Aunt Fanny

“ But just as the folks were quite in tears for the fate of poor Jack, in came the dog with the hand-cart full tilt, and in a great scare; for the lid of the box was half off, and you could see one of [Pg 121] Jack's paws stuck out of a crack on top. All at once, off flew the lid, and out came Jack in a new dress, to dance a jig, and show that he had come to life once more, and was just as good as new. ”

“ Tears of joy stood in Frisk's eyes, and he ran with May and Hal and Dash up to the house, where their pa-pa and mam-ma were.
You may be sure the two went hard to work to kiss and coax pa-pa to let Jack or Frisk stay. They asked him to look how thin the poor dog was, and how sad it would [Pg 177] be to send him back to the show-man, who would beat him, and may-be kill him, he would be in such a rage.
"O now, dear pa-pa! do let him live with us!" they cried; "we will not beat him, and he may dance or not, as he likes. Come, we will kiss you ten times;" ”

“ My own aunt lives with a judge; and it will be odd if some rich man does not like my looks, and take me home with him. But I must be off; it would not do to be seen with you, if I hope to rise in the [Pg 21] world. A good time to you, my boy. He! he! you are such a beau, you can't fail to cut a dash. G-o-o-d day!"
"Stop a bit!" cried Mop, as Frisk ran off. "You don't think much of me now I see, but time may show me to be the best dog yet. ”

“ Grey, and then some day I will try to show you how much I feel what you have done and will do for me."
"Don't speak of it," said Dash. "It is as much of a joy to do good as to have good done to one's self. You shall stay here with me, dear [Pg 168] Frisk! and we will wait and see what comes of it."
"O you good old dog! you dear Dash! I will stay in your house all the time. I will be as still as a drum with a hole in it."
"Yes, and I know you will come out all right at last. I tell you what! I heard May and Hal ask their pa-pa to [Pg 169] buy you. O my! they want you so much!" ”

“ If they [Pg 131] made the least slip or mis-take, they got a hard blow for it. In this way they find out that they must do all their tricks quite right, or they will have the whip laid on their poor thin sides and heads; and so not a day goes by that the dogs are not starved and made to feel the whip.
"Oh! oh!" cried Hal and [Pg 132] May, "we did not know that. We would not beat or starve a dog, or a cat, or a worm. What a bad show-man! We would like to beat him." ”

“ He was a big show-man, and had dog plays, and was quite rich and great; so he tried to buy me. [Pg 164] I heard him tell my man, that the dog who used to play 'Jack, the Run-a-way,' was just dead, and I would make a first-rate Jack in his place.
"So he paid, I don't know how much, and got me, and set me to learn my part. O my dear Dash! my life was one scene of hard blows and hard fare. The poor wee dog [Pg 165] who acts the old dame in the play is worse off than I, for she is so weak, that she can not do her part well; and oh! how he beats her! ”

“ I hope not," said pa-pa. "The show-man may not think that dogs feel as much as we do. But I know you will be kind to all. I know you would not strike Dash, [Pg 133] if he, by chance, broke one of your toys or hurt you in play."
"O no! in-deed," they both cried; and they ran up to the dog, and gave him a good hug, and a kiss on the top of his head.
You may be sure that Dash had not lost one word of all this talk; and he was still [Pg 134] more sad when he knew how much poor Frisk had to bear. He made up his mind to tell Frisk to run off, and come to him. ”

“ They [Pg 90] had great fun. But their pa-pa came to bid them make haste; so they told nurse good-by, and ran down the stair, hand in hand, as gay as two larks. Dash came to join them in the court-yard, and soon they were all four on their way to the show.
But, dear me! when the man at the door of the show [Pg 91] saw Dash, he said: "I can't let dogs in, sir."
Here was a blow! and May, with her sweet blue eyes quite sad, cried out: "But you will let our Dash in, Mr. Show-man, won't you? You don't know what a good dog he is; he saved Hal's life!" ”

“ Out came a dog in the dress of an old dame, who, [Pg 100] Mr. Grey said, was Jack's mam-ma. She wore a black gown, a white cap, and plaid shawl, and had a work-bag on her arm, or fore-leg, and a big pair of specs tied on her nose. When she saw the guard, she spread out her paws, and gave each a look in turn, as if to ask what they came there for.
[Pg 101] The short guard made signs to her, to show they were on a hunt for a man who had left the camp with-out leave. The old dame shook her head at this, and put a paw on her heart, as if to say she hadn't heard of such a thing ”

“ The kind cook asked them to let me be, till I had had my milk; but she might as well have asked the wind not to blow; and with Bob to hold me, and Ned and Sam to mount guard on each side, they made haste once more to the play-room.
[Pg 69] "When they had me safe, and the door shut, Bob cried in great glee: 'Now, boys, I tell you what we'll do: let's play our dog was a slave, that we had caught just as he was on the point to run off. ”

“ Look sharp you! If the wrong dog starts when I call, he gets none at all. Now then, Pete!'
"The dog in the cap made a jump and one snap, and the meat was gone.
"'Now then, Hop!' said [Pg 156] the man; and the dog in the girl's hat got it; and then it was Pete's turn, while poor Bob with the bow-legs, who lost the three cents, kept up a kind of soft howl and a sob, as if his heart would break.
"All this time I did think I must die for want of food, and I made up my mind to [Pg 157] stand on my hind-legs till the show-man gave me some meat too. ”

“ We will tie him by the fore paws and flog him well.'
"Oh! oh! how I felt when I heard these words! My [Pg 70] hair stood on end with fear. I threw my-self on the floor, and cried for help. Ah me! no help came. One would think they might have felt for a poor dog that could not help it-self. But no; they were with-out heart.
"Bob found a cord, and tied my feet to a large nail in the wall. Ned and Sam [Pg 71] did each fetch the strap that they had round their task-books, and then these bad boys beat me till I felt as if I must die. ”

“ I took a hat full of cents. See here, what a lot of them! But that dog there, he lost me a three cent piece to-day; so he goes with-out his bone.'
"The poor dog with the bow-legs gave a great howl when he heard this; but the [Pg 153] show-man hit him on the nose with his whip, and he slunk off, while the big tears ran in a stream down his face.
"The rest stood on their hind-legs in a row, while the old dame with the nut-shell face took the pot from the fire. ”

“ The walls were black with dirt and smoke. The dogs lay in one part of the room, and the man sat by the fire. On a hook was [Pg 151] a great pot, and from this came such a nice smell, that all the dogs, and I with them, did lick our lips the whole time.
"And now there came in the room an old dame, with a dry, brown face, for all the world like the nut-shell dolls the pie-man's boy used to make. ”

“ She gave half to him, and they broke it in bits and fed me by turns.
"'You dear pet,' said Nell, with a sigh, 'how I wish I could take you with me! But we are too poor; it can not be.'
"'Oh! don't you think [Pg 78] mam-ma would let us have him?' cried Fred. ”