CHAPTER VII.
THE SHEPHERD'S DOG.
A few mornings after this, Minnie went out at an early hour to see herpets in the stable, when she found the sheep lying on its side, quietand still. She did not, as usual, spring forward to eat the corn whichMinnie was sure to have for her, but only raised a feeble, plaintivecry.
As her father was already gone to the city, Minnie flew to the house,for Anne to come and tell her what was the matter with poor Nannie.
Anne looked very sober after examining the sheep, and then said, "Itmust have a dose of medicine at once."
Poor Minnie was dreadfully excited, and looked really pale, though, likea brave little girl, she insisted on holding the cup from which nursewas feeding sick Nannie. Star, too, seemed really anxious, and he wasquite careful to keep his own side of the stall, for fear he should hurthis favorite.
Through the day, Minnie visited the barn as often as twice in an hour,and always insisted that Anne should accompany her. Before her fatherreturned, she had the satisfaction of knowing that Nannie was muchbetter. She was still very weak, but her eyes looked brighter, and shechewed her cud, which Anne said was a good sign.
To turn her mind from her trouble, Mr. Lee took his book again, andsaid,--
"Minnie, did you ever hear of a sheep that had so fat a tail that itweighed more than fifty pounds?"
"O, no, sir," answered the child, laughing; "how funny they must look!"
"They are called the fat-tailed sheep," added her father, "and arenatives of Africa."
"Are there as many kinds of sheep as there are of dogs?"
"More, if all the inferior qualities are counted. They are constantlymultiplied, too; and there are many very greatly improved varieties. NowI suppose you would like to hear about the sheep-dogs, and how they aretrained to take care of the flocks."
"Yes, sir, I should like that."
"In many parts of the world, where there are immense flocks, it is veryimportant to have dogs to assist in taking care of them. But as a sheepconsiders the dog an enemy, and is more afraid of him than of almost anyother animal it meets, it is necessary, in the first place, to get theseanimals acquainted, that they may feel friendly.
"In order to do this, when one of the ewes has a lamb, the shepherdtakes it from her, and puts a young puppy in its place.
"After being held two or three times while the puppy suckles her, theewe will generally adopt the little creature, and love it as well as ifit was her own lamb.
"All this time, the puppy has a bed of wool to lie on, to accustom himto the smell of the animal; and by the time he is weaned, he becomes soattached to his new friends, that he will never forsake them, nor leavethe particular drove with which he has been brought up. Not even thevoice of his master can entice him out of sight of the flock. No hungerand thirst can do it. There he remains, constant and true to his charge,ready even to lay down his life for them, while they regard him not onlyas a dearly loved friend, but as a protector and guide, whom it istheir duty to obey. Did you ever know, Minnie, that the Italian wolf doghas short wool under his hair? This is the case, the wool resembling theLeicester and Lincoln breeds.
"One of these faithful, noble animals takes charge of a thousand sheep,going out with them in the morning, and bringing them all back at night.
"If one of the sheep strays from its companions, the dog follows it,even into a strange flock, takes it carefully by the ear, and leads itback.
"When a stranger approaches the flock, the dog advances, barking, andthe sheep all close in his rear, as if round the oldest ram, while theyare so fierce with other dogs and wolves, that it is said a whole packof hungry wild dogs will not venture to attack them.
"The only trouble with the sheep-dog is, that when they are young, theylike to play with the sheep, and sometimes run them unmercifully; butwhen they are older, they seem fully to understand their duty, and walkup and down continually on the outer side of the flock, ever watchfulfor the approach of danger.
"Sometimes, where there is a scarcity of grass, two flocks will bebrought within a short distance of each other, when these faithfulsentinels place themselves in the space between them, and if one or anumber attempt to rush across and make acquaintance with theirneighbors, their respective dog gently but firmly selects them from allthe others, and leads them back. What is very strange is the fact thaton such occasions, the other dog stands quietly by until the intrudersare removed, while no force would induce him to allow the strange dogto enter his flock on any other pretence.
"A very affecting instance of the faithfulness of these animals I willtell you.
"A shepherd dog, having the charge of a small flock, was allowed towander with them into the mountains, while the shepherd returned to hisvillage for a few days, having perfect confidence in the ability of theanimal to protect them, but with a strange forgetfulness to provide thedog with food.
"Upon his return to the flock, he found it several miles from the placewhere he had left it, but on the road leading to the village, while thepoor dog, in the midst of plenty, was lying by the roadside in theagonies of death by starvation. He might have torn one of the lambs topieces; but so devoted was he to his charge, that rather than injureone of them he sacrificed his own life."
"What a wicked man!" cried Minnie, indignantly. "I shouldn't think hewould ever forgive himself."
"Yes, it was cruel; but no doubt he felt the loss keenly, as it couldnot readily be made up. Another dog must be brought up among them, andbe trained to his business; for it is a mistake to suppose that,however well taught a shepherd's dog may be, he will be allowed by thesheep to come among them until they have learned to regard him as afriend and protector."
"I heard, not long since, a laughable story, to illustrate this fact.
"Mr. Thomas Jefferson, one of our Presidents, having a flock of sheep onhis place at Monticello, was very glad to receive a thoroughly brokenshepherd dog which had been sent him.
"Soon after its arrival, he had a number of distinguished guests, towhom he made known his recent gift, the convenience of having a dog tomanage his flock, and the almost incredible ability of the animal, andwhom he led forth to witness the value of his present.
"The dog had not as yet been admitted to the sheep, but at the word ofcommand sprang in among them.
"The terrified animals fled in all directions, some of them dashingthemselves over precipices, and breaking their necks.
"The dog either shared the same fate, or, mortified at his failure, felthis pride too deeply wounded to return. Mr. Jefferson never recoveredhim."
CHAPTER VIII.
HARRY AND HATTY.
One pleasant morning in June, Mr. Lee ordered the carriage, and drovewith Minnie to a delightful residence on the border of a lovely lake.Minnie had often been here to visit little Harry, only child of hermother's friends.
This dear boy, like Minnie, had many pets, and could fully sympathizewith her in her love for animals and for the beauties of nature.
Harry had a pony named Cherokee; he had also pretty birds, that hedelighted to watch, as they hung in their cage.
But the pet which Harry loved more than all others was a lamb, which hehad named Hatty. This little creature had been given him but a shorttime before Minnie's visit; but it had learned to know his voice, torun to meet him, and to eat grass from his hand.
When Hatty was first carried from her mother to Harry's home, she criedfor her usual companions. The boy's tender heart was touched, and hebegged his father to let the lamb sleep in his room.
"She will be so lonely!" he urged; "and I shall want to take care ofher. Please, papa, be so kind as to let me have her there."
His parents, ever anxious to please their dear child, readily consented;but first his mamma allowed him to take his pet into the lake for abath.
Nurse, laughing at his delight, dressed Harry in his red flannel bathingsuit; and then, with his lamb in his arms, he waded into the water.
Hatty was a little afraid; bu
t even in those few hours that she hadbeen with her young master, she had learned that he would not allow herto be injured.
When the lamb's soft wool was dry, as it soon was in the hot sun, hisfather left his reading in the parlor to help him find a basket largeenough for the lamb's bed.
In the morning, when his mother went into his chamber, she laughed tosee that he had taken his pet to share his own bed, and was lying withhis arms around her neck, kissing her with demonstrative affection.
"Pretty little Hatty!" he exclaimed, again and again; "I do love you sodearly!"
Minnie had scarcely alighted from the carriage, when Harry cried out,"Please come and see my lamb."
The child smilingly followed him to the field, where the littlecreature was learning to graze in the rich clover. As soon as she heardhis voice, she ran toward him, bleating and showing every mark of strongaffection. She was a pretty lamb, with long, silky wool, gentle eyes,and a meek, loving expression.
During the day, the two children were scarcely a moment away from Hatty;for Harry's heart was moved by her cries for him, and he was so fond ofher he could not endure a separation. Sometimes they would sit down onthe clean, sweet grass, the boy laying his head on Hatty's neck; butmore commonly they were running over the lawn, with the lamb close attheir heels, sharing their happiness.
"O, mamma," he exclaimed, when they went in to dinner, "we have had sucha funny time! Hatty knows Minnie now quite well; but she does not loveher, of course, as she does me. She cries for me whenever she cannot seeme."
His mother smiled, and then asked, "Have you told Minnie about Una, andwhat Hatty does while you are learning your lessons?"
"O, no, mamma! I quite forgot to tell her."
"Will you please tell me about Una?" urged Minnie, with greatearnestness.
"Yes, dear. Una was the name of a lamb I once saw. She was not gentleand loving, as Harry's lamb is; she was more lively, and full of tricks.She had a bad habit of browsing the trees, so that her mistress one daytold a servant to tie her to a stake in the orchard, or she woulddestroy the young plants.
"Una had a little companion that was very quiet and inoffensive, butwas sometimes led by her into mischief. The next morning after she hadbeen tied, when the man went with the leather strap and string to leadher to the orchard again, Una was nowhere to be found. All day long sheand her companion were off out of sight; but at night they came timidlyback, watching to see that the man did not catch them."
Minnie laughed heartily. "I suppose," she exclaimed, "that she ran awayto escape being tied, as our Leo used to when he wanted to go tochurch."
"Yes; and she repeated the trick for several days. She was a verycunning lamb, and would watch her chance, standing on her hind feet, toeat the bark from the young trees, and pull the slender twigs downtoward the ground with her fore leg."
"Can you remember any thing more about her?" timidly inquired Minnie.
"Dinner is ready," answered the lady, smiling. "We shall not have timenow; but Harry may tell you about Hatty."
Harry stood up very straight, his bright eyes sparkling with pleasure;then, with a motion peculiar to him, tossing the curls from hisforehead, and turning to Minnie, he said, in an animated tone, "Everymorning I have my lessons with mamma; but Hatty doesn't like me tostudy, because she wants to be playing, you know. At first, she cried somuch that I couldn't get on at all well, until mamma put my stool closeto the door. You see it is glass, and she could look through the panes.So she lies on the piazza outside, with her nose as close as she can getit to me."
"And her loving eyes fixed on his face," added mamma, smiling atMinnie's earnest gaze.
"Isn't it funny," cried the boy, leaning toward his young visitor, "forher to sit still till my lessons are learned, so that I can say them allby heart?
"O, mamma!" he shouted, "there's Hatty now."
And, true enough, the affectionate creature had followed them around thehouse to the dining room, and there she stood butting against theglass, to get to her dear little master.
"I do think," cried Minnie, enthusiastically, "that Hatty is the verybest lamb I ever saw."
MRS. LESLIE'S JUVENILE SERIES.
16mo.
MRS. LESLIE'S JUVENILE SERIES.
16mo.
FOR BOYS.
Vol. I. THE MOTHERLESS CHILDREN. " II. PLAY AND STUDY. " III. HOWARD AND HIS TEACHER. " IV. JACK, THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER.
FOR GIRLS.
Vol. I. TRYING TO BE USEFUL. " II. LITTLE AGNES. " III. I'LL TRY. " IV. ART AND ARTLESSNESS.
MINNIE'S PET HORSE.
BY
MRS. MADELINE LESLIE, AUTHOR OF "THE LESLIE STORIES," "TIM, THE SCISSORS-GRINDER," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 1864.
Transcriber's Note
The following typographical errors were corrected:
Page Error 16 crumbed changed to crumbled 48 their strength. changed to their strength." 109 adjoining shelter. changed to adjoining shelter." 143 companions, the changed to companions, the dog
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