One early winter morning on 21 December, Polina and I woke up in our rooms. I washed up and started packing my school bag. Polina came up to me and asked:
Vova! Which hat looks better on me, the white one or the pink one?
Put on the white one
I say.
Finally, we got ready and headed to school. On the way we hear a squeak in a big snowdrift. I went over to it – nothing. I went closer and found a little puppy there. I didn't notice him straight away: he was white, just like the snowdrift. Polina picked him up and said:
Poor thing! He's probably homeless. Vova, shall we take him home with us?
What?
I say
Our parents won't allow it!
But what if they do?
Well, shall we ask?
Let's! But if we do it now, we'll miss school, and if we do it after school, what do we do with the puppy?
We started thinking. We decided to leave the puppy with the security guard if we were allowed to.
To our surprise, the security guard agreed:
Well, since that's how it is, leave him. That's a good deed. Well done for not walking past.
At home we even got down on our knees so our parents would let us keep the dog.
No, no, no!
Mum said.
A dog is a big responsibility!
Dad supported her.
But we'll look after it!
Polina said.
And as proof,
I say
Could we keep the dog for a few days? We'll look after it, and if we can't manage, then so be it, we'll give it to good hands…
Dad thought about it and agreed:
Well, if that's the case, then alright.
And Mum agreed:
Fair enough, keep him.
My sister and I were so happy that we even started dancing.
Polina and I did well, and our parents finally allowed us to keep the puppy.
We named the dog Patrick, and we walked him at the dog park and trained him there. Our parents were very proud of us.
Patrick was no longer a little puppy, but a big, well-behaved, intelligent and well-trained dog.
One day in early summer, on 7 June, my sister and I were walking our pet.
What would we do without Patrick?
My sister said.
I don't know…
Before I could finish, an officer and a soldier came up to us.
Good day, children!
The officer says.
I see you're walking a dog.
Yes
I say.
What's your name?
He asks.
The dog's name is Patrick.
Polina answered.
No, no!
The officer laughed
What are your names?
Vova and Polina
We say.
And I'm Pyotr Vasilyevich, children, do you understand that a dog is a faithful friend to man?
We do.
And you see, we need a dog for our unit. You know: excellent sense of smell, sight, if it's well-trained…
Well-trained,
Polina says.
You see, yes? Won't you give it to us?
Polina sighed and looked at me. Then I asked:
Are you really soldiers?
Of course! See, that's my medal, it's real.
Alright
I believed him.
I thought about it and decided that the dog was needed more in service, especially since we'd trained it so well. And I agreed…
Now every year we remember the days: 21 December, when we found Patrick, and 7 June, when we gave him to good hands…
Did we do the right thing?
