47
FOX TERRIER GOT EVEN WITH THE COLLIE
A Portland Story of Two Dogs Guilty of an Old Crime, by Katharine F. Brcrctoiu
How They Kept Their Santa Claus
THE SUNDAY OREGOKIAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 10, 1905.
IT was the noon hour of a perfect Juno
day. John, the hired man, hadjjeen
busy all the morning mowing the lawn,
and had now gone to his dinner, leaving
the grafts he had cut In several heaps,
ready to bo carried away In the wheel
barrow. The perfume of the flowers In
the well-cultivated .beds mingled with that
of the cut grass, and the only sound to
be heard in the garden was the humming
of the bees as they darted hither and
thither in their search for pollen and
honey.
The beauties of Nature, however, were
evidently wasted on Dan, the Scotch col
lie, and Ted, the young fox-terrier, who
both lay fast asleep under the old apple
tree on the lawn.
Suddenly out of the. henhouse vin the
yard back Of the garden came. the speckled
lien.
"Cluck-cluck-cluck-clahooi" she cried.
That was the way she lot the world In
general know she had laid an egg.
Dan raised his head and pricked up his
ears. Then he yawned.'
"Ted!" he said, addressing the terrier
near him.
"What Is It?" sleepily.
"Did you ever taste a raw egg?"
"No," said Ted, getting up slowly and
stretching his shapely, delicate logs.
"Well, I'll show you the proper way,
but you must promise to do exactly "what
J tell you."
Ted was now wide awake, and his bright
black eyes looked -straight into Dan's
shifty brown ones.
"How and where do you get the eggs?"
ho inquired, suspiciously. More than once
he had got into serious trouble by fol
lowing the older dog's advice.
"Out of the henhouse, of course," said
Dan.
"But suppose you got caught?"
Dan sniffed scornfully.
"Oh, if you are afraid you can stay
here. I'm going to have an egg or two,"
and ho licked his chops in anticipation of
keen enjoyment as he strolled oft In his
majestic manner towards the henhouse.
For a momont led hesitated. .Then the
fear of being called a "cowardly pup" by
Dan was too much for him. and he fol
lowed his tempter. He found Dan in the
henhouse with a broken egg on the
ground before him. eagerly lapping up its
contents. He looked up for a second as
Ted entered.
"There Is a beautiful brown one in that
nest near the door," he said, "1 left Itt
purposely tor you. wetter hurry and eat
It before, airy ono comes." and he calmly
commenced on his second egg. Jle had
finished his third by the time Ted had the
brown egg out of the nest and lying, still
unbroken on the ground.
"Hurry up, youngster!" cried Dan. Im
patiently. "How do you break them?" inquired
Ted. timidly touching tho egg with his
paw.
"Go at It with a rush," said tho older
criminal. "Don't sit and look at It, silly.
Givo It a good hard bite"
Ted. thus encouraged, "went at it with
a rush."
Tho next moment ho was outside tho
henhouse, coughing and sneezing himself
black In the face. Tears ran from his
eyes, and he howled with pain.
"Oh, oh, oh!" ho groaued and sputtered.
''It had red pep-pepper In it!"
The noise he made brought his master
to the scene.
"So you no the egg thief, are you?"
said the latter. "I see you have got hold
of the egg I purposely prepared for you.
It serves you right. Master Ted."
Poor Ted looked around for Dan to
share his disgrace, only to find that
worthy had disappeared.
When the two dogs met again later in
the day behind the barn, Ted's eyes were
red and his nose and mouth smarted pain
fully from the effects of the red pepper.
"You are a nice-looking fellow!" ex
claimed Dan, very much amused at Ted's
appearance.
"And you arc a cowardly dog!" retorted
Ted, Indignantly. "Why did you go off
and let me take the blame for eating all
the eggs. Now they think I have been
stealing for a long time and you get off
scot free. And that red pepper was
awful!"
"Well, now'. you will know a peppered
egg when you see It, Ted. I had to learn
the same way."
"Do you mean to say that you knew all
the timo the brown egg had red pepper
in It?"
"Of course I did." said Dan. scornfully.
lt had a hole at one end. Young dogs
will never know anything till thev learn
from experience," And Dan walked off
wagging his tall.
You are a horrid old hypocrite."
growled Ted. "I'll get even with vou for
this; sec if I don't!"
''No." said Annie, the cook, that even
DAN. TED AND
ing, when Ted sat up before her In the
kitchen and begged to bo let Into the
dining-room, where his master and mis
tress were at supper. "No, Indeed, Ted,
you cannot go In there. You've been
stealing eggs, and all you will get for
your supper will be a piece of bread. No
bones for you tonight, you naughty dog!"
Poor Ted! He felt he had been very
badly treated as he sat out In the garden
behind tho hollyhocks with the piece of
bread Annie had given him lying on the
ground before him. Ho remembered that
the butcher had brought a piece of mut
ton to the house that morning, and he
adored mutton. Of course that wicked
Dan was in the dining-room, getting plen
ty of nice tit-bits and all the bones.
However, not having had any dinner thay
aay, una naving a ravenous appeuie in
I spite of his troubles, Ted mude up Js
f mind to eat hi bread, dry and unlnvi'ng
though it certainly was.
Just as he was about to commence, he
heard a pit-a-pat along the garden path
leading from the house, and the next, mo
ment Dan came Into sight, carrying a
largo -bone In his mouth. Ted kopt very
quiet,, and hidden as he was by the holly
The Stoiy of
THIS Is the, story of a Christmas tree
that saved the life of seven of us
on a bitter December day.
I had bought a schooner in Portland,
Me. ono of those fine New England
built craft that can outstay almost any
storm and outrun the shops of almost
any other country. My object was to
load her In New York with all sorts of
stuff clocks, medicines, cotton cloths,
cutlery and a little of everything else
and go trading down the San Bias coast
and along the north coast of South
Africa.
When we got ready to start, there
came a chance to do a little business in
the way of Christmas trees a bolated
lot that had been detained In tho woods
by a railroad wreck. Owing to their
late arrival In the port, they were
practically worthless, for most of the
dcalors had filled their ordors and no
one wanted to touch therm
In this predicament the owner came
to me and said:
"Sec here, captain. You are going to
New York empty. Your vossel is fast,
and with anything like fair weather,
you should make port two days before
Christmas. Now If you will carry my
lot of trees you may sell them for what
ever they will bring and send me half.
Thus I will be saved from a total loss
and you will make something for your
trouble."
That suited me first rate. We hurried,
the trees aboard and set sail in one of
those beautiful late December after
noons, when the sea lies as still and
smooth as a mid-Summer ocean. It was
WITHIN TWENTY MIXtTES WE SAW THE GRACEFUL BOAT OF VSCVE SAM'S
rXFKSAVKRS CXXStB OVER THE KWELXK.
FLOSSIE.
hocks, Dan did not' see him. A little
farther on he laid down the bone. He
sniffed around for a moment, then quickly
dug a hole In one of the fiowcr beds,
dropped the bone Into it. covered It up
nastily, and fcampered off to the house.6
ow xea was a ongnt mue ternor, ana
he took In the situation at once.
"He does not want to miss the cake
and pudding scraps," he thought, "and
has burled the bone till he has time to
enjoy It, Well, Master Dam, you can
have my bread, and ril have your
hone. 'Exchange Is not robbery! "
An hour passed away, and It com
menced to prow dark In the garden.
Ted was still lying behind the holly
hocks, and before him lay the well
chewed remains of Dan's bone. He was
waiting to see what Dan would do
when he found his treasure gone.
When Dan finally came trotting down
the path. Tod was not .a little aston
ished to see htm followed by Flossie,
the beautiful white spitz, that lived In
the next house. Wicked delight filled
Ted's heart. Dan was evidently smit
ten with the fair Flossie's charms, and
had brought her here in order to pre
a Life-Saving Christmas Tree
bitter cold; however, and the light wind
that drew from the northwest was cut
ting as a whip.
That night It continued to grow cold
er and with the dawn the wind arose,
till presently we were snoring through
green seas' and carrying such a bone In
our teeth that It was a delight to watch
the vessel with the white seas cas
cading on her bow continually.
She proved all that I had expected of
her. All day long, though the wind be
came greater and greater, she bored
her way steadily on. and even when the
breeze had risen to half a gale she re
mained so stiff that we carried every
thing until sunset. .
Every sail on-her.wiis stiff as a board
and we overhauled and passed a Clyde
built steamer o fast thttt bofore dark
tho fellow's smoke could hardly be
seen astern.
Shortly after supper, however, the
weather .got worse. It was half a gale
no longer, but a full one, and we put
reefs in and took in some of our top
canvas. Despite this precaution, tho
seas became so violent that at mid
night they smashed two of our life
boats, tearing thom boldly from tho
davits and leaving only a few splint
ered timbers hanging to the falls. Lat
er a sea came abeam and carried our
only remaining boat, a dinghy that was
lashed on deck, clear from Its fasten
ings and stove It against the main
mast. However, with such a good vessel
under us we didn't mind the loss of the
boats much and we pushed right on.
Well, we did so well that we raised
the Long Islarid coast a full halt day
ahead of our best calculations; and
sent her with a large mutton bone.
Ted could hardly restrain from rolling'
ocr and over with joy. Dan -and he
were quits Indeed!
"Miss Flossie," said Dan, in his. lord
ly way, "if you will sit down and wait,
ril dig it up for you."
Flossie did as requested, her fair
face lighted up with eager anticipation.
She liked mutton bones.
The expression on Dan's face was a
very comical one when he dug up a
piece of dry bread instead of what he
expected to find.
"Well, I never," was all ho could say.
It was only Ted, however, who en
joyed tho humorous side of the affair.
Flossie's disappointed appetite affect
ed her temper. Without a word to the
discomfited Dan. she curled her beautiful
tall' well over her shapely back, tilted hr
aristocratic nose high in the air, and
trotted home.
When Ted crept quietly away from
behind the hollyhocks. 10 minutes
later, he left Dan still sitting In front
of tho hole In the ground, gazing with
a sorrowful, mystified air at the piece
of bread.
then all at once a white sea fog shut
down.
It was not the kind without wind.
Although the .gale had gone, there was
breeze enough and to spare. For five
hours we drove through It blindly. From
my station on the aftcrdeck I could not
sec tho lookout at the bow, and I could
see our foremast only as a vague shape.
,. . k.cpt the horn Eoing faithfully, and
listened sharply for the idirfcii nr nth..
vessels. Several tiroes we passed ships
""""" wiuiout seeing them, but
"o ttiia wuuues ioia us tnat they i
were a' safe distance off Th.n
denly wc heard a blast right ahead of us.
erea me neim hard down Instantly
and the good schooner answered It as
quickly as a high-strung hOrsc would.
But It was too late.
A dim mass loomed over 'us, and th-
next Instant wc heeled, while our main
topmast came down with a smash a
tramp steamer had hit us full and fair on
the port quarter.
The vessel backed off again Immedi
ately, but not before T had spied the
name on her bow. Even while 'the top
hamper was still rattling down and com
ing about our ears. I shouted to the
steamer to stand by; but there was no
answer except a confused shouting and
then the sound of her screw got fainter
and fainter as she ran off.
Quickly wc got a tarpaulin over the
rent In our side and so checked the In
rush of water temporarily, till wo could
clear away the wreckage that threatened
to beat another hole In our side. But It
was only too plain that our schooner was
done for.
While part of the crew labored at the
pump and others chopped the topmast
and gear loose and let it drive off In the
sea, I pointed the vessel straight toward
the Long Island beach. According to my
calculation we should have been about
abreast of the Fire Island light when
wc were struck, and I hoped that wo
could get close enough Jn to attract tho
attention cf the llfc-savers our only hope
since our boats were gone. '
"Well, she sank fast, but despife It she
still sailed wonderfully welL Just before
dusk, the weather cleared and wo could
see the beach, very far away.
I ordered the signal gun to be fired at
once, but to my horror discovered that
It had been carried away when the mast
went. By this time the schooner had
settled so that her rail was awash, and
we all had to climb up on top of the
cabin. The cold soon began to overcome
us, for we had all been well soaked dur
ing the work of clearing the wreckage.
I realized that no one would be likely
to sight our sunken hull, and as the cold
was getting worse and the sea was rising
again, I knew that we were in a desperate
case.
Then a lucky idea came to me. Our
first mate had saved a big Christmas
tree and lashed it on the cabin ton to
take home to his children. I gave orders
to tie It to one of the ropes of the main
mast and then set fire to It. As soon as
It burned up well we hoisted It to the top
of the mast, and It made a mighty flare
in the darkling sky.
Well, within 20 minutes we saw the
beautiful, graceful boat of "Cncle Sam's
llfesavers climb over the swells, and be
fore 7 "o'clock that night we were in the
station, safe and sound. And I made
that steamer pay me for that schooner
and the Christmas trees, too.
PHRlsbcd.
Ther was a boy who Mid: "There Is
No Saata. Gisi ax all
And Krhca the ret of u cot tftt.
Why. h cot aoxft at all!
MARGY was crying and the Boy
looked serious and dismal indeed.
"She said she said." Margy
sobbed, "that there wasn't any Santy
Claus at all. and that our fathers and
mothers sot all our presents for us.
and that Santy was all humbug, just a
sort of xnakebelieve, to fool the little
tadd. And-she said Sara Pickett, did.
that you and me was to old to b'lleve
in such nonsense."
The Boy grew soberer and. soberer.
"Margy," he said, after a long time of
thinking. "It we . gottcr give him up.
we just gotten But first lets ask.
father. He's coming pp the lane now.
with a load of pumpkins.
Father came In from the bam and up
the steps like a boy. He whistled as he :
took off his Jumper and put on his coat.
Ho whistled as he came down the hall
way. Then, as he caught sight of the j
two solemn faces at the door of tne i
sitting-room, one of them swollen and
tear-stained, he stopped his whistle.
"Hullo, youngsters; what's up? Mar
gy. Margy, you'll never be u. man it you
cry."
Father picked her up tenderly in his
strong arms and right away the ache at
her heart filt better.
"Sara Pickett said there wasn't any
Santy Claus. and we wis Jus foolish to
think so. Only babies believed In him."
The smile died out of father's .face. He
said:
"So Sara Pickett said that, did she?
Poor Sara Pickett! Let's go In by the
fire and talk it over."
With Margy on his arm and the boy
holding to his free hand. they, went Into
the cosy sitting-room, where the wood fire
was snapping and crackling, and the
flames were leaping and making Jolly
shadows In the corners where the "Win
ter dusk, bad begun to creep.
"Let's see." jtald father, as he settled
Into the big armchair with a child on
cither side. "Let's see. We were talk
ing about Santa. Claus. Shan I tell you
a story?"
"Ob, yes. father."
"Well, long, long ago there was a good
huhop. and his name was Nicholas, and
he lived In a far-away country. He loved
children with all his heart, and the little
girls and boys used to follow where he
went on his walks through the town, and
the littlest ones he would carry, and the
bigger ones would hold onto the skirts
of his gown In a ring around him. and he"
would talk with them and laugh with
them and teach them songs to sing.
"Then sometimes he would find a sunny
corner In the square, and the youngsters
would cluster all about him, and he would
tell them wonderful stories. The children
would poke around In his pockets and
find candy and things.
"Always on Christmas day ho would put
on a special coat, very big and long and
full of pockets, and every pocket would
be full to the brim with all the things
that children love."
"Dolls?" said Margy.
"Skates and rifles?" asked the boy.
"All the things," said father. "Maybe
no rifles, because that was before they
were Invented. But. anyway, he was
funny-looking, all knobby and bunchy.
The Great
0
NE day early In December a band
of peddlers drove through Tinkle-
town with crates full of geese.
"Fine Christmas birds! Fine Christmas
birds!" shouted they, and when the people
ran from their houses to see. they praised
the geese and told all the folk how good
they would be to cat, till evcrybody
bought some.
The people of Tinkletown immediately
began to feed the geese with everything
that was nice, and soon the birds gut
big and fat. so that every day the burgo
master and the beadle and the school
master and the town clerk would shake
hands with each other and say:
. "How smart wc were to buy these
Christmas birds! How our mouths water
at the thought of the splendid roast3 that
they will make!"
But one week before Christmas the
weather got very warm indeed so warm
that the ice melted from the ponds all
around Tinkletown. When tho geese
were let out that morning they waddled
and flew, cackling like anything, to the
water, jumped Into It and began to swim
around In joy.
All the peoDle of Tinkletown who saw
it began to lament and weep, and they
rushed to the house of the Mayor and
cried:
"Tho Christmas birds are trying to
drown themselves! The Christmas birds
are trying to drown themselves!"
"Goodness!" said the Mayor. "You
would better ring the lircbcll and call out
the volunteers."
The volunteers came running, dressing
themselves In their uniforms as they ran.
This made It somewhat awkward for
them to hurry, because the tailor, who
was the fire chief, got tangled up in his
coat so that it was all around his face,
and thus he happened to run Into the
shoemaker, wlio was the second assistant
flrepnil carrier, and the two fell down.
The butcher, who was carrying a ladder,
fell. on top of them, and by the time
everybody was straightened out the geese
had swum to the very middle of the pond
and did not pay any attention whatever
tn the town gooseherd. who stood on the
bank, crying kindly:
"Here. Christmas birds! Here, sweet
Christmas birds! If you get wet ftet
you may get sore throats, and think bow
"SO SARA MCKETT SAID THAT.
Ho wouldn't say a word, but just walk
around to the sunny corner of the square.
All the poor children who had no Christ
mas at home would come running and
call:
" Tather Nicholas! Have you a gift
for me? And he. always had-.
"One Christmas a little girl who was so
poor that she had to go barefoot In the
Winter, found a pair of beautiful shoes
In one of his pockets. She slipped them
on, and then looked up with a shining
face and said:
" 'I think you must be a saint. Father
Nicholas.
"And after that they called him St,
Nicholas.
"When the grown people asked why he
spent his money In such, a foolish way,
he would say. very grave- and sober:
i " 'I do It In the name of the Christ
Child.
"Well, at last good old St. Nicholas,
died, and all the children cried, and all
the fathers and mothers cried, toe. Be
fore the next Christmas came around tho
grown-ups put their. heads together and
said:
" 'The body of St. Nicholas Is gone, but
we must not lot his soul go from us.
Let us keep his spirit In our hearts, each
of us. Then he can never die.
Christmas Bird
bad sore throats will be with necks as
long as yours!"
The geese, however, did not look at
him at all..
"Thank heaven you are here!" said the
gooseherd to the volunteer firemen. "Now
you can save them!"
"How so?" asked the tailor, indignantly.
"What do you mean by sending for us?
There is no Are around them and wd can
not do anything In the matter."
"What you need." said the shoemaker,
"is a life-saving .crew. If you bad more
learning you would know that without
being told."
"You are right." said the schoolmaster,
who had arrived by this time. "If our
burgomaster had taken my advice long
ago we would have one now and we
could save the poor Christmas birds.'.
The burgomaster scratched his head
and said: "But you never advised me to
get up a life-saving crew."
"Of course not," said the schoolmaster.
"You would not have taken the advice
anyway, so it Is your fault just the
same."
"That Is right," said all the people. "If
only our schoolmaster's advice had been
followed!"
Just then three men from Nickletown
came along, and when they heard and
saw what had happened they said- to the
people of Tinkletown:
"You may well consider yourselves
lucky that these birds are out In the
water where they cannot barm you. Have
you not noticed that lately they have been
Inclined to hiss at you when you ap
proached them?"
"Yes." said all tho people.
"Well." said the three men of Nickle
town, "that Is because they always go
mad at this time of the year. It Is
this also which makes them so pale. If
they were healthy they should be a fine
glossy black, like the birds which wc
have in our sacks." And with that they
opened their three great sacks and showed
the people of Tinkletown a huge number
of crows which they had caught in the
fields and were transporting to Nickle
town, where they would fetch 5 cents
each for their feathers.
"Goodness me!" groaned the burgo
master. "What shall we do?"
"Seeing It Is you." said the three men
of Nickletown. "we will catch your
Christmas birds because we have had
experience in those things, and may be
able to do so without being killed: and
"SAVE THE TOOK CKXI5TXA5 BIRDS." n
A
DID SHE? TOOK SARA PICKETT!"
"So from that time, every Christinas,
the spirit of St. Nicholas comes round
and knocks at the doors of the hearts of
all the people and says:
" 'Remember St. Nicholas, and let his
soul live through yours."
"Now Santa Claus is just the Dutch
name for St. Nicholas a kind of pet
name, because they loved him so. And so,
you see ' although the body -of " St.
Nicholas died, his soul lives on and on
always In the hearts of the fathers and
mothers and aunts and uncles and cou
sins, and even brothers and sisters. And
you can tell that to Sara Pickett."
Margy and tho boy looked up with
happy eyes. The story made things so
plain and true and lovelier than the old
way of believing. But a new thought bad
struck the boy.
"Will he live In our hearts, too,
father Margy's and miner
"He surely will. If you let him."
"Margy," whispered the boy, as they
lay In 'their beds and all the lights were
out; "let's you and me earn, some Christ
mas money and be a Santa Claus' spirit to
father and mother."
"Let's," said Margy from her corner of
the room.
And" they both went wandering In the
Land of Pleasant Dreams.
of Tinkletown
we will tako them with us and you may
have these fine healthy black ones to
show that we are neighborly."
"Isn't that splendid?" cried all tho peo
ple, and they immediately fell nn tt
crow3 and carried them off, leaving tho
cunning men of Nickletown to wait till
the geese swam ashore, when they hastily
drove them off, chuckling, and all Nlckle-'
town went mad with delight when it'
heard the story.
Tho people of Tinkletown were so ovcr
lC!d,at SetUnS Hne healthy Christmas
birds in exchange for bad ones that they
invited the Grand Duke and all his re
tainers to have Christmas dinner with
them. On Christmas morning all the
great guests arrived, hungry as bears, for
the Grand Duke had given orders that
no one should eat a thing, in order to
preserve a fine appetite.
Everybody's mouth watered when the
roasted birds were brought In, but at the
first bite the Grand Duke jumped" up.
sputtering and spitting, and shouted
wrathfully:
"To horse! To horse! I am poisoned!"
The people of Tinkletown fell -on their,
knees, and the Grand Duke and his re
tainers galloped away and did not draw
rein until they had arrived at Nickle
town. Hero the Grand Duke said to the Bur
gomaster, who had come to welcome him:
"For goodness sake.don't talk! Have
you anything to eat?"
"Certainly," said the Burgomaster of
Nickletown. giggling. "We have some
very tine geese from Tinkletown." And
then while all the people of Nickletown'
laughed like anything he told how tho
cunning men had exchanged crows for
geese.
The Grand Duke's brow furled more and
more, and when the story was done ho
roared:
"So I am indebted to you for nearly
being poisoned, eh? Seize them guards!"
The guards seized all lb. rwnnt r
-Nickletown. and then, at the Duke's or
ders, tney packed up all tho roast geese
and hurried to Tinkletown with the pris
oners. Here the Grand Duke told the people
of Tinkletown what they had done
"Now." said, he. "I find it hard indeed
to forgive you for nearly poisoning me,
but if you will tell me something very
wise to do to the people of Nickletown I
will grant you pardon."
The Burgomaster of Tinkletown laid
his finger alongside of his nose.
"This is Christmas." said he, "and w
should love one another at this season.
Let us overlook bygones and invite th
good people of Nickletown to sit down to
dinner with us.' And in proof of the fact
that there Is perfect good feeling among
us we will let them have all our niceli
roasted crows, and we will, help youi
Royal Highness eat up their geese."
"That Is truly a wise' Idea." said th
Grand Duke, "and I will see that the
people of Nickletown eat up every scrac
of crow." T
AnoVso they had to, and it did not pleasr
them at all.
St. Nicholas.
In some parts of Europe the .children
have a feast of presents before Christ-
mas, -because the people celebrate a das
that they call St. Nicholas day, which
is on December 6.
On the night of December 5, the chil-,
dren clean their shoes and palish them tin
they shine. Then they put -them on a
table or Into the'chlmney corner, and oats
or hay are put Into each shoe as food
for the white horse that St. Nicholas
rides when he goes from chimney to
chimney. Next morning the children
hurry to their shoes to find to their joy
that the horse has eaten all the food and"
that good St, Nicholas has filled the"
shoes with cakes, candies and toys.
If.
If little boys could only buy
A rubber stocking- on the sly.
How happy they would be. because
It would please dear old Santa Claus! -
If little boys could only make
Their tummies so thcr would not ache.
Then they could cat with much more hast
And no good food would so to waste. ,
If little boys could only est - - .
The clfts on which their hearts are yet.
They would have things both bis and. sSaall
That now they sever set at all.
4.