“’Alice’isbest，“saidJeremy，sighing。“Youknowitbetterthantheothers。“Hecurledhimselfintoacornerofthewindow-seat。
　　Fromhispositiontherehehadafineview。Immediatelybelowhimwasthegarden，whiteandgreyunderthegreysky，thebrokenfountainstandinguplikeasnowmaninthemiddleofit。Thesnowhadceasedtofallandagreatstillnessheldtheworld。
　　Beyondthelittleirongateofthegardenthatalwayssneezed“Tishoo“whenyouclosedit，wasthetopofOrangeStreet；thendownthehillontherightwasthetowerofhisfather’schurch；exactlyoppositethegatewastheroadthatledtotheOrchards，andontherightofthatwasthePolchesterHighSchoolforYoungLadies，heldingreatcontemptbyJeremy，themorethatHelenwouldshortlybeaday-boarderthere，wouldscreamwiththeothergirls，and，worstofall，wouldsoonbeseenwalkingwithherarmroundanothergirl’sneck，chatteringandeatingsweets……
　　Thewholeworldseemeddeserted。Nocolour，nomovement，nosound。
　　Hesighedoncemore——“I’dliketoeatjamandjam——lotsofit，“hethought。“Itwouldbefuntobesick。“
　　Maryarrivedandswungherselfupontothewindow-seat。
　　“It’sthe’LookingGlass’one。Ihopeyoudon’tmind，“shesaidapprehensively。
　　“Oh，it’sallright，“heallowed。Heflungaglancebacktothelightednursery。Itseemedbycontrastwiththatgreyworldoutsidetoblazewithcolour；thered-paintedshipsonthewallpaper，thebrightlightsandshadowsof“TheChargeoftheLightBrigade，“thesalmonfrontsofthedoll’shouse，thegreenandredofthevillageonthefloorwiththeflowerytrees，thebluetablecloth，theshiningbrasscoal-scuttleallaliveandsparklingintheflamesandshadowsofthefire，caughtandheldbythefinegoldofthehigherfender。Beyondthatdeadwhite——soonitwouldbedark，thecurtainswouldbedrawn，andstilltherewouldbenothingtodo。Hesighedagain。
　　“It’sanicebitabouttheshop，“saidMary。Jeremysaidnothing，soshebegan。Shestartedatarun：
　　“ShelookedattheQueen，whoseemedtohave’“——sniff，sniff-“’sud-
　　den-lysuddenlywra-wra-w-r-a-p-p-e-dwrapped——’“
　　“Wrapped？“askedJeremy。
　　“Idon’tknow，“saidMary，rubbinghernose，“whatitmeans，butperhapswe’llseepresently，herselfupinw-o-o-lwool。’Alicerubbedhereyesandlookedagainshecouldn’t——’“
　　“’Lookedagainshecouldn’t’？“askedJeremy。“Itshouldbe，’shecouldn’tlookagain。’“
　　“Oh，there’sastop，“saidMary。“Ididn’tsee。After’again’
　　there’sastop。’Shecouldn’tmakeoutwhathadhappenedatall——’“
　　“Ican’teither，“saidJeremycrossly。“ItwouldbebetterperhapsifIreaditmyself。“
　　“Itwillbeallrightinaminute，“saidMaryconfidently。“’Wassheinashop？Andwasthatreally——wasitreallyashipthatwassittingonthecounter？’“shefinishedwitharun。
　　“Awhat？“askedJeremy。
　　“Aship——“
　　“Aship！Howcoulditsitonacounter？“heasked。
　　“Ohno，it’sasheep。HowsillyIam！“Maryexclaimed。
　　“Youdoreadbadly，“heagreedfrankly。“Inevercanunderstandnothing。“AnditwasatthatverymomentthathesawtheDog。
　　II
　　Hehadbeenstaringdownintothegardenwithagazehalfabstracted，halfspeculative，listeningwithoneeartoMary，withtheothertothestirofthefire，theheavybeatoftheclockandtherustlingsofMarthathecanary。
　　Hewatchedthesnowyexpanseofgarden，theblackgate，theroadbeyond。Avastwaveofpalegreylight，theheraldofapproachingdusk，sweptthehorizon，thesnowyroofs，thestreets，andJeremyfeltsomecontactwiththestrangeair，themysteriousomensthatthefirstsnowsofthewinterspreadabouttheland。Hewatchedasthoughhewerewaitingforsomethingtohappen。
　　ThecreaturecameupveryslowlyoverthecrestofOrangeStreet。Nooneelsewasinsight，nocart，nohorse，noweather-beatenwayfarer。Atfirstthedogwasonlyalittleblacksmudgeagainstthesnow；then，ashearrivedattheColes’garden-gate，Jeremycouldseehimverydistinctly。Hewas，itappeared，quitealone；hehadbeen，itwasevident，badlybeatenbythestorm。Intendedbynaturetobearoughandhairydog，henowappearedbeforeGodandmenashiveringbatteredcreature，drippingandwind-tossed，bedraggledandbewildered。Andyet，eveninthatfirstdistantglimpse，Jeremydiscernedafineindependence。Hewasashortstumpydog，innowaydesignedfordignifiedattitudesandpatronisingsuperiority；nevertheless，ashenowwanderedslowlyupthestreet，hisnosewasintheairandhesaidtothewholeworld：“Thestormmayhavedoneitsbesttodefeatme——ithasfailed。IamasIwas。I
　　askcharityofnoman。Iknowwhatisduetome。“
　　ItwasthisthatattractedJeremy；hehadhimselffeltthusafteraslipperingfromhisfather，oridioticpunishmentsfromtheJampot，andtheuninvitedconsolationsofMaryorHelenuponsuchoccasionshadbeenresentedwithsofierceabitternessthathisreputationforsulkinesshadbeensoundlyestablishedwithallhiscircle。
　　Marywasreading……！“’anoldSheep，sittinginanarm-chair，knitting，andeverynowandthenleavingofftolookatherthroughagreatpairofspec-t-a-c-lesspectacles！’“
　　Hetouchedherarmandwhispered：
　　“Isay，Mary，stopaminute——lookatthatdogdownthere。“
　　Theybothstareddownintothegarden。Thedoghadstoppedatthegate；itsniffedatthebars，sniffedatthewallbeyond，thenveryslowlybutwithrealdignitycontinueditswayuptheroad。
　　“Poorthing，“saidJeremy。“ItISinamess。“Thentotheirastonishmentthedogturnedbackand，saunteringdowntheroadagainasthoughithadnothingalldaytodobuttowanderabout，andasthoughitwerenotwet，shiveringandhungry，itoncemoresmeltthegate。
　　“Oh，“saidMaryandJeremytogether。
　　“It’slikeMother，“saidJeremy，“whenshe’sgoingtoseesomeoneandisn’tsurewhetherit’stherighthouse。“
　　Then，mostmarvellousofunexpectedclimaxes，thedogsuddenlybegantosqueezeitselfbetweenthebottombarofthegateandtheground。
　　Theintervalwasfortunatelyalargeone；amomentlatertheanimalwasintheColes’garden。
　　ThemotivesthatledJeremytobehaveashedidareuncertain。Itmayhavebeensomethingtodowiththegeneralboredomoftheafternoon，itmayhavebeenthathefeltpityforthebedraggledaspectoftheanimal——mostprobablereasonofall，wasthatdevil-
　　may-careindependenceflungupfromtheroad，asitwere，expresslyathimself。
　　ThedogobviouslydidnotfeelanygreatrespectfortheColehousehold。Hewanderedaboutthegarden，sniffingandsmellingexactlyasthoughthewholeplacebelongedtohim，andaridiculousstumpoftail，unsubduedbytheweather，gavehimtheludicrousdignityofaMalvolio。
　　“I’mgoingdown，“whisperedJeremy，flingingacautiousglanceatHelenwhowasabsorbedinhersewing。
　　Mary’seyesgrewwidewithhorrorandadmiration。“You’renotgoingout，“shewhispered。“Inthesnow。Oh，Jeremy。TheyWILLbeangry。“
　　“Idon’tcare，“whisperedJeremybackagain。“Theycanbe。“
　　Indeed，beforeMary’sfrightenedwhisperhehadnotintendedtodomorethancreepdownintothepantryandwatchthedogatcloserange；nowitwasasthoughMaryhadchallengedhim。Heknewthatitwasthemostwickedthingthathecoulddo——togooutintothesnowwithoutacoatandinhisslippers。Hemighteven，accordingtoAuntAmy，dieofit，butasdeathatpresentmeantnomoretohimthanapositionofimportanceandaquantityofred-currantjellyandchicken，THATprospectdidnotdeterhim。HelefttheroomsoquietlythatHelendidnotevenlifthereyes。
　　Thenuponthelandinghewaitedandlistened。Thehousehadallthelightedtremblingduskofthesnowyafternoon；therewasnosoundsavethetickingoftheclocks。HemightcomeupontheJampotatanymoment，butthiswasjustthehourwhenshelikedtodrinkhercupofteainthekitchen；heknewfromdeepandconstantstudyeverymovementofherday。Fortunefavouredhim。Hereachedwithouttroublethelittledarkcorkscrewservants’staircase。Downthishecrept，andfoundhimselfbesidethelittlegardener’sdoor。Althoughheretherewasonlysnow-litdusk，hefeltforthehandleofthelock，foundit，turnedit，andwas，atonce，overthesteps，intothegarden。
　　Here，withavengeance，hefeltthefullromanceanddangerofhisenterprise。Itwashorriblycold；hehadbeeninthenurseryfortwowholedays，wrappedupandwarm，andnowthesnowyworldseemedtoleapupathimanddraghimdownasthoughintoanicywell。
　　Mysteriousshadowshoveredoverthegarden；thefountainpointeddarklyagainstthesky，andhecouldfeelfromthefeatherytouchesuponhisfacethatthesnowhadbeguntofallagain。
　　Hemovedforwardafewsteps；thehousewassodarkbehindhim，theworldsodimanduncertaininfrontofhim，thatforamomenthisheartfailedhim。Hemighthavetosearchthewholegardenforthedog。
　　Thenheheardasniff，feltsomethingwetagainsthisleg——hehadalmoststeppedupontheanimal。Hebentdownandstrokeditswetcoat。Thedogstoodquitestill，thenmovedforwardtowardsthehouse，sniffedatthesteps，atlastwalkedcalmlythroughtheopendoorasthoughthehousebelongedtohim。Jeremyfollowed，closedthedoorbehindhim；thentheretheywereinthelittledarkpassagewiththeboy’sheartbeatinglikeadrum，histeethchattering，andaterribletemptationtosneezehoveringaroundhim。Lethimreachthenurseryandestablishtheanimalthereandallmightbewell，butletthembediscovered，coldandshivering，inthepassage，andoutthedogwouldbeflung。Heknewsoexactlywhatwouldhappen。Hecouldhearthevoicesinthekitchen。Heknewthattheyweresittingwarmtherebythefire，butthatatanymomentJampotmightthinkgoodtoclimbthestairsandsee“whatmischieftheychildrenwereupto。“Everythingdependeduponthedog。Didhebarkorwhine，outintothenighthemustgoagain，probablytodieinthecold。ButJeremy，theleastsentimentalofthatmostsentimentalracetheEnglish，wastoointentuponhisthreatenedsneezetopaymuchattentiontotheseawfulpossibilities。
　　Hetookoffhisslippersandbegantoclimbthestairs，thedogclosebehindhim，verygraveanddignified，inspiteofthelittletrailofsnowandwaterthatheleftinhistrack。Thenurserydoorwasreached，pushedsoftlyopen，andthestartledgazeofMaryandHelenfellwide-eyedupontheadventurerandhisprize。