all alone, and Stiggins liked
company. He wished to ride in the sleeping car with Aunt Jean. Of course
he could not, because he was only a dog, which was something that
Stiggins had never quite understood. He would whimper, and run away,
when the coachman attempted to lead him to his proper place, so usually,
Aunt Jean had to take him, and to tie him, herself.

Stiggins disliked the long ride on the train and boat, but he was just
the happiest dog in the world when at last he reached Chautauqua. When
once he was there he had many fine times, bathing in the Lake, going off
on long walks and drives with the family, and playing with the dogs.

The house in which Aunt Jean lived was very near the lake, and Stiggins
liked to lie on the front porch and watch the children at play by the
water's edge. One day, Harry and Sally were there with a small sail-boat
attached to a string, which Harry held, as the boat sailed out on the
water. Suddenly the string broke, and then there was nothing with which
to draw the boat to land.

The children were quite small and did not know what to do. They asked a
big boy to wade out and return the boat to them, but he was a lazy boy
and told them to throw stones beyond the boat to make it come back of
itself. They tried his plan, but were not strong enough to throw the
stones very far, and the boat only floated further away.

All this time Stiggins had been lying on the porch watching the
children. I am not sure whether he thought they were throwing stones
for him to swim after, or whether he saw they were in trouble and wished
to help them, but this is what he did. Without a word from anyone, he
jumped up, trotted down to the water and waded in. The children and the
big boy wondered what he meant to do. Stiggins himself seemed to know
very well. He swam straight to the boat, caught it in his mouth, brought
it to land, and dropped it at the children's feet. Then he trotted back
to the porch.

Harry and Sally thought that Stiggins was the kindest and most polite
dog they had ever seen, and the big boy was ashamed, because he thought
that a dog had been kinder and more polite than he.

This story is as true as true can be. I know, because Aunt Jean saw the
whole affair and she told me about it herself.

* * * * *

When Johnnie Jones was a Santa Claus

"I should think it would be exciting to be Santa Claus," said Johnnie
Jones, "and fill children's