“Yes, yes! It’s very good of you,” said the old man. He was not ragged, as he had been at first, since he was now wearing some garments supplied by the hospital.
“My dog can do tricks,” said Bunny.
“Good tricks, too,” added Sue. “And once he chased a cat and she had four white feet and she rides on Patter’s back.”
“Yes, yes! That’s very nice, my little ones,” said the old man, and he smiled at the children—not much of a smile, just a trace, but it showed that he had been aroused from his sad thoughts.
By this time Patter in the sun parlor had attracted the attention of the other patients. There was a boy with a broken arm and a girl who had something the matter with her leg and could not walk. And these children were delighted to see Patter. Nurses wheeled them in chairs close to the dog.
“Shall I make him do some tricks?” asked Bunny of his father.
“Yes, if it’s all right,” Mr. Brown answered, looking at the nurse.
“Oh, yes, we’ll be glad if you will,” she said. “The patients here don’t get much amusement.”
So Patter was put through his tricks. He walked on his hind legs and on his front paws. He sat up and then “said his prayers” on the back of a chair.
“Oh, he’s a lovely dog!” cried the little girl. “My dollie says her prayers just like that!”