your
planet; but that may be because he eats so freely of the green cheese
which grows here instead of grass.

Well, there were three dogs at Jollykaloo, as perhaps I said before.
There was Gruff the big dog, and Grim the middle-sized dog, and Grab,
the little dog.

Gruff was a fine fellow, indeed; a great St. Bernard, clever and
good-natured, and certainly with nothing gruff about him except his name
and his bark. Indeed, it was well that he was of a cheerful turn of
mind, for he had to take a good deal of rough usage, though it was only
in play, to be sure.

Fancy trying to drive three dogs tandem, all of different sizes and
dispositions! Yes, if you will believe me, that was what Nibble was
trying to do when I looked down into the garden that morning. He had a
very nice little cart which Thomas, the gardener, had made for him, and
in this he often drove Gruff, who did not object at all to being
harnessed, and in fact rather enjoyed dragging the children about. But
when it came to having two other dogs harnessed in front of him, dogs
who could run about twice as fast as he could, and who took a fancy to
sit down and scratch their ears just as he had started into a good
swinging trot--that was rather more than Gruff could endure. But Nibble
was full of his new sport.

"Downy, baby!" he cried, "Come, Downy, and brother will give you a fine
ride! come along, little man!"

So Downy came toddling up, and Nibble lifted him into the cart, and then
got in himself, and took the reins and the whip.

"Now, Downy boy, you shall have the best ride that any one ever had. Hi!
my gallant steeds! Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer! Oh, dear!" cried
Nibble, "I wish I had eight reindeer like St. Nicholas, instead of only
three dogs. But still I can say, 'Now dash away, dash away, dash away
all!'" and the young charioteer stood up in the cart and waved the whip
round his head, while Downy clapped his hands and shouted with glee.
Yes, that was pride! but the fall also was not wanting.

[Illustration: OLD GRUFF.]

Away went the three dogs, poor old Gruff forced into a lumbering gallop
by the pace of the two others, who capered along, and let the big old
dog do all the pulling. Round the house they went once and twice, the
little cart rocking from side to side in rather an alarming way. Then,
as they came round the third time--they saw a cat! Nibble saw it first,
and tried like a clever mouse as he is, to turn his gallant steeds