The story of a little ginger puppy girl named Suri

“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 played all day, interrupted only by the occasional sleep and gathering around their mother for to drink warm milk.

It was late at night when dad appeared. The puppies were already dozing, curled up in one big ball on a pile of leaves at the far end of the pipe. Hearing dad’s steps and slightly hoarse breathing, Suri and the brothers immediately jumped up and ran to meet him. Squealing, they circled their father and jumped up, trying to lick him on the nose or cheek but instead fell on their backs and offered their pink tummies to dad’s wet nose. Dad sniffed and licked everyone, then tilted his head and lifted something off the floor. It was a large bone with leftover meat.

“Fresh food!” Suri squealed happily, and all the puppies rushed to the treat. They began to sniff, touch with their paws and, of course, try to gnaw on the long-awaited adult food.

“Fo wummy!” Suri’s mouth was full, and speaking with a busy mouth is, as you know, most uncomfortable, not to say difficult. Therefore, Suri decided to save all her surprise and gratitude for later. Moreover, the tussle for the best place near the bone and the most delicious pieces was serious! The puppies snarled at each other, snorted and waved their paws, all in the name of protecting their spot.

Suri was so carried away by gnawing at her prey that she did not notice dad drawing his eyebrows into a frown and mom’s slightly worried look.

“They grow up so fast – they’ll need more food soon,” said dad, not taking his eyes off the puppies for a moment. “It’s just getting harder and harder to get it. Everywhere we go, they chase us away.”

“It’s fine, we can handle it,” mom said encouragingly and pressed her head against dad’s shoulder. “The world of humans is big enough for us to find our place and our food as well.”

Suri heard their conversation but did not understand anything. She continued to chew and lick her part of the bone. Her first adult meal.

Chapter 5. Granny Pea

Suri always believed that she had been blessed with the best family. A beautiful mom, a big, strong dad, and brothers that she loved very much, despite the rough and tumble of their boyish games.

But most of all, Suri loved her grandmother. Granny Pea was very different from the rest of the dogs in their big pack. She was short, with thick, long golden hair, neatly pointed ears, and a very proud posture. Granny Pea always walked with her head held high and her long, slender legs taking graceful steps. Some might have thought her arrogant, but no, far from it. She had no airs and graces, did not turn up her nose at others and did not think she was better than anyone else. Granny Pea was very kind; she always helped everyone with either advice or deed. For example, she looked after all the puppies very well and told amazing stories. All the puppies loved Granny Pea, and every adult dog respected her. But Suri had a special love for her.

Suri had always been a most curious puppy. Every day she tried to learn something new for herself. Explore a new location. Taste a new puddle. Find the largest or most unusual walnut for her collection. But most of all, Suri loved to lay down with Granny Pea in the shade of a tree and listen to her treasure trove of old stories and fairy tales. Grandma knew a lot of fairy tales. Fairy tales, in particular, because while mom and dad also told the puppies stories about where they had been and what they had seen, Granny Pea always told magical, incredible tales – that were not known by a single dog in the pack. In these fairy tales, there were large houses, soft carpets, and warm couches. There were fireplaces – such strange things in which a dangerous and terrible fire burned. But within the fireplace, the fire was tame and warm, and you could lie near and bask in it. The most fabulous things of all were the bowls which overflowed with delicious food: meat, bones, and even milk. They were incredible stories, all right.

“How do you come up with such tales?” Suri once asked her grandmother.

“I’m not making it up,” grandma replied. “I really saw it all.”

“And you slept in a warm bed?”