My Favorite Dog

And now I must tell you about a favorite dog of mine - a greyhound. I never had or saw a better one. He grew old in my service and was remarkable for his uncommon swiftness. He ran so fast, so much, and so long, that he actually ran his legs off, and I could no longer use him in the chase. So I used him instead as a terrier, to dig in the ground for foxes and such animals.

In this way he still served me well for many years.

While still a greyhound - and here I must correct myself, my dog was a bitch, that is to say, a she, not a he - one day she chased a hare, which appeared to me uncommonly big. I pitied my poor hound, for she was big with pups, yet she insisted on running as fast as ever. I could follow her on horseback only at a distance.

Catching up at last I was greatly surprised at what I saw: The hare had given birth in running; my hound had done the same - and now there were just as many little hares as pups. By instinct the little hares ran, the pups gave chase, and so I found myself in posession at once of six hares and as many dogs at the end of a chase which had begun with only one dog.