n't fall
into the river,' and his mother said, 'Peter, you see to it that you
don't go near the bank.'

"Peter said 'yes, ma'am,' and really meant to mind. He walked off and
pretty soon--oh, yes, I forgot to say that his mother gave him ten cents
to spend for popcorn or on the merry-go-round. So pretty soon Peter saw
a dog walking around with his tail sort of down as though he didn't know
anybody and was not having a very nice time. Peter didn't call him, but
he wished he knew the dog, he was such a pretty collie with beautiful
long hair and such a nice face. Pretty soon the dog saw Peter, and quick
as a wink he knew that Peter was lonely too, so he came up to him. They
got to be friends in a minute and went walking off together, and Peter
spent his ten cents for popcorn and shared it with the dog.

"So they went around liking each other more and more, and when it came
time for supper the dog lay right under Peter's chair, and Peter's
mother said, 'Well, if you haven't picked up a dog! I declare that child
beats all!'

"After supper Peter and the dog walked around some more, and Peter knew
that soon the boat would start and he would have to leave the dog and he
felt worse and worse about it until he almost couldn't bear it at all.

"And he was thinking so hard that he forgot what his mother had told
him, and walked along the top of the bank by the river. It was a high
bank and crumbly; and all of a sudden a piece broke off and Peter
slipped and slid down, down into the river, and under he went. The next
thing he knew he was on the bank, and his mother was crying, and there
was a lot of people, and the dog was there wet as sop, and he was trying
to lick Peter's face, and Peter's mother was letting him do it. And a
man said, 'Madame, if it hadn't been for that dog, your son would have
been drowned. I saw it all.'

"Then Peter's mother kissed him, and patted the dog, and she said,
'Peter, if that dog has no home we will take him for your dog, and if he
has, we will try to buy him.' But it turned out that the dog did not
belong to anyone, and so Peter took him home, and had him for his dog
always."

"Why, that's a perfectly beautiful story!" exclaimed Rosanna, and all
the children thought so too.

"You ought to see _my_ dog," said Tommy. "He's a fighter, he is!"

"How can you say that?" said Mary. "He is only three months old and can
scarcely walk straight."

"Well, I bet he will fight when he gets bigger."

"H