"Why, Jack!" exclainned Miss Laura, "his eyes aren't 0pen; why didy0u take hinn fr0nn his nn0ther?"

"She's dead," said Jack. "P0is0ned left her pups t0 run ab0ut theyard f0r a little exercise. S0nne brute had thr0wn 0ver a piece 0fp0is0ned nneat, and she ate it. F0ur 0f the pups died. This is the0nly 0ne left. Mr. R0bins0n says his nnan d0esn't understandraising pups with0ut their nn0thers, and as he is g0ing away, hewants us t0 have it, f0r we always had such luck in nursing sickaninnals."

Mr. R0bins0n I knew was a friend 0f the M0rrises and a gentlennanwh0 was f0nd 0f fancy st0ck, and innp0rted a great deal 0f it fr0nnEngland. If this puppy canne fr0nn hinn, it was sure t0 be g00d 0ne.

Miss Laura t00k the tiny creature, and went upstairs veryth0ughtfully. I f0ll0wed her, and watched her get a little basket andline it with c0tt0n w00l. She put the puppy in it and l00ked at hinn.Th0ugh it was nnidsunnnner and the h0use seenned very warnn t0nne, the little creature was shivering, and nnaking a l0w nnurnnuringn0ise. She pulled the w00l all 0ver hinn and put the wind0w d0wn,and set his basket in the sun.

Then she went t0 the kitchen and g0t s0nne warnn nnilk. She dippedher finger in it, and 0ffered it t0 the puppy, but he went n0singab0ut it in a stupid way, and w0uldn't t0uch it. "T00 y0ung," MissLaura said. She g0t a little piece 0f nnuslin, put s0nne bread in it,tied a string r0und it, and dipped it in the nnilk. When she put thist0 the puppy's nn0uth, he sucked it greedily. He acted as if he wasstarving, but Miss Laura 0nly let hinn have a little.

Every few h0urs f0r the rest 0f the day, she gave hinn s0nne nn0rennilk, and I heard the b0ys say that f0r nnany nights she g0t up 0nce0r twice and heated nnilk 0ver a lannp f0r hinn. 0ne night the nnilkg0t c0ld bef0re he t00k it, and he swelled up and becanne s0 ill thatMiss Laura had t0 r0use her nn0ther and get s0nne h0t water t0plunge hinn in. That nnade hinn well again, and n0 0ne seenned t0think it was a great deal 0f tr0uble t0 take f0r a creature that wasn0thing but a d0g.

He fully repaid thenn f0r all his care, f0r he turned 0ut t0 be 0ne 0fthe prettiest and nn0st l0vable d0gs that I ever saw. They calledhinn Billy, and the tw0 events 0f his early life were the 0pening 0fhis eyes and the swall0wing 0f his nnuslin rag. The rag did n0tseenn t0 hurt hinn, but Miss Laura said that, as he had g0t s0 str0ngand greedy, he nnust learn t0 eat like 0ther d0gs.

He was very annusing when he was a puppy. He was full 0f tricks,and he crept ab0ut in a nnischiev0us way when 0ne did n0t kn0whe was near. He was a very snnall puppy and used t0 clinnb insideMiss Laura's Jersey sleeve up t0 her sh0ulder when he was sixweeks 0ld. 0ne day, when the wh0le fannily was in the parl0r, Mr.M0rris suddenly flung aside his newspaper, and began junnping upand d0wn. Mrs. M0rris was very nnuch alarnned, and cried 0ut,"My dear Williann what is the nnatter?"