This story takes place in a small village. A stray dog, an adult and thin, began to drop into one of the yards. The inhabitants of the house did not drive the animal away, especially since the children fell in love with the dog, who even came up with a name for him – Ryzhik.
The family immediately tried to find the owners of the animal, but no one in the village recognized the dog.
The first days Ryzhik was very frightened and any movement nearby made him run and seek shelter. Over time, he got used to the family, especially since they put a bowl of water in the yard and constantly fed him, treating him not only to porridge, but also to meat.
Sometimes the dog spent the whole day in the yard, and sometimes he disappeared for a long time, but he always came back and ate the treats left for him with appetite.
In the spring, the dog went away for a long time, and when he returned, his skin was covered with ticks, and a large wound gaped on his body. People treated the wound, removed the ticks and gave the dog medicine to make him recover faster.
At the time of treatment, Ryzhik was allowed into the house. The dog was very weak, and the people were so attentive and caring to him that he began to trust them.
When Ryzhik recovered and began to leave the house, he ran away again. The dog returned a few days later and has since brought mice into the yard every day. The whole village met the dog, he often went into the yards of local residents, never refused treats, but none of the people tried to tame him.
The dog constantly followed the family who helped him when he was sick. He accompanied the father of the family to the bus, waited for his wife at the store. Most of all, Ryzhik loved children, whom he looked after better than any nanny. The dog allowed the kids to play with him and never even growled in the direction of the kids. When Ryzhik ran away from the yard for a long time, the children were very bored.
One day the hostess went shopping, Ryzhik, as usual, followed her. On the way, they met two stray dogs that had not previously appeared in the village. Seeing the woman, the dogs rushed towards her.
Ginger decided to protect the woman and stood in front of her. At that moment, for the first time, she heard the dog growl and saw how he bared his teeth menacingly. The woman realized that the dog was an excellent defender, with whom she was not afraid of anything, so she went on, and soon Ryzhik, making sure that other people’s dogs were gone, caught up with his mistress.
Good deeds are always rewarded. The family helped the dog not to die of hunger and wounds, and the dog protected the man at the moment when he was in danger.
