Midas Finds a Home

    I am Midas and I came into my new dwelling rather late in life. I spent my first years in a big woods, where food was whatever I could catch and home came in the form of a space under an overhanging rock.

    Life ran sweet until the pack of wild dogs came.  They wanted new territory and refused my request to join them. The leader challenged me and we fought; I lost and almost died.

    I dragged myself as far away as my broken body would allow, coming out of the woods to a strange cave unlike any I'd ever seen before. It stood alone, with no surrounding rock or hill, sheltered by trees. Perhaps it could be my new home. I waited outside under a bush to see if any animal claimed it before. My exhausted body refused to stay awake and I sank deep into dreams.

    A dim ray of sunlight creeped through the thin branches of my cover and woke me from chasing a fat rabbit through the woods. Odd, the sun seemed to come from holes in the cave, for all around its outside, darkness held sway. A shadow stood upright in the cave opening. A transparent covering over the doorway opened and the being stepped from the cave onto the grass.

    I struggled to move further under the bush. My stiff, sore body protested and a moan escaped before I could stop it. The thing stopped, looked hard into the dark, but I could tell it had poor night vision.  It went back into its cave only to return with sunshine captured in a tube.

    When he released it, the light shined in my face and I quivered with fear, my back against the base of my hiding place.

The beast fell to all fours, grunting at me in a strange language. Since it could not speak simple dog words, I knew it must be an inferior being. Perhaps through sign language, I might reason with it. It seemed harmless, but sleeping bears look innocent enough, too, so caution must be used approaching it.

    Through almost unbearable pain, I pulled myself toward the creature and thumped my tail on the ground to signal good intentions. It almost crooned in its pathetic speech as it reached a paw forward to stroke me. Good, it WAS gentle. The thing reached behind me and pulled forward. The pain, oh, the pain! Bolts of agony shot through my savaged body and though I had no wish to harm the poor thing, I snapped and bit its upper limb. The beast squealed with shock and fell away.

    I whimpered to let it know I meant nothing. Could it understand? It returned to the cave and when it came back, another of its kind followed. They threw something over my head, blinding me. Had I been wrong? Would they now kill me? Struggle I did, but to no avail. I could not reach them through the cover. Alas, they had me at their mercy.

    I heard them grunt back and forth to each other while placing me on. . .a softness more welcomed than autumn leaves fresh fallen from trees. They pulled the covering from my face, so I might breathe. The foul air of the cave near choked me.  I had smelled something similar when a distant field caught fire as a pup. Magi, the weasel, said it was a tobacco field. The acrid smoke burned my eyes then as the odor now seared my nose.

    The first beast seemed to be male and the second female, though I had never seen fur or hair like those on their bodies. Imagine my surprise when later in the evening, they changed their fur more easily than I might strip a rabbit for dinner! Later, I discovered they had whole sections of the cave filled with new furs, even for their feet!

    The beasts brought what I presumed was food. A very weak smell of meat wafted from it, but the brown color seemed to diminish the richness it once must have had. I ate little, drank water they provided, and slept.

    Since the day the beasts saved my life, I've been accepted into their pack. We still talk through signals as I've found it impossible to teach them the true language of dog. Throughout the months, I've learned a few of their words and respond in a way which comforts them.

    They sleep under yet more furs; I sleep on top, resting at their feet. It seems their actual skin is nothing more than that, although the male has some hair on its face and chest. Thus, I solved the mystery of removable furs, although I still wonder why they require so many.

    In return for their kindness, I offer my protection. This species is odd in that they argue over foolish things, but think nothing of having male and female sit down to eat at the same time.  They are called humans. The female went into heat not long ago and now I sense she will soon have a pup. Since my recovery, they have brought in a cat, who was near death, much like me. It's a vile creature, but if the beasts want it here, I shall endeavor to protect it, too.

    I used to dream of my wooded home, but those memories faded and my heart is at peace, knowing I do my part to save this species from extinction. We all must do our part for Mother Earth to preserve our world. 

    I've heard there are other humans who are not so meek as mine.  Johnnycake, the pit bull down a few houses, said his male beats the female.  She lost one of her pups.  This makes it all the more important to ensure my humans' existence.  They are the best of their breed and their pups will be good and strong.