belly.
“It’s grass. It’s very soft now and great to run on.”
“And what are those sounds? What’s that whistling and cracking?” Suri raised her head and, still tightly shutting her eyes, began to listen.
“Those are birds. They fly and chirp.”
“Birds? Fly? Chirp?” Suri didn’t understand anything at all.
“Open your eyes, do not be afraid,” her mother encouraged her. “And see everything by yourself.”
Suri nodded and cautiously opened one eye. The light got brighter and Suri felt as if it completely filled her head. She waited a little, opened her other eye and, squinting, began to look around. Gradually, the light stopped blinding her and she finally saw what was around her. The world her parents talked about had really turned out to be huge. Suri was used to her den, to being enclosed within its walls. But now all the walls were gone and wherever she looked as her eyes got used to it, there was something to see and Suri began to distinguish objects.
“Mom, what are those big and noisy things?”
“Those are trees. They are green at the moment, and they protect us from the wind and the hot sun.”
“And what is wind?”
“Do you feel the coolness that ruffles your fur? That is the wind.” Mother smiled.
“What’s so bright?” Suri lifted her muzzle up. “It hurts my eyes!”
“That is the sun. It keeps us warm. But you shouldn’t look at it because it can hurt your eyes,” and as she said this, her mother covered Suri’s eyes with her paw.
Suri suddenly remembered what she wanted to look at first: her mother. In the den, Suri could not see her mother completely, so now she began to examine her with enthusiastic curiosity. Mom had fluffy light red hair, a neat muzzle, large black eyes, and slender, graceful legs.
“Mommy! You’re so beautiful!” squeaked Suri and snuggled up to her mother.
Somewhere nearby there was a groaning, which then turned into a funny first growl. Suri’s older brothers were frolicking and wrestling on the grass. One of the puppies, a large and dark brown one, knocked another of the brothers down on the grass and, standing over him, nipped at his ear. He made an angry and even scary sight, posing as a massive adult dog who had just defeated an opponent. But in fact, his teeth had barely come through and he could not in any way damage the ear with a bite. In any case, the growl sounded more like a rumbling stomach. The brother was lying on his back on the soft grass, happily waving all four paws in the air. He tried his best to bare his teeth, as adults do, but all that showed through was his smile, as he exposed his muzzle to the sun.
“Go play with them,” mom said with a smile, and Suri, shrieking, rushed towards them. She suddenly jumped up to her brothers like a swift, red, ball of fluff, which threw everyone onto the grass, and began to scamper around.
“Let’s play catch-up! You go!” she slapped her closest brother on the nose with her paw and dashed off. The brothers jumped up as quickly as they could onto legs which were still short but already getting stronger, and with joyful squeals rushed to catch up with her.
Chapter 4. The Pack
Gradually, the puppies began to explore their home. Mom told them that they lived with other dogs – a pack, at a construction site which had been abandoned by humans. There were many large stones and pipes around, which were overgrown with ivy and grass. Dog families or loners lived in almost every pipe or crevice among the stones. Gray, brown, spotted, large- to medium-sized, fluffy or smooth. Suri did not know how to count so did not know how many neighbors she had, but she understood that the group was quite large. It took her several days to gradually get to know everyone.
She especially liked Big White Dog. He lived under a large, flat, overhanging stone and always walked alone. Once, Suri even cautiously crawled towards him when he was lying in the sun. Shyly stepping over on her skinny legs and wagging her tail, she bent her head and was about to speak to him, but then her mother came. Grunting something under her breath, mom took Suri by the scruff of the neck with her teeth and dragged her back to the den. The Big White Dog followed them with a slightly surprised look and again stretched out in the sun.
It turned out to be easier to make friends with the puppies living in the next pipe. However, Suri always took a battering when playing their games because the puppies were slightly older and larger. Of course, Suri’s brothers, being stronger than her, easily withstood their mutual playful attacks and rough horseplay. But for Suri, with her long, lean legs and smaller muzzle, it was harder.
“Watch out!” a black puppy raced next to Suri, running away from a pursuing gang. His shoulder brushed lightly against her and Suri jumped away with a yelp. She did not want to fall under the onslaught of the puppies rushing onwards in excitement. This time, the struggle was for a piece of the sole from an old boot. In general, they had a lot of toys, like twigs, cones, old rags, or pieces of rubber. Everything was highly valued and interesting. Suri even had a favorite toy; an old walnut, and it was a lot of fun to roll it around with her nose and paws, or to bury it among the fallen leaves or in the ground. And then, pretending to have forgotten where she hid it, to hunt for the treasure and dig it up.
The den where the puppies were born gradually became too small for their games. As they grew up, even the space for sleeping in their original house became more and more cramped. Mom and dad took everyone into a pipe, under which a hole was dug for a new house. This new place made it easy to run straight out into the clearing, where friends were waiting for them every morning. And of course, in the new house, especially in the farthest part of it, it was easy to hide nuts. Suri had already accumulated a decent collection – big and small, round and long, all of these treasures were carefully hidden in a pile of old leaves.
Suri noticed that most of the dogs from the pack disappeared somewhere during the day, together with her dad and mom. Mom came back during the day to feed them milk, but dad did not return until the evening.
When mother was not looking after the kids, Granny Pea took over. She was Suri’s grandmother, but she also took care of the rest of the puppies whose parents left during the day.
“Grandma, where do dad and the rest of the dogs go?” Suri once asked Granny Pea.
“They go to town to find food,” grandma replied.
“Foooood?” slowly repeated Suri. “Don’t we eat milk?”
Granny Pea laughed:
“Silly girl! Only small puppies eat milk. Adult dogs eat adult food.”
“And what is it – adult food?” Curious, Suri tilted her head to the side, her soft ears dangling.
“Dad will bring some in the evening, and you can try,” grandma winked.
Suri had been looking forward to her father’s return all day. At first she decided to wait for him at the entrance to their house. She lay down on the grass, evenly folding her paws in front of her, stretched her neck, raised her head high and pricked up her ears. Suri decided that this was the most appropriate position in which to wait for the newest, most delicious food. Two minutes passed. Suri lay motionless and tried not to blink. Then another five minutes went by. Suri’s neck became numb and her ears began to tilt to the sides.
“Give it back! It’s mine!” Suddenly, there was a shrill growl, “I’ll catch up with you, and then you’ll get it!” And a crowd of her friends and brothers swept past Suri with joyful screams, jokingly fighting for a huge, bristling cone.
Suri’s hind legs trembled impatiently, and an excited bark, although it was more like a squeak, escaped from her throat. Forgetting about her wait for the new food, she rushed to catch up with the puppies. All in all, Suri was still very young and, like all small children, she did not have enough patience for a long wait.
They