Thedogwentdirectlytothefire；there，sittingintheverymiddleofthegoldencockatoosontheTurkeyrug，hebegantolickhimself。
Hedidthisbysittingverysquareonthreelegsandspreadingoutthefourthstiffanderect，asthoughithadbeennotalegatallbutsomethingofwoodoriron。Themeltedsnowpouredoffhim，makingafinelittlepoolaboutthegoldencockatoos。Hemusthavebeenastrange-lookinganimalatanytime，beingbuiltquitesquarelikeatoydog，withagreatdealofhair，veryshortlegs，andathickstubbornneck；hiseyeswerebrown，andnowcouldbeseenveryclearlybecausethehairthatusuallycoveredthemwasplasteredabouthisfacebythesnow。Inhisnormaldayhiseyesgleamedbehindhishairlikesunlightinathickwood。Heworealittlepointedbeardthatcouldonlybeconsideredanaffectation；inoneword，ifyouimaginearidiculouslysmallsheep-dogwithnolegs，aFrenchbeardandastumpofatail，youhavehim。AndifyouwanttoknowmorethanthatIcanonlyreferyoutothedescriptionofhisgreat-great-great-grandson“Jacob，“describedintheChroniclesoftheBeaminsterFamily。
Thechildrenmeanwhilegazed，andforalongtimenoonesaidaword。ThenHelensaid：“FatherWILLbeangry。“
Butshedidnotmeanit。Thethreewere，bytheentranceofthedog，instantlyunitedintoanoffensiveanddefensivealliance。TheyknewwellthatshortlyanattackfromtheOutsideWorldmustbedelivered，andwithoutawordspokenoralookexchangedtheywereagreedtodefendboththemselvesandthedogwithallthestrengthintheirpower。Theyhadalwayswantedadog；theyhadbeenpreventedbythestupidandselfishargumentsofuncomprehendingelders。
Nowthisdogwashere；theywouldkeephim。