“Just down the road, but I have to go past that dog to get to my house,” she answered. “I am afraid.”
“Never mind. We’ll walk with you,” said George, “and then the dog won’t come near you.”
Of course neither the men nor the little girl knew that the peddler’s dog had promised to be good. They had seen Dido and the dog close together, but they did not know of what they were talking.
“You are not afraid of our bear, are you?” asked Tom, as he picked up the brass horn from where it had fallen in the moss as he slept.
“Oh, no, I’m not a bit afraid of him,” answered the little girl, looking at Dido. “He seems a nice, gentle bear.”
“He is,” said George. “Would you like to see him do some tricks?”
“Oh, very much!” cried the little girl, clapping her hands. “Will he do some tricks for me?”
“I guess so,” answered George with a laugh. “Do some tricks for the little girl you saved from the dog, Dido. Play a tune, Tom!”
So Tom played a tune on the brass horn, and Dido danced there in the woods, with only the little girl for an audience. But Dido did his best, even though there was only one person to look on, besides Tom and George.
“Oh, what a funny trick!” laughed the little girl, whose name was Rose, as she saw Dido turn a somersault. Dido did not mind turning head over heels in the woods, for he could do it on the soft green moss, and his fur did not get full of dust.