“Oh, look at Patter!” cried Sue. “Look!”
“That’s a new trick!” exclaimed Bunny. “Oh, how many tricks our dog can do! But this is a new one!”
“Indeed it is,” said Mrs. Brown.
The ladies from the church looked at Patter sitting up with the basket in his mouth.
“How very cute,” said one.
“And it gives me an idea,” said another. “Bunny, how long do you think your dog could sit up that way holding the basket?”
“Oh, I guess he could sit up maybe an hour,” the little boy answered.
“Not an hour at a time,” replied Mrs. Brown. “But if he had a rest in between, he might do it. He has been trained to sit up that way,” she added. “But I never saw him hold a basket before.”
“Why did you want to know how long he could do that trick, Mrs. Jones?” inquired another lady.
“I was thinking that we need something new and novel at our church fair,” answered Mrs. Jones. “Generally we have a man at the door taking tickets. But if we could have Bunny’s and Sue’s dog stand at the door, holding a basket for the people to drop tickets in, it would be something new and something amusing.”