JANUARY 29: Real Dogs
Lucifer and his mistress went for quite a long drive one day. On their way home his mistress stopped to make a call. Lucifer stayed alone in the wonderful carriage.
Some common dogs passed by. They were barking and playing and seemed to be having a very good time. Lucifer looked at them as if he sometimes longed to be a real dog and to play as other dogs did. But of course there was his family to be thought of and his background! He could not disgrace it. He must not try anything different. He must just stay at home, doing nothing but wear a big bow of ribbon and hear his mistress tell of what a fine breed he was.
But the other dogs did fill him with envy. He had a strange longing to be out playing, too. What a stupid life he led! No fun at all. And he would like to see more of the world. No matter where he went with his mistress, the world always seemed the same.
He wondered to himself if the dogs would play with him. He barked and they looked at the victoria and at the poodle dog with the blue bow.They seemed to be laughing at him, and for the first time his family tree didn’t seem of any use. It was simply that the dogs were judging him for what he was—they didn’t care a bit about his father or his grandfather.
“Could I join you?” he asked.
“Well, you don’t look as though you amounted to much,” they said, “but come along. We’ll try to be kind to you.”
“Oh,” said Lucifer, as he ran along, “I do amount to a great deal. You don’t know. I have more of a background than any of you.”
“What?” they all asked, with their ears and eyes showing that they could not believe what they had heard. “Tell us what a background is,” they asked. “Is it another name for life-saving?”
“No,” said Lucifer, “it means that I needn’t do anything but live up to my family name. For years and years our family have been of noble, aristocratic line. I am a dog of wonderful breeding.”
“You’re only snobbish,” they said, and Lucifer felt very badly. “Why, you poor little dog, we feel sorry for you,” said one bright looking fox terrier. “Our friends have saved children from drowning this summer, some have saved lives in fire, and we all try to amount to something. Pooh, you can’t be your grandfather. Try to be yourself and amount to something!” And Lucifer joined the dogs to be taken on a regular dog’s trip.