Friends and Helpers | Page 9

could go. The dog saw the danger at once and seized the baby's
dress tightly between his teeth. Baby pulled and pulled, but the wise old
dog held the tiny skirts firmly. Then the baby cried and screamed, until
his nurse came to see what could be the matter. The dog wagged his tail
and looked up as if to say: "I'm glad you have come. You ought not to
leave a baby near a fire. What would have happened if I had not been
here, I should like to know?"
There is a well-known painting called "Saved," which tells its own
story. A pet kitten has been chased by two lively little terriers, and the
big, friendly dog has taken her into his care. She is not afraid of the
little dogs now. They may bark as much as they like. The big dog looks
as if he were saying, "Run away, little dogs! You may not mean to hurt
Miss Puss, but you are very rude to frighten her so. If you were as large
and strong as I am, you would be ashamed to bark at a poor, helpless
little kitten. Come now; run away, and do not tease her any more."
A large dog once hurt his leg, and a friendly surgeon bandaged it for
him. One night, some months after, the surgeon received a call from his
former patient, who brought with him another dog, suffering from a
similar accident. The larger dog introduced his friend as well as he
could, and then retired politely to a corner of the room until the
operation was over.
Once there was a small fox-terrier named Chip who hurt his foot in
some way, and was taken to the doctor for treatment. Not many weeks
later he was found on the doctor's doorstep, crying to get in. When the
doctor appeared the dog held up his swollen foot with a long thorn in it.
"You helped me before," he must have thought. "Do you suppose you
can help me now?"
[Illustration: "SAVED" From a Painting by H. Sperling.]
The most useful dog in the world is the collie, or shepherd dog.
Without him the Scotch shepherds would need more men than they
could possibly afford to hire.
The collie has had very careful training. It is a dog's instinct to chase
sheep, but the collie has been taught to take care of them. He drives the
flock to pasture, watches them to see that none strays away, keeps them
close together when any danger is near, and brings them home again in

safety.
Not long ago a collie was brought from England to this country. In his
new home there was a little girl, three years old. One day she wandered
away through the fields to an open well at some distance from the
house.
Her father was on his way home, when he heard the barking of the dog,
and knew that something was wrong. Springing over a stone wall, the
man saw his little girl and the dog near the well. There was a light snow
on the ground, and by the rows of tiny footsteps it could be seen that
the child had walked round and round the well, and that the faithful dog
had walked beside her, keeping always between the edge of the well
and his little charge.
When the collie is kindly treated he is the most faithful and devoted of
dogs, but he feels very keenly any neglect or harsh words. Unkindness
makes him sullen, and sometimes cross.
Every book about dogs is full of stories of their faithfulness, their
intelligence, and their unselfishness. We have made the dog dependent
upon us, and he is too often the victim of our thoughtlessness and
cruelty. Dogs are made happy or unhappy in very much the same ways
that children are. If you are kind to your dog and willing to learn how
to take care of him properly, he will probably give you very little
trouble. He will grieve when you scold him, but he will love you
faithfully through all kinds of trouble and pain.
"FORSAKE NOT AN OLD FRIEND."
Goodness moves in a larger sphere than justice;... kindness and
beneficence should be extended to creatures of every species.... A good
man will take care of his horses and dogs, not only while they are
young, but when old and past service. Thus the people of Athens, when
they had finished the temple called Hecatompedon, set at liberty the
beasts of burden that had been chiefly employed in the work, suffering
them to pasture at large, free from any other service. It is said that one
of these afterwards came of its own accord to work, and, putting itself
at the head