Dog Star
by Dory Lee Maske
Copyright © 2008 by Dory Lee Maske
All rights reserved
Illustrations: Copyright © 2008 by Robert Maske
All rights reserved
Cover design by Robert Maske
Smashwords edition 2008
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Dog Star
Once upon a time, in a world where wishes sometimes came true, there lived a small boy who had a favorite star. Every night he looked up at the sky to find his special star and if the night was clear he would spend many happy hours watching it and wishing on it. The star knew all his secrets and all his cares and shone a little brighter for his friendship.
Often the boy would wish for a playmate. "If only you were here, my shiny friend, what fun we could have," he wished aloud. That night as he slept he dreamed that the star flew down from heaven and sat at the end of his bed, warming him and watching over him.
The next morning when he awoke he heard a scratching at his door. When he opened it - there stood a large shaggy dog with a great wagging tail. "Hello, I'm Dog Star," said the dog. He looked like a dog except for his eyes. They were like two jewels, sparkling with light. His voice was rumbling and not quite human. The boy stared at him.
"I've come to play with you," said Dog Star, "let's go."
From that day the boy's life was wonderful. He and Dog Star did everything together. Wherever they went flowers bloomed and small animals appeared. When they fished they always caught fish. When they went exploring they always found secret caves and trees good for climbing. They made friends with the crabs at the seashore, the ducks on the pond and the squirrels in the trees.
Dog Star never spoke to anyone but the boy and no one thought it strange that they spent so much time together. Days and years slipped away in little adventures and soon the boy became a young man.
"You should learn a trade," his mother said, "you are too old to spend all your time with Dog Star."
The boy was very sad. He did not want to learn a trade and he could not bear to part with Dog Star for even one day.
"What troubles you?" asked Dog Star.
"My mother wants me to learn a trade," the boy said.
"Well that might be fun," Dog Star said.
"Oh no," the boy said, "Once you start a trade it is work only and no more fun."
"Oh I see," Dog Star said, and he was very sad as well.
As they sat together by the road with long faces there came a procession. There were jugglers and acrobats, trained bears and clowns, horses and dogs and many men and women in brightly colored clothes. The boy and Dog Star jumped up and forgot all about being sad. They followed the procession at a little distance. One of the men in the procession saw them and lagged behind.
"Is this your dog?" the man asked the boy.
"Dog Star is my friend," the boy replied.
"I understand," the man said, "for I am a trainer of dogs and I know that you must first be their friend."
"Where are you going?" asked the boy.
"We go to entertain at the King's palace," the man said, "there is to be a grand celebration and the King will announce the tests by which the hand of his daughter and half his kingdom can be won. Come along, I have need of another dog and an assistant."
And so it was that the boy became a dog trainer and his mother was happy that her son had a trade and was on his way to entertain at the King's palace. The group was always merry and the boy found that he liked having a trade. He quickly made friends with the other dogs and the trainer, but never let on that Dog Star could talk.
At the palace the celebration went on for weeks. Dog Star was a great favorite for he delighted in performing. He walked back and forth on his front paws, jumped higher than all the others to catch balls and rings, and kept time to the music with his happy wagging tail. He always attracted the largest crowds and made the boy very proud.
Finally the day arrived when the King would introduce the Princess and announce the tests. Suitors from every kingdom were present for the Princess was rumored to be very beautiful. As the King stepped onto the podium all was silence around him.
"The time has come," the King said, "for me to find an heir to my throne, for I have been blessed with a beautiful daughter, but no son. However, such a one must be proven worthy and so I have devised three tests which must be passed by any who would try for the hand of the Princess."
At this point the King paused and gestured to the veiled lady standing behind him. "This is my daughter."
The young woman came forward, threw back her veil and smiled at the crowd. Everyone was instantly in love with her, so beautiful and free from guile she was. The King continued to describe the tests but the boy did not hear them - he was too much in love.
That night the boy told Dog Star, "I must marry the Princess, I cannot live without her."
"But why?" asked Dog Star, "Aren’t you happy with me?"
"Oh, of course I am," said the boy, thinking he may have hurt his friend's feelings, "but I can't explain it - I just know that without her my life is ended."
"I see," Dog Star said, and he hung his head in longing much as the boy did.
The next morning the boy told the trainer he would try for the hand of the Princess. The trainer laughed until he rolled on the floor. "Don't you understand?" he said, "the King doesn't really want his daughter to marry; that is why he made the tests impossible."
"The tests are impossible?" the boy asked.
"Of course," said the trainer, "who could catch 2000 fish in the Great Lake with only a fishing pole? Who could make a tunnel through the King's mountain with only a small shovel? Who could guess what is hidden in the golden box? Most of the suitors have already left; what chance could you have?"
All that day the boy was very sad. Even Dog Star's amazing feats brought no smile. The first of the suitors to try the feats came back with 100 fish from the Great Lake and the King praised his valiant effort but even so he had failed to catch 2000 fish and so he was banished from the Kingdom. The Princess bid him good-bye and thanked him for trying.
One by one the suitors who were left tried, failed and were banished after the first test. The celebration was fast losing its gaiety. One day while Dog Star was hopping on one foot and juggling balls with his nose and his tail, a young woman stopped to watch. The boy did not notice her at first, for these days his head was always downcast. When he did look up he saw the smiling face of the Princess.
"Your dog is the best," she said, "I watch him from my window and he always amazes me and makes me laugh."
The boy stared at her lovely face and said without thinking, "He is my friend."
"Of course," the Princess said, "I hope he will be my friend as well."
The boy finally gathered his wits together but it was too late, the Princess had moved on. He looked at Dog Star and said, "You see, I must try."
Dog Star said, "Yes I see," and nuzzled his hand. They went together and put in their petition.
When the King read the petition he smiled down at the young man. "You understand that failure on any one of the tests will mean banishment from the Kingdom?"
"Yes," the boy said, "I understand."
The next morning at daybreak the boy said good-bye to the trainer who wished him good luck and said he would hate to lose them both. The boy set out with Dog Star to the Great Lake. They gathered some worms along the way and the boy had good luck fishing. By noon he had caught over 100 fish. Even as he continued to catch fish tears rolled down his cheeks.
"What is wrong?" Dog Star asked.
"The day is already half over," the boy said, "I know I can't catch 2000 fish in one day but I had to try and now we will be banished from the Kingdom."
Dog Star hung his head and would not play with the ducks anymore. When they asked why, Dog Star told them, for he could speak any language. When the ducks heard the story they said they would help and they began diving for fish and bringing them to the banks. The boy was overjoyed and he began to have some hope again.
A little before sunset they could hear the horses of the King's soldiers. The boy asked Dog Star how many more fish were needed. "The ducks say about 1000 more," he said.
"Oh no," the boy said, "We won't have time." Dog Star looked sad. His eyes began to glisten wetly and with it, rays of light spread out upon the lake. The sun was just setting and the fish began jumping toward the bright rays of light. As the King's soldiers rode up they thought they saw fish flying through the air. Unsure, they remained silent as they counted over 2000 fish.
With news of the successful completion of the first test the celebration began anew. Everyone wanted to see the young man who had accomplished it. Some said he must be a sorcerer and others said he must have had help, but all ate the fish and celebrated. The King looked a little suspicious but praised the young man and said he hoped he would fare as well in the second test.
Dawn of the next morning found the boy and Dog Star at the foot of King's Mountain with a shovel. The boy began at once to dig his tunnel but by noon he had made only a small dent in the side of the mountain. He sat down with Dog Star to eat the lunch the trainer had given him.
"I know this is impossible," he said sadly, "but I have to try."
Dog Star looked at the boy with sad shiny eyes.
"We used to have such fun here," Dog Star said, "remember when we found the cave on the other side of the mountain?"
With this the boy stopped eating and jumped up. "The cave," he said, "I forgot the cave." Dog Star jumped up too, delighted that the boy was happy again. They both raced around the mountain to rediscover the cave on the other side.
When they reached the sea their old friends, the crabs, were happy to see them again. "What games will we play today?" they asked.
"We are here today to dig a tunnel through the mountain," Dog Star said. This sounded like fun to the crabs and they scurried along behind. They all gathered at the entrance to the cave.
"If we just make this a little bigger at the entrance and dig it through to the other side, we will have our tunnel," the boy said. They all set to work in high spirits; Dog Star most of all in a digging frenzy. As the light of day began to fade the boy asked Dog Star how much farther it was to the other side of the mountain. Dog Star asked the crabs and they said about another ten feet. They dug furiously and just poked through to the other side when they heard the sound of the King's horsemen.
"It should be bigger at the entrance," the boy said, "it must be a proper tunnel." The light was almost gone now and Dog Star's eyes began to grow larger to see in the dark. As they grew, bright rays escaped from them. The walls of the tunnel entrance began to glow and then to melt. The King's men were met by a river of molten earth running out of the bright tunnel's mouth. They stared in at the new tunnel and at a boy who hugged his dog in the midst of a sea of crabs.
The next day even more people came to the celebration. It was rumored the young suitor had an army of crabs who did his bidding. Others said he possessed a strange light from some other world. The King looked concerned and he glanced at the young man now and then with an angry frown.
The Princess smiled at him and he was overjoyed. Dog Star did all the crowd's favorite tricks. The next day the boy must guess what secret the golden box held.
That night the boy and Dog Star sat under a tree and tried to guess what could be in the golden box. "It surely must be something of great value,” the boy said, “Perhaps it is the King's scepter or his crown." Dog Star thought those were both good guesses. He was trying hard to pay attention to the boy, who was in a serious mood, but the squirrels kept throwing down acorns, hoping their old friend would play with them. Dog Star was hoping the boy would decide to play as well, but he told the squirrels they were hard at work guessing a secret and could not play now.
The squirrels, being very curious, demanded to know what secret they were after. When Dog Star told them they chattered happily and said, "That is no secret, we saw what the King put in the golden box. Just tonight we saw him through the window; he opened the box, took out the diamond crown and put in an acorn." When the boy heard this he was very happy and they played with the squirrels by the light of the moon.
The next morning the young suitor appeared before the King and the large assembled crowd. The Princess was there as well. She smiled and waved at him. The King came forward with the golden box and placed it on a table. "Only one test remains," he said. "What treasure would you guess the golden box holds?"
The young man looked hard at the box. "Could it be an acorn?" he asked politely.
At this the King's expression changed. He was overcome with anger. While the crowd waited for him to open the box he paced up and down furiously. At last he stopped and a smile returned to his face.
"That was a foolish guess," the King said, "but because you did so well on the first two tests, I will give you another chance. I will give you a test that befits your great abilities. For such an auspicious day we need an auspicious sign - a new star in the sky. Yes, if you can put a new star in the sky my daughter will be your wife and half my kingdom will be yours."
The boy looked at the Princess with tears in his eyes. The Princess was also weeping. Only the King looked happy. Dog Star's eyes began to glisten wetly. They grew larger and larger. The crowd was aware of a bright light coming from somewhere. Dog Star's eyes continued to grow until there was nothing but light. A star too brilliant to behold was suddenly in their midst. It hovered next to the young man while all around shielded their eyes.
The young man looked at the star and guessed its intentions. "No," he said, "I can't let you go." He reached out to touch the star and as he touched it, the star bounded away as if it had been thrown. It flew at light speed growing first larger, then smaller, as it receded into the heavens. The King looked frightened and quickly withdrew. The Princess came to the young man and took his hand. They both watched sadly as the star continued on its journey home.
The young man and the Princess were soon married and the King gave them the whole of his kingdom, being now much in awe of the young man's powers. The new King and Queen lived a happy life and had one son who often, it is said, wished on a favorite star.