Just then another dog came along. “Hurry up, you two, or you’ll be late,” he called out.
“Come on,” said the panting, fat dog.
Now Ready had had so much bad luck running about with strange dogs that he only shook his head and said, “I don’t know anything about it.”
“Don’t know anything about it? By my tail, you must be a stranger here,” said the panting, fat one. Ready afterwards called him “Paf” for short—“P” standing for panting and “F” for fat, you see.
“At midnight on the 21st of June, if it is moonlight, a wonderful thing happens. All the beasts, birds and flowers in this part of the world meet in an open space near the woods. They have music, dancing and refreshments. Then the Eagle, who is the king of the birds, grants a wish to any animal who has a clear record.
“The Eagle gives the wish to the beasts, instead of the birds and flowers, because nobody ever has anything against the flowers anyway, and they don’t care for new experiences. As for the birds, they have so many chances to travel and do interesting things that His Majesty, the Eagle, decided to go outside of his own family and give the wish to the four-footers. You see, they get around very little as they have no wings.
“Come on,” said the panting, fat dog