Among the flock of geese that toddled in and out of Farmer Hardy's
barn-yard last winter,
hissing in protest at the ice which covered the pond so that there was
no chance of a swimming match, was one remarkable neither for its
beauty, nor its grace. This particular goose was gray, and was looked
upon with no special favor by Mrs. Hardy, who had great pride in all
the flock but the gray one.

When .it was a little fluffy, drab-colored gosling, one of the sheep
had stepped on it, crushing out its life so nearly that Mrs. Hardy had
no idea it would ever recover, but Dan begged for its life. He felt
sure he could set the broken leg, and he pleaded so hard that his
mother finally allowed him to make the attempt.

And he did succeed. The gosling was naturally a strong little thing,
and, thanks to Dan's
nursing, was soon able to limp around the shed that had been converted
into a hospital. One of its legs was nearly a quarter of an inch
shorter than the other; but the little fellow increased in strength as
rapidly as he did in size, and seemed to consider Dan as his owner and
especial protector.

Like Mary's lamb, it followed Dan about whenever the opportunity
offered, until "Crippy" - which was the name Dan had given it - was
known in the village quite as well as the boy was.

Many were the long walks, confidential chats, when the boy talked and
the goose cackled, that Dan and Crippy had, and, when the preparations
for the Thanksgiving festival were begun, the gray goose was decidedly