the rest, I will come at once to the two rivals--the dog and the fox.

"Now Beppo, the dog, was a handsome, honest, straightforward,
affectionate fellow; and he knew it, for he said:

"'I don't wonder at my cousin's refusing Bruin the bear, and Gauntgrim
the wolf. To be sure, they give themselves great airs, and call
themselves "_noble_;" but what then?--Bruin is always in the sulks, and
Gauntgrim always in a passion. A cat, of any sense, would lead a
miserable life with them. As for me, I am very good-tempered--when I am
not put out; and I have no fault, that I know of, except that of being
angry, and growling when I am disturbed at my meals. I am young and very
good-looking, fond of play and amusement; and, altogether, as amiable a
husband as a cat could find in a summer's day. If she marries me, well
and good; if not, I hope I shan't be so much in love as to forget that
there are other cats in the world.'

"So saying, Beppo threw his tail over his back, and set off to see the
cat, as gay as a lark in the spring.

"But the fox had heard him talking to himself--for a fox is always
meanly peeping about, into holes and corners, and listening where he has
no business--and he burst out a-laughing as soon as Beppo was out of
sight.

"'Ho--ho, my fine fellow!' said he, 'not quite so fast, if you please;
you've got the fox for a rival, let me tell you.'

"Now, the fox is a beast that can never do any thing without a mean
trick; and the cunning fellow was determined to put Beppo's nose out of
joint by arriving at the cat's house first. But this was no easy matter;
for though Reynard--"

"Reynard?" said Willie.

"That was the fox's name. Reynard could run faster than Beppo for a
little way, but he was no match for him in a long journey. 'However,'
said Reynard to himself, 'those good-natured creatures are never very
wise; I think I know how to fix him.' With that the fox trotted off, by
a short cut in the woods, and, getting before the dog, laid himself down
by a hole in the earth, and began to make such a dismal howling that you
could have heard him a mile off.

[Illustration: "My poor little sister has fallen into this hole, and I
can't get her out."]

"Beppo, on hearing this dismal noise, was terribly frightened. 'See
now,' said he, 'if the poor fox has not got himself into some scrape.
Those cunning creatures are always in mischief; I'm thankful it never
comes into my head to be cunning,' and the good-natured fe