al," said Viggo. He
added half aloud: "Do you think I might become a general, Hans?"

"Well, well, listen to the spring chicken!" said Hans. "So it is general
you want to be? Never mind, don't blush for that; it wasn't a bad
question. But it is very difficult, for you must learn much, oh, very
much."

"Mathematics, you mean?" said Viggo. "I have learned some of that
already, and languages too."

"Yes, that is well enough, but you must learn much more; you must learn
to drill so that you don't make a mistake in a single movement."

"Then do you think I might become a general?" continued Viggo.

"Who knows? But it is difficult. The eyes are not bad, you have the
right expression. But the nose--no it has not the correct shape. But, of
course, it may grow and curve in time," said Old Hans.

After that Viggo learned to drill and march from his old friend; but he
often looked in the mirror and wished with all his heart that the nose
would curve a little more.

ALLARM, THE DOG

One afternoon Viggo was walking home from school with a bag of books on
his back. He marched straight as a stick, with a soldiery step. Old Hans
was standing outside the cottage waiting for him, and when Viggo halted
and saluted, the old man asked if he could guess what present there was
for him at the house.

"How does it look?" asked Viggo.

"It is brown," said Hans. "Now guess."

"Oh, I suppose it is nothing but a lump of brown sugar from Aunt Beate,"
said Viggo.

"Try again!" said Hans, and grinned. "It is dark brown, it walks on four
feet and laps milk."

"Is it the puppy the Captain has promised me? Is it?" cried Viggo, and
forgot all about standing straight and stiff before the Grenadier.

"Right about! Of course that's what it is," said Hans the Grenadier.

But Viggo turned a somersault instead of "Right about" and ran to the
house. On a piece of carpet close by the fireplace lay the little puppy,
and he was beautiful. The body was dark brown, but the nose and paws
were light brown, and he had a light brown spot over each eye. When
Viggo sat down on the floor beside him and stroked the soft fur, he
licked Viggo's hand. Soon they had become acquainted, and from that time
on Viggo watched, to see if the puppy grew, almost as carefully as he
watched his own nose to see if it had the proper curve so that he might
become a general.

In the night, Allarm lay by Viggo's bed, and in the daytime sat beside
him when he was studying