The Shepherd’s Dog and the Wolf

Once upon a time there lived a shepherd and his wife lived in the city of Shyampur.  They kept a dog at home.  They treated the dog kindly.    The dog, in turn, loved them.

A year passed.   The shepherd’s wife gave birth to a son. The little boy was the centre of their lives.  The young couple loved their son dearly.  The son had been born after three years of marriage.
Over time, the dog began to feel insecure.  “These people love the baby more than me.”, he thought.  He feared that he may no longer be wanted.

He also felt that the shepherd and his wife no longer petted and played with him as before.

One day, while the dog was loitering about the streets of the village.  He chanced upon a wolf. The wolf was friendly towards him.  As they began talking, the dog told him about his apprehensions.

The shrewd wolf was happy.  He soon conceived a devious plan.  He told the dog of his plan.  “Just do what I have just said tomorrow”, he told him, ”soon, you will be the centre of the household.  Everyone will praise and thank you”, he said.

The next day, the dog put the plan into action.  The shepherd had gone out with his sheep.  His wife was alone at home.  The little baby was asleep in his cradle.

The dog gently opened the door to the house.  The wolf entered the house.  He came near to the cradle where the baby lay.  He gently lifted the baby in his mouth and went out of the house.  The dog who was watching this waited.  This was part of the planl.  According to the plan, the wolf would carry the young baby boy out of the cradle.  The dog would pretend to fight with the wolf and rescue the baby boy.  The shepherd and his wife would be full of gratitude for the dog.

As soon as the wolf went a few feet out of the house.  He dog began to bark furiously and began chasing the wolf.  Alerted by the noise, the shepherd’s wife came out.  The dog by now had pounced on the wolf.  He pretended to attack and fight the wolf.

The shepherd’s wife was shocked to see her precious baby in the wolf’s mouth.  She cried in terror.  But by now the dog had fought hard against the wolf.  The wolf carefully dropped the baby on the ground as per the plan and ran away.  The dog chased the wolf for a distance and then came back.

The shepherd’s wife picked up her precious child in her arms.  She was grateful to the dog for saving the child.  The poor woman did not know the trick the dog had played on her.

When her husband came home the evening.  She told him about the heroic role the dog had played.  The shepherd was full of praise for the dog.  The dog enjoyed every bit of the appreciation and honour.
“Now, I will be treated with more respect.”, he thought.

The next day, he thanked the wolf for his clever idea.  The wolf just smiled.

A few days passed, the wolf met the dog again in the village.  He appeared to be hungry.  “I have not eaten for many days. Can you get me a sheep which belongs to your master”, he said.  The dog was angry at the wolf.  “The sheep belong to my master”, he said, “I can never do such a thing.”, he said.

The wolf with a wicked grin, came close to the dog. “Do you remember how I helped you last week?”, he said.  “I will tell you master what actually happened.  He will throw you out of his house.”  The dog now came to know about the true face of the wolf.  The wolf was blackmailing him.

The dog felt bad about what he did to his kind master.  He was also afraid of what might happen if his master came to know of what he did.  He could not sleep that night.

The next morning,  he went and told the shepherd of what truly happened and how he was ashamed.  He begged for forgiveness.  The shepherd, being a good man, forgave him.  Now that he had told his master the truth, the dog was no longer afraid of the wolf.  As for the wolf, he loitered around the village for a while and then went his way.  He was never seen again.

Children, this story tells us not to fall into bad company and talk to others about our problems.  Others may take advantage of our situation.  This story also tells us to be faithful to those who put their trust in us.

The Dog of the Street and the Dog of the Bungalow

Billu, the dog, woke up in the morning. It was still dark and the streets were still deserted. The sun was just about to rise in the eastern sky. As he lazily looked around at the few people who walked in the streets in the morning hours, he felt the pangs of hunger in his stomach. He had not eaten in three days. He was famished.

Billu had to find food now. He began to walk slowly. There was a bus stand in that part of the town. If he were lucky, he may find some food there. When he reached the bus stand, he was disappointed. He could see a group of monkeys which had descended from the nearby trees. He knew he would not find anything. The monkeys had made a clean sweep of the place.

Dejected, he lay down on the side of the road. Just then he head a soft thud near him. When he turned to see, he saw a half eaten pizza on the ground and car speeding by near him. He could see a rich lady in the car.

The pizza had been thrown by the rich lady. Billu pounced on the sandwich and gobbled it up. He was happy to eat and felt stronger. He looked at the direction of the car. The car stopped in front of a large bungalow. The rich lady got out of the car. A little brown dog jumped out of the car after her. The dog followed its master and entered the house.

Billu stood at a distance. He saw the large bungalow painted white and the immense green lawns in front. The brown dog was near the gate.

Billu greeted him to which the dog responded. Billu then started talking to the dog. The dog told him about his life and his mistress. He told him that he was born in a bungalow in a town far away. He told him of how he was bought by his mistress and had lived with her ever since.

Billu, for his part, told the dog his own story. He told him about his daily life. He also told him about his suffering and how he sometimes had to go without food. The brown dog told him about his pampered lifestyle and the rich food which his mistress provided. The dog also showed him his kennel (a small wooded house made for a dog) where he stayed. Billu was overcome with sadness at his own unfortunate condition. He heard with envy at the lifestyle of the brown dog.

The dog, too was moved with sympathy at the sad condition of Billu. He never knew what it was to be hungry. He always had a place to stay and travelled with his mistress in her own car. The brown dog was kind. He looked at Billu and said,” Why don’t you come over with me . I will ask my mistress to give you a home. I am sure she will agree.” “ Come tomorrow with you baggages.”, it said, “ We will live together as friends.” Billu was delighted. He went home very happy. He imagined what it would be to live in a bungalow and have food ready when he wanted. He would never have to go hungry again.

The next morning, Billu woke up early. In fact, he could hardly sleep that night. He went the next morning to the house. The brown dog was there. The watchman opened the gate for Billu. As Billu entered, he was shown his new home where he would be staying. He was so happy. A plate of dog biscuits was placed before him. He ate the biscuits happily. He would never have to worry about food forever.

Just then, he noticed something he had not paid attention to so far - a chain on the brown dog’s neck. It was a long chain. Billu asked the brown dog what the chain was for. The dog replied that it would be tied to a post near its kennel during the day. When the lady wanted to go for a walk, she would hold the chain and the brown dog would run by her side.

Billu was shocked to hear this. Joining the brown dog would mean losing a life of freedom. True, he had to suffer and go hungry. But at least he had freedom. He could go where he wanted. However difficult, that was far better than a lifetime in chains.

Billu apologised to his friend and left the bungalow. He said that he could not join him.

 Often, he would see the brown dog go out with its mistress. They met quite often until the lady shifted her house to another town.

Children, this story teaches us to be content with what we have. Too often, people make hasty decisions and end up in a situation worse than where they were. It also teaches us the value of independence and freedom to live life on our own terms