User:Sophia 022011

=  "The Proud Puppy"  = by: Chua Soo Sin

Mr. Bee had a bitch which gave birth to several puppies one day. One of the puppies was very different from the rest. Itas body was covered with white fur. It had a strong, sturdy body and a loud bark. It could move quickly unlike the other puppies which moved slowly and unsteadily. Mr. Bee loved the puppyvery much and named it 'Tiger. Every morning, Mr. Bee would feed the puppies with milk. Tiger, however, would always be given more milk than the others. Tiger was fit and healthy and coild do more work for his master such as fetching the newspaper and the letters. His master would frequently praise Tiger for being such a clever puppy.

Every night, Tiger would get more food than his younger brothers. After eating his dinner, Tiger would then follow his master out for a walk. Whenever his master watched a television, Tiger would always be close beside him. One night, Tiger and his master were watchig ga television programme on animals. Among the different types of animal shown was a tiger. Tiger quickly paid full attention to the programme.

Tiger was very pleased ad proud that his name was taken from such a strong and fearsome animal. He quickly ran to his mother who was guarding the door. "Why are you in such a hurry?" asked his mother. "Mother, my name actually comes from a fierce and strong animal. All the other animals are frightened of him!" said Tiger. "How do you know?" asked his mother. "I found out from the television programme I was watching just now," answered Tiger.

Then he ran quickly to his brothers to tell them all about it. Tiger told his brothers about the strength of the tiger. He became prouder and prouder as he told the other puppies about what he had seen on television. "Look at me! I'm Tiger. I'm strong and everyone fears me," he said proudly. "Well if you're a tiger, then I'm a tiger too," retorted his brother. "No, you're not a tiger! I'm the only tiger around here!" said Tiger angrily. "From today onwards, all of you must listen to me."

That night, Tiger had a dream. In his dream, he was a king rulling over all the other dogs. All the dogs were frightened of him. Every day, the dogs would prepare delicious food for him to eat. All his commands were carried out by all the dogs. Tiger was very pleased when he woke up from the dream.

The next morning, Tiger got up, acting very differently. He walked about in an arrogant manner. "I'm the king here. You must do as I say," he said fiercely to his brothers. Every day, Tiger, would order his brothers to work. The other puppies did as they were told because they were afraid of him. They obediently carried all his commands. When Tiger's mothers saw his proud ways, she shook her head. "Tiger, don't be proud," she warned. "Even though your name is Tiger, you are just a dog. You are no different from your brothers. Remember, nobody will like you id you are proud." But Tiger ignored his mother's words of advice.

One afternoon, Mr. Bee as usual was reading the newspaper. Afterr a while, he said to his wife, "My friend, Wong Wang loves our dogs. Let's keep Tiger and give the other dogs to him," It is up to you," said his wife.When Tiger heard what his master said, he felt very pleased, and became more arrogant. He did not feel sad that he was going to be separated from his family. The next day, Mr. Bee brought Tiger's mother and brothers to his friend, Wong Wamg's house. Tiger did not feel sad at all. For a while, Tiger was very pleased and proud that he was the only dog left in the house. But after a while, he began to miss his family.

As the days passed. Tiger began to change for the worse. When Tiger was in the neighbour's house, he also acted in an arrogant manner. He ordered the neighbour's dog to work, saying, "I'm Tiger, king of all the animals. You have to listen to me!" Seeing Tiger's fierce face, the dog was very frightened and nodded his head.Tiger liked to disturb the other animals as well. Because he had a sturdybody, fierce face and loud bark, all the animals in the neighbourhood were very frightened of him. Cat, who lived nearby, did not dare to come out of her house. Rabbit, who lived in a sundry shop nearby, scurried off whenever he saw Tiger. When Tiger saw that all the animals were frightened of him, he became even prouder. One day, when the postman came to deliver letters to Mr. Bee's house, Tiger purposely ran out and started barking fiercely at the postman. The postman got a big fright and hurriedly ran off. Seeing the postman so afraid of made him Tiger even prouder of himself. "Why," he thought to himself, ' even Man is afraid of me! I'm a real tiger." As a result, he no longer helped his master to do work or guard the house. His master began to dislike him.

Not long after, Mr. Bee had a new neighbour. The new neighbour had a dog. However, the dog was stronger and fierce than Tiger. One day, Tiger went to the neighbour's house. When he saw the dog, he growled, "I'm Tiger, king of all the animals! You must....." Tiger could not finish what he was saying because all of a sudden, he dog sprang towards him and attacked him. Tiger was badly bitten by the dog.The injured Tiger quickly ran home. His master, meanwhile, had spent the whole morning looking for him. When he saw Tiger, he lost his temper and chased him out his house. Tiger wanted to look for his family but did not know where to find them. Now, Tiger realised how wrong he has been. Unfortunately it was too late. He spent his remaining days wandering around, alone and hungry. From much-loved, pampered dog, he had now become a stray dog.