Master Frisky/Chapter 1
MASTER FRISKY.
The story of my first meeting with Master Frisky is quite a long one; but I will tell it as briefly as possible, and then when we have once become acquainted with my little friend, we will come to some of the more interesting stories.
I was on a carriage drive among the beautiful Hampton Hills; it was June, and all the world was singing,—the birds, the brooks, and the locusts. Even the hills sang softly to themselves, but their song was so low and so tender that it was not heard by the average listener. Dame Nature, dressed in her most beautiful gown, was holding her annual carnival of beauty; and as the carriage rolled along the fair roadway, I thought how beautiful the old earth is this morning, and how grand a thing it is to live.
I was going with a friend to visit the Asphodel kennels, where many kinds of dogs were kept. Presently, as we rounded a bend in the road, we came in full sight of the home of the dogs; and what a chorus of barking there was, ringing all the way from the deep bay of the great Dane, to the sharp cry of a basket beagle, no larger than a cat.
Many of the dogs were loose, and the younger ones came frolicking about us; but the old ones were more dignified, and stood at a distance, wagging their tails sedately. I had never seen so many dogs all at one time before, and they made a fine show. There were tall Siberian bloodhounds, with beautiful tawny coats; sleek greyhounds, lithe and graceful as the willow. There were fine Saint Bernards, whose ancestors had rescued many a snow-bound traveler in the Alps; queer German dachshunds, terriers, bull-dogs, spaniels, pointers, setters, and scores of others.
The most interesting of all to me was a fine strain of Scotch collies that had been brought from Scotland many years ago from the kennels of a nobleman. These dogs were quick of intelligence, strong and active, and the handsomest creatures that I had ever seen.
They were either red or walnut sable and white with darker markings; most of them had a white stripe on the nose, while a few had a perfect white collar clear around the neck. The owner of the kennels was very proud of these dogs, as well he might be.
I had been thinking for some time of getting a dog, and when I saw these beautiful collies my mind was quite made up. "I must have one of these," I said; and I stooped to stroke the head of an old dog that had come up to make my acquaintance. At the precise moment when I stooped, I felt something soft and moist upon my cheek, and turning my head, saw a collie pup about three months old, standing on his hind legs in the very act of kissing me; one paw rested upon my shoulder, and the other was extended beseechingly. "You little beauty," I said, and the puppy laughed all over his expressive face, and then not certain but that he had done wrong in making so free with me, at once looked as sober as a lazy boy on examination day. "It's all right," I said, patting his head, "you are a good little doggie;" and as though he understood perfectly and was glad that he had pleased me, he licked my hand.
Of all the collies in the kennels, this newfound friend was the handsomest. He was a rich walnut sable with white markings trimmed with very dark sable to better show the white and red. He had a perfect shirt bosom, two white cuffs on his forepaws, white tips to his hind paws, and a white tip to his tail.
I sat down upon the piazza to talk over the good points about several of the collies; and my little friend came and crawled under my arm and nestled close to me, putting his paw confidently in my hand and licking it repeatedly, saying as plainly as he could in dog language, "I want to be your doggie; please buy me; I will be good, please get me."
If I went to pet any of the other dogs, this persistent little collie would push in between and try to attract attention. "I believe I will take this dog," I said; and as though he at once took possession of me, the little fellow jumped up into my lap, wagging his tail, and grinning from ear to ear.
I paid the price of the collie pup, and found myself the owner of this wriggling, squirming bit of a dog. When I lifted him into the carriage, he trembled and looked very scared; but I patted his head and reassured him, and he soon became quiet. He had never been up so high, though, before, and was frightened when he looked over the side of the carriage, which he kept doing. Finally he cuddled down under my leg and went to sleep, and did not wake up until I lifted him out, and placed him upon the doorsteps safe at home.