He has the funny expression of a real dog when he is making up his mind what to do next, even if he is only an oak-leaf. It was an ordinary leaf four inches long which was, by tearing a little here and bending a little there, transformed into his absurd dogship ([Fig. 75]).
Fig.75 - The little Oak Leaf Dog.
[Fig. 76] is the tracing of the leaf actually used for the dog. [Fig. 77] shows the same leaf with its stem nipped off and the other end torn up, not very evenly, where the dotted lines are in [Fig. 76]. This makes the little dog's tail. The tear on either side reaches to the mid-rib of the leaf, but does not cross it, and the mid-rib being unbroken holds the tail out stiff and straight.
| Fig.77 - This shows how the dog was made. | Fig.76 - The leaf the dog was made of. |
The two hind legs are bent down just where the tear ends in making the tail. The dotted line in [Fig. 77] shows this. The other two legs, formed by the side lobes of the leaf, are bent down as the dotted lines indicate. The tip of the lobe on the left side had to be torn off because that leg was longer than the opposite one.
In making the neck the narrow part of the leaf was bent up and then down, the two dotted lines show where. Then the ears were bent up and the little oak-leaf dog was placed standing as you see him in [Fig. 75], to have his picture drawn.