Pashu Shrestha
Kaale, the Black Dog, thought himself to be the strongest of all dogs around Bhanu Chowk. He would not tolerate another dog, or cow, or ox there. He would fly in rage if he saw anyone else nearby. He used to wrangle them, and paint their body in wounds and blood. Many times, he bit cows and oxen around their loins and chased them away. He was the sole ruler of that area.
Kaale was strong. He was a street dog, but because of the freedom he had been enjoying he looked very robust and healthy. Therefore, he was a bit more than proud of his strength and stamina.
One day, Kaale was eating the leftovers thrown out of a hotel near Bhanu Chowk. At that moment, he saw another dog, a stranger, coming towards him. Kaale went mad with anger and thought of chasing the other dog away by showing his wrathful theatrics. It worked as per his expectation, and the stranger turned to run away with fear.
Kaale got more excited, and felt more proud of his strength seeing the other dog running away from him, and he decided to follow him. The poor dog, the stranger, had already lost his confidence in front of Kaale. He could not run so far when he saw Kaale running after him, and he fell down on earth. Kaale caught up with him in a flash.
“Please, big brother, don’t do any harm to me,” the stray dog whimpered in front of Kaale, “I will never come back to this place again. …I promise!”
But Kaale had a stone in place of his heart, and did not listen to the other dog’s plea. Rather, he enjoyed it. “You coward!” Kaale roared, “Do you think you can run faster than I?” Then, he held the other’s collar to stumble him down.
“Please, brother!” The other dog pleaded in a whimpering tone with the paws of his both forelegs joined together, “I beg your pardon if I have done any mistake.” His whole body was trembling with fear.
This only increased Kaale’s pride and excitement. He bit the other dog so many times and so hard that he was badly wounded and fully covered in blood. Thus, cruel Kaale proved his bravery and strength once more.
“You slave!” Kaale thundered, “Never again do have courage to stare at Kaale Don’s eyes.” Then, he walked away like a king. The poor other dog could not get up for long. At last, he left the place with trembling and bleeding body.
Many days passed. No other dog came to Bhanu Chowk to teach Kaale a lesson for his wickedness.
One day, as he was eating leftovers greedily in front of a hotel, he got a small bone stuck in his throat. Kaale coughed around for long. He felt more and more uncomfortable to breathe each time he coughed, and tried his best to get rid of the bone without any positive result. No one came for his help as he had ruled over them with terror.
Kaale became very weak within some days because he could not eat anything. He became very lean and thin, and looked very much pitiful. The other stray animals were happy to see him suffering. They were no more afraid and obedient to him.
“These rascals have no more respect for me!” Kaale thought painfully. Now, as the days passed, Kaale was remorseful for his past deeds. But it was too late for him to realise his mistakes. He realized, at last, that he was getting the right reward for his sins. He cried and cried until he died painfully one night.
(Parshu Shrestha (1981) teaches English at SOS Hermann Gmeiner Secondary School Itahari and Vishwa Adarsha College, Itahari, Sunsari. He writes stories and essays.)