The children bound it up with some clean linen rag, and then took him into the kitchen. There they made him lie down in a warm corner of the room, while they sat and watched him.
"What a good quiet old fellow he was all the time we were washing his foot." said Norah.
"Yes," said Fred, "but I took care not to hurt him. Nothing would have done it so well as a sponge.""Suppose we have a talk about the sponge," said Willie, "while we sit with Ponto.""Right," said Fred. "What is the first thing any one would notice about the sponge?""It is porous or full of holes," said Norah. "When it is put into water it absorbs or sucks up the water.""How can we get the water out again?" said Fred. "By squeezing it," said Will. "It is a soft body, andwe can squeeze it."
"What happens when we squeeze it, and then let go?""It springs back to its former size and shape," said Will, "because it is elastic.""Yes," said Fred, "and then it is ready to absorb water again.