"Oh no," answered Mamie; "I could not bear to eat him, he is such a darling."

So they kept him and gave him the name of John Willie.


"And now," said Uncle John, "if you are good children, I will take you to see this strange pet some fine day.

"You will see it going for a walk with its master. It sometimes walks along beside him for miles and miles, with a slow, stately tread.

"Or you may see it sitting on its master's shoulder while he sits and reads.

"It will also feed out of your hand as dainty as—well, as a goose can."

"What a jolly story!" said Tommy.

"I wish I had a goose," said Willie.