Her owner is an elderly man fifty years old who live alone. To fill his old age, after the death of his wife a year ago, he would rather spend his time with adventure in the woods. For the layman, the man's eyes look fragile, but it is still very keen to observe.
Before he set off into the woods, as usual, she was at herself in the mirror first, while misinterpreted thick mustache, he wore a long-sleeved flannel shirt worn arm's folded, bent edges black hat, and boots made of alligator skin. Unstick a rifle on his shoulder, not forgetting a long fishing rod was in the palm of his left hand. In the village, hunt animals in the forest is not prohibited except where trade in rare eagles, ah it was severely criticized by residents.
The cat named Toby. The old man always stroking his body before he left her, this time slipping a few words, "Take care of the house, Toby, I'll bring a big fish you later."
Toby always happy to see the return of his master, was expressed by running to the front garden as soon as he heard the old man's legs. Even when he had to go home without any fish, Toby kept happy. But, over time, there is one thing that started to hit the cat feeling: Loneliness. Since stricken lonely, she was so reluctant to play ball in the front garden; he hoped his employer to understand his feelings, to express him to silence in the house all day.
A week later, the employer can begin to understand how they feel Toby. Days he went outside the village to visit a friend's house that might sell a cat. A man her age, old Jim, who had been selling Toby him, it does not have a cat seeokor again. The result was in vain. The old man went home empty-handed.
The next day, in the afternoon, Mr. Morrison old approached his home, after a long journey looking for a dog that is blurred. Now the dog had to be near him. Morrison allowed the old man into the house. Immediately after completion prepare a room for Mr. Morrison on the top floor, he allowed his guests to take a break first, then quickly he fell down, take Toby, and bring it along to the presence of the Golden Retriever dog tied to a pole by the door to the backyard , There is nothing that is most surprising to him than to know that the dog did not bark at all.
The dog was still lie, with chin touching the ground. One thing that makes Toby dared to sit at his side, within secure, instead of having scuttled.
See Toby happy to be nearby, then the old man left them and walked to his room downstairs to go to sleep.
Keesokan harinya, ketika Morrison hendak berpamitan pulang, pemilik rumah cepat-cepat melontarkan pertanyaan. Dia bertanya apakah Pak Morrison menjual anjingnya. Mula-mula sang tamu dengan tegas menjawab tidak, tetapi setelah mendengar alasan-alasan yang diutarakan lelaki itu tentang keakraban sesaat Toby dan si anjing, dan bahwa kucing itu sangat membutuhkan seekor teman lantaran didera kesepian, si pemilik anjing segera mengiyakan dengan antusias karena heran mendengar keakraban mereka, mengingat banyaknya anjing-anjing yang dimilikinya. Maka, setelah terjadi transaksi jual-beli, dia lalu minta diri, mengayunkan kaki bersamaan dengan tongkatnya, meninggalkan rumah sahabatnya, dengan senang hati.
Anjing itu jantan, berwarna keemasan. Warnanya semakin tampak mengilap saat tubuhnya ditempa cahaya matahari—saat Toby dan anjing itu bermain bola bersama sang majikan di taman rerumputan halaman depan. Suatu ketika bola yang mereka mainkan jatuh di sungai kecil di samping halaman belakang; waktu itu bola yang dilemparkan oleh sang majikan jatuh dekat sungai, lalu, seperti lomba saja, mereka cepat-cepat berlari untuk mengambilnya. Tepat ketika si anjing berlari hendak mengginggit bola itu, tiba-tiba Toby makin menambah kecepatan larinya, dan secara tak sadar ia berhasil melewati musuhnya dari samping lalu, secara tak sadar pula, menendang bola itu hingga jatuh terbawa air. Laju sungai yang deras membuat bola terus meluncur. Sejak kejadian itu, si anjing jadi marah besar kepada Toby. Meski si lelaki tua telah membelikan bola baru untuk mereka, si anjing tetap marah pada Toby. Majikan itu hampir hafal aktivitas hewan peliharaan barunya, setiap hari anjing itu menghabiskan waktu sendirian di kandang belakang, ia tidur, lalu makan, berjalan mondar-mandir melihat sungai, dan mendekam kembali di kandang. Berbeda dengan rekannya, Toby justru menikmati hari-harinya dengan ceria; setiap pagi, setelah menghabiskan sarapan, ia bermain bola di halaman depan, sambil menjemur diri di bawah matahari. Ia lalu akan masuk rumah kembali tepat ketika matahari naik setinggi tombak. Dalam perjalanannya menuju kandang, kadang-kadang Toby sempat berhenti ketika tiba di depan sebuah pintu dapur yang berada di sudut. Seandainya seseorang berada di situ dan membuka pintu dapur itu, dia akan melihat keluasan taman belakang yang menghijau, berlatarkan sungai yang bergemericik airnya, juga sebuah jembatan kecil yang dibuat oleh pemilik rumah. Menyadari bahwa tak ada orang yang melakukan hal itu untuknya, maka ia segera meloncat ke meja dapur, lalu secepat kilat ia meloncat lagi ke atas sebuah almari. Ia menengok rekannya melalui kerangka angin-angin yang terpasang di dinding atas. Sebenarnya, jika dia ingin menengok anjing itu, dia bisa melakukannya secara langsung lewat samping kanan rumah, dengan memutar melewati jalan setapak di samping kanan rumah itu, lalu ia harus berhenti saat tiba di depan rerimbunan semak-semak. Tetapi, lantaran takut kepergok oleh si anjing, hal itu benar-benar tak pernah dilakukannya. Suatu ketika si majikan membawa pulang ikan banyak. Namun demikian, lantaran mengetahui anjing itu tetap marah kepadanya, maka dia lebih senang untuk memberikan kepada Toby, kemudian ikan yang tersisa diberikan untuk si anjing.
Di suatu senja yang cerah, saat burung-burung mulai pulang ke sarangnya, Toby duduk merenung di bawah sebuah pohon yang teduh di taman depan. Ia merenungkan masa depannya mengenai pertemanannya dengan si anjing; apakah ia akan terus-terusan seperti ini, tanpa komunikasi. Ketika ia hendak berjalan pergi ke dalam rumah, dari belakangnya, tiba-tiba muncul seekor ular berbisa yang panjangnya lebih dari satu meter. Mendengar suara gemerisik dari belakang, ia menengok dan, begitu mengetahui kehadiran seekor ular yang hendak memangsanya, berteriaklah kucing itu sekeras-kerasnya, hingga teriakan itu membuat si anjing yang sedang tidur seketika terbangun. Bingung, kaget, dan tak terbiasa menghadapi peristiwa seperti itu, kucing itu berlari tak keruan arah, ke sana ke mari, ke belakang mengelilingi kolam, lalu ke depan mengelilingi pohon, dan tetap diikuti oleh musuhnya -yang tak lain dan tak bukan merupakan seekor ular hitam mengilap yang semakin gesit mengejarnya. Si anjing tiba-tiba datang dan berlari lewat jalan setapak, lalu ia berhenti mendadak, seperti seekor kuda yang dikendalikan oleh koboi. Mengetahui bahwa ular tersebut tidak menyadari kehadirannya, dengan cepat si anjing berlari ke arah ular dan menerkam hewan melata tersebut tepat di kepalanya. Ia mencabik-cabik kepala ular itu hingga mati.
That's when the old man came home, carrying a black plastic bag containing a lot of fish. He quickly rushed to the back of the house, and shortly thereafter, he was back carrying a small jerry can of kerosene. He opened the lid, pour it into the body of the snake, and immediately menuntup back jerrycans it. Rough right hand fingering pants pocket and pulled out a lighter. He took one rod, menggeretnya, and menjatuhkannnya to the body of the snake. The three of them back with a look at the fire blazing. Since the incident, both pets start to look reconciled. The next day, also in the following days, the old man and his pet always look vibrant enthusiasm within the current -more playing the ball back. If someone was in there, in the backyard, or standing on a small bridge, undoubtedly, friends, he would actually see the happiness it.
Moral message:
1. About Luck: We must dispose of all forms of revenge, like Toby; learn to exhale all the way through your breath before you sleep at night. Sometimes luck to them living with spaciousness, like Toby, when the employer brings a lot of fish, he chose to give them to Toby, and are left to the dog who remain angry.
2. On Fraternity: Because some reason, or an unforgivable error, may we so hate our close relatives. But when their lives are in danger, as has been experienced by Toby, we should be helping them, as soon as possible, as the behavior of the dog.