The San Francisco call., 1909-10-02

of the river before the big black dog
came. 1 must explain that it was a
Breton river and that the children in
little black gowns, white caps and col
ored aprons, who sat quietly knitting
on the grass, were Breton children who
sometimes talked French, which you
might have understood. and sometimes
Breton, which you certainly would not
have understood, and which you would
have thought a very funny sounding
language. The children were grouped
under tree not far from the bank of
the river. Near them a white goat be-
longing to the mother of two of them
was tied to a stake quietly grazing.
Some little boys-not nice little boys,
as you will presently discover-were
playing close to the water and a little
American girl and her mother, who had
come from a nearby city to spend the
day, were sitting on a bench nearer
the water. And-oh, yes-a little far
ther off there was a wicked looking
old man with one eye who used stick
when he walked. He sat on another
bench by himself, not looking quite so
wicked at first glance as he afterward
turned out to be-
And 5 / have said, up to the moment
that the big black dog appeared upon
the scene nothing much had happened.
But when he did come with bounce
and a bark and with the puppy who
thought him quite wonderful dog run
ming after him and initiating his man
ner as best he could, he created all tne
excitement he could have wished for IN
his vainest moments
The puppy had left his home that
day-a very much overcrowded home
where he was not especially we'll cared
for-and had cast in his fortunes with
those of the big black dog. Now, the
black dog was a we'll meaning, amiable
dog but perhaps trifie too PROUD
of his bigness and blackness and or the
commotion he could stir up If he chose-
So he started in at once TO make ms
presence felt and rushed about in
circle in the neighborhood of the goat,
barking violently. He would not really
have hurt any one for anything IN the
world, but the white goat, started
from day dreams over his grass, dld
not realize that, and he fell into a reg
ular panic can't undertake to say
what he thought the black dog was or
what he imagined he was going TO do
to him. but he just completely lost his
self-controI and started off at run
pell-mell He forgot that he had horns
and that the black dog had none. he
forgot everything. He just wanted TO
get away from that great, eareering
black monster at any cost. and after
running blindly in any and every direc-
tion he finally remembered his friends.
the children, and ran behind them for
protection
You might have thought that the chill
dren would have run away from the
goat, but they were on intimate terms
with him; he was in the habit of going
into the house with them, il ne felt
like it. so they were not at all afraid of
him. But when they saw that great
black creature leaping about they, too,
were seized with panic and ran shrek
ing and falling over each other into
the next field, over the stone wall.
The black dogs thirst for excitement
gratifed, he ran lightly off in search
of other adventures. But the puppy,
the poor. foolish puppy, fingered be-
hind instead of staying with the black
dog, who was big enough to have pro-
tected him. He had, indeed, intended
to remain with him. but being a puppy
he could not hold one idea in his head
very long, and he was quite likely to
start violently off for somewhere, then
stop before he got there, and forget
where he was going or what he was
going for Upon this occasion he had
an idea of playing with the children
and the strange white beast that was
so ready to run about. But. unfortu-
nately, he was misunderstood both by
the goat and the little girls, who
drove him away very harshly. l am
afraid that they even threw sticks and
stones at him. And after lodging them
nimbly and looking a little troubled
and puzzled, the puppy finally wan
dered off in the direction of the boys
by the river, for. being puppy, his
heart naturally went out to children.
And I have often thought that If chill
dren realized the utter trust and be-
lief that puppies have in them they
they would not play any of the cruel
tricks on them that they sometimes do.
Well, the little boys-who, as l said
at the beginning, were not nice little
boys-pretended TO play with the
puppy and coaxed him up to them.
Then. when he went so gladly and
confidently, they picked him up and
threw him into the river. The puppy
had never been in the water before. OF
course, he knew how to swim by in
stinct, but the water was very cold.
for it was early in the summer, and the
quick, terrible fall through the air
took his breath and set his little heart
to beating Worse than that. the sides
of the river were walled up with
smooth stone for several feet above
the water and there was no place
where he could get a foothold. So he
SWAN very fast up and down the edge
looking for a place to climb up and
not finding any.
After q time one of the boys ran
down a little ladder set close against
the wall that was used for getting up
and down from the boats and pulled
the puppy out, none too gently, and
threw him on the ground. He ran off
then. looking suddenly very small with
his fuzzy hair all wet and clinging to
his little body. Then, when he was at a
safe distance he shook himself and sat
down, shivering and keeping a wary
eye upon the little boys. When they
came after him and tried to pick him
UP again he lodged them and ran Off.
He was not so happy as he had been.
what with the shock OF the fright and
the cold and the shock of finding out
that the little boys were not his
friends and he sat off by himself, look
ing little dazed. and lonely. But. be-
ing a puppy. his memory for grievances
was not very strong, and after time
he moved off very gayly again. The lit
tie American girl who had been indig-
nantly watching all this had just been
on the point of starting out with her
mother to tell the little boys what she
thought of them when they rescued the
puppy.
She called him to her now. The puppy