL any
body MAS %listcnin', an not seoin' anybody h
Now. You wouldn't hardly believe 1t. ia
thah. but that dog began to talk outrageous
He began to tell everything he knew an moab
II you could er heard the scandalous things b
said to me on the way, up heah from l0uHyill
you'd er died. ! tried 70 mako him stop. but
couldn't. ! was afraid tho othah passenger
would heah. The noah I tried to make hir
stop, the NOAH he talked. 1t seemed like he wa
on o high old lark, Just tryin' hiSsef because h
sud'nly found out he could, talk; tryin' his bes
mad, an 1t wouli er made you mHddah, becaus
II WIS about your
The old man started:
"'You remember that hlahd gearl you wa
shyin' aroun' aitah not long Rgol Well, WIN
do you think that dog said
The old man sat down by the table sort
faint like,
~ can't imagine he said.
lie said he saw you kissln' her!'
The old man took ont n big snuiTy bandan
handkerchief hN' wiped Tho pcrspirntion of h
Ince. Io wNs trcmblIn' all ovah.
What do you spose mothah would or sal
20 that, tho son went on. II the dog had up al
told herl Don't you spOs" sho would or raise
the roof plumb on this house, Well, l guel
she would! so what else could ! do but HI
him say, what else could | dot .
old man had turuel pale about the gill
4 He brought his lsC down on the table with a ID