Hachiko

CHAPTER ONE

Puppy Days

"Come and see," the farmer called to his family. "There are eight puppies, and they're all well." His children quickly found their shoes and warm coats, and went out with him. How exciting! They ran through the cold yard to the little shed behind the house.

It was a winter night when the eight little dogs were born, and because the farmer's home was in Akita, in the north of Japan, there was a lot of snow. But the puppies were warm in the shed, next to their mother.

The farmer put his hand on the mother dog's beautiful yellow-white coat.

"You did well," he said. "You must sleep now."

The children watched their father, and they smiled. Akita was famous for these big dogs, and their father loved them.

Soon, the farmer's wife came and looked, too. "They're beautiful puppies," she smiled.

"Yes," the farmer said. "My friend in Tokyo, Professor Ueno, is going to be happy. He's waiting for a nice Akita puppy, and he's going to pay us thirty yen. He can have the best one."

"Oh, yes," his wife said. "Professor Ueno must have the best puppy for his thirty yen" She smiled at the children. "Now come and eat. Dinner's ready."

For the next two weeks, the puppies drank their mother's milk and slept. Then they began opening their eyes, and they wanted to chew everything. They chewed their mother's ears and coat, and they chewed their bed, too!

After one more week, the puppies began to walk. Everyone laughed when they watched the little dogs, because they could not walk well. Then, two or three weeks later, when the puppies were bigger and could walk better, they began to play. They played a lot, and the children loved playing with them.

Once, when the puppies were about six weeks old, three of them began playing by the shed door. When the farmer came in with food and water for the mother dog, the three puppies ran through the open door into the yard. The farmer did not see them, and they began to play in the snow. They played and played, but soon they were very cold. There was snow on their coats and on their paws, and the puppies got colder and colder. Soon, they could not move.