It was about this time that Oscar came into possession of the pup which Alfred Walton had promised him two or three weeks before.  He at first had some difficulty in obtaining the consent of his mother to bring it home.  She thought it would be troublesome, and tried to dissuade him from taking it; but Oscar’s heart was so strongly set upon the dog, that she at length reluctantly assented to its being admitted as an inmate of the family.

Fastening a string to the neck of the dog, Oscar led him to his new home, where he received every attention from the younger members of the family.  Quite a grave discussion at once ensued, as to what the name of the new-comer should be.  Each of the children had a favorite name to propose, but Oscar rejected them all, and said the dog should be called “Tiger;” and so that became his name, but it was usually abbreviated to “Tige.”

[Illustration:  Tiger’s Countenance.]

Tiger had grown very rapidly, and was now about twice as large as he was when Alfred promised Oscar one of his litter of pups.  He was a handsome fellow, especially about the head, as you may see by his portrait.  At times, he looked as old and grave as his mother; but for all that, he was a great rogue, and there was very little dignity or soberness about him.  He was brim-full of fun, and would play with anybody or anything that would allow him to take that liberty.  He would amuse himself for hours with an old shoe or rag that he had found in the street, and it seemed as if he never would get tired of shaking, and tearing, and biting it.  This disposition sometimes led him into mischief, in the house; but he was always so happy, so good-natured and so affectionate, that it was difficult to blame him very hard for his misconduct.  If Oscar’s grandmother happened to drop her ball of yarn, when Tige was about, he would seize it in an instant, and she would have to work hard to get it away from him.  She kept her work in a bag, which she usually hung upon the back of a chair; but one day, the little rogue pulled the bag down upon the floor, and had its various contents scattered all about the room, before the old lady noticed what he was doing.

These mischievous pranks were very amusing to Oscar, and he set all the more by Tiger, on account of this trait in his character.  The other members of the family, too, seemed to enjoy the sport he made; and it was easy to see that even old Mrs. Lee, though she pretended to be angry with the dog for his mischievousness, was in reality pleased with the attentions he bestowed upon her and her knitting-work.

Oscar’s grandmother usually retired to her chamber, soon after dinner, to take a short nap.  One noon, after she had been scolding, with assumed gravity, about the dog’s mischievousness, Oscar thought he would play a joke upon the old lady; so, on rising from the dinner-table, he carried Tiger up to her bed-room, and shut him in.  He wanted to conceal himself somewhere, and witness the surprise of his grandmother, when she should open the door, and the dog should spring upon her; but it was time to go to school, and he could not wait.