7. As soon as he came up to me, I stopped, and feeling in my coat-pocket, said to him,—Don, I have lost my pocket-handkerchief,—go find it.
8. I had scarcely uttered the words before he was off. He was gone only two or three minutes, and then, returning with my handkerchief in his mouth, he dropped it at my feet.
9. Guido, the other dog, was very fond of going into the water himself; but he never would allow any one else to go in.
10. The reason was this. My little son George was one day looking over into the water, to watch the eels that were gliding through the water below, and losing his balance, he fell into the water.
11. No one was near except Guido, and he immediately jumped in after George, and, with great labor, brought him on shore, and saved him from drowning.
12. Ever since that time, Guido has been very unwilling to let any one go near the water. It seemed as if he had reasoned about it, and said to himself, It is hard work to drag a boy out of the water, but it is much easier to keep him from going in.
13. Guido was not a very large dog. He was of the breed, or kind, named Spaniel; so called because that kind of dog originally came from Hispaniola. He had long ears, curling hair, a long bushy tail, and webbed feet, like all dogs that are fond of the water.
14. Webbed feet are those in which the toes are not separated, but seem to be joined together by a thin substance, like thick skin, which enables them to swim more easily.
15. Don was a very large dog, of the Newfoundland species, a kind which is remarkable for its beauty and intelligence.
