Page:The red book of animal stories.djvu/125

 Like M. Dumas, M. Goujon loved beasts, and he thought he would try to tame his visitor, and at the end of three days he had succeeded so well, that the lizard was not afraid to come near him. A week later he tried the experiment of offering the lizard, to whom he had given the name of Joseph, a spoonful of tea from his cup, and, rather to his surprise, Joseph seemed quite to enjoy it!

The two always met in the very early mornings before anyone else was up, but at whatever hour M. Goujon might choose to come out on the terrace, Joseph was sure to be there before him, stretched comfortably out in a warm sunny place, with her eyes fixed on the door where M. Goujon would presently appear.

Ten minutes after this event, a page boy brought Goujon his morning tea, and Joseph, who knew the boy quite well by sight, raised her head and flicked the end of her tail with joy at the sight of the tray. She never moved her gaze from Goujon, who poured himself slowly out a cup, and put in plenty of sugar. Then he took a spoonful of the tea, tasted it, as a careful nurse tastes a baby's milk to make sure it is not too hot, and held out the spoon to Joseph, who lapped it delicately with her thin black tongue till she had finished every drop. She never allowed anything to disturb her during this occupation, except a sudden noise, or a face she did not know.

Little by little Joseph soon grew accustomed to the people of the house, and paid no heed to them. She would even take sugar from our hands, though seldom without hesitation, as she always remained constant to Goujon.

One day Joseph was missing from her usual place on the terrace, and M. Goujon had to drink his tea alone. The whole house grieved over her loss, for 'the palace was dull,' observes M. Dumas, 'and we had made no friends except herself. But there is no sorrow so great