When she put this to the puppy's mouth,
he sucked it greedily. He acted as if he was starving, but Miss Laura
only let him have a little.
Every few hours for the rest of the day, she gave him some more milk,
and I heard the boys say that for many nights she got up once or twice
and heated milk over a lamp for him. One night the milk got cold before
he took it, and he swelled up and became so ill that Miss Laura had to
rouse her mother and get some hot water to plunge him in. That made him
well again, and no one seemed to think it was a great deal of trouble to
take for a creature that was nothing but a dog.
He fully repaid them for all his care, for he turned out to be one of
the prettiest and most lovable dogs that I ever saw. They called him
Billy, and the two events of his early life were the opening of his eyes
and the swallowing of his muslin rag. The rag did not seem to hurt him;
but Miss Laura said that, as he had got so strong and so greedy, he must
learn to eat like other dogs.
He was very amusing when he was a puppy. He was full of tricks, and he
crept about in a mischievous way when one did not know he was near.
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