THE TRAMP DOG AND THE

MONARCH'S LAST TEMPER

 

 

ONE day the Monarch of Mo, having nothing better to do, resolved to go hunting blackberries among the bushes that grew at the foot of the mountains.

 

So he put on an old crown that would not get tarnished² if it rained, and, having found a tin pail in the pantry, started off without telling any one where he was going.

 

For some distance the path was a nice, smooth taffy, that was very agreeable to walk on; but as he got nearer the mountains the ground became gravelly, the stones being jackson-balls and gum-drops; so that his boots, which were a little green when he picked them, began to hurt his feet.

 

But the King was not easily discouraged, and kept on until he found the blackberry bushes, when he immediately began to fill his pail, the berries being remarkably³ big and sweet.

 

While thus occupied he heard a sound of footsteps coming down the mountain side, and presently a little dog ran out from the bushes and trotted⁴ up to him.

 

Now there were no dogs at all in Mo, and the King had never seen a creature like this before; therefore he was greatly surprised, and said:

 

"What are you, and where do you come from?"

 

The dog also was surprised at this question, and looked suspiciously at the King's tin pail; for many times wicked boys had tied such a pail to the end of his tail. In fact, that was the reason he had run away from home and found his way, by accident, to the Valley of Mo.

 

"My name is Prince," replied the gravely; "and I have come from a country beyond the mountains and the desert."

 

"Indeed! are you in truth a prince?" exclaimed the monarch; "then you will be welcome in my kingdom, where we always treat nobility with proper respect. But why do you have four feet?"

 

"Because six would be too many," replied the dog.

 

"But I have only two," said the King.

 

"I am sorry," said the dog, who was something of a wag, "because where I come from it is more fashionable to walk on four feet."

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