Prince Jan, St. Bernard

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Prince Jan, St. Bernard

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Title: Prince Jan, St. Bernard
Author: Forrestine C. Hooker
Release Date: February 3, 2005 [EBook #14893]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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JAN, ST. BERNARD ***

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PRINCE JAN ST. BERNARD

[Illustration: _"'The duty of a St. Bernard is to save lives and be worthy
of his ancestors.'"_]

PRINCE JAN ST. BERNARD
BY FORRESTINE C. HOOKER
Illustrated by LYNN BOGUE HUNT
DOUBLEDAY & CO., INC.
GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
1946

TO
AN AMERICAN PATRIOT
My father, Brigadier-General Charles L. Cooper, U.S.A., whose life for
fifty-seven years, from May 27, 1862 to September 30, 1919, when he
answered the Last Roll Call, was devoted to the service of his Country
and his Flag.
F.C.H.

CL
1921, DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY. PRINTED IN THE
UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN
CITY, N.Y.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE HOSPICE DOGS 1 II. THE LAND OF SNOW 14 III. A NEW
WORLD 29 IV. THE LAND OF NO SNOW 38 V. JAN LEARNS TO
HATE 46 VI. THE POUND 58 VII. HIPPITY-HOP 71 VIII. THE
MUZZLE 81 IX. JAN'S JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF
MAKE-BELIEVE 94 X. THE HOME OF THE SUNBONNET
BABIES 101 XI. PRINCE JAN VISITS SHORTY 114 XII. THE
POUNDMASTER'S PROBLEM 125 XIII. THE VOICES OF THE
HOSPICE DOGS 140 XIV. A FIRESIDE STORY 157 XV. AN
UNFORGOTTEN TRAIL 167 XVI. PRINCE JAN DECIDES 175
XVII. JAN'S REWARD 180

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Facing Page
"'You must be crazy, this is the pound,' snapped the tiny creature" 62
"'I wish the children could see Jan now'" 114
"Then the roaring in his ears turned to the voices of the Hospice
dogs--'The duty of a St. Bernard is to save lives'" 148

PRINCE JAN
_St. Bernard_
Chapter I
THE HOSPICE DOGS
Prince Jan was a fuzzy, woolly puppy with clumsy paws and fat, round
body covered with tawny hair. His brown eyes looked with loving
good-will at everything and everybody.

Jan and his brother, Rollo, had great fun playing together, his long fur
making it easy for Rollo to haul him around, while Jan's teeth slipped
from his brother's short hair. Though they tumbled about and growled
fiercely at each other, their eyes were dancing with laughter.
When tired of playing, they would coax their mother to tell them stories
about the Hospice dogs. Then they would lie very quietly listening with
pricked-up ears and earnest eyes. Sometimes Bruno, the oldest dog in
the kennels, would join in the talk, and all the young dogs would gather
around to hear the history of their family. Prince Jan and Rollo, cuddled
beside their mother, would look at each other with pride, remembering
that they, too, were St. Bernards.
"I have heard the monks tell visitors that our ancestors have lived in the
Hospice for a thousand years," said Bruno in one of his talks. "When
you puppies are old enough, you will be trained for work. The duty of a
St. Bernard dog is to save lives and be worthy of his ancestors."
Jan and Rollo looked at him and thumped their tails to show that they
understood.
"A good St. Bernard dog must have a sensitive nose, sturdy legs, and
keen brains," Bruno's voice was very sober. "He knows what he must
do when he finds a human being lost in the storm or frozen in the snow.
Then he leads the way to the Hospice, or if the traveller does not follow,
the dog brings monks to aid the man. Should one of us ever fail to do
his best," he turned his big head slowly and his eyes were serious as he
looked at the puppies, "it would mean disgrace for all the rest of the St.
Bernard dogs."
"Tell us more stories, Bruno," the youngsters begged.
"Not to-day," Bruno shook his wise head. "Your ancestors have done
great things, and you have the right to be proud of them, but the only
way to prove yourselves worthy is for you to do your duty as well as
they did theirs. Unless you remember your lessons and follow them,
you will not be true St. Bernards, and your failures will be stains on the
honor of the name we bear. Never forget