The story of the skeleton dog

The Story of a Skeleton Dog

Once upon a time, there lived a happy couple. A few years after they had married, the wife had a beautiful child. In the course of time, the child grew up to be a kind and generous young girl. One day when she returned home from school, the girl said to her mother “Shall we go to Ithaca in the summer holidays. I read about Odysseus in history. It is a quiet and beautiful place and I also want to visit the palace of Odysseus and Queen Penelope. Can I also buy a dog?” the girl asked. The mother replied “Of course we can go to Ithaca. As for the dog, ask your father. If he says yes, then I have no objection in having a dog in the house.” At night when the father came home, the girl asked him about the buying a dog. The father thought for a while and replied “If you score above 18 marks out of 20 in each subject, I will buy you a dog in Ithaca.” The girl studied hard day and night. At last the exams came and soon the results. The girl was overjoyed when she saw that she had not only scored above 18 in each subject but had come first in class. She pranced all her way home. She happily showed her parents the report card. Her mother kept crying and her father clapped her on the back. The father booked their tickets to Ithaca and soon they were off, flying to Ithaca. The father said to his daughter “Shall I buy you a dog now or after we have visited the palace of Odysseus and Queen Penelope?” His daughter replied “I shall buy a dog after we have visited the palace.” They went to the palace. The mother had taken some food with them so they could have a little picnic beside the ruins. The girl ran inside to explore the ruins. She returned just as quickly. She was out of breath. Her mother joked “You look like you have seen a ghost.” The girl replied “I have seen something just as worse, mama. Please come with me quickly.” The father hurried to keep up with his daughter. When reached the place, to his horror he saw a skeleton which somewhat represented a large dog, and beside it lay whining a painfully thin pup. The girl asked, “Shall we take the pup. If we leave the pup, then it would starve to death like its mother, and it would be awful.” The girl begged. Her father replied, “Of course. We cannot let the poor thing to starve to death. So the father scooped up the pup with ease and gave it some milk and some white bread. They cut their journey short by three days and returned home. As the years passed, the dog and the girl grew close. The dog had a shin brown coat which the girl loved to stroke. One year, it rained so heavily that they could not come out of the house. One day the rains finally stopped. The girl took the dog for a walk near the river. Her father also came with them. They were quite alone. Suddenly the dog started talking. He said “You have nursed me when I was starving in the palace. So I am telling this to you. The great flood is to come in a few days. Your father can build a boat. But first to survive you must sacrifice me by throwing me into the water.” The girl, after she had gotten over the amazement that the dog could talk, she sobbed “How can I do that. It horrible. Moreover you have been my companion for many years. How can I just dump you in the river?” The dog shook his head and replied “You do not understand. I am already dead. I am a skeleton dog. Look at my neck.” And when she looked at his neck, there was no flesh or skin. Only bone. So the man and his daughter sadly threw the faithful dog in the river and saved themselves from the flood. Three nights later, they saw some skeletons dancing in the twilight. They called it the skeleton dance.

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