Tiptoeing to the study door,
she used to stand for half an hour at a time staring at the giant
bird.
Once, in a moment of audacity, she made a playful little rush at
it. Before the Master could intervene, Lad had dashed between her
and the sacred trophy; and had shouldered her gently but with
much firmness out of the room; disregarding her little swirl of
temper at the interference.
The Master called her back into the study. Taking her up to the
eagle, he pointed at it, and said, with slow emphasis
"Lady! Let it ALONE! Let--it--ALONE!"
She understood. For, from babyhood, she had learned, by daily
practice, to understand and interpret the human voice. Politely,
she backed away from the alluring bird. Snarling slightly at Lad,
as she passed him in the doorway, she stalked out of the room and
went out on the veranda to sulk.
"I'm glad I happened to be here when she went for the eagle,"
said the Master, at lunch that day. "If I hadn't, she might have
tackled it sometime, when nobody was around. And a good lively
collie pup could put that bit of taxidermy out of commission in
less than five seconds.
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