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A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very

old, and had lost all his teeth. And one day when the shepherd

and his wife were standing together before the house the shepherd

said, 'I will shoot old Sultan tomorrow morning, for he is of no

use now.' But his wife said, 'Pray let the poor faithful creature

live; he has served us well a great many years, and we ought to

give him a livelihood for the rest of his days.' 'But what can we

do with him?' said the shepherd, 'he has not a tooth in his head,

and the thieves don't care for him at all; to be sure he has

served us, but then he did it to earn his livelihood; tomorrow

shall be his last day, depend upon it.'