Magical dog tale: The Gem Dog
In a small village nestled between mountains and rivers, lush vegetation grew everywhere. A large black dog named Barbara often enjoyed strolling or sleeping in the tall grass. The tall grass was filled with colorful wildflowers, where busy bees and playful butterflies were frequently seen.
Barbara’s owner was an old hunter. In his youth, the old hunter was a sharpshooter, with perfect accuracy. Any prey that dared to cross his sights was always killed with a single shot—almost no prey ever escaped. Poor Barbara was hardly ever needed; she could only strut around the lifeless prey, acting fierce. When a prey fell, Barbara would dash over like an arrow, biting and tearing at it, as if engaged in a fierce battle with the already dead animal.
The old hunter would walk up to the prey and gently pat Barbara on the head. Barbara would immediately calm down and stop tearing at the animal, as if the hunter had seen through her little act. But the old hunter never scolded Barbara; on the contrary, he was somewhat indulgent towards her. After all, the old hunter didn’t need her to do anything.
However, one time, when other hunters borrowed Barbara, the old hunter lost all face. Barbara couldn’t even catch an injured rabbit. It wasn’t that she couldn’t catch it, but she seemed a bit timid, almost as if she was escorting the rabbit away. When the rabbit stopped, Barbara would pause too, as if afraid the rabbit might turn around and bite her. The old hunter was furious and scolded Barbara harshly. From then on, the old hunter no longer lovingly patted Barbara’s head. After drinking too much, the old hunter would look at Barbara with sorrowful eyes. Several times, Barbara would lie meekly at the hunter’s feet, hoping for a head pat, only for the old hunter to push her away.
Barbara knew that her life was quietly changing. The old hunter’s eyesight had deteriorated, and he could no longer hunt. Many ferocious wild animals learned of this, and wolves, bears, leopards, and others frequently came to the village to harass the inhabitants. The number of livestock and poultry killed increased day by day. Animals are very smart—they can sense danger with their unique sense of smell and accurately judge safety. The old hunter’s gaze at Barbara had changed from sorrow to resentment. Barbara deeply understood this and felt a sense of humiliation.
Barbara no longer snuggled up to the old man; instead, she became fond of walking. In fact, she was a bit depressed. Sometimes she thought self-destructively that she was useless and might as well let a ferocious beast devour her. So she no longer cared about danger. Sometimes she would lie in the tall grass until the stars filled the sky. If the old hunter didn’t come looking for her, she might stay there until dawn. The old hunter did love her—thinking of this, Barbara strengthened her resolve. She was willing to make a final stand against the wild beasts, even if it meant dying gloriously.
One deep night, the sky was filled with stars, and the darkness was as thick as ink. Perhaps the old hunter had fallen asleep, as he did not come out to find Barbara. Barbara lay in the grass, curled up, inhaling the rich fragrance of the flowers, drowsy. Suddenly, a star fell from the sky, landing not far from Barbara. Barbara suddenly became alert, feeling her blood rushing and the fur on her body standing up. The brave and fierce wild nature within her instantly revived. Barbara let out a howl and darted out like an arrow. Without a second thought, she swallowed the star, which was the size of a pigeon egg. Strangely, she found that the star had a warm, sweet taste, which quickly spread through her bloodstream.
Barbara felt her body quietly changing. Like a lamp slowly being lit, the grass and flowers around her were no longer shrouded in darkness but appeared as clearly as they did in daylight. She didn’t know what was happening, but when she looked at her paws and legs, she was astonished to see that they were glowing. Barbara was excited; she seemed to forget everything from the past and quickly ran towards the old hunter’s cabin. Barbara pushed open the door, and the room was filled with the strong smell of alcohol—clearly, the hunter had drunk quite a lot. She gently ran to her owner’s side and affectionately licked him with her tongue. In doing so, she accidentally touched the hunter’s rifle, leaning against the bed. There was a crisp click. The old hunter woke up, rubbing his eyes, thinking it was morning. When Barbara let out a clear and familiar bark, the old hunter recognized her.
Ah! Ah! Ah! The old hunter shouted excitedly. He didn’t know why his big black dog had turned into a shining dog, but he knew it was something magical. So, he excitedly walked into the yard and fired a shot into the sky. The gunshot woke up everyone in the village.
The villagers were all very excited and started calling Barbara the Gem Dog.
The old hunter seemed to become younger, laughing constantly, and even his walk became especially vigorous. At night, he let the Gem Dog sleep by his side.
Not many days later, one night, a wolf sneaked into the village. Coincidentally, it entered the old hunter’s yard. It hesitated, staring at the old hunter’s window, because inside, the Gem Dog’s light made it seem as if the owner was still awake, with the room still lit. The wolf crouched down, intending to wait patiently until the light went out. All of this happened in an instant—inside, the Gem Dog suddenly caught a whiff of a sharp scent. Ah, it was the smell of a wolf. It jumped off the bed, barked loudly, and darted out. The extremely alert wolf stood up immediately upon hearing the bark, recognizing it as a dog’s voice, and prepared to kill the dog. But when it saw the Gem Dog rushing out, it turned tail and ran because it saw a fireball coming towards it. The Gem Dog chased the wolf, which ran for its life, completely consumed by fear and the need to escape.
The Gem Dog didn’t catch the wolf because it was worried about the hunter’s safety and returned after chasing it for a while. As soon as the Gem Dog entered the house, the old hunter hugged it tightly. The old hunter recognized from the scent that a wolf had been there.
Interestingly, from that day on, no more ferocious wild animals dared to enter the village. Instead, many cute, harmless small animals often came to the village. They became friends with the Gem Dog and even made the village their safe haven.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
