hair, with which the cushion was stuffed, was pulled out, and scattered
about the floor.

As soon as Mrs. Lee had fully comprehended the extent of the mischief,
she went to the stair-way, and called her daughter. A glance satisfied
Mrs. Preston that Tiger must have been there; and she was confirmed in
this belief by Bridget, who remembered that the dog came down into the
kitchen, just after Mrs. Lee went up. But they could not tell how the
little rogue got shut into the room. They concluded, however, that
some of the children did it by accident, or that the dog slipped in
unperceived when Mrs. Lee came out from the chamber before dinner.

Oscar did not go directly home from school, but as soon as he entered
the house, he learned what Tiger had done, from the other children. He
felt sorry that what he intended as a harmless joke, should end in so
serious a matter; but he determined that no one should know he had a
hand in it, if he could prevent it. He regretted the destruction of
property, but this feeling did not cause him so much uneasiness as his
fear of losing his dog in consequence of this bad afternoon's work.
His mother, as soon as she saw him, inquired if he had been to his
grandmother's chamber that noon. He replied that he had not. She
inquired if he let Tiger into it, and he answered in the negative. His
mother questioned him still further, but he denied all knowledge of the
matter.

It was not very hard work for Oscar to tell a lie, now, for practice
makes easy. He could do it, too, in such a plausible and seemingly
innocent way, that it was difficult to believe he was deceiving you.
His falsehoods, in this instance, were readily believed; and as all the
other children denied having any knowledge of the affair, it was the