Dog Star, Page 2

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.