Jimmy

“Papa, can I take that dog back home?” Raju pointed at a sick dog lying under a dilapidated shack near the sea beach. Raju’s father, Mohan, is a fisherman who goes to the sea every morning to have a handsome catch so that after selling them in the market he can earn some profit. Raju accompanies him every morning to learn the tricks to fish and in which portion of the sea there is a big treasure of fish.

Mohan isn’t a big fisherman and owns a small boat. He rows it until the time comes to throw the fishing net in the water. Then Raju holds the oar and maintains the balance of the boat and Mohan fishes. On that day too they were returning from fishing when Raju saw the dog. His father was at first reluctant to take a sick dog home but as his son insisted, he said “Okay” 

Raju was very happy. He took the dog back to his home and took care of it. The dog was sick due to hunger. So aftercare it got well very fast. After a few weeks, it gave birth to twin pups. They were so cute. Jimmy is one of them. Both the dog and Raju took care of the pups. The mother dog died after a few months and from then onwards Raju took more care of the pups. Jimmy and his brother Rocky used to follow the father and son wherever they went, even to the sea. Raju trained them to swim in the sea. Their days passed well.

But good days didn’t last long. For the last one month, Mohan is very sick and so he can’t go out for fishing. Raju said he will go to the sea but his father didn’t agree at first. His reason was till then Raju hasn’t done to the sea alone and has not experienced the rough weather. Mohan thought he will be fine within a few days and therefore he stopped his son from going to the sea. So they ate what was stored in the house but after a few days the ration finished. Now Raju was forced to go out to sea. He has to catch fish and sell them to bring home some necessary food items to eat. Mohan was hesitant to send him but had to at last. Raju thought who will take care of his father when he is out to sea. Finally, he made Rocky stay at home with Mohan and took Jimmy along with him.

For the first few days, the weather was fine and Raju had no problem with fishing. But today the sky is overloaded with grey clouds and there is an indication of heavy rain from yesternight. Raju has to go fishing because he needs money to buy medicine for his sick father. His father warned him not to go to the deep part of the sea and he said he won’t. But when he reached near the seashore the sky had turned deep grey and the sea was fuming in rage. His heart said he shouldn’t go but his mind said he must go or he won’t be able to buy the medicine. He took his boat to the sea but then.....

Jimmy was running at the top of his speed. After a few moments he jumped into the seawater and without thinking for a second he started swimming in the rough waves of the sea. He has to save Raju by any means. After a long struggle, he could get near his little master. He caught hold of his skirt and started dragging him towards the shore, but the furious waves were not at all cooperative. They tried hard to push them back into the deep water.

Jimmy felt the task to be very hard but he didn’t give up. He tried his best to pull his master along with him. After some time he could pull him back to the shore. But his master is unconscious and now Jimmy did not know what to do next. But still, it did not lose his hope and started barking at the top of his voice. He hoped some fishermen are still out at sea and they will surely help his master regain his senses. And yes he could see some men coming towards their direction. When they reached them Jimmy could recognize them as neighbours of Raju. They pressed Raju’s stomach to let the ocean water flow out then they discussed something. At last, they picked him up to take him back to the village. Jimmy was a bit relieved.

Mohan was upset but his neighbours said he is alright now. They took Ravi to the ayurvedic doctor of the village who checked him thoroughly and gave some mixture to eat. Raju was quite well by the next morning. He thanked the villagers for saving his life when one of his neighbours said “It was Jimmy who saved you from drowning. If you really wish to be thankful to someone, be to him. Raju turned towards Jimmy and said “Come Jimmy, come here” Jimmy was sitting in the corner of the room looking at his little master and the people who were around him. When Raju called him, he came near immediately. Raju stroked and patted him affectionately and said “Thank you, Jimmy, thank you” 

Jimmy didn’t understand a word. He was very happy to see his little master fit and fine. He wagged his tail to show his happiness.