There was one thing, especially, that surprised Tommy Fox. And I think
it surprised the dog Spot even more. Tommy and Spot became friends.

At first, whenever Spot came near, Tommy would run into his hole, as
far as his chain would allow him. But after a time he began to peep
out at his visitor. And finally he grew so bold that when Spot came to
see him he stayed above ground, though to be sure he sat close to the
door of his house, so that he could whisk out of sight if Spot should
come too near him.

Since Spot often came to look at Johnnie Green's new pet, he began to
like Tommy. And instead of growling, he would wag his tail, and try to
be friendly. And the first thing they knew, they were playing
together, and rolling and tumbling about, pretending to bite each
other.

Now, Spot was much bigger than Tommy Fox, and stronger. And sometimes
when they played together he would get so rough that Tommy would run
down into his underground house and hide. But he never lost his
temper, because he knew that Spot did not mean to hurt him. And Tommy
was always ready to come out again and play some more.

Johnnie Green was very proud of his new pet. And one day when he was
going to drive to the village he took Tommy Fox with him. He tied
Tommy's chain to the wagon and Tommy sat up on the seat beside his
young master. He had a fine ride. It frightened him at first, to see
so many people, for it was market-day, when the farmers for miles
around came to the village to sell their butter and eggs and
vegetables. There was a great number of dogs, too, running about the