ter," he would at once pick up the lantern, hold it fast between
his teeth, and start for the town, which was more than a mile away from
the home of his master. He would stop at the door of every house which
he knew his master was in the habit of visiting, and laying down his
lantern, growl and strike the door making all the noise in his power,
until it was opened. If his master was not in the house, he would go on
farther in the same way, till he found him. If he had gone with him only
once to a house, this was enough to make him take in that house in his
rounds.

[Illustration]

III

STUDYING

A magpie belonging to a barber in Rome, could imitate very perfectly
almost everything it heard. Some trumpets happened one day to be sounded
before the shop, and for a day or two afterward the magpie was quite
mute, and seemed sad and melancholy. All who knew it supposed that the
sound of the trumpets had so stunned it as to rob it at once of both
voice and hearing.

But this was not the case, as very soon appeared. The bird had all this
time been studying how to imitate the sound of the trumpets; and when at
last master of it, the magpie, to the astonishment of all its friends,
suddenly broke its long silence by a perfect imitation of the flourish
of trumpets it had heard; repeating with the greatest exactness all the
repetitions, stops, and changes. The learning of this lesson, however,
so exhausted the magpie's brain that it forgot everything it had known
before.

[Illustration]

IV

A GRATEFUL LIONESS

A dreadful famine raged at Buenos Ayres, yet the governor, afraid of
giving the Indians a habit of spilling Spanish blood, forbade the
people, on pain of death, to go into the fields in search of food, and
he placed soldiers at all outlets to the country, with orders to fire
upon those who should try to disobey him.

However, a woman, called Maldonata, was artful enough to get past the
watchful guards, and made her escape. After wandering about the country
for a long time, she came upon a cave into which she went. As soon as
she was inside, she saw therein a lioness, the sight of which frightened
her greatly. She was, however, soon quieted by the caresses of the
animal, who in return for a service done for her by the woman, showed
every sign of affection and friendliness. She never returned from
searching after her own daily food without laying a part of it at the
feet of Maldonata, until her cu