A Dog Named Caesar
A fact of this kind fell once under my own
observation. One night, our dog Caesar made a barking at the
door, till, at last, he brought some one out. The dog then ran
towards the road, and when he found he was not followed, came
back and barked, and then ran to the road and back again, and
so on till we understood he wanted to be followed, and some
one went with him.
Caesar immediately led the way to a ditch over which there was
a bridge without any guard. There a horse and wagon had been
upset. The wagon had fallen upon the driver in such a way that
he could not move. The men came immediately to the aid of the
poor man, took him out, put him in his wagon and new harnessed
his horse, and set him off comfortably on his way again. The
dog sat by and saw it all. Who shall say how much of the
compassionate love of the good Samaritan was in his canine
heart? Who shall exactly measure and justly estimate the joy
of the other faithful, intelligent animal who saved the crew
of the wrecked vessel?
One more story of a dog I remember which is too good to be
forgotten; as it shows, not only the sagacity, but the love
and self-denial of one of these faithful creatures.
A shepherd, whose flocks were in the high pastures on the
Grampian Hills, took with him one day his little boy who was
about three years of age. They had gone some distance, when he
found it necessary, for some reason or other, to ascend the
summit of one of the hills. He thought it would be too
fatiguing for the child to go up; so he left him below with
the dog, telling the little fellow to stay there till he
returned, and charging the good and faithful dog to watch over
the boy.
Scarcely had the shepherd reached the summit, before there
came up one of those very thick fogs which are common among
these mountains. These heavy mists often come up so suddenly
and so thick that it is like a dark night--you can see
absolutely nothing.
The unhappy father hurried down the mountain to his little
boy; but, from fright and from the utter darkness, lost the
way.
The poor shepherd for many hours sought his child among the
treacherous swamps, the roaring cataracts and the steep
precipices.
No little boy, no faithful dog could he see or hear. At
length, night came on, and the wretched father had to return
to his cottage, and to the mother of his child, and say the
sad words, "He is lost. My faithful dog is gone too, or he
might help me find the boy."
That was a sad night for the poor cottagers. At break of day,
the shepherd, with his wife and his neighbors, set out to look
for the child. They searched all day long, in every place
where it seemed possible that lie could be, but all in vain.
No little boy could they find. The night came on, and again
the poor shepherd and his wife came home without their child.
On their return home, they found that the dog had been there;
and, on receiving a piece of oatmeal cake, had instantly gone
off with it. The next day and the day after, the shepherd
renewed the search for his child. On each day when they
returned, they heard that the dog had been to the house, taken
his piece of cake, and immediately disappeared. The shepherd
determined to stay at home the next day and watch his dog. He
had a hope in his heart that the dog would lead him to his
child.
The dog came the next day, at the same hour, took his piece of
cake, and ran off. The shepherd followed him. He led the way
to a cataract at some distance from the place where the father
had left the child.
The bank of the cataract was steep and high, and the abyss
down which the water rushed was terrific. Down the rugged and
almost perpendicular descent, the dog, without any hesitation,
began to make his way. At last, he disappeared into a cave,
the mouth of which was almost on a level with the cataract.
The shepherd, with great difficulty, followed. What were his
emotions, who can tell his joy, when he beheld his little boy
eating, with much satisfaction, the piece of cake which the
faithful animal had just brought? The dog stood by, eying his
young charge with the utmost complacence.
The child had doubtless wandered from the place where he was
left by his father; had fallen over the precipice; had been
caught by the bushes near the cave, and scrambled into it. The
dog had either followed or found him by the scent, and had
since prevented him from starving by giving to him every day
his own food.
The faithful, loving creature had never left the child day or
night, except to get the piece of oaten cake; and then the dog
went at full speed, neither stopping by the way, or apparently
reserving any of the cake for himself.
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