very much. They laughed when they
thought of Fluff on one side and Muff on the other and Daddy's hat in
the middle.
The next day Betty was blindfolded. She put her hand in the cap and drew
a slip. This time _Paul_ was written on the slip. So it was Paul's turn
to tell about his pet. This is what he said:
"My pet is a big collie dog. His name is Hero. When my mother goes to
market she takes Hero with her. He trots by her side and carries a
basket in his mouth.
"Sometimes my mother sends Hero home with the meat and bread for dinner.
He goes right along. He does not stop or look around. When he comes to
our house he sets the basket down. Then he watches it until Mother
comes. If anyone calls, 'Here, Hero,' he pricks up his ears, but he will
not move from his place.
"One day I tried to coax him away with a big bone. I know the bone
looked and smelled good to Hero. He sniffed the air and looked at the
bone with hungry brown eyes, but he never moved from the basket.
"Last summer we went to the seashore. We took Hero with us. One day I
was on the beach, playing in the sand. Hero was lying asleep in the
sun. I was making a sand fort and my back was toward the sea.
"Suddenly a big wave dashed in and knocked me down. Then another big
wave came and carried me out into the water. As I did not know how to
swim, I was very much frightened. I tried to call out, but my mouth was
full of sea water. I could make only a little frightened sound; but Hero
heard me. What do you think he did? He jumped into the water and swam
out to me. I was too nearly drowned to catch hold of him. So he took my
clothes in his mouth and began to swim with me to the shore.
[Illustration: THE RESCUE]
"I was heavy, and Hero was almost worn out before he got there. But he
never once let go. He kept right on until he dropped me on dry land.
Then he lay panting on the sand.
"Just then Mother came to see where I was. When she saw what had
happened she hugged me hard. Then she hugged Hero hard too. The next day
she bought Hero a new collar with his name on it in big letters--HERO.
That night Hero had a big bone with lots of meat on it for his supper."
The children enjoyed Paul's story as much as they had Dot's. They
thought Hero was a fine name for such a brave dog. They said Paul was a
lucky boy to have a pet like that.
On another day little Dot was blindfolded. The slip of paper she drew
had this name on it--_Betty_. So it was Betty's turn
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