"
"Are ye kennin' anither tale, Leddy?"
"Oh, a number of them. Prince, the fox terrier, was ill once, and
the doctor who came to see him said his mistress gave him too much
to eat. That was very probable, because that lady likes to see
children and animals have too much to eat. There are dozens and
dozens of poor children that the lady knows and loves. Once they
lived in a very dark and dirty and crowded tenement, quite as bad
as some that were torn down in the Cowgate and the Grassmarket."
"It mak's ye fecht ane anither," said one laddie, soberly. "Gin
they had a sonsie doggie like Bobby to lo'e, an' an auld kirkyaird
wi' posies an' birdies to leuk into, they wadna fecht sae muckle."
"I'm very sure of that. Well, the lady built a new tenement with
plenty of room and light and air, and a market so they can get
better food more cheaply, and a large church, that is also a kind
of school where big and little people can learn many things. She
gives the children of the neighborhood a Christmas dinner and a gay
tree, and she strips the hedges of Holly Lodge for them, and then
she takes Peter and Prince, and Cocky the parrot, to help along the
fun, and she tells her newest stories. Next Christmas she means to
tell the story of Greyfriars Bobby, and how all his little Scotch
friends are better-behaving and cleaner and happier because they
have that wee dog to love."
"Ilka body lo'es Bobby. He wasna ever mistreatet or neglectet,"
said Ailie, thoughtfully.
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