Story: Scout's Adventure

Dog in Warfare

photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall Link

“Hey, General Hound! Can I please go on this mission with the crew? I’ve been training for a long time now and I think I deserve to go,” Scout cried out while jogging alongside the General.

The General stopped in his tracks and turned to Scout.

“You think you’re ready for this, Scout?” the general replied, “You think you have what it takes?”

“Yes Sir!” Scout exclaimed.

The General responded, “Well then, grab your gear soldier.”

Scout began to smile as wide as his face. He had been waiting for this moment all of his life. He began to walk away when the General said one last thing, “You better not slow us down.”

Scout’s smile faded, and he left to gather his things.

After three hours had passed, the time finally came to leave for battle. Scout joined the army, ready for battle. The army marched and with a blink of an eye, they were suddenly in a massive room with a human lying on a couch. Scout and the rest of the army was a tiny army of soldiers the size of ants riding horses the size of grasshoppers. Scout and the rest of his kind were tiny dogs that ran alongside the knights. The knights had tiny falcons on their soldiers. This was the first time Scout had left the camp, and the enormity of the room and the human was overwhelming. He focused on the task at hand and tried his best to push the overwhelming information overload out of his mind. As the army approached the human, the enemy began to appear. They were a mob of flies and gnats that swarmed the human. The falcons took flight engaging with the enemy. General Hound exclaimed, “Alright, you dogs, climb to higher ground and engage the enemy!”

The dogs instantly broke rank and began to climb every chair and table in sight. Scout, at first, froze and stared at the chaos that ensued. He could faintly hear the General shout, “Scout, move your a**!”

Scout snapped out of his trance and followed his orders. He climbed a wooden chair and came up to his first enemy. He leapt at the fly and slashed his paws at the enemy. He struck the fly in the head, paralyzing the fly. Then he dug his canine teeth into the neck of the fly, draining the fly of all life. Scout’s adrenaline spiked. This was his first kill ever. He continued to battle as friends and foes fell to their death all around him. He dipped and dodged many sweeping attacks from flies and gnats. He racked up three more kills before the battle began to die down. When the battle was almost done, Scout loosened his guard. He stopped to rest when one last fly swooped down and knocked him out with one strike. As the light began to fade from Scout’s eyes, he noticed everyone was leaving the battlefield. Then everything went dark.

Scout awoke to complete quiet. The sun was setting and there was very little light remaining. He called out to everyone around but no one responded. He was completely alone. His comrades had left him behind at the battlefield. Scout was afraid and alone when suddenly a large hand lifted him from the ground. Scout was panicking but then the human placed him into a box. The human was looking down on Scout, very confused. The human placed food into the box, but Scout did not know what to do with the strange-looking objects. Scout had always hunted for his food. Finally, the human went to sleep and Scout jumped out of the box. He was starving, so he ate a few of the dead flies and gnats on the bed. When he was full he went to sleep.

The next morning, Scout awoke to the human again staring at him. There were a few living gnats and flies that surrounded him. Scout killed them all to the human’s delight. From this moment on, the Human and Scout shared a bond. Scout would kill the flies and gnats for the Human. They shared a friendship for many years.

Author's Note:

In the Chinese Fairy Tale called "The Little Hunting Dog," an army of tiny soldiers, dogs, and falcons appear in a room inhabited by a Scholar. The Scholar has a problem with flies and gnats bothering him. The army fights the flies and gnats and then leaves the room. One tiny dog was left behind and became a friend to the scholar. The dog would continue to kill flies and gnats, while sleeping in the Scholar's bed. One day the Scholar rolled over and killed the dog. I decided to rewrite the story from the tiny dog's point of view. Scout plays the role of the tiny dog. For the most part, I stuck to the story plot. I had Scout be knocked out instead of left behind. I decided to leave out the dying part because he is the main character in this story, and I did not want to end the story on the main character dying.

Bibliography:

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Link