initial commit of ebook 1816HEADmain

1 files changed, 1507 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/1816.txt b/1816.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e931cb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1816.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1507 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tattine, by Ruth Ogden
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tattine
+
+Author: Ruth Ogden
+
+Posting Date: November 20, 2008 [EBook #1816]
+Release Date: July, 1999
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TATTINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Dianne Bean
+
+
+
+
+
+TATTINE
+
+by Ruth Ogden
+
+[Mrs. Charles W. Ide]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. TROUBLE NO. 1
+
+Whether you happen to be four or five, or six, or seven, or even older
+than that, no doubt you know by this time that a great many things need
+to be learned in this world, everything, in fact, and never more things
+than at seven. At least, so thought little Tattine, and what troubled
+her the most was that some of the things seemed quite wrong, and yet
+no one was able to right them. All her little life Tattine's Mother had
+been setting things straight for her, drying every tear, and unravelling
+every tangle, so that Tattine was pretty downhearted the day she
+discovered that there were some things that were quite beyond even her
+Mother's power to alter. It was on a lovely June morning that
+Tattine made the first of her unwelcome discoveries. She was feeling
+particularly happy too, until she made it. She was sitting up in an
+apple-tree, sketching, and doing it very well. She had taken only a few
+drawing-lessons but had taken to them immensely, and now with one limb
+of the tree for a seat and another one for an easel, she was working
+away at a pretty chime tower, that stood on a neighbor's land.
+
+Down on the grass beneath her Betsy and Doctor were lying. Betsy was a
+dear, homely red-and-white Laverack setter, and Doctor, black-and-white
+and better looking, was her son. Doctor's beautiful grandmother Tadjie
+was lying, alas! under the grass instead of on it, not very far away.
+It was a sad day for the dog world when Tadjie left it, for although she
+was very old, she was very beautiful up to the last with a glossy
+silky coat, a superbly feathered tail, and with brown eyes so soft and
+entreating, they fairly made you love her, whether you were fond of dogs
+or no.
+
+Well, Tattine was sketching away and was quite absorbed in it, but
+Doctor, who was little more than a puppy, thought it very dull. He lay
+with his head between his paws, and, without moving a muscle, rolled his
+eyes round and round, now gazing up at Tattine, and then at his mother,
+trying to be happy though quiet. Finally he stretched himself, got on
+his feet, cocked up his ears, and came and stood in front of Betsy,
+and although not a sound was heard, he said, so that Betsy perfectly
+understood him, "I can't stand this any longer. If you have any love for
+me do please come for a run."
+
+Then Betsy took one long stretch and with motherly self-sacrifice
+reluctantly got up, prepared to humor this lively boy of hers. Suddenly
+Doctor craned his head high in the air, and gave a little sniff, and
+then Betsy craned her head and sniffed. Then they stole as stealthily
+away as though stepping upon eggs, and Tattine never knew that they had
+gone. It was no stealthy treading very long, however. No sooner had they
+crossed the roadway than they made sure of the scent they thought they
+had discovered, and made one wild rush down through the sumach and
+sweet-fern to the ravine. In a few moments it was one wild rush up again
+right to the foot of Tattine's apple-tree, and Tattine looked down to
+see Doctor--oh, could she believe her two blue eyes!--with a dear little
+rabbit clinched firmly between his teeth, and his mother (think of it,
+his mother!) actually standing proudly by and wildly waving her tail
+from side to side, in the most delighted manner possible. As for
+Tattine, she simply gave one horrified little scream and was down
+from the tree in a flash, while the scream fortunately brought Maggie
+hurrying from the house, and as Maggie was Doctor's confidential friend
+(owing to certain choice little morsels, dispensed from the butler's
+pantry window with great regularity three times a day), he at once, at
+her command, relaxed his hold on the little jack-rabbit. The poor little
+thing was still breathing, breathing indeed with all his might and main,
+so that his heart thumped against his little brown sides with all
+the regularity of a Rider Engine. Tattine's first thought was for the
+rabbit, and she held it close to her, stroking it with one little brown
+trembling hand and saying, "There! there! Hush, you little dear; you're
+safe now, don't be frightened! Tattine wouldn't hurt you for the world."
+Her next thought was for Doctor, and she turned on him with a torrent of
+abuse, that ought to have made the hair of that young M.D. stand on end.
+"Oh, you cruel, CRUEL dog! whatever made you do such a thing as this? I
+never dreamt it of you, never." At this Betsy's tail dropped between
+her legs, for she was a coward at heart, but Doctor held his ground, his
+tail standing on end, as his hair should have done, and his eyes all
+the while fairly devouring the little rabbit. "And the worst of it,"
+continued Tattine, "is that no matter how sorry you may feel" (Betsy
+was the only one who showed any signs of sorrow, and she was more scared
+than sorry), "no matter how sorry you may feel, that will not mend
+things. You do not know where this baby lived, and who are its father
+and mother, and like as not it is too young to live at all away from
+them and will die," and Tattine raised one plump little hand and gave
+Doctor a slap that at least made him "turn tail," and slink rather
+doggedly away to his own particular hole under the laundry steps. And
+now it was time to find Mamma--high time, for it seemed to Tattine
+she would choke with all the feelings, sorrowful and angry, welling up
+within her. Mamma was not far afield--that is, she was very near, at
+her desk in the cosy little alcove of the upstairs hall-way, and Tattine
+soon found her.
+
+"Now, Mamma," she asked excitedly, "did you know that Betsy or Doctor
+would do such a thing as this?"
+
+The trembling little rabbit in Tattine's hands showed what was meant by
+THIS.
+
+Mrs. Gerald paused a moment, then she said reluctantly, "Yes, Tattine, I
+did."
+
+"Have they done it before, Mamma?"
+
+"I am sorry to say they have."
+
+"Have you seen them bring struggling rabbits dangling in their mouths
+right up to the house here, Mamma?"
+
+Mrs. Gerald merely shook her head. She felt so sorry to have to own to
+such a sight.
+
+"Why did I never know it, Mamma?"
+
+"You have never chanced to be on the spot, dear, when it happened, and I
+was in no hurry to tell you anything that I knew would make you sad."
+
+"I think it would have been better to tell me. It's awful to find such a
+thing out suddenly about dogs you've trusted, and to think how good and
+gentle they look when they come and put their heads in your lap to be
+petted, just as though they would not hurt a fly; but then, of course,
+anyone who has eyes knows that they do lure flies, snapping at them all
+day long, and just for the fun of it too, not because they need them for
+food, as birds do. Mamma, I don't believe there's anything meaner than
+a Laverack setter. Still, Tadjie would never have done such a thing,
+I know." Mrs. Gerald was silent, and Tattine, expecting her to confirm
+what she had said, grew a little suspicious. "Would Tadjie, Mamma?" with
+a directness that would not admit of indirectness.
+
+"Yes, Tattine; Tadjie would. She was trained to hunt before ever she was
+given to Papa, and so were her ancestors before her. That is why
+Doctor and Betsy, who have never been trained to hunt, go wild over the
+rabbits. They have inherited the taste."
+
+"Trained to hunt," said Tattine thoughtfully. "Do you mean that men just
+went to work to teach them to be so cruel?"
+
+"Well, I suppose in a way setters are natural hunters, Tattine, but then
+their training has doubtless a great deal to do with it, but I want to
+tell you something that I think will give you just a grain of comfort.
+I read the other day that Sir John Franklin, the great Arctic explorer,
+who almost lost his life in being attacked by some huge animal--it must
+have been a bear, I think--says that the animal when he first gets you
+in his teeth gives you such a shake that it paralyzes your nerves--this
+is, it benumbs all your feelings, so, that, strange as it may seem,
+you really do not suffer. So let us hope that it was that way with this
+little rabbit."
+
+"But there's a little blood here on one side, Mamma."
+
+"That doesn't always prove suffering, either, Tattine. Soldiers are
+sometimes wounded without ever knowing it until they see a little sign
+of blood somewhere."
+
+Tattine listened attentively to all this, and was in a measure
+comforted. It seemed that Mamma was still able to better things, even
+though not able to set everything perfectly right. "Now," Tattine
+said,--with a little sigh of relief, "I think I will try and see what
+I can do for Bunny. Perhaps he would first like a drink," so downstairs
+she went, and putting some milk in a shallow tea-cup, she dipped Bunny's
+nose in it, and it seemed to her as though he did take a little of it.
+Then she trudged up to the garret for a box, and, putting a layer of
+cotton-batting in the bottom, laid Bunny in one corner. Then she went to
+the garden and pulled a leaf or two of the youngest, greenest lettuce,
+and put it right within reach of Bunny's nose, and a little saucer of
+water beside it. Then she went down to tell the gardener's little boy
+all about the sorrowful thing that had happened.
+
+The next morning Bunny was still breathing, but the lettuce was
+un-nibbled; he had not moved an inch, and he was trembling like a leaf.
+"Mamma," she called upstairs, "I think I'll put BUN in the sun" (she was
+trying not to be too down-hearted); "he seems to be a little chilly."
+Then she sat herself down in the sun to watch him. Soon Bunny ceased
+to tremble. "Patrick," she called to the old man who was using the lawn
+mower, "is this little rabbit dead?"
+
+"Yes, miss, shure," taking the little thing gently in his hand.
+
+"Very well," she answered quietly. Tattine used those two little words
+very often; they meant that she accepted the situation, if you happen to
+know what that means. "Now I think I will not trouble Mamma about it,"
+she said to herself thoughtfully, so she went to the closet under the
+stairs, got a little empty box she knew was there, and, taking it out
+of doors, she put the little rabbit in it, and then trudged down to the
+tool-house for her spade and rake.
+
+"Bunny is dead, Joey," she called to the gardener's little boy as she
+came back. "Come help me bury him," and so Joey trotted behind her to
+the spot already selected. "We must make this hole good and deep," she
+explained (Joey stood looking on in wide-eyed wonder), "for if Doctor
+and Betsy would kill a little live rabbit, there is no telling but they
+would dig up a dead one." So the hole was made at least four inches
+deep, Bunny was buried in it, and the earth, with Joey's assistance,
+stamped down hard, but afterwards it was loosened somewhat to plant a
+little wild-wood plant atop of the tiny grave. "Now, Joey, you wait here
+till I go bring something for a tombstone," Tattine directed, and in a
+second she was back again with the cover of a box in one hand and a red
+crayon in the other. Sitting flat upon the grass, she printed on the
+cover in rather irregular letters:--
+
+  BORN--I don't know when.    DIED June 17th.
+       LAVERACK SETTERS NOT ALLOWED.
+
+This she put securely into place, while Joey raked up a little about the
+spot, and they left the little rabbit grave looking very neat and tidy.
+The next morning Tattine ran out to see how the little wild-wood
+plant was growing, and then she stood with her arms akimbo in blank
+astonishment. The little grave had disappeared. She kicked aside the
+loose earth, and saw that box and Bunny were both gone, and, not content
+with that, they had partially chewed up the tombstone, which lay upon
+its face a little distance away. They, of course, meant Betsy and
+Doctor. "There was no use in my putting: 'Laverack setters not
+allowed,'" she said to herself sorrowfully, and she ran off to tell her
+Mother of this latest tragedy.
+
+"Yes, I know, Tattine dear," said Mrs. Gerald, in the first pause;
+"there is neither pity nor mercy in the heart of a setter when he is on
+the scent of a rabbit, alive or dead--but, Tattine, don't forget they
+have their good sides, Doctor and Betsy; just think how fond they are
+of you and me. Why, the very sight of us always makes them beat a tattoo
+with their tails."
+
+"Yes, I know, Mamma, but I can't feel somehow that tattoos with their
+tails make up for killing rabbits with their teeth."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. A MAPLE-WAX MORNING
+
+A team came rushing in between the gate-posts of the stone wall, and it
+looked like a run-away. They were riderless and driverless, and if there
+had been any harness, there was not a vestige of it to be seen; still,
+they kept neck and neck, which means in horsey language side by side,
+and on they came in the maddest fashion. Tattine stood on the front
+porch and watched them in high glee, and not a bit afraid was she,
+though they were coming straight in her direction. When they reached
+her they considerately came to a sudden stop, else there is no doubt
+whatever but she would have been tumbled over.
+
+"Well, you are a team," laughed Tattine, and they laughed back, "Yes, we
+know we are," and sat down on the step on either side of her. Of course,
+that would have been a remarkable thing for some teams to do, but not
+for this one, for, as you can guess, they were just two little people,
+Mabel and Rudolph, but they were a perfect team all the same; everybody
+said so, and what everybody meant was this--that whatever Rudolph "was
+up to," Mabel was "up to" also, and vice versa. They traveled together
+finely, right "up on the bit" all the time. It would have been easier
+for those who had charge of them if one or the other had held back now
+and then, and set a slower pace, but as that was not their nature and
+could not be helped, everybody tried to make the best of them, and
+everybody loved them. Tattine did not see how she could ever have lived
+without them, for they were almost as much a brother and sister to her
+as to each other. This morning hey had come over by invitation for what
+they called a Maple-wax morning, and that was exactly what it was, and
+if you have never had one of your own, wait till you read about this one
+of Tattine's, and then give your dear Mamma no peace until you have had
+one, either in your kitchen in town, or in the woods out of town, which
+is better. One thing is necessary to its complete enjoyment, however:
+you must have a "sweet tooth," but as most little people cut that
+particular tooth very early, probably you are among the fortunate
+number.
+
+"Well, I don't see what we are sitting here for," said Mabel at last.
+
+"Neither do I," said Tattine; "I was only giving you a chance to get a
+little breath. You did not seem to have much left."
+
+"No more we had," laughed Rudolph, who was still taking little swallows
+and drawing an occasional long breath, as people do when they have been
+exercising very vigorously. "But if everything is ready." he added, "let
+us start."
+
+"Well, everything is ready," said Tattine quite complacently, as she led
+the way to the back piazza, where "everything" was lying in a row.
+There was the maple sugar itself, two pounds of it on a plate, two large
+kitchen spoons, a china cup, two sheets of brown wrapping-paper, two
+or three newspapers, a box of matches, a pail of clear spring water, a
+hammer, an ice-pick, and last, and most important of all, a granite-ware
+kettle.
+
+"Now if you'll carry these," explained Tattine, "I'll run and tell
+Philip to bring the ice," so Rudolph and Mabel "loaded up" and marched
+down to the camp, and Tattine disappeared in the direction of the
+ice-house. The camp was not far away, and consisted of a cosy little "A"
+tent, a hammock hung between two young chestnuts, and a fire-place made
+of a circle of stones on the ground, with a crane hanging above it. The
+crane was quite an elaborate contrivance, for which Joseph the gardener
+was to be thanked.
+
+The long branch on which the pot hung was pivoted, if you know what that
+is, on an upright post fastened firmly in the ground, and in such a way
+that you could "higher it," as Tattine said, or lower it, or swing it
+clear of the fire on either side. At the end of the branch away from the
+fire hung a chain, with a few blocks tied into it, for a weight, so
+that you lifted the weight with one hand when you wished to change
+the position of the branch with the other, and then let it rest on the
+ground again at the spot where you wanted the pole to stay. You see, the
+great advantage of this was that, when you wished to see how things were
+going on inside of the kettle, or to stop its boiling instantly--you
+could just swing it away from the fire in no time, and not run the risk
+of burning face or hands, or petticoats, if you belong to the petticoat
+family.`
+
+"Now," panted Tattine, for it was her turn to be breathless with
+running, "I'll break the sugar if you two will make the fire, but
+Rudolph's to light it and he's the only one who is to lean over it
+and put the wood on when it's needed. Mamma says there is to be a very
+strict rule about that, because skirts and fluffy hair like mine and
+Mabel's are very dangerous about a fire," and then Tattine proceeded
+to roll the maple sugar in the brown paper so as to have two or three
+thicknesses about it, and then, laying it upon a flat stone, began to
+pound and break it with the hammer.
+
+"Yes," said Rudolph, on his knees on the ground, and making balls of
+newspaper for the foundation of the fire; "it's lucky for Mabel and me
+that fire is one thing about which we can be trusted."
+
+"I shouldn't wonder if it's the only thing," laughed Tattine, whereupon
+Mabel toppled her over on the grass by way of punishment.
+
+"No, but honest!" continued Rudolph, "I have just been trained and
+trained about fire. I know it's an awfully dangerous thing. It's just
+foolhardy to run any sort of risk with it, and it's wise when you make
+a fire in the open air like this, to stand on the same side as the wind
+comes from, even if you haven't any skirts or fluffy hair to catch."
+
+"Here's some more wood, grandfather," said Mabel solemnly, dumping an
+armful down at his side; "I should think you were eighty to hear you
+talk," and then Mabel had her punishment by being chased down the path
+and plumped down rather hard in the veriest tangle of brambles and
+briars. It chanced, however, that her corduroy skirt furnished all the
+protection needed from the sharp little thorns, so that, like "Brer
+Rabbit," she called out exultingly, "'Born and bred in a briar-patch,
+Brer Rudolph, born and bred in a briar-patch,'" and could have sat there
+quite comfortably, no one`knows how long, but that she heard the maple
+sugar go tumbling into the kettle. And then she heard Tattine say,
+"A cup of water to two pounds, isn't it?" Then she heard the water go
+splash on top of the maple sugar. Now she could stand it no longer,
+and, clearing the briars at one bound, was almost back at the camp with
+another.
+
+By this time the fire was blazing away finely, and the sugar, with the
+help of an occasional stirring from the long-handled spoon in Rudolph's
+hand, soon dissolved. Dissolving sometimes seems to be almost a day's
+journey from boiling, and the children were rather impatient for that
+stage to be reached. At last, however, Rudolph announced excitedly, "It
+boils, it boils! and now I mustn't leave it for a minute. More wood,
+Mabel! don't be so slow, and, Tattine, hurry Philip up with that ice,"
+but Philip was seen at that moment bringing a large piece of ice in a
+wheelbarrow, so Tattine was saved that journey, and devoted the time
+instead to spreading out one of the pieces of wrapping-paper, to keep
+the ice from the ground, because of the dead leaves and "things" that
+were likely to cling to it.
+
+"Now break off a good-sized piece, Tattine," Rudolph directed, "and put
+it on a piece of paper near the fire," but Tattine knew that was the
+next thing to do, so what was the use of Rudolph's telling her? It
+happens quite frequently that people who are giving directions give too
+many by far.
+
+"Now, Mabel," continued the drum-major, "will you please bring some
+more wood, and will you please put your mind on it and keep bringing
+it? These little twigs that make the best fire burn out in a twinkling,
+please notice," but Mabel did not hurry so very much for the next
+armful; since she could see for herself there was no great need for
+haste. Rudolph was simply getting excited, but then the making of
+maple-wax is such a very responsible undertaking, he could not be blamed
+for that. You need to stop its boiling at precisely the right moment,
+else it suddenly reaches the point where, when you cool it, it grows
+brittle like "taffy," and then good-bye to maple-wax for that kettleful.
+So Rudolph, every half-minute, kept dripping little streams of the
+boiling sugar from the spoon upon the piece of ice, and Tattine and
+Mabel kept testing it with their fingers and tongues, until both at last
+exclaimed in one and the same breath, "It's done! it's done! Lift it
+off the fire quickly; it's just right." Just right means when the sugar
+hardens in a few seconds, or in a little more than half a minute, into
+a delicious consistency like--well, just like maple-wax, for there is
+nothing else in the world that I know of with which to compare it.
+Then the children seated themselves around the great cake of ice, and
+Rudolph, with the kettle on the ground beside him, tipped against a log
+of wood at just the right angle, continued to be master of ceremonies,
+and dipped spoonful after spoonful of the syrup, and let it trickle over
+the ice in queer fantastic shapes or in little, thin round discs like
+griddle-cakes. The children ate and ate, and fortunately it seems for
+some reason, to be the most harmless sweet that can be indulged in by
+little people.
+
+"Well, I've had enough," remarked Rudolph at the expiration of say a
+quarter of an hour, "but isn't it wonderful that anything so delicious
+can just trickle out of a tree?" his unmannerly little tongue the while
+making the circuit of his lips in search of any lingering traces of
+sweetness.
+
+"Trickle out of a tree!" exclaimed astonished Tattine.
+
+"Why, yes, don't you know that's the way they make maple sugar? In the
+spring, about April, when the sap begins to run up into the maple-trees,
+and often while the snow is still on the ground, they what they call tap
+the tree; they drive a sort of little spout right into the tree and
+soon the sap begins to ooze out and drop into buckets that are placed
+to catch it. Afterwards they boil it down in huge kettles made for the
+purpose. They call it sugaring off, and it must be great fun."
+
+"Not half so much fun, I should think, as sugaring down," laughed Mabel,
+with her right hand placed significantly where stomachs are supposed to
+be.
+
+"And now I am going to run up to the house," explained Tattine, getting
+stiffly up from a rather cramped position, "for three or four plates,
+and Rudolph, you break off some pieces of ice the right size for them,
+and we will make a little plateful from what is left for each one up at
+the house, else I should say we were three little greedies. And Mabel,
+while I am gone you commence to clear up."
+
+"Well, you are rather cool, Tattine," said Mabel, but she obediently set
+to work to gather things together.
+
+As you and I cannot be a bit of help in that direction, and have many of
+a clearing-up of our own to do, I propose that we lose not a minute in
+running away from that little camp, particularly as we have not had so
+much as a taste of the delicious wax they've been making.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. A SET OF SETTERS
+
+It was a great bird-year at Oakdene. Never had there been so many. The
+same dear old Phoebe-birds were back, building under the eaves of both
+the front and back piazzas. The robins, as usual, were everywhere.
+The Maryland yellow-throats were nesting in great numbers in the
+young growth of woods on the hill of the ravine, and ringing out their
+hammer-like note in the merriest manner; a note that no one understood
+until Dr. Van Dyke told us, in his beautiful little poem, that it is
+"witchery, witchery, witchery," and now we wonder that we could have
+been so stupid as not to have discovered it was exactly that, long ago.
+But the glory of the summer were the orioles and the scarlet tanagers;
+the orioles with their marvellous notes, and the tanagers in their
+scarlet golfing coats glinting here and there in the sunshine. Nests
+everywhere, and Tattine on one long voyage of discovery, until she knew
+where at least twenty little bird families were going to crack-shell
+their way into life. But there was one little family of whose
+whereabouts she knew nothing, nor anyone else for that matter, until
+"Hark, what was that?"--Mabel and Rudolph and Tattine were running
+across the end of the porch, and it was Rudolph who brought them to a
+standstill.
+
+"It's puppies under the piazza, that's what it is," declared Tattine;
+"where ever did they come from, and how ever do you suppose they got
+there?"
+
+"I think it's a good deal more important to know how you'll ever get
+them out," answered Rudolph, who was of a practical turn of mind.
+
+"I'll tell you what," said Tattine thoughtfully, "shouldn't wonder if
+they belong to Betsy. I've seen her crowding herself through one of the
+air-holes under the piazza several times lately," whereupon the children
+hurried to peer through the air hole. Nothing was to be seen, however,
+for the piazza floor was not more than a foot and a half from the
+ground, and it was filled with all sorts of weeds that flourished
+without sunshine. Still the little puppy cries were persistently wafted
+out from some remote corner, and, pulling off his jacket, Rudolph
+started to crawl in and investigate. It did not seem possible that he
+could make his way, for the place was not high enough for him even to
+crawl on his hands and knees, and he had rather to worm himself along on
+his elbows in quite indescribable fashion. Still, Tattine and Mabel were
+more than ready to have him try, and waited patiently, bending over with
+their hands upon their knees, and gazing in through the weed-grown hole
+in breathless, excited fashion.
+
+"I believe I'll have to give it up," Rudolph called back; "the cries
+seem as far off as ever and I'm all but scratched to pieces." "Oh,
+don't! don't!" cried Tattine and Mabel, in one breath, and Mabel added,
+"We MUST know what they are and where they are. I shall go in myself if
+you come out."
+
+"Well, you wouldn't go more than three feet then, I can tell you," and
+Rudolph was right about that. It was only because he hated to give the
+thing up, even more than the girls hated to have him, that made him
+persevere. "Well, here they are at last!" he cried exultingly, a few
+moments later; "one, two three, four of them, perfect little beauties
+too. And they must belong to Betsy; they're just like her."
+
+"Bring one out, bring one out!" called both the children, and fairly
+dancing with delight.
+
+"Bring out your grandmother! It's all I can manage to bring myself out,
+without holding on to a puppy."
+
+"Very well," Tattine called back, with her usual instant acceptance of
+the inevitable, "but I know what," and then she was off in a flash, with
+Mabel following closely to find out what WHAT might be.
+
+It was Joseph the gardener whom Tattine wanted, and she found him where
+she thought she would, killing potato-bugs in the kitchen-garden.
+
+"What do you think, Joseph? Betsy has a beautiful set of little setters
+under the piazza. Come quick, please! and see how we can get them out."
+
+Joseph followed obediently. "Guess we'll have to let them stay there
+till they crawl out," said Joseph; "Betsy'll take as good care of them
+there as anywhere," whereupon the children looked the picture of misery
+and despair. At this moment Rudolph emerged from the hole a mass of
+grass and dirt stains, and both Mabel and Tattine thought he had been
+pretty plucky, though quite too much preoccupied to tell him so, but
+Rudolph happily felt himself repaid for hardships endured, in the
+delight of his discovery.
+
+"It will be a month before they'll have sense enough to crawl out," he
+remarked to Joseph, "and they're wedged in between some old planks in
+very uncomfortable fashion. They look like fine little fellows too. I
+think we ought to manage in some way to get them out."
+
+"And it would be bad if any of them died there," said Joseph, rubbing his
+head and still ruminating on the subject; "very bad. Well, we'll have to
+see what we` can do about it."
+
+"Will you see right away?" urged Tattine eagerly.
+
+"May as well, I reckon," and Joseph walked off in the direction of the
+tool-house, but to Tattine's regret evidently did not appreciate any
+need for extreme haste.
+
+In a little while he was back again with Patrick, and both of them were
+carrying spades. "There's only one way to do it," he explained, as
+they set to work; "you see, the pillars of this porch rest on a stone
+foundation, so as to support the rooms above, and we'll have to dig
+out three or four of the large stones and then dig a sort of trench to
+wherever the puppies are," and Rudolph was able of course to indicate
+the exact spot to which the trench must lead. It was the work of an hour
+to excavate the foundation-stones, and an additional half-hour to dig
+the trench. Meantime Betsy appeared upon the scene, and, evidently
+appreciating what was going on, stood about and superintended matters
+with quite an important air. Rudolph clambered in and dug the last few
+feet of the trench, because it did not need to be as large for him
+as for Joseph and Patrick, and then one at a time he brought the dear
+little puppies out, and Mabel and Tattine took turns in appropriating
+them, while Betsy eyed them proudly but withal a little anxiously.
+And they were dear; as prettily marked as their beautiful grandmother
+Tadjie, and too cunning for words.
+
+"You have made us a great deal of trouble, Betsy," said Tattine, "but
+they are such beauties we forgive you," whereat Betsy looked up so
+affectionately that Tattine added, "and perhaps some day I'll forgive
+you about that rabbit, since Mamma says it's natural for you to hunt
+them." But Betsy, indifferent creature, did not care a fig about all
+that; her only care was to watch her little puppies stowed away one by
+one on fresh sweet-smelling straw, in the same kennel where Doctor
+and his brothers and sisters had enjoyed their puppy-hood, and then to
+snuggle up in a round ball close beside them. They were Betsy's puppies
+for a certainty. There had been no doubt of that from the first glimpse
+Rudolph gained of them in their dark little hole under the porch. But
+the next morning came and then what do you suppose happened? A very weak
+little puppy cry came from under the porch. Another puppy, that was what
+it meant, and Joseph was very much out of patience, for the trench had
+been filled up and the foundation-stones carefully replaced.
+
+"Rudolph ought to have made sure how many there were," he said rather
+growlily.
+
+"But, Joseph, this puppy cry comes from another place way over here, it
+seems to me," and Tattine ran to a spot on the porch several yards from
+that under which the others had been found. "I believe it must have been
+a cleverer little puppy than the others, and crawled away by itself to
+see what the world was like, and that is why Rudolph missed finding it."
+
+Joseph put his hand to his ear and, listening carefully, concluded that
+Tattine was right. "Now I'll tell you what I am going to do," he said;
+"I can make just a little hole, large enough for a puppy to get through,
+without taking out a foundation-stone, and I'm going to make it here,
+near where the cry seems to come from. Then I am going to tie Betsy to
+this pillar of the porch, and I believe she'll have sense enough to
+try and coax the little fellow out, and if the is such an enterprising
+little chap as you think he'll have sense enough to come out."
+
+It seemed a good plan. Betsy was brought, and Tattine sat down to listen
+and watch. Betsy, hearing the little cries, began at once to coax,
+giving little sharp barks at regular intervals, and trying to make the
+hole larger with her paws.
+
+Tattine's ears, which were dear little shells of ears to look at, and
+very sharp little ears to hear with, thought the cries sounded a little
+nearer, and now a little nearer; then she was sure of it, and Betsy and
+she, both growing more excited every minute, kept pushing each other
+away from the hole the better to look into it, until at last two little
+beads of eyes glared out at them, and then it was an easy thing for
+Tattine to reach in and draw out the prettiest puppy of all.
+
+"Why didn't you tell us there were five, Betsy, and save us all this
+extra trouble?" and Tattine hurried away to deposit number five in the
+kennel; but Betsy looked up with the most reproachful look imaginable
+as though to say, "How much talking could you do if you had to do it all
+with your eyes and a tail?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. MORE TROUBLES
+
+Patrick Kirk was raking the gravel on the road into pretty criss-cross
+patterns, and Tattine was pretending to help him with her own garden
+rake. Patrick was one of Tattine's best friends and she loved to work
+with him and to talk to him. Patrick was a fine old Irishman, there was
+no doubt whatever about that, faithful and conscientious to the last
+degree. Every morning he would drive over in his old buggy from his
+little farm in the Raritan Valley, in abundant time to begin work on
+the minute of seven, and not until the minute of six would he lay aside
+spade or hoe and turn his steps towards his old horse tied under the
+tree, behind the barn. But the most attractive thing about Patrick was
+his genial kindly smile, a smile that said as plainly as words, that he
+had found life very comfortable and pleasant, and that he was still more
+than content with it notwithstanding that his back was bowed with work
+month in and month out, and the years were hurrying him fast on into old
+age.
+
+And so Tattine was fond of Patrick, for what (child though she was) she
+knew him to be, and they spent many a delightful hour in each other's
+company.
+
+"Patrick," said Tattine, on this particular morning, when they were
+raking away side by side, "does Mrs. Kirk ever have a day at home?" and
+she glanced at Patrick a little mischievously, doubting if he would know
+just what she meant.
+
+"Shure she has all her days at home, Miss Tattine, save on a holiday,
+when we go for a day's drive to some of our neighbors', but I doubt if
+I'm catching just what you're maning."
+
+"Oh! I mean does she have a day sometimes when she gets ready for
+company and expects to have people come and see her, the way ladies do
+in town?"
+
+"Well, no, miss; she don't do that, for, tin to one, nobody'd come if
+she did. We belongs to the workin' classes, Molly and I, and we has no
+time for the doing of the loikes of city people."
+
+"I'm sorry she hasn't a day," said Tattine, "because--because--"
+
+"If ye're maning that you'd like to give us a call, miss," said Patrick,
+beginning to take in the situation, "shure she could have a day at home
+as aisy as the foinest lady, and proud indeed she'd be to have it with
+your little self for the guest of honor."
+
+"I would like to bring Rudolph and Mabel, Patrick."
+
+"And what should hinder, miss?"
+
+"And I'd like to have it an all-day-at-home, say from eleven in the
+morning until five in the afternoon, and not make just a little call,
+Patrick."
+
+"Of course, miss, a regular long day, with your donkey put into a stall
+in the barn, and yourselves and the donkey biding for the best dinner we
+can give ye."
+
+"And I'd like to have you there, Patrick, because we might not feel AT
+HOME just with Mrs. Kirk."
+
+"Well, I don't know, miss; do you suppose your Father could spare me?"
+and Patrick thought a little regretfully of the dollar and a half he
+would insist upon foregoing if he took a day off, but at the same
+moment he berated himself soundly for having such an ungenerous thought.
+"Indade, miss, if you'll manage for me to have the day I'll gladly stay
+to home to make ye welcome."
+
+"Then it's settled, Patrick, and we'll make it the very first day Papa
+can spare you." They had raked down, while they had been having this
+conversation, to close proximity to two pretty rows of apple-trees that
+had been left on the front lawn, a reminder of the farm that "used to
+be," and the sight of the trees brought a troubled look into Tattine's
+face. "Patrick," she said ruefully, "do you know that some of the nests
+in these trees have been robbed of their eggs? Four or five of them are
+empty now. Have you an idea who could do such a thing?"
+
+"Yes, I have an idea," and Patrick rested his hands upon the handle of
+his rake and looked significantly towards the barn; "somebody who lives
+in the barn, I'm thinkin'."
+
+"Why, Joseph would not do it, nor Philip the groom, and little Joey is
+too small to climb these trees."
+
+"It's something smaller than Joey, miss. Whisht now, and see if she's
+not up to mischief this minute."
+
+Tattine's little black-and-white kitten, whose home was in the barn, had
+been frisking about her feet during all the raking, but as the raking
+came under the apple-trees, other thoughts came into her little
+black-and-white head, and there she was stealthily clawing her way up
+the nearest tree. Tattine stood aghast, but Patrick's "whisht" kept
+her still for a moment, while the cat made its way along one of the
+branches. Tattine knowing well the particular nest she was seeking, made
+one bound for her with her rake, and with such a scream as certainly to
+scare little Black-and-white out of at least one of the nine lives
+to which she is supposed to be entitled. But pussy was too swift and
+swiftly scrambled to the very topmost twig that would hold her weight,
+while Tattine danced about in helpless rage on the grass beneath the
+tree. "Tattine is having a fit," thought little Black-and-white, scared
+half to death and quite ready to have a little fit of her own, to judge
+from her wild eyes and bristling tail.
+
+Tattine's futile rage was followed in a few minutes by, "Oh, Patrick,
+I never dreamt it was Kittie. Has SHE been TRAINED to do it, do you
+think?"
+
+"Oh. no, miss; it just comes natural to cats and kittens to prey upon
+birds and birds' nests."
+
+"Patrick," said Tattine solemnly, "there is not going to be any
+four-legged thing left for me to love. I am done with Betsy and Doctor,
+and now I'm done with Black-and-white. I wonder if Mamma can make it
+seem any better," and then she turned her steps to the house in search
+of comfort, but she had gone only half-way when the coachman, who was
+waiting at the door with the little grey mare and the phaeton, motioned
+to her to come quietly. Tattine saw at a glance what had happened, and
+sped swiftly back to Patrick. "Keep Black-and-white up the tree," she
+said, in a breathless whisper; "don't let her go near the nest, and
+don't let her come down for the world. The little Phoebe-birds have
+lit."
+
+"All right, miss," not at all understanding the situation, but more than
+willing to obey orders. Tattine was in such haste to get back to the
+house that she hardly heard his answer. What she had tried to tell him
+was that the five little fledglings, crowded into the tiny nest under
+the eaves of the porch, had taken it into their heads to try their first
+flight at that precise moment, and there they were perched on the shafts
+of the phaeton, lighting, as it seemed, on the first thing they came to,
+while the father and mother birds were flying about in frantic anxiety
+to see them in such a perilous situation. How could those tiny little
+untrained claws keep their hold on that big round, slippery shaft, and
+if the carriage started down they would surely go under the wheels
+or under the feet of that merciless little grey mare. But the little
+fledglings were in better hands than they knew, for, with the exceptions
+of Betsy, Doctor, and Black-and-white, every living thing at Oakdene was
+kind to every other living thing.
+
+"Whoa, girlie; whoa, girlie," had been Patrick's quieting words to
+Lizzie, and then when Tattine came hurrying that way he had motioned her
+to come quietly for fear of frightening them. Then, as you know, Tattine
+flew to make sure that treacherous Black-and-white was kept close
+guarded, and then back she flew again to the aid of the little birds
+themselves. Softly she drew nearer and nearer, saying over gently,
+"Whoa, Lizzie! dear little birdies!" until she came very near and then
+she put out one hand towards them. That was enough for the fledglings.
+Refreshed by their rest on the shafts, they flapped their tiny wings
+and fluttered up to the anxious mother bird on the branches above them,
+wholly unconscious that they had been in any peril whatsoever.
+
+"And Black-and-white would have killed them, every one, if she had had
+the chance," thought Tattine; "oh, if I only knew how to teach her a
+lesson!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. THE KIRKS AT HOME
+
+Barney the donkey was harnessed, and Tattine sat in the little
+donkey-cart waiting, and as she waited she was saying aloud, "What,
+Grandma Luty? Yes, Grandma Luty. No, Grandma Luty. What did you
+say, Grandma Luty?" and this she said in the most polite little tone
+imaginable. Meantime Rudolph and Mabel, discovering that Tattine did not
+see them, came stealing along under cover of the apple-trees.
+
+"Whatever is Tattine doing, talking to herself like that?" whispered
+Mabel, and then they came near enough to hear what she was saying.
+
+"She's out of her head," said Rudolph, when they had listened some
+moments, and then Tattine turned round and saw them.
+
+"No, I'm not out of my head at all," she laughed; "I was just practicing
+a little while I waited for you."
+
+"Practicing your GRANDMOTHER," which as you have observed was a
+pet expression with Rudolph, whenever he wished to intimate that he
+considered your remarks to be simply absurd.
+
+"Yes, that's exactly it," Tattine answered good-naturedly. "I am
+practicing my Grandmother. Grandma Luty, that's Mamma's mother, has come
+to make us a visit, and Mamma has discovered that I'm not very polite to
+old people. Children used to be taught, you know, to say, 'Yes'm,' and
+'Yes, sir,' but now that is not considered nice at all, and you must
+always say the name of the person you are speaking to, especially if
+they are older people, to whom you ought to be respectful," and Tattine
+sounded quite like a little grandmother herself as she talked.
+
+"Yes, we know, and it's an awful bother," sighed Rudolph. "We're fairly
+nagged about it, Mabel and I, but Mother says she's going to keep it up
+until we always do it. Perhaps we would get on faster if we practised
+by ourselves as you do, but really, Tattine, it did sound as though you
+were out of your head, to hear you saying all those sentences over to
+yourself."
+
+While the children were having this little talk about politeness,
+Rudolph and Mabel had climbed into the wagon, and the donkey, acting
+upon a suggestion from Tattine's whip, had started down the roadway. The
+trio were off for Patrick's, for this was to be the day of the Kirks'
+"At Home," and, dressed in kis Sunday-best, Patrick that very minute was
+waiting at his door to receive them.
+
+Full two miles lay ahead of the children, and though Barney fortunately
+seemed to be in the mood for doing his best, Patrick would still have
+a full half-hour to wait. At last the donkey-cart drew up at the Kirks'
+door and two happy old people welcomed three happy little people into
+their comfortable little home. It would take another book, the size of
+this one, to tell you all the doings of that August day. First they went
+into the house and laid their wraps on the white coverlid of the great
+high feather-bed in the little spare room, and then Mrs. Kirk sat them
+down to three little blue bowls of bread-and-milk, remarking, "shure you
+must be after being hungry from your long drive," and the children ate
+it with far more relish than home bread-and-milk was ever eaten.
+
+"Now I'm doubting," said Patrick, standing with his back to the
+cooking-stove and with a corn-cob pipe in his mouth, "if it's the style
+to have bread-and-milk at 'At Homes' in the city."
+
+"Patrick," answered Tattine seriously, "we do not want this to be a
+city 'At Home.' I don't care for them at all. Everybody stays for just
+a little while, and everybody talks at once, and as loudly as they can,
+and at some of them they only have tea and a little cake or something
+like that to eat," and Tattine glanced at the kitchen-table over by the
+window with a smile and a shake of the head, as though very much better
+pleased with what she saw there. A pair of chickens lay ready for
+broiling on a blue china platter. Several ears of corn were husked ready
+for the pot they were to be boiled in. A plate of cold potatoes looked
+as though waiting for the frying-pan, and from the depths of a glass
+fruit-dish a beautiful pile of Fall-pippins towered up to a huge red
+apple at the top.
+
+"Indade, thin, but we'll do our best," said Mrs. Kirk, "to make it as
+different from what you be calling a city 'At Home' as possible, and now
+suppose you let Patrick take you over our bit of a farm, and see what
+you foind to interest you, and I'm going wid yer, while ye have a look
+at my geese, for there's not the loike of my geese at any of the big
+gentlemin's farms within tin miles of us."
+
+And so, nothing loth, the little party filed out of the house, and after
+all hands had assisted in unharnessing Barney and tying him into his
+stall, with a manger-full of sweet, crisp hay for his dinner, they
+followed Mrs. Kirk's lead to the little pond at the foot of the
+apple-orchard. And then what did they see! but a truly beautiful great
+flock of white geese. Some were sailing gracefully around the pond, some
+were pluming their snowy breasts on the shore beside it, and three, the
+finest of them all, and each with a bow of ribbon tied round its long
+neck, were confined within a little picket-fence apart from the others.
+
+"Why, what beauties, Mrs. Kirk!" exclaimed Tattine, the minute she spied
+them, "and what are the ribbons for? Do they mean they have taken a
+prize at some show or other? And why do they each have a different
+color?"
+
+"They mane," said Mrs. Kirk proudly, standing with her hands upon
+her hips and her face fairly beaming, "they mane as how they're to be
+presinted to you three children. The red is for Master Rudolph, the
+white is for Miss Mabel, and the blue is for you, Miss Tattine."
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Kirk!" the three children exclaimed, with delight, and Mabel
+added politely, "But do you really think you can spare them, Mrs. Kirk?"
+
+"Why, of course she can! can't you, Mrs. Kirk?" cut in Rudolph warmly,
+for the idea of relinquishing such a splendid gift was not for a moment
+to be thought of. "I wonder how we can get them home," he added, by way
+of settling the matter.
+
+"Indade, thin, and I have this foine crate ready to go right in the back
+of your cart," and there, to be sure, was a fine sort of cage with a
+board top and bottom and laths at the sides, while other laths were
+lying ready to be nailed into place after the geese should have been
+stowed away within it. The children were simply wild over this addition
+to their separate little sets of live-stock, and although the whole
+day was delightful, there was all the while an almost impatient looking
+forward to the supreme moment when they should start for home with those
+beautiful geese in their keeping. And at last it came.
+
+"I wonder if my goose will be a little lonely," said Tattine, as they
+all stood about, watching Patrick nail on the laths.
+
+"Faith and it will thin," said Mrs. Kirk. "It never came to my moind
+that they wouldn't all three be together. Here's little Grey-wing to
+keep Blue-ribbon company," and Mrs. Kirk seized one of the smaller geese
+that happened to be near her, and squeezed it into the cage through the
+small opening that was left.
+
+"Well, if you can spare it, I think that is better, Mrs. Kirk, because
+everything has a companion over at our place. We have two cats,
+two pairs of puppies, two little bay horses, and two greys, and two
+everything, but as there's only one of me I am friends with them all--"
+
+"Bless your heart, but I'm glad you thought to mintion it," and then
+Patrick and Mrs. Kirk gave each little extended hand a hearty shake, and
+the children--declaring over and over that "they had a lovely time and
+were so much obliged for the geese"--climbed into the cart and set off
+for home.
+
+"I'd go the short cut by the ford," advised Patrick; "it looks like we
+might get a shower by sunset."
+
+"Yes, I think we would better," said Rudolph, glancing toward the
+clouds in the west Rudolph prided himself on his ability to forecast
+the weather, and was generally able to tell correctly when a shower was
+pretty sure to come and when it was likely to "go round."
+
+So Barney was coaxed into a good gait, which he was ready as a rule to
+take towards home, and the little ford by way of a farm-lane, and which
+saved a good mile on the road home, was soon reached. Barney knew the
+place well and, always enjoying it, picked his way carefully to the
+middle of the ford, and then he took it into his stubborn little head to
+stand stock still, and to plant his four hoofs firmly in the nice soft
+mud at the bottom of the stream.
+
+"Go on," urged Tattine; "Go on," urged Mabel, and Rudolph applied his
+sapling whip with might and main, but all to no effect. Meantime some
+geese from a neighboring farm had come sailing out into the ford, to
+have a look at their friends in the crate, and the geese in the crate,
+wild to be out on the water with their comrades, craned their long necks
+far out between the laths, and set up a tremendous squawking. It was
+rather a comical situation, and the children laughed till their sides
+ached, but after a while it ceased to be so funny. The clouds were
+rolling up blacker, and there was an occasional flash of lightning far
+off in the distance, but Barney stood still obdurate and unmoved,
+simply revelling in the sensation of the cool water, running down-stream
+against his four little donkey-legs. At last Rudolph was at his wits'
+end, for what did Tattine and Mabel do but commence to cry. Great drops
+of rain were falling now, and they COULD NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT of being
+mid-way in that stream with the storm breaking right above their heads,
+and when girls, little or big, young or old, cannot bear the thought of
+things they cry. It does not always help matters; it frequently makes
+them more difficult, but then again sometimes it does help a little, and
+this appeared to be one of those things, for when the girls' crying put
+Rudolph to his wits' end, he realized that there was just one thing left
+to try, and that was to jump overboard and try and pull Barney to land,
+since Barney would not pull him. So into the water he jumped, keeping
+the reins in his hand, and then, getting a little ahead of Barney, he
+began to walk and pull. Now fortunately, there is nothing like the force
+of example, which simply means that when Barney saw Rudolph walking and
+pulling he began to walk and pull too.
+
+Meantime, while Patrick and his wife were thinking that the children
+had had plenty of time to reach home before the storm, there was great
+anxiety in the two homes where those three dear children lived. Patrick
+the coachman and Philip the groom had been sent with the wagonette
+by the main road to Patrick Kirk's--Patrick to bring the children and
+Philip to take charge of Barney, but as the children were coming home,
+or rather trying to come home, by the ford, of course they missed them.
+
+All the while the storm was growing in violence, and suddenly for about
+five minutes great hailstones came beating down till the lawn was fairly
+white with them, and the panes of glass in the green-house roof at
+Oakdene cracked and broke beneath them. "And those three blessed
+children are probably out in it all," thought Tattine's Mother, standing
+pale and trembling at her window, and watching the road which the
+wagonette would have to come. And then what did she see but Barney,
+trotting bravely up the hill, with the geese still craning their necks
+through the laths of the cage, but the reins dragging through the mud of
+the roadway, and with no children in the little cart. Close behind him
+came the wagonette, which Barney was cleverly managing to keep well
+ahead of, but Mrs. Gerald soon discovered that neither were the children
+in that either. In an instant she was down the stairs and out on the
+porch to meet Patrick at the door.
+
+"It isn't possible you have no word of the children?" she cried
+excitedly.
+
+"Patrick Kirk says they started home by the ford in time to reach here
+an hour before the storm," gasped Patrick, "but we came back by the ford
+ourselves and not a sign have we seen of them, till Barney ran out of
+the woods ahead of us five minutes ago."
+
+And then a dreadful thought flashed through her mind. Could it be
+possible they had been drowned in the ford? But that moment her eyes
+saw something that made her heart leap for joy, something that looked
+drowned enough, but wasn't. Rudolph was running up the hill as fast as
+his soaking clothing would let him, and, reaching the door breathless
+enough, he sank down on the floor of the porch.
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Gerald," he said, as soon as he could catch his breath, "Mabel
+and Tattine are all right; they're safe in the log play-house at the
+Cornwells', but we've had an awful fright. Is Barney home? When the hail
+came I tied him to a tree and we ran into the log house, but he broke
+away the next minute and took to his heels and ran as fast as his legs
+could carry him. Barney's an awful fraud, Mrs. Gerald."
+
+But Mrs. Gerald had no time just then to give heed to Barney's
+misdoings. Seizing a wrap from the hall, she ordered Rudolph into the
+house and to bed, as quickly as he could be gotten there, sent Philip
+to Rudolph's Mother with the word that the children were safe, and then
+started off in the wagonette to bring Mabel and Tattine home.
+
+"Mamma," said Tattine, snuggling her wet little self close to her
+Mother's side in the carriage, "Rudolph was just splendid, the way he
+hauled Barney and us and the cart out of the water, but Mamma, I am done
+with Barney now too. He's not to be trusted either."
+
+Mrs. Gerald thought of two or three things that might be urged in
+Barney's favor, but it did not seem kind even to attempt to reason with
+two such tired and soaking little specimens, so she only said, "Well,
+Barney can never again be trusted in the ford, that's one sure thing."
+
+"No, indeed," said Mabel warmly; "I would not give fifty cents for him."
+
+"You can have him for nothing," said Tattine, with a wan little smile;
+"after this he can never be trusted in anything."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. "IT IS THEIR NATURE TO."
+
+Tattine was getting on beautifully with her attempt to use Grandma
+Luty's name at the proper time, and in the proper place, and she
+was getting on beautifully with grandma herself as well. She loved
+everything about her, and wished it need not be so very long till she
+could be a grandma herself, have white hair and wear snowy caps atop
+of it, and kerchiefs around her neck, and use gold eye-glasses and
+a knitting-basket. Grandma Luty, you see, was one of the dear,
+old-fashioned grandmothers. There are not many of them nowadays. Most of
+them seem to like to dress so you cannot tell a grandmother from just an
+ordinary everyday mother. If you have a grandmother--a nice old one, I
+mean--see if you cannot get her into the cap and kerchief, and then show
+her how lovely she looks in them. But what I was going to tell you was
+that Grandma Luty's visit was all a joy to Tattine, and so when, just at
+daylight one morning, the setter puppies in their kennel at the back of
+the house commenced a prodigious barking, Tattine's first thought was
+for Grandma.
+
+"It's a perfect shame to have them wake her up," she said to herself,
+"and I know a way to stop them," so, quiet as a mouse, she stole out
+of bed, slipped into her bed-slippers and her nurse's wrapper, that was
+lying across a chair, and then just as noiselessly stole downstairs, and
+unlocking the door leading to the back porch, hurried to open the gate
+of the kennel, for simply to let the puppies run she knew would stop
+their barking. Tattine was right about that, but just as she swung the
+gate open, a happy thought struck those four little puppies' minds, and
+as she started to run back to the house, all four of them buried their
+sharp little teeth in the frill of Priscilla's wrapper.
+
+Still Tattine succeeded in making her way across the lawn back to the
+door, although she had four puppies in tow and was almost weak from
+laughing.
+
+She knew perfectly well what a funny picture she must make, with the
+wrapper that was so much too large for her, only kept in place by the
+big puff sleeves: and with the puppies pulling away for dear life, it
+the train. When she reached the screen door, she had a tussle with them,
+one by one, taking a sort of reef in the trailing skirt as each puppy
+was successfully disposed of, until all of it was clear of the sharp
+little teeth, and she could bang the door to between them.
+
+I do not believe Grandma Luty ever laughed harder than when Tattine told
+her all about it as they sat together in the porch that morning after
+breakfast. She even laughed her cap way over on one side, so that
+Tattine had to take out the gold pins and put them in again to
+straighten it.
+
+"But Grandma," said Tattine, when they had sobered down, "those puppies,
+cunning as they are now, will just be cruel setters when they grow up,
+killing everything they come across, birds and rabbits and chipmunks."
+
+"Tattine," said Grandma Luty, with her dear, kindly smile "your Mother
+has told me how disappointed you have been this summer in Betsy and
+Doctor and little Black-and-white, and that now Barney has fallen into
+disgrace, since he kept you so long in the ford the other day, but I
+want to tell you something. You must not stop loving them at all because
+they do what you call cruel things. You have heard the old rhyme:--
+
+  "Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
+    For God has made them so:
+  Let bears and lions growl and fight,
+    For 'tis their nature to."
+
+"Oh, yes, I know that," said Tattine, "and I don't think it's all quite
+true; our dogs don't bite (I suppose it means biting people), bad as
+they are."
+
+"No; I've always thought myself that line was not quite fair to the
+dogs either, but the verses mean that we mustn't blame animals for doing
+things that it is their nature to do."
+
+"And yet, Grandma, I am not allowed to do naughty things because it is
+my nature to."
+
+"Ah, but, Tattine, there lies the beautiful difference. You can be
+reasoned with, and made to understand things, so that you can change
+your nature--I mean the part of you that makes you sometimes love to do
+naughty things.
+
+"There's another part of your nature that is dear and good and sweet,
+and doesn't need to be changed at all. But Betsy and Doctor can only be
+trained in a few ways, and never to really change their nature.
+
+"Setters have hunted rabbits always, kittens have preyed upon birds, and
+donkeys, as a rule, have stood still whenever they wanted to."
+
+"But why, I wonder, were they made so?"
+
+"You nor I nor nobody knows, Tattine, but isn't it fine that for some
+reason we are made differently? If we will only be reasonable and try
+hard enough and in the right way, we can overcome anything."
+
+"It's a little like a sermon, Grandma Luty."
+
+"It's a little bit of a one then, for it's over, but you go this minute
+and give Betsy and Doctor a good hard hug, and tell them you forgive
+them."
+
+And Tattine did as she was bid, and Doctor and Betsy, who had sadly
+missed her petting, were wild with delight.
+
+"But don't even you yourselves wish," she said, looking down at
+them ruefully, "that it was not your nature to kill dear little baby
+rabbits?"
+
+And Tattine thought they looked as though they really were very sorry
+indeed.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tattine, by Ruth Ogden
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TATTINE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 1816.txt or 1816.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/1/1816/
+
+Produced by Dianne Bean
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.