Trofast alone did not stir.  He was accustomed to this domestic din, and these unsolved problems did not interest him.  He ran his wise eyes over the deserted breakfast-table, dropped his black nose upon his powerful fore-paws, and closed his eyes for a little morning nap.  As long as they were staying out in the country, there was nothing much for him to do, except eat and sleep.

Trofast was one of the pure Danish hounds from the Zoological Gardens.  The King had even bought his brother, which fact was expressly communicated to all who came to the house.

All the same, he had had a pretty hard upbringing, for he was originally designated to be watch-dog at the merchant’s large coalstore out at Kristianshavn.

Out there, Trofast’s behaviour was exemplary.  Savage and furious as a tiger at night, in the daytime he was so quiet, kindly, and even humble, that the merchant took notice of him, and promoted him to the position of house-dog.

And it was really from this moment that the noble animal began to develop all his excellent qualities.

From the very beginning he had a peculiar, modest way of standing at the drawing-room door, and looking so humbly at anybody who entered that it was quite impossible to avoid letting him into the room.  And there he soon made himself at home—­under the sofa at first, but afterwards upon the soft carpet in front of the fire.

And as the other members of the family learned to appreciate his rare gifts, Trofast gradually advanced in importance, until Dr. Hansen maintained that he was the real master of the house.

Certain it is that there came a something into Trofast’s whole demeanour which distinctly indicated that he was well aware of the position he occupied.  He no longer stood humbly at the door, but entered first himself as soon as it was opened.  And if the door was not opened for him instantly when he scratched at it, the powerful animal would raise himself upon his hind-legs, lay his fore-paws upon the latch, and open it for himself.

The first time that he performed this feat the good-wife delightedly exclaimed: 

’Isn’t he charming?  He’s just like a human being, only so much better and more faithful!’

The rest of the family were also of opinion that Trofast was better than a human being.  Each one seemed, as it were, to get quit of a few of his own sins and infirmities through this admiring worship of the noble animal; and whenever anybody was displeased with himself or others, Trofast received the most confidential communications, and solemn assurances that he was really the only friend upon whom one could rely.

When Miss Thyra came home disappointed from a ball, or when her best friend had faithlessly betrayed a frightfully great secret, she would throw herself, weeping, upon Trofast’s neck, and say:  ’Now, Trofast, I have only you left.  There is nobody—­nobody—­nobody on the earth who likes me but you!  Now we two are quite alone in the wide, wide world; but you will not betray your poor little Thyra—­you must promise me that, Trofast.’  And so she would weep on, until her tears trickled down Trofast’s black nose.