A Dog Is A Man's Best Friend

'A dog is a man's best friend' is a very true saying. Without doubt, these four-legged lovely creatures are much more loyal and friendly to us than the average person. A story bearing testimony to this fact was once narrated to me by my grandfather which is outlined below:

Somesh was the son of a rich farmer, almost a zamindar, in Bengal in the 1750s. They had great farmlands that grew paddy, bananas and vegetables. One day, his parents left him to manage the farm (they had workers of course) while they went to a pilgrimage. Somesh did not have much to do except take good care of the already-harvested crops, so he spent his time roaming in the fields and playing with his pet dogs. (He had seventeen dogs) Around this time, a great battalion of the French East India Company, hearing of this fertile farmland launched a surprise attack on the same because it was near their base at Chandennagore. To say the truth, the did not have to attack—they merely walked in one day and planted the French flag and all workers and nearby villagers fled like mice. Only Somesh and his dogs remained. When the French soldiers began firing at his house, the dogs attacked them setting up a massive barking. They saved Somesh's life from the French as they pounced upon the soldiers, killing many but of course, what can seventeen dogs do against a battalion of soldiers? All dogs but one were killed while Somesh had the opportunity of fleeing with the last dog, the oldest one of them all, on a boat. He rowed down the river and reached Calcutta the next day. He went straight to the officer of the British East India Company and told his story. They were only too glad to help and launched such an unprecedented attack on the French that they were forced to retreat. Somesh lamented the loss of his dear dogs and he never ceased telling everyone he met how they saved his life while the workers had all fled.