forest hut

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I wake up to the early call of a small green bird. I get up and stretch a bit. I look up at the bird perched on a tree right above me. I greet it with a good morning. He chitters in response & flies off to wake Simba up. I patrol my territory checking for new smells.

I go up to see if my pack has gotten up. Simba is up. Looks like he has not slept properly tonight. He must have been baying at those show-offs. I forget what the 2-legged folk call it. Mongoose? Ya, may be. The lights are now coming on in the cottage. Usually, I don’t sleep through out the night either. Pesky pests like wild boars, barking deers and cats keep me awake. Though this time I slept, because I was tired.

Yesterday had been a busy day. Boy O boy! It had been a really busy day.

It started off pretty quiet. I had just had my morning meal and I was settling on a big rock for a nap. I was feeling sleepy and content.

Then suddenly, I heard a metallic click-click-click. I sprang up, all drowsiness gone. I was so happy. The click-click-click was a sound of the stopper on my front door. I barreled up the slope to see my 2-legged siblings laughing & waiting for me. I wagged my tail as hard as I could. And I meant it. I had never felt more excited.

Once I was out, I leashed them. I took them to the front yard. So many new things to see. So many new sounds to hear. So many smells. Oh! Smells! What wonderful smells! Moist soil, grass, dew, a recently peed zone, mumma’s food, traces of other animals, rotting branches, and so much more. Mumma, Aapa and Shree were talking about something very cheerfully. I cannot understand what they speak but I can understand the emotions they express.

Me and Dhruv raced to the gate (of course, I won). I unloaded myself a bit there. I wonder why 2-legged folk remark in disgust when dung holds such a treasure trove of smells and stories.

We raced back to the house. He won, though by a millisecond. He shouted something to Aapa. And Aapa shouted something back. Dhruv sighed. He said “come on, Sheopeo”. I learned to understand few words though I seldom pay attention to them. We slowly walked back to the cottage, Dhruv grumbling and mumbling. There, I settled down at my favorite place beside the door from where I could see who went in, who went out. I soon snoozed off.

When I woke up, the glow ball was on top off the sky. Dhruv was sitting on the bench with a yummy looking stick and even yummier looking thin white thingumy. I strained my leash to get it and munch on it. My siblings smiled and petted me and hugged me. I tried to hug Shree back, but all I did was knock him off his feet. He struggled to get up, but I would not let him. He started laughing and thrashing around. I started licking his face and thrashing around as well. Everyone was shouting my name. “Copo! Ok Sheri, it’s ok Sheri!”. They were all laughing. It had all become a romping wrestling match.

It was nearly food time now. I took Dhruv for the walk again.

A few smells were the same. Some were new. For example, I could smell Timmy – the annoying. Man, I hadn’t seen him today. I went over and talked with Simba. We discussed what he had seen & smelled today. We also talked about Timmy and Pom. And how they needed some bangs on the rump and identification sniff.

Suddenly, Simba’s expression hardened. I turned around to see….. Timmy. Me and Timmy stood there, frozen. Starring at each other. And then he scarpered.

I whined in challenge and leaped after him. I strained madly at the leash for a few seconds, before breaking free. I chased Tim around the house with my leash trailing behind me. I made sure he never got close to any trees. He hid at many places but not for long. He was way faster than me, but my strides were bigger. I was gaining on him on every bound. People all around were shouting my name. I didn’t listen. My target was fixed. But in the thrill of the chase, I didn’t realize that I was in the next farm.

Timmy put on an extra burst of speed and clambered straight up a tree. And I banged straight into the trunk (my braking systems aren’t that well developed). Timmy sat there on a fork and starred daggers at me. And I just starred daggers back. And then I heard a shout.

“Poppoye, poppoye! Poppoye, Sheri, poppoye! “

Poppoye! Wonder fruit! Simba had always told me poppoye was my weakness. But I didn’t care.

Poppoye or Timmy? If I went back, I would get to eat poppoye and get comfortable. If I stayed here, well, seemed like I would have to stand here forever. Timmy looked like he had just eaten something. And I was sure that he wasn’t planning to come down anytime soon.

So I decided to call it a day. I told Timmy “This isn’t the last you have seen of me, Tim”. And I started tottering back. Retracing my steps back to our farm. And in a twinkling I was back. And in the next twinkling I was digging into a poppoye.

I sat down at the door. After sometime, I went back to my favorite rock. Then Shree gave me my evening meal.

After another round, I straight away fell asleep. Dreaming of all the sounds I had heard, the smells I had gathered and the sights I had beheld.