Topsy is a small black dog and a very vivid expression of joy and devotion. She especially loves children. This love provided her with care and shelter when she needed it, and when she was lost, it led to her discovery and her return home.

Topsy belonged to a family of four: a father, a mother, a girl, and a boy, and they all lived on an island. Topsy enjoyed running on the beach, swimming in the waves, trotting along on hikes, and playing with small children who came to visit. She had never been off her island and knew nothing of city traffic and strange surroundings. However, it was necessary for the family to take her to the mainland and leave her with a friend for a few days. The friend would give her good care and she could play within a fenced yard. But when the family returned four days later, they were informed that despite all precautions, Topsy had jumped over the fence the first day and had not been seen since.

For a moment they were tempted to be alarmed; but then they remembered all the truths in Christian Science that they had proved many times and all the proofs of God's care that they had seen. Topsy had been cured even when a guest in the home had predicted she would not live until morning. On that occasion the family had sung their favorite hymns, including two by Mrs. Eddy which begin (Poems, p. 14):

And they had read passages from the Bible and from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. The mother had gotten up several times during the night to read and pray, and when they all came down for breakfast the following morning, Topsy was wagging her tail and ready to eat too. She frolicked about the kitchen as gaily as ever.

The family were certain that the truth which had healed her then would sustain and guard her now and guide her back to them. The friend placed an advertisement in the newspapers, had announcements read over the radio, and called the lost dog agencies. But no one reported a small black dog. That night the little boy of the family kept looking at the empty basket in the kitchen, and tears began to fill his eyes. His mother reminded him that God's love is available to all everywhere and that God is always caring for all His creatures.

They all found Hymn No. 99 from the Christian Science Hymnal especially comforting and sang over many times the lines:

They knew that God would guide Topsy safely and that her needs would be met. For several days they continued praying. They wanted to obey the Bible verse which says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart" (Prov. 3:5).

The weather was beginning to turn cold, and it had started raining; so they were all praying to know that God was sheltering Topsy. On the third day the friend telephoned the family and reported that while she had been driving around the town, she had sighted a small black dog several times but that all her efforts to catch it had failed. The friend suggested that the mother come to the mainland and ride around with her.

The mother went over and drove with her friend through the section of town where the dog had been seen. The neighborhood had big grassy yards, quiet streets, and lots of children everywhere. Several times black dogs were seen, but as they approached, the women found that the dogs either had white spots, short hair, or were too big to be Topsy.

After several hours the friend began to despair of finding the dog. But the mother knew that her search could not be fruitless. Did not Jesus say that "with God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26)? She felt that the work in Science had been done faithfully and that it was right for Topsy to rejoin her family. Suddenly the thought came to her for them to drive around the schoolyards to see if Topsy had followed the children to school.

They drove past two schools without seeing a black dog. Just as they pulled into the driveway of the third, the mother looked across the schoolyard, and there in the field behind was a small black object. She quickly got out of the car and called, "Topsy, Topsy!" A whirling blur of black came streaking toward her, and the next thing she knew her face was being washed very thoroughly by a wriggling dog that began barking for joy. Topsy was just as happy and well cared for as ever.

You can imagine the happy father and girl and boy who met the ferryboat when the mother and Topsy returned to the island that day. And you can imagine how grateful they were for the proof that an idea of God cannot be separated from His loving care.