Chapter 4 – Spot

Sunday, October 4

I woke up hungry, as I always did. I went to Master and whined, as I always do. He barked, as he always did. I looked at him steadily, as I always did. He whined at me and got me food.

“Thanks, Master!” I wagged. He petted me, so I knew he understood.

Thinking back on it, even then his bark seemed different to me, like it had more meaning than just, ‘don’t bother me’. But that wasn’t when things really changed.

Master and I were playing ‘fetch’ later that day with a ball when it fell into a pocket in the wall. There were many paper things lined up on the wall on a little shelf above the floor. There were more shelves with more paper things going up to the ceiling. I had never bothered with them before. They were Master’s. I could tell by their scent.

I reached in with my paw to get the ball. When it came out, my nail dragged one of these paper things out. I grabbed the ball in my mouth, and my eye fell upon the paper thing. It had a picture of a black and white dog, just like me! I had never noticed that before.

I also noticed squiggles above the picture and a picture of a little master on the cover. I sniffed it. It smelled like Master. The little master didn’t look like my Master. But somehow this was my Master’s.

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I dropped my ball, even though we were playing, and I picked up the paper thing very carefully. I have a soft mouth when I want to. I took it to Master, gave it to him, and then looked at him and wagged my tail. Maybe he’ll know I want to know more.

He laughed. “So you want me to read my old first-grade reader to you?” Somehow, I understood his bark, although I didn’t wonder about this at the time. He was going to tell me about the black and white dog on the bundle of paper.

I jumped and wagged vigorously.

“Who can say no to that?” Master smiled at me. I sat and quivered.

He bent the pile of paper, and it opened like a door. He pointed to the page. “’ Spot and the Ball’ is the title. You must have seen Spot. That’s your name, too,” he pointed at the black and white dog, and I wagged.

“And you know what a ball is,” Master pointed to a flat ball on the page. It didn’t smell like a ball, but it looked a little like a ball. I wagged a little.

“Dick and Jane are looking for a ball.” He pointed to the two little masters on the page. Again, there was no smell but his. I knew those were names, but why were they different names than the smell?

“There is Spot looking for the little ball,” Master pointed to the tail of a little dog. His front part was hidden in a flat green thing.

I watched carefully. What would happen next? I couldn’t guess.

“And Spot finds the ball. Where’s your ball?”

I knew! I ran and got it and brought it back to him.

“Good boy. Do you like reading? I think you understand me.”

I did! I understood his words perfectly. I never had before. The reading seemed to help. I barked, “I understand!”

Master’s mouth dropped open. “You understand me!”

“Of course I do,” I barked back.

“And I understand you.” I could barely hear him, but I understood him.

That was how it started.