“O Royal,” said Lucy, “I never heard of a cat with a collar.”
“No,” replied Royal; “they generally put collars upon dogs; but this boy had no dog, and so he put a collar on his cat.”
“What was his name?” asked Lucy.
“His name was—George;—no, Jeremiah,” said Royal, correcting himself.
“How came you to say it was George first?” asked Lucy.
“Why, first,” replied Royal, “I thought I would have him named George; but then I thought that would not be so good a name; and so I changed it to Jeremiah.”
“But, Royal,” said Lucy, “I want to know what his real name was.”
“Why, he had no real name,” answered Royal, “only what I give him.”
“Why, isn’t it a true story?”
“No,” said Royal, “certainly not; this is only a probable story. I have to make it up as I go along.”