The Stray

In a quiet neighborhood filled with quaint little houses of all shapes and sizes, there was a small stray dog with floppy ears. He was well on in years, but still had a lot of life left in his bones. He loved the smell of freshly cut grass, he loved to chase after tennis balls, but he loved nothing greater, nor desired anything more than the companionship of the elderly man who lived in the first house on the right.

Every day he would visit the little old man, and he knew there would always be a bowl of food waiting for him, and a scratch behind the ears followed by a "that's a good boy". It was his greatest joy of all.

One day, the little dog trotted up the little old man's walkway, but instead of being greeted in the usual way, a strange man walked out of the front door. He'd seen the man before, when the grandchildren had visited. The man looked sad, and carried his hat in his hands. The dog didn't know it, but the little old man had died in his sleep the night before, and the man he was looking at now was his son. The dog walked over to where his food bowl had always been, but it was empty. He picked it up in his mouth, and walked over to the son, dropping the bowl by his feet.

The man's demeanor changed immediately, and he kicked the dog as hard as he could saying "Get out of here you mutt!" One of the man's children suddenly appeared from around the side of the house, and said "Dad, no! It's just Pepper. He won't hurt anybody!" The little boy ran overt to the dog, and the dog met the boy with happy licks and jumps. The father ran to the dog with anger in his eyes, and snarled "Get out of here and don't come back!" The dog tucked his tail between his legs and ran, dodging rocks being hurled at him. One rock struck his back leg so hard he was knocked off his feet, but he managed to get back up and hobble away. He knew he would never be welcome at his home again.

He spent the night not under the carport of the little old man's house that night like usual, but in the woods behind the house, hidden from view. He saw lights on in the house, and he longed for the companionship he once had. That life was gone now, and nothing would bring it back. He decided the next morning he would try another place to see if anyone else would love an old dog like himself.

When the sunrise came, he woke and trotted down the street to another house. This one was smaller, but it was just as full of possibility. He made his way up the walkway, and before he could even cross the threshold of the patio, he heard a child's voice say "Look a dog! Maybe he needs a home!" Three more children followed, and before he was even aware of it, he was happily playing fetch with the four kids.

It seemed like the world would not be so bad after all, when the back door opened. A woman walked out and yelled "What are you doing? Where did that dog come from? He might have fleas! Get away from him!" Then a man appeared behind her with a pellet gun, and aimed it at the dog. The dog had never seen a gun before, but when the first red-hot sting hit his shoulder, he fled the yard with such speed that he never looked back at the children or the mother and father. All he heard was the man yell "Call animal control!"

That night, the dog slept in the same woods he'd used the night before, the world looked quite darker now, and with less promise of a new day tomorrow.

The next few days the dog did not reappear. He was afraid of what he might find, so he stayed hidden away in the grove of trees he's used night after night. He had never learned to find food in the woods, so as the days went by he grew hungrier and hungrier.

One morning, he was in such pain from days of hunger that he felt he must try again. He trotted down the road, scampering into the woods whenever a car would pass by. At a tiny house at the end of the cul-de-sac was a man in his front yard raking leaves. The man saw the dog, and how hungry he looked. He went into his house, found a bowl and some leftover chicken scraps from the day before, and walked back out to where the dog was standing. He held the bowl out to the dog, and the dog slowly walked forward. The dog could smell the chicken, sense the welcome relief from his hunger, and the promise of a new day ahead of him...

But at the last second, he remembered the "crack" of the large rock that had struck his back leg. He remembered anew the boot of the man who had kicked him, and the horrific memory of the bullet that had singed his shoulder days before. Without warning, he growled at the man and backed away. The man put the bowl down on the ground, and knelt down next to it, holding his hand out gently. The dog slowly approached the bowl, and began eating. The man carefully petted the dog's head, but instead of a wagging tail, the dog reacted with a jump, a savage growl, and bared teeth.

The man picked up the bowl, looked down at the dog and said "Crazy animal! What's your problem? I was only trying to feed you!"

The man walked back into the house, and the dog went back into the woods.

The only place where he knew what the score would be.

The Man With No Coat

A group of people were to attend a celebration dinner at a huge Victorian mansion. The dinner was being held to honor a man who had done great work for charity, including the homeless and the poor.

As the people in the party walked toward the mansion, one man in the group noticed a beggar just outside the gates holding a small tin cup. The beggar had no coat, and was shivering. The man took pity on the beggar, and took off his own coat and gave it to him. He then took off his tie as well, and gave it to him also. The beggar smiled, and said "May God bless you, sir."

As the group entered the mansion, the butler who was taking everyone's coats saw the man who had given up his coat, and said "Where is you coat and tie, sir?" The man with no coat explained he had given the coat and tie to the beggar outside the gate, and that he was fine without them. The butler sneered at the man, and said "You can't eat in the grand dining room of the Master's home without a coat and tie." The others who had come for the party frowned at him also, and promptly turned away from him.

The butler escorted the man with no coat to one of the bathrooms, and said he would be served there instead of at dinner. He locked the man with no coat inside. A little while later, the door was unlocked and a young servant boy came in with a platter of food. The food looked like it had been scraped from the plates of others, many items had bites taken out of them, and everything all was mixed together. The servant said "Enjoy your food.", then scraped all of it onto the floor at the man's feet. With a laugh, he walked out of the bathroom without locking the door back behind him.

The man without a coat was so confused, angry, and upset. All he had done was try to do a good thing, and now he was being treated like an outcast. He walked out of the bathroom, and followed the sounds of music and voices until he found the dining hall. As he walked in, he saw all the other party members laughing and making merry. They were busy enjoying cocktails and cake after dinner.

The man with no coat strode over to the couple who had originally organized the celebration for the Master of the house, and tried to confront them. One of them, a man with a coat and tie, pretended he did not see the man with no coat, and ignored everything he tried to say to him. So the man with no coat found the other person in charge, this one a woman, and when she behaved the same way, the man with no coat was so infuriated that he forgot himself, and yelled at the woman "Why are you doing this to me?!"

At that, everyone fell silent.

At the head of the table was the man who was being celebrated that day for his acts of charity. He  stood up, and walked over with an angry look in his eyes. He demanded to know "What is the meaning of all this?" After hearing everything, he looked at the man with no coat and said "You dare speak like this to a woman in my house, and my guest as well?"

The man with no coat was put in chains, and led to the bottom floor where he was locked in a cell. A short time later, the same food that had been scraped onto the bathroom floor was dumped at his feet again, this time by the jailer, landing just within the reach of the cell bars that held him. As the jailer walked away with his keys jingling in his hand, he turned and looked at the man with no coat and said:

"Honestly, sir. You can't just go giving your coat away."