t with. These became part of the household of the good Anna's Miss
Mathilda.

Peter was a very useless creature, a foolish, silly, cherished,
coward male. It was wild to see him rush up and down in the back yard,
barking and bouncing at the wall, when there was some dog out beyond,
but when the very littlest one there was got inside of the fence and
only looked at Peter, Peter would retire to his Anna and blot himself
out between her skirts.

When Peter was left downstairs alone, he howled. "I am all alone," he
wailed, and then the good Anna would have to come and fetch him up.
Once when Anna stayed a few nights in a house not far away, she had to
carry Peter all the way, for Peter was afraid when he found himself on
the street outside his house. Peter was a good sized creature and he
sat there and he howled, and the good Anna carried him all the way
in her own arms. He was a coward was this Peter, but he had kindly,
gentle eyes and a pretty collie head, and his fur was very thick and
white and nice when he was washed. And then Peter never strayed away,
and he looked out of his nice eyes and he liked it when you rubbed
him down, and he forgot you when you went away, and he barked whenever
there was any noise.

When he was a little pup he had one night been put into the yard and
that was all of his origin she knew. The good Anna loved him well and
spoiled him as a good german mother always does her son.

Little Rags was very different in his nature. He was a lively creature
made out of ends of things, all fluffy and dust color, and he was
always bounding up into the air and darting all about over and then
under silly Peter and often straight into solemn fat, blind, sleepy
Baby, and then in a wild rush after some stray cat.

Rags was a pleasant, jolly little fellow. The good Anna liked him
very well, but never with her strength as she loved her good looking
coward, foolish young man, Peter.

Baby was the dog of her past life and she held Anna with old ties of
past affection. Peter was the spoiled, good looking young man, of her
middle age, and Rags was always something of a toy. She liked him but
he never struck in very deep. Rags had strayed in somehow one day and
then when no home for him was quickly found, he had just stayed right
there.

It was a very happy family there all together in the kitchen, the good
Anna and Sally and old Baby and young Peter and the jolly little Rags.

The parrot had passed out of A