THE LITTLE DOG THOUGHT HE WAS BIG.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VII, Issue 9, 28 February 1891, Page 19

THE LITTLE DOG THOUGHT HE WAS BIG.

He was a very small dog, and a very restless and unhappy dog, because lie considered himself a dog of no account. He envied the dog that was covered with spots, and ran all day under a great carriage. He envied the champion fighting dog of the town, because no one dared to pick him up by an ear or indulge in other familiarities unpleasant to a dog. And he was even jealous of the dog that wandered the streets without a home, because that dog did not have to submit to the indignity of a weekly bath. One day when the unhappy little dog was running across the lawn in one of his most sorrowful moods, thoroughly dissatisfied with himself and the world generally, he espied a new ornament on the grass. It w’as a large ball, apparently of quicksilver, and had great reflecting power ; and when the dog saw himself in it he was simply electrified with surprise, for the ball magnified him into a dog of great size and dignity. ‘ I see,’ said the unhappy little dog, who was now happy, ‘ that I am a large dog after all, and that I have been kept in ignorance of my size and strength that I might not become dangerous. I suppose it is the same with all great animals. The elephant, in all probability, thinks he is no larger than a pig, and that is.what makes him so gentle and kind. The next time that cat scratches me, I shall tell the mice to come out here some moonlight night and look at themselves, and they will discover that they are as large as sheep, no doubt, and that will be the end of Mr Cat.’ Then the little dog viewed himself with great pride and satisfaction. The silver ball did not inciease his height as much as it did his breadth ; but it made him appear as high as a mastiff, and his muscles stood out like saplings. And when he opened his mouth and saw what great teeth he had, he i emarked : ‘ I think it a great shame that I did not know this before. Here I have been chased and wantonly bitten by little insignificant dogs, simply because 1 thought myself weak and harmless. But now that I know I am great, I shall have a big, brave heart to cm respond. And I shall not deign to notice the small pet dogs 1 used to play with, but shall associate only with the large ones. I suppose I ought to go up the road now and have my revenge out of that bull dog that gave me such a thrashing the other day. bo he bustled away, like a small man who has suddenly had greatness thrust upon him, and is full of his own importance. A little way up the >oad he met the bull dog. • How do you do?’ said the bull-dog. The other bowed haughtily. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ asked the bull-dog; ‘haven’t you had any dinner?' ‘Yes, and a good big one, too,’ replied the dog who had suddenly discovered his.greatness. ‘ You seem to be rather out of sorts,’ said the bulldog. ‘ Perhaps yotir digestion is not good.’ ‘ I think I could digest you in a few minutes, Jack,’ replied the warlike dog. ‘ If you are going to treat me with haughty disdain,’ said the bull-dog, ‘you should call me by my last name which is Stilton, with the prefix of Mr.’ Here the warlike dog held his paw over his mouth to conceal the smile that played on bis featuies. ‘ What aie you laughing at ?' <!• niandi d the bull dog. ‘ I was just laughing at your name, and wondering if you are a member of the gnat Stilton Cluese family—that was all.' ‘That was enough,’ said the bull-dog: ‘in fact, a little too much. You should have contiolled your featuies until

you got off a little way. Don't you know it is not polite to snicker right in a dog’s face ?’ ‘ I don’t know whether it is or not, ami don't care. I snicker whenever I please.’ ‘ Then you are no gentledog,’ said the bull dog, ‘ and I think I’ll teach you such another wholesome lesson as I did when I thrashed you the other day.’ ‘ I was sick that day,’ i eplied toe new-made warrior; ‘I had, only an hour before the fight, dined on lobster croquettes. But lam well to day.’ The details of a dog fight aie anything but entertaining. Therefore it is but necessary to state that the dog whose greatness existed only in a lawn reflector was taught a valuable lesson. When he limped back home, all the other little dogs met him in the yard, and laughed until they had to hold their paws against their sides. And even the old hens caught the tit, and were obliged to put their heads under their wings to conceal their mirth. And then the crestfallen dog went down to look at himself again in the silver ball on the lawn. He was just as large as ever, but oh, how he was astonished at what he saw ! He was covered with gashes, and every gash seemed an inch wide, and every mark of his opponent’s teeth seemed as large as an auger hole, for the silver ball magnified the wounds just as it did the dog. ‘Gracious!’ said the vanquished champion, ‘that dog must be twice as large as he seems to be, and I am free to confess that I am about the saddest ami the wisest, if not the sorest, dog in this community. I shall fight no more, and I shall never again allow myself to be deceived into the belief that I am greater than any other dog.’