h hope in their hearts. But
when they arose from the table and Fritz saw Pixy's plate on the back
porch, he threw his arms about his aunt, and wept.

"Oh, Aunt Fanny," he said, "if I only knew that Pixy was in the asylum
or some other safe place, and not wandering the streets, hungry and
looking for me, I would not feel so badly! but I am afraid the street
boys will throw stones at him and he will run away and never come back."

"If your gold-piece that you gave up as lost was found, so Pixy may be.
Do not cry any more, my darling, or you will be sick. Perhaps your dog
may be on his way back to the Odenwald."

"If we had walked all the way he might track us, but we came in the cars
from Umstadt."

"In spite of that disadvantage he may find his way home, as he did the
time your neighbor gave him away."

"Where will we go to-morrow?" asked Paul with the kind intent of taking
Fritz's thoughts from his trouble.

"In search of Pixy."

"No," responded Mrs. Steiner, "that will be of no use. You might walk
the streets from morning until late at night every day, and it would be
of no advantage to you or the dog. Let us go this afternoon to the
zoological gardens and see the many animals from foreign countries. We
will have some dinner and then go, that we may have a long afternoon at
the gardens."

This was a happy thought. Nothing could have taken the boy's mind from
his loss of the dog so well as did the many varied interests which the
gardens offered.

Near the entrance was a large, fine building used by visitors as a
resting-place, and for refreshments. Mrs. Steiner did not pass it by,
but the four went in and she bought a supply of cake as a supplement to
their light dinner. Then they went to see the splendid crested pea-fowls
that were spreading their brilliantly tinted fans on the green lawn. As
they passed a company of gay-plumaged parrots they were crying, "Dora!
Dora!" and Mrs. Steiner told the boys of a lady who owned the large
green parrot and was so weary of hearing it scream, "Dora! Dora!" from
morning until night, that she gave it to the garden; and now all the
parrots screamed "Dora."

"Ask it what its name is," she said to Fritz.

"What is your name?" he asked, going close to it.

"Same as yours," was the reply, followed by croaking laughter.

This amused the boys greatly and they would have remained there longer,
but they heard low growls from a great cage not far away and going
nearer they saw