, without the kitchen cat.

SARAH'S SUNDAY OUT

"Who saw Sarah last?"

It was Hester who had seen her last when she had said good-bye to a
friend at the hall door. That was at eleven o'clock in the morning; now
it was one o'clock in the afternoon, and there was no Sarah to be found
anywhere. Not in the nursery, not in any of the bedrooms, not upstairs,
not downstairs; every hole and corner and crevice much too small to hide
Sarah was thoroughly searched. Her name was called in the fondest tones
by every member of the family from father and mother down to little
Diana, and by all the servants, but there was no answer. There could be
no doubt about it--Sarah was lost!

Little Diana was heart-broken. It was dreadful to think of Sarah out
alone in the noisy London streets, where she knew no one and no one
would know her, where she would soon get confused and lose her way, and
where all the houses looked so much alike that she would never, never be
able to find her home again. Perhaps even some wicked person might steal
Sarah, or she might be run over by a carriage, or bitten by a dog,
or--there were no end of misfortunes which might happen to her, for it
made it all the more sad to remember that Sarah could not speak.

Who was Sarah?

Perhaps you may have been thinking that she was a little girl. Nothing
of the kind. She was the dearest little dog in the world, with a yellow
and white silky coat, and a very turned-up nose, and goggling,
affectionate dark eyes. She was a gay-tempered little creature, full of
playful coaxing ways, and a great pet with everyone; but she was fondest
of her mistress, Diana. She went everywhere with her, knew her step from
that of any of the other children, and would prick up her ears and
listen for it a long way off. Her whole name was "Sarah, Duchess of
Marlborough", and she was a Blenheim spaniel.

As befitted her rank, Sarah led a life of luxury, and had a great many
possessions of her very own. Smart collars and bells, a box full of
different coloured ribbons, a travelling trunk with her name upon it, a
brush and comb, a warm coat for cold weather, and a comfortable basket
to sleep in. Everything that heart could desire for comfort or adornment
was hers. She had never been used to the least roughness or hardship,
and certainly was too delicate to fight her own way in the world.

And now Sarah was lost! All through that Sunday everyone was very much
disturbed, and talked of n