The little puppy couldn’t remember how he ended up on the road. He could vaguely remember his mother’s warmth. He suddenly woke up one day by the side of the road, only to realize that his owners had heartlessly dumped him by the road. So here he was all alone, with no one to care for him. Living in the street wasn’t easy. He had to walk all over in search of food and water, and then there were those nasty vehicles that went past him so fast. That was not all; there were other dogs much bigger and stronger and they were fierce. 

The little puppy sat in a corner.
He was hungry and sad. A big brown dog who looked much older, approached him. “What’s wrong little fellow?” he asked. “I am hungry and tired. I miss my home,” the puppy replied with a whine. “Now, now, crying isn’t going to help you. I’ve lived on the streets all my life. A dog has to be strong to be out here!” said the brown dog. “Come on now, let’s try and find something to eat,” he said as he felt sorry for the little puppy.

The little puppy wasn’t in a mood to eat. What he needed was someone to love him and be there for him. “Can I live with you?” he asked the brown dog as they walked. The brown dog looked very concerned. “I am sorry little fellow,” he sighed, “but if you’re going to live on the street, you’ll have to learn to be independent. Remember you’ll be living here for the rest of your life. You’ll have to learn to make decisions for yourself and be your own guard!”

The puppy sighed. He didn’t want to be a burden to the brown dog that had been very kind to him. “Living on the street ain’t all that bad once you get used to it,” the brown dog said trying to cheer him up. The little puppy went to the corner of a closed shop by the road and lay down on the floor feeling very lonely.

“Look, doesn’t he look just like the dog grand-mama had a long time back?” The little puppy opened his eyes and saw two children staring at him. His tail started to wag, before he even knew it. “He does look cute!” said the other kid. “Come here little doggie!” they called him near. The puppy went near them wagging his tail fast. The children said kind words to him. But they didn’t touch him.

The puppy knew why, he was very dirty. He hoped they’ll give him something to eat, but that didn’t happen either. After a while they said “bye!” to him and left. The little puppy went back to his corner whining sadly. He felt lonelier than ever. He remembered the words of the brown dog. “I don’t want to live on the street forever!” he thought sadly. “I wish I had a good home.”

The little puppy noticed how the nights were getting colder and it rained almost every night. The rainwater splashed on him making him shiver in the cold. He raised his eyes to the evening sky and wished the rain clouds would go away. Life was bad enough as it was! These days, people lit those horrible crackers which were very frightening. He felt scared and weak. “Why did my owners throw me to the street?” he thought miserably.

The next morning the little puppy opened his eyes. He was soaking wet after the heavy rain. He was very hungry but too weak to move. He heard footstep coming near but he was too tired to look. But the smell his nose caught was familiar.

So he opened his eyes. It was those two kids again. The puppy wagged his tail with effort. He felt too weak to even get up. “This is the puppy!” they told an adult who appeared from behind them. He carefully gathered the little puppy with a cloth and put him in a box. Then they took him away.

When the box was opened the puppy found himself in new surroundings. The children constantly petted him and spoke kind words to him. Then they washed him. Getting wet was nothing new, so he didn’t protest. Then they wiped him and took him to another place again in a box. There he was given an injection which was a bit painful, but the puppy behaved well. In his heart was the hope of something good coming out from all this.

The children played with him the entire day and he was given nice warm food to eat. “Oh please don’t let this end. This is the life I always wished for,” thought the little puppy. But in the evening they tied a ribbon around his neck and brought a box again. “Oh no, not again!” thought the little puppy. His instincts told him this time they were taking him away to some other place. So he struggled as they tried to put him in the box.

This box was different. It was hard and colourful. The puppy pressed his nose to the small holes by the side and tried to sniff around. He was taken away in a vehicle. This brought back flashes of sad memories of how he was taken away by his owner and dumped by the road. “Please don’t dump me
by the road again,” he whined.

They stopped somewhere and the  little puppy heard unfamiliar voices.
Then the box was opened. “Oh my!” said a kind looking old lady. She took the little puppy out and hugged him tight. “He’s your New Year gift
grand-mama!” the children shouted. “What a wonderful surprise! I’ll call him Spot!”
So, Spot the little puppy wagged his tail in excitement. He was a gift!
“What a happy New Year this will be for Spot!” said the children happily.

Kids world