00:00Major, a soldier dog, by Trevor Jones, a soldier dog, by Trevor Jones, a soldier dog, by Trevor
00:29Jones, illustrated by Ming Hai.
00:36When I was little, my best friend was Sid.
00:39He smelled like soap, dirt, and syrup, and we played all day in the snow.
00:45I loved to sleep close to him at night, where I heard branches on the roof and the snores
00:50of his parents.
01:09One day, things changed.
01:11I could smell that Sid and my family were excited and a little scared, so I licked them.
01:18I did not know how to feel, so I barked a lot.
01:25Soon after that, we got in the car.
01:28I licked tears from Sid's face while we drove.
01:32We arrived at a new place with loud thumping noises that hurt my ears.
01:37Two men grabbed me and tried to push me into a dirty box.
01:41I was scared, so I bit them.
01:45Sid crawled in the box and called me, but he was crying and would not look at me.
01:50I got in the box to comfort him, but a hand pulled him out and the door slammed shut with
01:56a bang.
01:57I was trapped.
02:01I traveled for a long time and arrived at a place with many people and even more smells.
02:07I was poked and marked, and I did not enjoy that.
02:12There were many other dogs of all sizes, and more were arriving all the time.
02:17I missed Sid, but at least I was not alone.
02:24I made friends with other dogs, like Taffy and Poochie and Kimmel.
02:29They had all come from far away.
02:32We did not get to see each other every day, but we tried to let each other know we were
02:37fine.
02:38It was always loud with so many dogs talking at once, so sometimes it was hard to sleep.
02:48Soon I met a man named Zeke.
02:51He smelled like bacon and wool, and he needed my help climbing, running, and finding things.
02:57I was not always sure what he wanted me to do, but I wanted to make Zeke happy, so I
03:03did my best.
03:05Taffy just wanted to chase sticks, cats, and people.
03:09She kept running away, but they always caught her.
03:16There were so many dogs, and we all learned different things.
03:28After a while, they threw a party for us.
03:32I got some special treats, and Zeke got a piece of paper that I tried to eat.
03:37They shipped us off again on a train that smelled like oil and onions.
03:42I was with friends, and there were new people who wanted to pet me, but that was not allowed.
03:48Only Zeke could touch me.
03:54The trip was scary.
03:56The water was much bigger than any water I had seen at home.
04:00It smelled like fish, but I could not find any.
04:04The way the boat moved made my stomach feel weird.
04:11Days of playing seemed far away, and the smells of Sid, my family, and my home faded.
04:19There were booming sounds and smells of burning tires, but I wanted to help Zeke, and he needed
04:25me.
04:26We were always tired and dirty, and Zeke smelled scared much of the time.
04:32Every day we went for long walks where I paid attention to strange sounds and smells.
04:42On one of our walks, I got nervous.
04:45I could smell unfamiliar people and hear feet stepping on branches.
04:50I knew that Zeke and the others were in danger.
04:53I told Zeke about them by tugging as hard as I could on my leash.
04:57Zeke stopped right away, and he and everyone else crept backward for a long time.
05:03They kept quiet until I told them I could not smell or hear anything wrong anymore.
05:09Zeke scratched my ears, and I got extra treats that night at camp.
05:13We had many more days and nights like this one.
05:21Finally, after what seemed like a long time, the men in the camp gathered one morning.
05:34Their leader said words in a happy voice, and everyone started cheering.
05:39I did not know what happened, but I knew it was good news.
05:42I started barking, and they did not even tell me to be quiet.
05:50Soon we got back on a large boat and went back across the water, but this time, everyone
05:57smelled happy and laughed a lot.
05:59I got all the treats I wanted.
06:05Once we got off the boat, I got on a train that smelled like chocolate, but Zeke would
06:10not give me any.
06:12When it stopped, we had returned to where I met Zeke for the first time.
06:17The smells of my friends had faded so much that I could barely make them out.
06:23Even worse, Zeke left, and I worried about being lonely.
06:31A new person, Carol, started taking care of me and other dogs.
06:36She had a gentle voice and smiling eyes.
06:40She asked me to do different things.
06:42Instead of barking at people I did not know, I had to sit still.
06:47She let everyone pet me instead of only Zeke.
06:50I liked that part.
06:52It was not hard to learn, but it was different from being with Zeke.
06:56When the other dogs and I did something Carol liked, she gave us treats.
07:04One day Carol gave me a hug and a smile and put me into a crate smelling like fresh pine.
07:10I was sad to leave, but there was nothing to do but sleep and smell the world going
07:15by.
07:16When the train stopped, the crate opened and someone was there.
07:20He was bigger, so I was not so sure at first, but as soon as I smelled and licked him, I
07:27knew it was my old friend Sid.
07:30Now I play with other dogs, and I am gentle with the little ones.
07:34Sometimes the old smells come back to me and I remember my trip across the water and back.
07:40I even got my picture in the paper and people thanked me for what I did.
07:45I am happy that I helped Zeke and his friends, but I am even happier to curl up with Sid
07:51safe and sound.
07:57I hope you enjoyed that story.
07:59If you would like to see these books uploaded daily, go ahead and subscribe and don't forget
08:03to check out all the other stories that are already uploaded.
08:06Thank you so much for watching.
