Tale of a Street Dog
Krishna Chaitanya Dharmana
There lived a street dog in the Mumbai city near the banks of the Arabian sea. She was so weak to walk because she didn’t eat for several days.
She was a poor, skeletal street dog, so no one cared about her. No one fed her, nor medicated her.
She was a pregnant, after all. So had have to take some healthy precautions for herself. But neither good food nor rest she had been getting.
While wandering in the Mumbai streets for some left-over meals, one midday, she fainted in front of a big house.
A young woman walking in the open balcony in the first floor from one corner to the other folding her hands to her back, stooped down and glanced at the sickened dog. She ran downstairs hastily and clutched the dog firmly with her hands round her. Took her into her room and laid her on a pillow. The weak dog slept for few hours and when opened her eyes, she had seen wonderful portraits hanging over the walls and beautifully decorated ceiling.
She thought she was through a fantastic dream. But suddenly felt something fluffily underneath her body. Gazed down and jumped like a ball. She realized that it was never a dream and till now she had slept on one of the costliest pillows in the world.
Firecrackers popped in her head and a current passed through the spine in her back.
There laid beside her was mouth-watering food. Though perplexed the poor lady, hardly noticing the recipe, she ate happily and hastily. Hunger beats amazement.
Another bowl sighted beside was filled with water. She drank. They were very cold, but nice for the dog. She never drank such a purified chilled water, or at least for a long time.
Now she was full and in good spirits. She started looking around the room, leisurely. Every object in the room appeared spectacular.
All around the room, her eyes moved and all at once stopped at a photo nailed to the wall. Inside it resting two small figures. One was a little girl and the other was a small puppy coiled by her hand.
A flash went through her memory. Now a spark in her eyes. She remembered something. Something spectacular.
“The girl…” she said to herself. “My little girl, Mary!” And now through the door, beside the photograph, appeared a tall beautiful figure with her tummy swelling out. And a voice followed behind her, “Mary! Walk slowly and be careful. You are a pregnant now. Remember, sweet heart.” It’s a handsome man as tall as the lady. He should be her husband.
“How big she became, my cute little Mary!”
Mary smiled at the dog she had just helped. The dog was making circles around her happily and growling slowly, as an expression of love.
Indeed, the dog was trying to convey to Mary that she was the same puppy lived with her when they both were children. But Mary was only thinking that this dog was trying to thank her for the JUST DID aid.
Mary initially thought to let the dog go out after feeding her for a couple of times. But when she realized that the dog was also a pregnant and needed some more help, she changed the opinion.
So Mary prepared a kettle similar to the one she had made when she was a child. The dog happily living in it for some days.
The day had came and the dog delivered twelve puppies. All were in the same shape and cuteness.
Precisely on the same day, Mary had also delivered and it was a baby girl.
Mary already had a kid and he was seven years boy. The boy was very intelligent. He’s a child prodigy. And his name was Bob.
A few months had past. Now the dog and its puppies were in good health in their kettle. Bob used to play with the puppies. And all these months of his mom’s absence, he had taken care of the dog and the puppies.
One day, a mischief neighbor tried to hit Bob. The dog barked at him furiously. Within an eye’s wink, all the twelve puppies barked one after the other..
Bow…
Bow…
Bow…
“Nice boys and girls,” praised the mother dog over her shoulders. Bob didn’t comprehend.
Another time, he saw the dog training her puppies, how to lift their legs while peeing. It’s barking and the little ones nodding their little heads. Bob didn’t comprehend again.
Similar incidents had happened sundry times. He could understand what had been happening in the scene of the dog and her puppies, but not their language.
So he thought of inventing a machine that would translate a dog’s language into any human language.
He researched on the dogs for weeks and weeks and worked out day and night doing some experiments. He failed number of times. But finally he invented a machine that would translate dog’s language into English language.
He coiled belt around the dog’s neck and twelve such belts went through the necks of twelve puppies.
He placed a receiver that had a light blinking in red color to black and black color to red. He pulled a string from it, and the light turned green and still without blinking.
In his computer he opened an application and arranged the headphones over his head. Now he listened-
“Mamma.. Bill has pinched me. Bill has pinched me.”
“Bill!” the mother dog said. “how many times should I tell you not to pinch your sister, Mary.”
Bob had flabbergasted. It’s a great thing to listen what dogs were talking among themselves. And he’s more excited that they have had names. More and more excited that one of the puppies name was his mom’s name.
“It’s definitely a great honor to mom,” Bob thought.
Bob had shown his mom, what a great stuff he had invented. She was also jumped in amazement.
Everything the dogs spoke would be recorded in the system.
* * *
One day, Bob forgot to turn-off the receiver, which he usually off when he’s busy in some other work, though sitting in front of his personal computer.
The light of the receiver’s in green.
Exactly now what had happened was wonderful. The dog came out of the kettle that morning with her puppies and walked straight into the bedroom of Mary. Mary wasn’t home. She went out to meet a friend.
The twelve puppies jumped onto the pillows laid on the floor, of course set for them by Mary herself. They were enjoying themselves.
“Silence, all my dears!” exclaimed the dog. Bob could listen it in his headphone.
“Now what I am going to say is very important and exciting too,” she added. Bob now more concentrated as his curiosity doubled.
“Do you see the photo hanging over there,” she went on showing them with one of her front leg in the air pointing to a picture.
All the twelve little busy heads paused and raised their chins one after another at the photo. Now they were whispering-
“A cute child and a puppy…”
“A cute puppy…”
“A nice child…”
Twelve voices went on and on.
“Silence, my darlings,” the big voice resounded all over the corners again. The twelve puppies hushed up and staring at the photo curiously.
“It’s me when I was a child and she was Mary darling when she was also a child then,” added the dog now getting wetter and wetter in her sparking eyes.
Bob, who was listening through the headphones jumped from his chair in amazement. He only remembered the dog as a fainted street dog his mom gathered and helped. Also did Mary hardly knew anything more than Bob.
Now Bob’s heart’s racing in happiness and excitement. He wanted to share the stupefying matter to his mom.
“And this family–Mary and Alex, and their children Bob and Lucy are everything to us,” she went on weeping enormously. “This is the best family we could ever gifted in any life.” She ended and went back to her kettle. Now the twelve puppies were crying enormously only because their mom was weeping-
“Ih..Ih…Ih…..”
“Aaaaah…Ih…Ih…Ih…”
“Mamma…. Mamma…”
When Mary came back home, Bob gave her a tight hug and kissed her on her forehead, but only when she leaned front, as he was only half to his mom.
“What’s the matter, darling?” she busted in laugher.
“Listen to this mom,” he said and placed the headphones over her head.
She also jumped as Bob did. Straight away she ran to the kettle to meet the dog and her puppies. Bob followed her in amazement. She hugged the dog and kissed her on the forehead. Bob started kissing the puppies one after the other which came bulkily throwing love.
The dog might or might not knew that Mary discovered the secret, but the unconditional love they had been expressing on each other was no different now and then.
