When I was really little, I wanted a puppy. Old Man Dougal's girl dog
had six the summer my mama promised me one, and I don't think I was
ever more excited than I was then! (If you don't count the time I
turned ten and I don't count that at all!) I was seven that year, which
is 'really little' once you realize that being nine practically makes
you a grown-up. I played with those puppies and let them crawl all over
me. They licked my hands all over with their pink tongues and I
remember laughing until Pa told me to quit letting them do that 'cos it
was dirty.
I never did get my puppy. I've been waiting for it, not
just because Mama promised I could have it that really long time ago.
When I got sick, Mama was there at my bed and promised me that when I
got well, we'd go out and get one of Mr. Dougal's newest litter of
puppies. She'd been crying harder than I'd ever seen her cry! (Even
worse than when her mama died a few years ago.) I never did get that
puppy she said I could have this time, either- but I don't mind so
much. I found Mog at my bed right after I went to sleep that night.
(His name is 'Mog' because he's a 'massive dog' and didn't take to
'Prince Percival' very well.) I woke up and he was just there, waiting
for me! He wasn't a puppy at all; big, black, and with eyes that looked
like fireplace coals! (I never did get scared easy.)
Not long after I found Mog, my parents had to go away for a while. They
hadn't been very happy lately, and I think it was probably because Pa
lost his job. Ma didn't have much time for me after that- most of the
time, it was like she didn't even see me. She yelled a lot back then,
told me to go away because it 'just wasn't right.' I wound up staying
with some other family when they moved away for a little while so that
Pa could find work in the next county. I guess farming just doesn't pay
off the way it used to. (Pa was always complaining about the English.)
When they went away, other families came to stay with me. I didn't like
any of them then, and I don't like any of them now! I bang on the
doors, the windows, and have Mog sit on the bed every time Mama and Pa
send someone new to take care of me. Sometimes, these people have their
own kids and when they do, it's even easier to get them to leave. I
think it's Mog and his big, red eyes. No one likes big dogs like that--
Even now, I'm watching the newest people load their things into their
wagon. They've only been here a day, but their daughter hated me as
much as I hated her. I watch and wait until they've packed everything
up and have disappeared down the road, as I pat Mog's head and
telling him what a good boy he is. If I wait long enough, Mama and Pa
will realize they have to have enough money to come back and get me.
"They just have to. Right, Mog?"
