One night, he saw a starving stray dog stalk through the reeds. She was black, and long-legged, her body thin and bony. He could feel her hunger so acutely. It reminded him of his own. That night, the boy offered the dog some food. The dog refused to take it until he had left, but the next night, he excitedly checked to see that it was gone. He came to visit the creature the next night, and the next. She was skittish and wary. For weeks, she refused his offering until he was gone. It took months before she would eat in front of him, and months more before she would take meat from his hand.
