the dog's tale

‘O sacred spirit, O you lovely creature! Even the heaven is not enough for you. Even the heaven doesn’t deserve you. Tell me what do you want. I can give you anything. I can grant you any wish.’—the god at the heaven said.

 ‘O god, O dear god. Please give me another body and send me to my master again. I want to feed him and his family again.’—I said. 

Yes, this is my story. I am a dog. My name is ‘kuku’ as my master used to call me. My parents were street dogs. They gave me birth and left me in a dumping yard. I was wandering in hunger. while roaming, a young boy of 10 picked me up. His hands were rough. he was a child of a rag picker. He took me to his home and fed me. Soon we became friends. He used to take me everywhere with him. I used to help him collect rags. We used to eat together, work together and sleep together. He used to share his food with me though he never got enough food for himself. He was very busy with his work. He had a big family of 3 sisters, a younger brother, and a mother. His father had died of tuberculosis so the whole responsibility of his family was on his weak shoulders. he rarely had time to spend with me. But we used to talk while working (rag-picking). He used to share all of his feelings, miseries, happy moments with me. We had our own language, a language no one had discovered earlier and only we two were aware of it on the planet. Our hearts and souls were connected. I got to know when he used to be sad and he got to know when I used to be hungry. I had seen him weeping many times behind the cracked wet door of his small house. I always wanted to help him. I could never understand these two footed creatures. Some of them have lots of food and others die of hunger. Why don’t they share it? 

Time passed, and we grew up together. I well-remembered the day. My master came home panting and crying. He had stolen money from a big shop. Some people then also came running after him. one of them had a thick wooden stick in his hand. He started beating my master. I bit him on his hand. He then left beating my master. I barked a lot and tried to keep them away from my master. They took the stolen money from his hand and then left him. that night we both were in tears and pain. He was physically injured, and I was heartily. I was feeling an immense grief. I was unable to do anything for him. he and his family were hungry since a week. He decided to go for hunting next day. He was going alone. I didn’t want to leave him alone so I accompanied him.

We went into a nearby forest. After five hours of walking, we found nothing to hunt. My master was tired. the environment was pretty cold. he collected some dry leaves and lit fire under a tree. he lied beside the fire and hugged me tightly. I could hear his sobbing. He was in tears. I could hear his heart beat. It was likely to be telling something, Perhaps his yelling from inside. He was in pain, immense pain. I heard him murmuring something. ‘my family would die of hunger. Kuku would die of hunger. O god help me.’ After few moments he slept. Then I did the only thing I could do for him. I went to the fireplace. I watched the flame. That time nothing was more beautiful than the flames for me. The sound of the fire was the most melodious sound I had ever heard. I hugged it as it would be my beloved. It hugged me back. It was the happiest moment of my life. I myself had made my pyre. yes, the pain of burning was immense but not more than that I could feel inside my master. I didn’t cry. I saw my master’s face. it was dull and wet. It gave me strength. I was happy that finally, I could do something for him.

I had left my body. I could see myself burning. First, my fur burnt, then my muscles started burning. My eyes burnt. After a few moments, it started raining. The fire was gone. I could see my master. he had my body in his hand and he was crying and shouting badly.

‘O dear! O my dear creature. I salute your loyalty. No martyr in this world is more respectable than you. But better you know that your master doesn’t deserve your loyalty. Even no man on earth deserves the loyalty and testimony of the creatures like you. They treat a dog like a ‘dog’. they know to use you for their own good, they could never be your friend. Your master would kill his and his family’s hunger by eating your dead body and what you would get in spite of it. Nothing.’ – the god of the heaven proclaimed.

‘I paid my debts. My testimony should not go in vain. He should definitely feed his family and himself by the food I left for them, otherwise I could not pay my debts.’– the dog's soul replied.

Suddenly the door at the heaven got open and one more sacred spirit entered. The god of the heaven was surprised. It was the master’s soul.

‘why have you come here. This place is only for sacred souls’ – the god of the heaven asked annoyingly.

‘I have been sent here my lord.’–the master's soul replied.

‘you let your loyal dog be burning in the fire, alive. You ate his flesh and feed it to your family and now you are here for what?’

‘No, my lord. I surely fed it to my family as it was my responsibility to keep my family safe and alive but your grace, I never touched it through my tongue. How could I eat my friend’s dead body? I now am in his debt. I want to pay for my sin of feeding his dead body to my family. I want to pay my debt. O u gracious god, O you merciful god, O the god of heaven please give me a chance to pay my debts. Please sentence me to the hail.’

The god was not in a state to say anything. He had never seen such a friendship before. even I was shocked. I always had looked my master as 'a master'. I was loyal to him. loyalty was the most sacred word for me. But after death, I got to know that I was wrong. Anyway, the god of the heaven was jubilated from our true friendship. he granted us a friendship forever.

‘Until all the stars burn to death and until all the gods are alive, you two will have been getting birth and getting die as friends’–the god of the heaven blessed.

If you get loyalty for the exchange of loyalty, then it is called friendship and 'friendship' is the most sacred word in the universe.