Lionel's Diary

The second ordeal

Days passed after the incident, which became the talk of the village. Lionel continued his life harmoniously with his family, but this peace did not last long. A few days later, on a cold morning, they found an injured dog at their door.

The dog was extremely weak and couldn't even bark when approached. The family sympathized with it and started giving it leftover food, then moved it to their backyard. It was the first time the family worked together to build a small shelter for the dog to recover in. The dog slept all day and only woke up to eat.

Days passed, and the dog recovered its health. The family grew attached to it, and it became like a member of the family. During dinner, the father said, "My children, I have some news. After discussing with your mother, we've decided that now that the dog has recovered, we'll let it go."

Jeffrey cried out, "You can't send him away, Dad! He's part of us now!"

Martin, the second brother, added, "Dad, he was only eating leftovers, and he won't cost you anything."

Lionel couldn't intervene as he was away all day and only returned home for dinner, leaving again for school in the morning.

Louis, the youngest, began to cry. "It's not fair, Dad! Why are we sending him away? He's been kind and hasn't bitten anyone. We've taken care of him."

They all looked at their mother and pleaded, "Mom, please!"

The mother replied, "I'm sorry, my children, but you all know well that half of you are at school all day and the other half are working in the field. Now that the dog has recovered, he runs and moves around. We can't keep him tied up and restrict his freedom, nor can we leave him alone all day. We can no longer leave food for him and just go. The dog needs walks, baths, and a lot of care, and you can't provide that. Moreover, he needs regular visits to a veterinarian, which we don't have in this village."

The youngest brother, Louis, interrupted, "Mom, please, we'll find a way!"

The father added sternly, "I work hard all day, and you help me. We barely manage to buy the essentials. Do you even know how much a vet costs? We don't even take you to the doctor unless it's a serious condition, so what about a dog? I know very well you're all busy, and you won't be able to take care of him."

The children interrupted him, "But Dad!"

The father responded sharply, "I said no, and that's final. We'll take him to the animal shelter."

After their parents went to bed, the siblings gathered in a distant room to discuss. Louis said, "We can't let them take him to the shelter."

Martin agreed, "You're right. If no one adopts him, they'll put him down. As we all know, our dog isn't particularly beautiful or smart, and he's not special in any way."

Jeffrey asked his siblings, "So, what do we do? We can't convince them, and we've already tried every way."

They all turned to Lionel and said, "Say something, you're the smartest!"

Lionel thought for a moment and said, "We need to buy time while we figure out a way to secretly take him out."

They discussed all night and finally came up with an acceptable plan. The next morning, during breakfast, the eldest son said, "Dad, you were right. I thought about it all night and realized you made the right decision." His siblings agreed, saying, "Yes, Dad, we only thought of ourselves and were too emotional. None of us considered the dog's well-being."

The father was surprised and said, "Wonderful, you've grown up!"

Then the children added, "But Dad, today is a holiday. Let us spend this day with him as a final farewell. Please, Dad!"