Translated from the Original Hindi by
 Kanwar Dinesh Singh

Chhotelal used to go for morning walk daily. He used to go around two miles to the city limits every morning. There was a small forest outside the city. Chhotelal wanted to go there, but it was frequented by many dogs. From his childhood days, Chhotelal was extremely afraid of dogs. One day, he spoke his mind to an aged man who was very wise. He advised him, “Never be afraid of dogs; the more they scare you, the more they will disturb you. Take a stick for self-defense and also some loaves for feeding the dogs. Show them the stick first and then offer them the loaves of bread. They will say nothing; then enjoy your walk.”
The next morning, carrying a stick and bread in his hands, Chhotelal went to the forest outside the city. The dogs saw him from a distance and started barking at him. Then with fast-lolling tongues, the dogs came nearer to him. He raised his stick, the dogs retreated. Then he started offering pieces of bread to them. The dogs started wagging their tails.
Chhotelal started walking there every morning. The dogs used to come and see him and eat the bread offered to them while wagging their tails. Gradually, Chhotelal also stopped carrying the stick; even then the dogs would wag their tails. Sometimes, even if he did not carry bread, the dogs moved around him happily.
One day Chhotelal fell ill and did not go out for many days. During his illness, his friend Ratanchand used to go to the sylvan outskirts of the city with his stick.
One morning, when Chhotelal came out healthy and entered the wooded area outside the city, he saw the dogs wagging their tails in front of Ratanchand who carried his stick and as soon as he reached there, the dogs ran barking to bite him.
*Contact: Dr. Kanwar Dinesh Singh
Writer, Poet, Storyteller, Translator (English/Hindi),Associate Professor of English & Editor: Hyphen

Email: kanwardineshsingh@gmail.com