Old Bucky and the Wolf

In a herdsman’s hut outside a hamlet lived a shepherd with his dog Bucky. Bucky was a big, fluffy white dog and he had protected the sheep day and night for many long years. No wolf had ever dared to come anywhere near the herd.

But Bucky was getting very old and losing his strength. He was getting grey and his eyesight wasn’t what it used to be.

“You’re no use to me anymore. Why should I keep you when you’re nothing but a waste of space now!” said the shepherd ruthlessly and threw his loyal companion outside the fence into the rubbish dump.

He got himself a new young yellow dog instead, and expected him to serve him just as good as his predecessor.

Poor old Bucky sat sadly among the rubbish, hungry, thirsty and shivering with cold. The shepherd treated the poor dog with nothing but real cruelty now.

When the night came, the young yellow dog nestled in his kennel and fell fast asleep.

But old Bucky was still very vigilant. Even a tiny rustle was enough to get his guard up. Suddenly, he caught the whiff of a wolf lurking around the sheep. He wanted to jump over the fence to drive the beast away, but he was too starved to even get up.

“Well, if there is no food for me, at least the wolf can have a bite or two,” thought Bucky and curled into a ball without a single bark.

When the shepherd came to check on his sheep in the morning, he found that he was one animal short. The young yellow dog was still hiding in his kennel.

“Oh, something like this would have never happened with my old Bucky around,” lamented the shepherd.

So he went to…