Emma Bland Smith - Odin, Dog Hero of the Fires

Odin

Dog Hero of the Fires

written by Emma bland Smith Illustrated by Carrie Salazar

Dark ness sets in. I take over f or m y sis ter. Woof! You r turn to sleep, T e ssa! Im on guar d dut y no w!

Good b oy, Odin! Ro land pats m e and heads in to the h ouse.

Arie l says g oodnig ht t o the goats and to me, t oo. See you tomorr ow, Odin! She kisses me ri ght o n my no se. I lick her fa ce and she la ughs .

The go ats dr ift of f to sl eep an d I li e next to the m, my no se and e ars ale rt.

I am a wor kin g dog. I must p rotect my g oats.

It is a hot, dry nig ht. And wind yso wi ndy. I get to my feet. Th e swi ng und er th e tre e jerk s wild ly.

Someth ing is no t right .

A light goes on in the farmho use win dow.

I smell smoke . The fu r on m y back stand s up strai ght.

I check o n th e goat s, all e ight of th em. P eaches snuff le s in he r slee p. Jo jo ope ns on e eye . They ar e safe for n ow.

I hear a th ump on th e roo f. What is R oland doing up there? He poin ts d own to ward the va lley and m y heart drop s.

The sky is glowi ng oran ge.

Fire.

Rolan d yell s, A rie l, get th e ani mals!

Arie l runs to ward the tr uck, car rying the ca t and l eadin g T e ssa.

Odin , COME! Rolan d sho uts. He trie s to drag me, to p ush me . But I p lant myse lf fir mly . I swallo w and back awa y, tremb ling .

No, I w on t go. I am a wo rki ng dog. I won t leave m y goa ts.

Roland drop s his he ad fo r a mo ment, then climbs int o the tr uck. T e ars glis ten on Arie ls face. T e ssa jum ps in and bar ks t o me th at she will k eep our peopl e saf e.

I watc h as the truck l ight s disap pear in to th e darkn ess. I ha ve nev er spent a night away from T e ssa. Roland and Ar iel ar e my family too.

I whine soft ly.

CRASH ! The no ise mak es me jump.

The bar n roof coll apses.

BOOM! A propa ne tan k expl odes near th e hou se.

The air shimme rs wit h hea t.

It is o verw helm ing. I pant , tryi ng to co ol down .

The go ats ar e awak e now , thei r eyes wi de with alarm. Ja ck Spar row pu shes cl ose to m e. Tink erbell nuzzl es my neck. Th ey clu mp tig htl y behind me, scar ed, wai tin g for my dir ectio n.

The f la mes ar e movi ng fast, co ming for us. Where c an I take th e goats ? How can I keep them safe? Glowi ng embe rs skit ter ac ross the fi eld. I yelp as the y burn m y whi skers.

Rolan d lef t the gate o pen. I sp rint thro ugh it . Bad ide a! The yar d is in f la mes! Th e enor mous maple tree cra ckle s and r oars. Finge rs of f la me streak out of the far mhou se wind ows.

I run back thro ugh th e gat e and turn in a circl e. All ar ound , every wh ere, t he sk y is re d.

Someth ing cat ches my eye. The roc ks! On top o f the hi ll, the y tower above th e gr ound , safe fr om fire at le ast fo r now . That s where we have to go.

I bark ord ers. Come on, Dary l! F as ter , Aurora! Stay cl ose, Amun-Ra!

We dart th roug h smo lderin g ashes . I step on red- hot cinders and pa in sears my f oot. Limp ing, I carry on. The go ats scam per eas ily o ver th e hot grou nd, th eir feet pr otecte d by hoo ves.

WHOOSH! A burnin g bran ch bl ows in fron t of us. The go ats sca tter. Dixo n ble ats an d li cks hi s burnt shoul der, but th ere is no tim e to st op. I bark encourageme nt. Hurry ! Hurr y! The fi re is coming!

Final ly , we arriv e at th e ro cks. Will we b e safe here? Im not s ure. Bu t it s our best op tion . My pulse sl ows as we sett le do wn.