First came the bride and bridegroom, then the best man and the bridesmaids, and last the children of the animals who were to be married, two and two. When the ceremony was over, I marched them all back to their places on the shelf.
I now made eight laws, and copied them out in an exercise-book, together with the names of all the animals, the number of men, women, boys, and girls, and the number of married and single families.
I had had several little separate china animals given me, belonging to none of my families, so I made a law that if any family of their kind came to the collection they must adopt these little orphans.
I also made two acting companies, one of big animals, and one for the children, with a boar-hound called Sir Philip of Ravenswood for the manager of the first, and a little black and white kid, named Tim, for manager of the second, and at the Christmas of the same year that I formed the two companies I had two plays, the children acting "Hansel and Gretel," and the big animals "The Yeomen of the Guard."
Being now unable to get any fresh families of small animals, I started a collection of big china animals, and soon had thirty-five, among whom were a Jersey bull and cow, another brown bull and a brown and white cow, two beautiful horses, several dogs, two donkeys, and two goats.
These I kept apart from the small animals, in another cupboard; but I still kept the lion king over them as well, and gave them two big animals, a bloodhound and a St. Bernard, as governors over them.
Among the small animals I had a very learned-looking pig called Orsino, whom I made doctor, while an old bulldog, Dimboona, to whom I had been obliged to give two wooden legs, was Prime Minister. I also had a treasurer, a rent collector, a steward, and an under-steward. I also made a young boar-hound, called Panther, the son of Sir Philip, keeper of the stables, which consisted of ninety-two horses which I had made.
And this brings the narrative of the growth of my china animal collection up to the present time, when I have 555 small animals and 35 big ones, 590 in all.