ance
to her entire satisfaction. I gave an earlier conclusive proof of her
memory when I mentioned her recollection of the yard-stick after the
very brief explanation I had given her on the subject two months
previously. Spontaneous remarks have been allotted a special chapter in
this book, and may assist in proving what has already been stated, but
I should like here to add an example of how animals put a matter "to
themselves," as it were, when the thing _heard_ has not been mentally
digested, so to speak--or may even be quite incomprehensible to them.

On 26 July, 1916, I said: "Lola! now _you_ think of something to ask
_me_!" "Yes!" "Well, what is it to be?" "Yes, o h o." "What is the
question? What am I to do with that word; the sentence is not complete,
is it?" "What means?" "You want to know what _oho_ means?" "Yes, yes!"

If we but consider the manner in which a dog will listen--with ears
erect--to every word we say, the question Lola put to me will seem most
natural! It even "comes naturally" to her to use words which are "above
her head," so to speak, as for instance, when she said "surogat"--and
in the case of Rolf, who referred to the "Urseele!" ( = the primeval
soul!) Words such as these are "picked up" by them much in the way that
children use words they do not know the meaning of: there may be
something in the sound that attracts them, but sometimes they make a
guess at the meaning, and in the case of animals, the guess is often a
very good one. In Lola this "Art of Guessing" almost led to a sort of
Romance!

In my Protocol of 14 December, I have the following entry: Yesterday I
asked Lola to tell me why dogs prefer being with human beings rather
than with other dogs--and I asked her the same question again to-day.
Lola answered: "eid" ( = oath). "What is that? you were to answer me
to-day: say something properly!" "ich eid." "Oh! I don't understand
this! tell me nicely!" "Eid fuer hunde." "What is _oath_ to mean?" "Zu
schweigen!" ( = to be silent) "_What_? have you promised that to each
other?" "Yes." "Who told you that?" "Frechi." (This was one of the dogs
on the farm.) "Frechi? and what has that to do with you? Nonsense, had
you told me so yesterday I should have known now! Say 'we are happy'
otherwise I shall think you are telling me stories: now _why_?" "Wegen
iren augen und iren sorgen one ruhe" ( = because of their eyes and
their sorrows without ceasing). Lola was very tired when she had
finishe