A short fable about relational education.
A puppy, beaten and neglected, was brought at last to a rescue home. Its body healed, but its heart still trembled at every sound.
One day, a man came to adopt it. At first, he spoke kindly, but when the dog chewed his shoes through fear and confusion, the man struck it. When the dog barked anxiously at visitors, the man locked it in a dark room. And when the dog cowered instead of coming when called, the man dragged it by the collar and shouted louder, throwing it again into a dark room.
The more the man punished, the worse the dog’s behaviour became. It grew nervous, snapping when touched and whining through the night. At last the man declared, “This beast is useless!” and returned it to the rescue.
There the dog waited, long and forgotten, until one day, a family came with a young boy. The boy begged to take the dog home, but the parents were nervous. This dog misbehaves they said, it won’t make a suitable family pet, but the boy persisted and so they took dog, on a trial basis, to live with them.
At first, the dog’s fear showed again. It stole food from the table and growled when cornered. But instead of blows, the boy knelt and stroked its head. When the dog barked too much, the boy spoke softly and showed it where to rest, where to find safety. When it chewed his toy, the boy offered another and praised it when it obeyed.
Little by little, the dog learned. Its growls turned into a wagging tail, its barks to happy yelps, and its eyes grew bright with trust. In time, it became the boy’s loyal friend, guarding him by day and curling up beside him while he slept.
Harshness may break the body, but only gentleness can heal the heart.
The Belonging Collective 