, and
whom I shall not refer to with a WHICH, because he was a very superior
animal indeed, even for a sheep-dog, which is the most intelligent of
dogs: he flew at the princess, knocked her down, and commenced shaking
her so violently as to tear her miserable clothes to pieces. Used,
however, to mouthing little lambs, he took care not to hurt her much,
though for her good he left her a blue nip or two by way of letting her
imagine what biting might be. His master, knowing he would not injure
her, thought it better not to call him off, and in half a minute he
left her of his own accord, and, casting a glance of indignant rebuke
behind him as he went, walked slowly to the hearth, where he laid
himself down with his tail toward her. She rose, terrified almost to
death, and would have crept again into Agnes's crib for refuge; but the
shepherdess cried--

"Come, come, princess! I'll have no skulking to bed in the good
daylight. Go and clean your master's Sunday boots there."

"I will not!" screamed the princess, and ran from the house.

"Prince!" cried the shepherdess, and up jumped the dog, and looked in
her face, wagging his bushy tail.

"Fetch her back," she said, pointing to the door.

With two or three bounds Prince caught the princess, again threw her
down, and taking her by her clothes dragged her back into the cottage,
and dropped her at his mistress' feet, where she lay like a bundle of
rags.

"Get up," said the shepherdess.

Rosamond got up as pale as death.

"Go and clean the boots."

"I don't know how."

"Go and try. There are the brushes, and yonder is the blacking-pot."

Instructing her how to black boots, it came into the thought of the
shepherdess what a fine thing it would be if she could teach this
miserable little wretch, so forsaken and ill-bred, to be a good,
well-behaved, respectable child. She was hardly the woman to do it, but
every thing well meant is a help, and she had the wisdom to beg her
husband to place Prince under her orders for a while, and not take him
to the hill as usual, that he might help her in getting the princess
into order.

When the husband was gone, and his boots, with the aid of her own
finishing touches, at last quite respectably brushed, the shepherdess
told the princess that she might go and play for a while, only she must
not go out of sight of the cottage-door.

The princess went right gladly, with the firm intention, however, of
getting out of sight by slo