The Little Boy...

The little boy was very excited as he stood in front of the pet store. There was a big sign above the glass door that read: “Cute Puppies Just For You”. He was finally going to get a puppy for himself. Both Daddy and Mummy had finally agreed, their only condition being he should take care of it and it shouldn’t go about dirtying the house.

Taking a deep breath, the boy walked into the store. The owner was busy reading the newspaper. “How much do money I need to buy a little puppy, Uncle?” he asked.The store owner wasn’t sure if this little boy really wanted to buy a puppy as he was all alone. So, without looking at the boy, he replied, “Well, anything between Rs 1000 to Rs 5000..Are you sure you really want to buy one?”

The boy dipped in his pocket and pulled out some change. “I have only Rs 500,” he said. Before the store owner could say anything more, he added: “Can I please take a look at them?”

Something about this little boy touched a chord in the store owner’s heart. He smiled at the boy and whistled loudly. And lo! out of a big red doghouse, which was in one corner of the store, ran out a big dog followed by five tiny puppies. They were the cutest things little he had seen in the seven years of his life.

However, the boy noticed that one little brown puppy was lagging far behind. Immediately, he marked out the limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with this little puppy?”

The store owner explained that the little puppy didn’t have a hip socket and so it would always be lame. What astonished him, was the sparkle in the boy’s eyes. The little boy became excited. “Uncle, this is the puppy I want for myself.”

The store owner said, “Sonny, you don’t want to buy that little dog. It’s a lame thing. What would you do with it? But, if you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”

His chubby face fell. The man could see that the little boy was upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger, and said, “I don’t want you to give this puppy to me. His worth is as much as all the other puppies and I am going to pay full price for him.”

The store owner was indeed taken aback. “In fact, I’ll give you Rs 500 now, and and the rest money inside a month from now on..,” continued the boy in a determined fashion.

The store owner countered, “But little one, you are making a mistake. You really don’t want to buy this lame dog for it will never be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies. Why don’t you choose any one from the rest? I will give you a good discount.”

To the owner's astonishment, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pants to reveal a crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, “Well, I cannot run very well myself, and this little puppy needs someone who will understand him. I want to be that special one for this special puppy.”

With this the boy walked away from the store with the little lame puppy in his folded arms. He held his little head high in pride. All that the store owner could do was stare at this small passing figure with his moist eyes and awe on his face...