Mom, what kind of heart do I have? — asked Katya.
About the size of your little fist, — answered Mom.
What about Pulka's?
Pulka — a snow-white fluffy lapdog, as soon as she heard her name, ran up to Katya and wagged her tail cheerfully in anticipation of playtime.
Pulka's? — Mom paused thoughtfully. — Pulka's heart is very tiny. Maybe about the size of your thumb.
What is a heart for? — Katya persisted.
Mom smiled:
Oh, a heart holds many wonderful things. For example, courage. The heart of a brave person is called brave. A kind heart belongs to someone who always helps others. If someone is willing to share their last piece of bread, it means a generous heart beats in their chest. You can always hear the beat of a loyal heart if you have a true friend.
And love can also live in a heart. A loving heart can be brave, generous, kind, and faithful all at once. People say about such hearts: "He has a big heart."
How interesting! — Katya exclaimed and petted the little dog, who had been listening carefully to their conversation. — It's a shame that our Pulka has such a tiny heart. All those good things certainly won't fit in it at once.
Who knows, — Mom answered mysteriously and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Katya played with Pulka for a while, then decided to finish reading a very interesting book about loyal friends. She settled into an armchair by the window and began reading. The book told of devoted friendship, selflessness, and readiness to always help. Pulka sat by the armchair and watched her owner carefully.
Now she frowns, sympathizing with the heroes in trouble, and now her face lights up with a joyful smile when difficulties are overcome. Pulka was terribly curious about what Katya was reading so intently.
The doorbell rang in the hallway. Dad had come home from work. Katya put down her book and ran to open the door. Pulka desperately wanted to know how a book could make someone sad or happy. She jumped onto the armchair hoping to uncover the mystery and knocked over a vase of flowers standing on the windowsill with her tail.
The vase swayed and crashed to the floor. Shiny fragments scattered across the room. Pulka froze in horror. Hearing the noise, Katya ran into the room, saw the broken vase, and rushed at the dog:
You naughty thing! Just you wait, I'll show you!
Pulka bolted in search of safety. Whimpering pitifully, she looked for a place to hide and spotted a slightly open door that Dad had just failed to lock. Pulka slipped through the crack, tumbled down the stairs, ran out into the yard, and dashed off without looking back.
Her heart trembled with fear, she imagined the sound of pursuit. She stopped, barely breathing, in a far corner of the yard near the garbage bins. She looked back: there was no pursuit. And then from behind the bin appeared Ham — a huge stray dog who terrified all the neighborhood pets. Behind his shaggy back hid Butch and Korzhik.
Ham's companions were not very large dogs, but next to them Pulka seemed very small and defenseless. She backed away in fear, her heart trembling. And where would courage come from? After all, in such a tiny heart there was no room for bravery.
So-so, — growled Ham, — did they kick you out?
No, I… I ran away, — Pulka answered, stammering.
That's right! — Butch barked approvingly. — Nothing but trouble with those owners.
But it's my fault, — Pulka tried to justify herself. — My owner was always so kind to me…
What do you know about kindness? — Ham interrupted sharply. — The main thing is that everyone should be afraid! That's fun!
And profitable, — added Korzhik, — because you can steal food from the weak.
Pulka said nothing and thought that kindness must be very big if it doesn't fit in the hearts of even such large dogs as her new friends. What can you say about a heart the size of just a little girl's finger!
Meanwhile, Ham was carefully examining the frightened Pulka. Finally, after whispering something with his companions, he said:
Alright then. We'll take you into our gang. You're small, you'll get food where we can't squeeze through. But listen here: I'm the boss! And if anything goes wrong, I'll bite you in half! — Ham bared his terrible yellow fangs.
Pulka had no choice but to agree, since being alone was even scarier. The rest of the evening the shaggy company spent as usual. First they watched the local cats by the basement, and when it got dark, they snuck to the dump behind the grocery store and found some food.
Korzhik was lucky enough to find some edible sausages. Running off to the side, he began eating his dinner with relish. Pulka loved sausages very much. The delicious smell made her mouth water. She asked Korzhik for even the tiniest piece, but he only growled and turned away.
Don't you have even a drop of generosity in your heart? — asked Pulka.
Generosity? — Korzhik replied in surprise. — No way! If I let generosity into my heart, there won't be room for meanness and cunning, and then I won't be able to get food. Generosity is for fools!
«No, generosity is good for everyone,» — thought Pulka, but said nothing.
For the night, the stray gang settled behind the garbage bins in cardboard boxes. Pulka got a box from an old kettle. It was a bit cramped, but the cardboard protected well from the night drafts. Pulka looked for a long time at the lit window of Katya's room and thought how sad it was to have a small heart.
If only she had a bigger heart, it could hold courage, and then Pulka could stand up to the yard gang and go back home. "And if I could find room for generosity too," she thought, "then I could share food with the homeless, and they wouldn't have to steal." But best of all would be to put love in the heart, then generosity, loyalty, kindness, and courage would bloom all by themselves.
Pulka fell asleep only near dawn. She dreamed of the broken vase.
In the morning, as soon as the sun gilded the rooftops, Katya ran out into the yard to look for Pulka. The night before she had searched for her little friend until dark, but Mom told her to come home. Katya couldn't sleep for a long time, and even cried a little, hiding under her blanket.
She was very worried about what happened and blamed herself for scaring her little pet so much. After all, a broken vase is just cold glass, which can never replace the warmth of a friend's eyes. Katya began to systematically search the yard.
Pulka! Pulka! — she called, looking under every bench.
Finally Katya approached those very garbage bins. Pulka, having fallen asleep only at dawn, was sleeping soundly. But her new friends were on alert.
There's the owner, — hissed Butch. — She'll take the new one, no doubt about it.
We'll see about that, — growled Ham in response.
We sure will! — Korzhik eagerly agreed.
The dogs, baring their fangs, jumped onto the sidewalk. Ham took a fighting stance right in front of Katya, while Butch and Korzhik, growling, crept up from the sides.
Get out of here! — barked Ham so loudly that Pulka immediately woke up.
She jumped out of the box and saw Katya surrounded by enraged dogs. Without a moment's hesitation, she rushed to her owner. Knocking Korzhik off his feet and pushing Butch aside, Pulka positioned herself between Katya and Ham. Her fur stood on end, her eyes shone brightly, and her tail trembled nervously.
Don't you dare touch my owner! — Pulka cried out desperately.
Ham looked into her eyes and saw some unknown force, unyielding and all-conquering. His fighting spirit suddenly evaporated, and his heart was gripped by the cold claws of fear. He suddenly wilted, awkwardly turned around, and with his head down, ran off in an uneven trot to the far corner.
Stunned Butch and Korzhik hurried after him. Pulka turned to Katya and wagged her tail uncertainly.
Katya grabbed the warm fluffy bundle and pressed it to her chest, dropping sparkling tears in the morning sun onto the snow-white fur. There, inside the bundle, she heard a small strong hammer beating fast-fast-fast, and understood that it was a BIG HEART that was beating.
