Are you scared of thunder storms? I am, too. Well, not exactly scared, maybe, but I—I don’t like them very well. I don’t mind the lightning so much, but the thunder is very noisy and it affects my nerves. I am quite a nervous dog. All highly-bred dogs are nervous, you know. And when you can trace your family back for dozens of years, the way I can, you have every right to dislike thunder. Perhaps you didn’t know I had such a long pedigree? Mother told us all about it once. We are from Hansel von Konigsberg, who was the Champion of all Germany for many years and quite the finest dachshund that ever lived. He won all sorts of prizes wherever he was shown and was a very fine, proud dog. Every one in Germany knows about Hansel von Konigsberg. Mother says it is a fine thing to be descended from such a dog and that I should always try to live up to it. Well, that isn’t telling about the time I got under the bed in the guest-room when there was a thunder storm, is it?  
There were visitors at the house, and one was an elderly lady who wore a black silk dress and had her eye-glasses on a little stick. When she saw us puppies she held the glasses up to her eyes and looked at us just as though we were something quite strange. “Dear me,” she said, “what ugly little things. What are they?” The Master laughed and told her we were dachshund puppies. “You mean they’re dogs?” she asked. “Why, they look like ! Don’t let them come near me, please. I never could stand dogs, anyway, and these are quite—quite disgusting!”
 
Neither Freya or I knew then what an was, but we didn’t like the sound of it. Besides, she had said we were ugly and disgusting. So I looked at Freya and Freya looked at me and we made a rush for the Old Lady Who Didn’t Like Dogs and jumped all over her. Of course we made believe we were pleased to see her, but we weren’t. She gave a and dropped her eye-glasses. They were on a black ribbon, though, and so they didn’t break. But I got the ribbon in my teeth and laid back and pulled and , and Freya took hold of the old lady’s skirt and shook it. And all the time the old lady said “Shoo! Shoo, you nasty little ! Oh, somebody take them away!”
 
So the Master caught me and made believe me and the Mistress caught Freya and told her she was a naughty dog, and we both ran off, making believe we were very sorry and scared, and the old lady hurried into the house.
 
 
Freya and I laid down under the lilac hedge and talked it over. We that we didn’t like the old lady and that we’d wait there until she came out again to see the garden and then we’d make another dash for her and scare her again. But she didn’t come back and it was pretty hot and so we both fell fast asleep there.
 
When we woke up it was quite late in the afternoon and the sky was cloudy and there was a rumbly noise that sounded like thunder. Freya and said she was afraid. I told her not to be a silly; that thunder never hurt any one. She said the lightning might, though, and she was going to the stable and crawl under the hay. She wanted me to go with her, but of course it would not have done to let Freya think I was frightened too, and so I said, No, I was going to stay where I was. Freya ran to the stable and just when she got to it there was a most awful crash of thunder and I forgot how brave I was and looked for a place to hide.
 
Well, William had taken the scree............