A Dark Brown Dog

When the boy came home from the field, He was happy, for he had been fortunate. The boy found a little brown dog running under the trees; He called, ‘Here, here!’ Oh, the longing of the dog to have a master, The yearning for a master, The oily extrusions of his joy, the silken feet, the dives of a fierce love. The boy sat upon a rock and clapped his hands, And the dog immediately began to dance with joy. ‘This,’ said he, ‘will be my dog.’ But he was only a terrible boy, and he kicked the little dog upon the nose.

The little dog only whined. The boy, still upon the rock, reached down And grabbed his ear in anger; but the dog ceased to jump away, And he stood with wide eyes and friendly air.

The boy kicked him again, and again.
And again.
And the dog lay down under the boy’s feet And in the silence, and in the darkness, waited.

• Stephen Crane