Gutmut Wins the Race

Gutmut was snoring under the table and sun was napping behind the cloud. Ashu thought it is evening already. He went looking for Gutmut to go down to play. “Gutmut, where are you? See, the sun is down. Time for us to go down to the park.”

Gutmut did not pay heed and went on snoring. Ashu was looking for him everywhere, near the sofa, in the balcony, behind the kitchen… but he could not find him. Finally, he peeped under the dining table. And, there he was, Gutmut was happily sleeping.

Ashu nudged him and said “hey Pal, how come you are still sleeping? You lazy fellow! Come, it is time to go and play in the park”. Gutmut reluctantly woke up, stretched his front legs and wagging his tail stood up finally. Ashu fetched his leash and they were ready to go.

“Where are you going Ashu?” asked Moma

“We are going to park” answered Ashu.

“But it is still afternoon! It will be hot there” said Moma

“No, Moma, it is evening. Look outside, the sun has gone down.” Said Ashu pointing to the open sky seen through the balcony.

“Oh, my dear! The sun is only hidden behind the cloud. It is yet to set” said Moma smilingly.

“Oh! So the sun is only playing hide and seek.” Ashu was disappointed.

“You can still go to the park, only if you promise to come back early” said Moma.

Ashu was delighted. He promised his mother that he will be back soon. Both Ashu and Gutmut then went happily to the park.

Since they were early today, they saw some older kids playing in the park. When they saw Ashu and Gutmut approaching, one of them, a tall boy wearing a red T shirt said, “It is our tie to play. You small kids can come later. Do not disturb us. Go home.”

Ashu was surprised, “We will not disturb you. We are here to enjoy the slides”, he told the big boy.

“No, no. We do not want any disturbance. You go home with your puppy. Our running race competition is about to begin. We need the park to ourselves”, said another boy with long flowing hair and big nose.

“Running race! Wow, we would like to participate too. We both love to race”, said Ashu excitedly.

The boys started laughing. They were being very nasty. They went on laughing, pointing fingers at Ashu and Gutmut. Seeing them laugh Gutmut too started barking. Ashu tried to calm him down but Gutmut could sense that the boys were making fun of his friend and he was getting angry.

“We can race with you, what is there to laugh?” Ashu asked, getting irritated.

“You are too young to compete with us and your puppy is so tiny… yet you want to race with us? You will lose in no time!” said the big boy with red Tshirt.

“Let us see. There is no harm in trying. Have you not heard the story of hare and tortoise. Being boastful is not a good thing”, Ashu said calmly.

“Oh, really! Don’t stand there and preach. If you are so eager to make a fool of yourself, so be it. Come, let’s race. But if you lose, which you will, you have to promise, you will never come to park again.” Said the thin and tall guy in the group.

Ashu thought for a while. These were all big boys, much older and taller than him. He had every chance of losing since he was much smaller. He will not be able to come to park anymore if these boys won. Should he simply go home? 

He looked at Gutmut who was tugging at his leash, wanting to go and run. He bent down and stroked Gutmut lovingly, whispering in his ear “Buddy, we are being challenged by the big boys. Should we go home or should we accept the challenge?”

Gutmut looked at him intensely and then licked his face, as if reassuring that he is with Ashu! 

Ashu made up his mind. He stood up, with his head held high and told the boys. “Let’s race!”

Three of the tallest boys in the group stood in a row at the starting line, Ashu and Gutmut joined them. The boy with the red Tshirt began the countdown “Three… Two… One… Go!”

And the race began. Ashu was small and though he tried very hard he was no match for the big boys. He was ahead initially but soon the other boys caught up. Gutmut was excited with all the running and as he saw the boys going ahead, he started running faster. Soon he was running ahead of everyone. The boys started shouting and teasing “Hey puppy, slow down, your tiny feet will break!” But Ashu knew Gutmut loved to run. He shouted panting “Run Gutmut, you gotta win!”

Encouraged by his friend’s word, Gutmut ran faste ad faster till he reached the finishing line. Ashu ran behind him and finally caught up. Gutmut had won the race. The boys were feeling embarrassed. Ashu went to them, holding Gutmut in his arms. “You should not bully. We may be smaller than you are, but we can stand up to you.”, he said to the boys.

The eldest of the lost looked very sad, he said, “you and your puppy won. You can play in the park. We will leave.”

“No, no. You do not need to leave. The park is big enough. We can all play without disturbing each other”, said Ashu with a smile.

“We were bad to you and even made fun of your friend. Yet you are being nice to us…” said the boy in red T shirt in a low voice.

“My moma said, we should always make friends and not fight unnecessarily. Will you be our friend? I am Ashu and he is Gutmut, my buddy”, said Ashu extending his hand for a handshake.

The boys were happy they all shook hands and became friends forever. Gutmut was excited to see so many kids pampering him and he gave a happy bark too!!