d to know
his fate, the longing to stay grew stronger and stronger, the more he
recalled the comfort and kindness he had known here, the hardship and
neglect he had felt elsewhere. He knew they tried to help him, and at
the bottom of his heart he was grateful, but his rough life had made
him hard and careless, suspicious and wilful. He hated restraint of any
sort, and fought against it like an untamed creature, even while he knew
it was kindly meant, and dimly felt that he would be the better for it.
He made up his mind to be turned adrift again, to knock about the city
as he had done nearly all his life; a prospect that made him knit
his black brows, and look about the cosy little room with a wistful
expression that would have touched a much harder heart than Mr. Bhaer's
if he had seen it. It vanished instantly, however, when the good man
came in, and said in his accustomed grave way,

"I have heard all about it, Dan, and though you have broken the rules
again, I am going to give you one more trial, to please Mother Bhaer."

Dan flushed up to his forehead at this unexpected reprieve, but he only
said in his gruff way,

"I didn't know there was any rule about bull-fighting."

"As I never expected to have any at Plumfield, I never did make such
a rule," answered Mr. Bhaer, smiling in spite of himself at the boy's
excuse. Then he added gravely, "But one of the first and most important
of our few laws is the law of kindness to every dumb creature on the
place. I want everybody and everything to be happy here, to love
and trust, and serve us, as we try to love and trust and serve them
faithfully and willingly. I have often said that you were kinder to the
animals than any of the other boys, and Mrs. Bhaer liked that trait in
you very much, because she thought it showed a good heart. But you have
disappointed us in that, and we are sorry, for we hoped to make you
quite one of us. Shall we try again?"

Dan's eyes had been on the floor, and his hands nervously picking at
the bit of wood he had been whittling as Mr. Bhaer came in, but when he
heard the kind voice ask that question, he looked up quickly, and said
in a more respectful tone than he had ever used before,

"Yes, please."

"Very well, then, we will say no more, only you will stay at home from
the walk to-morrow, as the other boys will and all of you must wait on
poor Buttercup till she is well again."

"I will."

"Now, go down to supper, and do your best,