Dogs have served humans for a long time and their loyalty is glorified in stories and poems. No one else is capable of such desperate self sacrifice for the sake of the owner as a loyal dog, even at the cost of its own life. The story took place in one of the central regions of our great country, where you can still find small villages and settlements lost in the woods, almost cut off from civilization in the village, there were only five dozen houses, a doctor’s office, and a beautiful river flowing nearby.
Our protagonist, A6 year old Girl Arena, lived in this village. There were no other children in the village, so the only friend who accompanied her in all her games was a dog named Buddy. He was a cross between a mongrel and a German shepherd. He was broad, boned, shaggy and strong. He was also kind and had boundless tenderness toward his owner.
He accompanied the little girl everywhere and did not even leave her for a moment as if he feared that she might get into trouble. On that unfortunate day, the dog was punished for chasing chickens and was put on a chain arena was walking home along the riverbank, and having played had gone far from the houses. Her parents were busy with household chores and did not immediately notice that their daughter was missing.
When it turned out, the girl did not come for dinner, she was nowhere to be found. Her mother and father were in a panic. They rushed through the streets along the riverbank and checked all the houses. Evening came Twilight fell on the village and the forest. A decision was made to postpone the search until morning, barely waiting for the sunrise.
The desperate parents let the whining dog go and hurried off into the woods. The dog ran ahead, making great leaps and sniffs. It was as if he knew which direction to go. People couldn’t keep up with the dog and scattered through the woods calling the girl by name loudly.
The search lasted for a few days. But wasn’t successful. Everyone understood that the girl was no longer alive and wanted to at least find her body and bury it on the 6th day it was decided to stop the search and the residents began to return home. When parents returned, they saw an unexpected picture, a dog and a girl were lying by the gate. Both were dirty and macerated and barely alive.
It turned out that arena, who had lost her way in the woods, had been bitten by insects and she had fainted from hunger and cold. The faithful dog found the girl following her footsteps and brought her home while he was busy with his little owner, he was bitten by a Viper and the poor dog did his duty with all his might. When the dog was finally noticed, he was no longer breathing.
He paid for the girl’s life with his death and remained faithful to the little owner until his last breath. Many years have passed since then. Arena grew up and moved to the city, but when she comes to her native village, she always comes to the old Birch tree under which her faithful friend is buried.
Tears of gratitude shine on her cheeks and a gentle whimper is always heard in the creaking of the branches, as if the dog is happy again for his little owner.