Mom, what kind of heart do I have? — asked Katie.
About the size of your little fist, — Mom answered.
What about Pulka's?
Pulka — a snow-white fluffy Bolognese dog, as soon as she heard her name, ran up to Katie and wagged her tail in a friendly way, waiting to play.
Pulka's? — Mom thought for a moment. — Pulka's heart is very tiny. Maybe like your big toe.
What's a heart for? — Katie persisted.
Mom smiled:
Oh, a heart holds many wonderful things. For example, courage. We call a brave person's heart brave. A kind heart belongs to someone who always helps others. If someone is willing to share their last piece of bread, it means they have a generous heart beating in their chest. You can always hear the beat of a loyal heart if you have a true friend.
And love can live in a heart too. 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! — Katie 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. Surely it can't hold so many good things at once.
Who knows, — Mom answered mysteriously and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Katie played with Pulka for a while, then decided to finish reading a very interesting book about loyal friends. She settled into the armchair by the window and began to read. The book told of devoted friendship, selflessness, and readiness to always come to someone's aid. 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 the difficulties are behind them. Pulka was terribly curious about what Katie was reading so intently.
The doorbell rang in the hallway. Dad had come home from work. Katie 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 accidentally 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 entire room. Pulka froze in horror. Katie, hearing the noise, ran into the room, saw the broken vase, and rushed at the dog:
Oh, you naughty thing! Just you wait, I'll show you!
Pulka bolted out in search of safety. Whimpering pitifully, she looked for a place to hide and spotted a door that had been left slightly ajar by Dad who had just come in. Pulka slipped through the gap, tumbled down the stairs, ran out into the yard and took 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 — an enormous stray dog who terrified all the neighbourhood pets. Behind his shaggy back hid Butch and Korzhik.
Ham's friends were not very large dogs, but next to them Pulka seemed very small and defenceless. She backed away in fear, her heart trembling. And where would courage come from anyway? After all, there was no room for bravery in such a tiny heart.
So-so, — growled Ham, — did they kick you out?
No, I… I ran away, — Pulka stammered.
That's right! — Butch approved approvingly. — Nothing but trouble with these 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 friends, he said:
Alright then. We'll take you into our gang. You're small, you can get food from places where we can't squeeze through. But watch it: I'm the boss here! And if anything goes wrong, I'll bite you in half! — Ham bared his terrible yellow fangs.
Pulka had no choice but to agree, because being alone was even scarier. The shaggy company spent the rest of the evening 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 to eat his dinner with relish. Pulka loved sausages very much. The delicious smell made her mouth water. She asked Korzhik for even the smallest piece, but he only growled and turned away.
Is there not even a drop of generosity in your heart? — asked Pulka.
Generosity? — Korzhik was surprised. — Not a chance! If I let generosity into my heart, there won't be room for anger and cunning, and then I won't be able to find 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 draughts. Pulka looked for a long time at the lit window of Katie'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 there was 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 place love in the heart, then generosity, loyalty, kindness, and courage would bloom all by themselves.
Pulka fell asleep only towards morning. She dreamed of the broken vase.
In the morning, as soon as the sun gilded the rooftops, Katie ran out into the yard to look for Pulka. The evening before she had searched for her little friend until dark, but Mom told her to come home. Katie couldn't sleep for a long time, and even cried a little, hiding under the blanket.
She was very worried about what had happened and blamed herself for frightening 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. Katie began to methodically search the yard.
Pulka! Pulka! — she called, looking under every bench.
Finally Katie approached those very garbage bins. Pulka, who had 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 for sure.
We'll see about that, — growled Ham in response.
We sure will! — Korzhik eagerly agreed.
The dogs, baring their fangs, jumped onto the pavement. Ham took a fighting stance right in front of Katie, while Butch and Korzhik, growling, crept up from the sides.
Get out of here! — barked Ham so loudly that Pulka woke up immediately.
She jumped out of the box and saw Katie surrounded by furious dogs. Without hesitating for a second, she rushed to her owner. Knocking Korzhik off his feet and pushing Butch aside, Pulka positioned herself between Katie 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 Katie and wagged her tail uncertainly.
Katie 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 how quickly a little strong hammer was beating, and understood that it was a BIG HEART that was beating.
