The Nursery, No. 107, November, 1875, Vol. XVIII. | Page 7

go by, and pretend not
to see. "Not in the parlor, and not on the stairs? Then I must peep under
sofas and chairs." The dear little rogue is now laughing outright, Two
little arms round my neck clasp me tight. Home will indeed be sad,
weary, and lone, When papa can't find you, my darling, my own.
GEORGE COOPER.

THE SOLDIER-DOG.
I have been reading in "The Nursery" the story about Mellie Hoyt and
his dog Major. My papa often tells me about another good old dog,
named Major. He was a soldier-dog, that papa knew when he went to
the war.
Major was a kind dog to all his friends; but he would bark at strangers,
and sometimes he would bite them. He once tried to bite a
steam-engine as it came whistling by; but the engine knocked him off
the track, and almost killed him. He had never seen a steam-engine

before, and he knew better than to attack one after that. But he was not
afraid of any thing else.
When the soldiers went out to battle, Major would go with them, and
bark and growl all the time. Once, in a battle way down in Louisiana,
Major began to bark and growl as usual, and to stand up on his
hind-legs. Then he ran around, saying, "_Ki-yi, ki-yi_." By and by he
saw a cowardly soldier, who was running away; and he seized that
soldier by the leg, and would not let him go for a long time. He wanted
him to go back and fight.
Soon after this, Major began to jump up in the air, trying to bite the
bullets that whistled over his head. When a bullet struck the ground, he
would run and try to dig it out with his paws. At last he placed himself
right in front of an advancing line of soldiers, as much as to say, "Don't
come any further!" He seemed to think that he could drive them back
all alone.
By and by a bullet hit Major as he was jumping about; and he dropped
down dead. The soldiers all felt sad, and some of them cried. They
missed him like one of their comrades, and they had many to mourn for
in that dreadful battle. I hope there never will be another war.
PINKY.
PORTLAND, ME.

[Illustration]
THE SURPRISE.
"Whose hands are over your eyes? Guess quick."
"Old Mother Hubbard's?"
"Wrong: guess again."

"The good fairy's, Teenty Tawnty?"
"There are no fairies in this part of the country, and you know it. Guess
again."
"Well, I guess it is the old woman that lived in a shoe."
"She is not in these parts. I will give you one more chance. Who is it?"
"I think it must be little Miss Muffit,--the one who was frightened by a
spider."
"Nonsense! One would think you had read nothing but 'Mother Goose's
Melodies.'"
"Can it be Tom, Tom, the piper's son?"
"No, I never stole a pig in my life. Now give the right name this time,
or prepare to have your ears pulled."
"Oh, that would never do! I think it must be my cousin, Jenny Mason,
who is hiding the daylight from me."
"Right! Right at last! One kiss, and you may go."
IDA FAY.

[Illustration]
LITTLE PEDRO.
Pedro is a little Italian boy, who lives in Chicago. When I first knew
him, he was roaming about from house to house, playing on the fiddle,
and singing.
Sometimes kind persons gave him money, and then he always looked
happy. But many times he got nothing for his music, and then he was
very sad; for he lived with a cruel master, who always beat him when

he came home at night without a good round sum.
One day last spring, he had worked very hard; but people were so busy
moving, or cleaning house, that, when night came, he had very little
money. He felt very tired: so he went home with what he had.
But his cruel master, without stopping to hear a word from the little
fellow, gave him a whipping, and sent him out again. He came to my
gate, long after I had gone to bed, and played and sang two or three
songs; but he did not sing very well, for he was too tired and sleepy.
Just across the street, in an unfinished building, the carpenters had left a
large pile of shavings. Pedro saw this by the moonlight, as he went
along; and he thought he would step in and lie down to rest. His head
had hardly touched the pillow of shavings before he was asleep.
He dreamed about his pleasant home far away in Italy. He thought he
was with his little sisters, and he saw