Читать книгу The story of a little ginger puppy girl named Suri - Yelena Dovjique - Страница 4

Another week passed. Suri and her brothers were almost a month old.

“Well, the kids are old enough,” dad announced one day. “It’s time to take them out.”

Suri noticed her mother shrink a little, as if the thought scared her. Dad noticed it too and said:

“Don’t worry. It’s warm enough and it will be good for the little ones.

“You know I’m worried about something else,” mom said quietly, with a sideways look at the children.

“I know,” dad replied and headed for the exit of the den, “but you shouldn’t worry about that either. People have not come here for a long time.”

When he disappeared into the passage, mother sighed and said:

“Well kids, it’s time for you to learn to live outside. Follow me.”

The boys followed their mother. Suri was the last to go, lost in thought.

“People?” she thought. “What are people? Something scary? Why don’t mom and dad like people?”

Suri was so lost in thought, that she did not notice as she walked towards the exit that the light was getting brighter and brighter.

When she crossed the threshold and left the den, all thoughts immediately flew out of her head. Suri forgot about people, about her mother’s anxiety. She forgot about everything. Because something big, bright, and noisy enveloped her. It hammered into her eyes and ears, tickled her paws and stomach, and coolly ruffled her fur.

Suri screwed her eyes shut with all her strength and crouched down, hugging the ground closely and hardly aware of her mother’s whereabouts among such a flood of sensations.

“Mom! Mom!” She called. “Mom, what is this?”

“This is our world, my little girl,” mom replied and licked Suri’s ear soothingly.

“World? And what’s that ticklish stuff?” Suri squirmed on her 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.