Grumpy Dog
The dog grumbled in its sleep. It growled at strangers and, if in a bad mood, even at those it knew if they came too close or tried to mess with its meal, or petted it when it didn’t want to be touched.
The dog was hostile so people avoided it, walked away if it approached. The dog tried to tell itself that was good thing. It didn’t need them anyway.
But the dog was starved of love and one day, enough was enough. It went to its master, licked his hand and curled up at his feet.
“Good boy,” the master said, and the dog’s ear twitched, to show that he was listening.