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 *ter's table. But one day when all the dogs met in council, one of them said, "It might be a wise plan to have an agreement drawn up for the dogs and their masters to sign.

"Some time," said he, "one of our masters might drink too much wine, or get into a rage, and forbid us to have the meat. And then what could we do? It is best to be on the safe side," and he shook his head sagely.

"That is a very good plan," agreed the other dogs. "Let us carry it out at once."

So the secretary of the dogs' council drew up a document and wrote it upon parchment. It stated that all the dogs of every country were entitled to the meat that fell from their masters' tables. It was a very carefully worded document, and it was written out in the most learned form by the lawyer of the council.

Then the secretary took the parchment, rolled it up and went about the whole land until it had been signed by all the masters of dogs.

The parchment was then given to the King of the Dogs, to be carefully kept.

The King of the Dogs gave the parchment to his private secretary, the Tomcat, telling