The year I was nine, I befriended a stray dog in our yard.

Yellowish white, the canine had sparkling eyes behind soiled long hair. Its fur was matted. The first time I sighted it, it was loitering somewhere under a tree. It was raining then. The animal looked starving and forlorn.

I went a step closer. It got startled and scampered away. I left behind some of my snacks under the tree and went home.

The next day saw the pathetic creature lying under the same tree. As I was approaching it, it leapt to its feet and limped away. This time, though, it was eyeing me at a distance, wagging its tail. Having put some food down, I retreated.

Gradually, there came a day when the puppy stopped backing away when I turned up. I often brought it goodies and watched it devouring them merrily. I even gave it a name, Xiaohua. A lot of neighbours then witnessed the scene where the puppy, while wagging its tail, was feeding from my palm.

Our company lasted several months when one day I could not find Xiaohua anywhere in the yard. The little companion simply vanished into thin air and never returned. I was sad.

As weeks went by, the dog eventually slipped out of my mind. Then one Sunday morning I was hurrying on the way to my piano lesson when I felt my heels nudged. Turning around, I saw Xiaohua there looking up at me, wagging its tail.

Amazed, I blurted out, “Is that you, Xiaohua?”.

The creature, very well groomed, was in a lot better shape than before. The hungry look was no longer there in its eyes.

A while after our encounter, Xiaohua turned around and started to trot to a lane. Curious I followed at its heels.

At a corner store in the lane, it stopped and lay down at the feet of an elderly man, who was obviously the shopkeeper.

How lucky Xiaohua was! It had adopted a new master, who really adored it.

Upon inquiry, I learned from the elderly man that he had adopted the stray dog on the street a couple of months before. After I shared my experience with the puppy, the shopkeeper thanked me for having treated Xiaohua well.