Not so long ago, two stray dogs lived in a lane in Srinagar, Kashmir. They would never leave the locality.
One of them was a big dog and the other was just a puppy.
Every morning when the local bakery opened, they would get up from their resting place and sit in front of the shop.
Not finding enough leftovers, the two dogs looked scraggy.
They would patiently wait near the baker’s shop, as he baked bread in the tandoor. The fresh and sweet fragrance of the bread mixed with the wood smoke made their nostrils wiggle.
The dogs waited. One by one, people came to buy bread and left.
The dogs were hungry and had not eaten even a morsel since waking up.
They waited some more, hoping someone would offer them some fresh bread.
Not even the baker was kind enough to give them some bread to eat.
The dogs turned sad.
One chilly winter morning, a girl drove by the baker’s shop and saw the two dogs standing there. She immediately knew the dogs were hungry.
She saw people leaving with their bread baskets but none stopping to leave a few pieces for the dogs.
The girl decided that she would feed the dogs every day.
The next day, she carried leftover bread from her home for the dogs.
She then stopped right near the baker’s shop and fed the dogs. The dogs wagged their tails and quickly ate the bread.
As she drove away, the dogs followed her car to some distance.
This was their way of showing gratitude.
Tale by: Sumayyah Qureshi
