Gaelic Tales: A Collection of Short Stories

Loyalty.

One cold day in the middle of winter a school's final bell rings. All the students came out running with excitement to their cars and drove off back home, thankful that school is finally over for the year.

A boy walks alone out of school behind everyone with his head down holding his backpack walking home alone. On the sidewalk going home passing a house surrounded by buses.

He heard some noise under one of the buses and the boy got curious. So, he went to find out where the noise was coming from.

He looked under one bus and saw a dog cowering further and further back under the bus.

The boy reaches out his hand saying, "it's okay, it's alright I'm not going to hurt you."

A few minutes passed of him trying this, but eventually he gave up. sighing, he gets onto his feet and turns around to see Mr. Victor, the bus owner, standing with his arms crossed.

In a grumbly voice he says, "what are you doing?"

The boy looked down saddened saying nothing.

Mr. Victor says once more "what are you doing?" but before the boy could speak a word the dog let out another whimper.

Mr. Victor knew straight away what was going on.

He gets down on his knees and looks under the bus "oh, that's what it is."

Getting up and looking at the boy saying, "is this your dog?"

The man continues pointing telling the boy "Do you want the dog?"

The boy smiles and nods his head with excitement.

A smile formed on Victor's face also "right you stay there, and I'll go around and grab him, from around the bus, okay?"

So, the boy gets down on his knees once again, looking at the dog, as the man walks around the bus. The boy could only see his weird looking shoes.

Getting behind the dog he grabs it but as he does the dog crawls to the boy. With the boy getting up in shock and the dog hidden behind his legs.

Victor walks out from around the bus "did you get it?" he asks the boy.

Turning around smiling as he put his hand on the top of the dog head rubbing its floppy ears, the dog looked up at the boy and it seemed to smile.

The man said, "that dog there is a beagle, that one doesn't have a name though, I was going to sell it anyway."

The boy says quickly "no, no, I'll keep it!"

Victor smiles and nods his head "it's yours, I have to say though, this dog is a girl."

The boy picks up the beagle raising it high up in the sky saying, "your Ana!"

Victor smiles ushering the boy home. He walks off with the dog in his arms petting it as he walks off.

Getting home, Ma & Da were surprised when I brought home Ana "ah... Dillon where did you get that dog, hun?"

Dillon hugs the dog tighter saying, "I got him from... from the bus man, please let me keep her please!"

Ma & Da looked at each other and hesitantly agreed "first thing first, you have to wash it because, it looks filthy." With excitement he runs down to the bath and turns on the tap, filling up the tub and with help with Da.

We washed the dog from top to bottom.

We took the dog out of the bath and Ana shook her entire body making all the water splash on us in the process.