The story of the dog called “We’ll See”

Summary

A little dog was abandoned in the countryside. He was hungry, thirsty and frightened, and above all he wanted company. So he looked around for a home. He also wanted to have a name.

A couple found him and since they couldn’t figure out what breed of dog he was, they called him “We’ll See”.

A hunter who saw We’ll See reckoned that when he grew up, he’d be a good hunting dog and asked to buy him. But the hunter very soon realised that, instead of hunting ducks, this dog preferred to play with them and instead of locating hidden hares, found a tree branch that created musical sounds.

The hunter was annoyed and sold We’ll See to a lady who wanted a dog to be an ornament in her living room. We’ll See loved the multicoloured cushions on her sofa and even made a sculpture of them. The lady was very annoyed and tossed him out.

The little dog’s next master was a gas station owner who wanted a watchdog.  So the man had We’ll See tied up all the time to make him fierce. But We’ll See sought the company of the boy who filled up people’s tanks with gas and watched him when he was doing his homework. That’s how We’ll See learned the alphabet which he used to try and write words with barks.

But the gas station man also got mad at him because nothing would make him fierce, and he, too, threw the little dog out. We’ll See found himself once again abandoned. He wandered around the mountains until he came to a village. There he found the family of a writer with which he lived the rest of his life. His new family could understand the lovely sculptures he made with stones, they sang with him accompanied by the sounds of the tree branch and they understood what his barking meant.

The story of the dog called “We’ll See”

Review

We’ll See was an ordinary dog.  He wasn’t a hunting dog, or a lapdog, or even a watchdog. Which was why nobody wanted him. But he was an environment-friendly dog, with architectural and more general artistic interests. He could also read and write!  This dog went through many hardships until he found a family. He didn’t want much. Just love, understanding and real acceptance from others. This is a gentle little book with modern messages, together with suspense, adventure and many entertaining moments.

Yannis Papadatos, (In the magazine The World of UNICEF, Winter 1999)

The story of the dog called “We’ll See”

Excerpt

The man put the gun down.  He looked a little miffed. He turned to We’ll See and said in a stern voice:

“Next time you find a hare, you’ll wait until I finish my work and then you can run toward it.  D’you understand?”

We’ll See had certainly understood.   He wagged his tail, barked and continued to sniff the grass and greenery.

After a while they came to a lake.

The hunter picked up a rock and threw it toward some bullrushes and moss on the water.

We’ll See thought this was another game, and was getting ready to leap into the lake to find the rock which he would then lay at the feet of the man with the thin mustache.

 But before he could do that, three ducks arose out of the moss flapping their wings, and flew away, high in the sky.

And as We’ll See was gazing at them, admiring the beauty of their plumage,  he heard a terrible noise, a noise so loud that it almost broke not only his eardrums but his heart as well!

He was so frightened, he took to his heels and hid behind a tree; meanwhile the three ducks were fading away into the horizon.

The man with the thin mustache first looked sadly at the ducks that were flying away and then looked in astonishment at We’ll See who was half-hidden in the hollow of the tree.

            “Some hotshot pointer that crook sold me!... You’re not fit to be anything but a lapdog!”

            And the man turned around and went back to the truck. We’ll See ran along behind him – Golly, what if he were left alone in this place where you could see people prowling around with long pieces of wood in their hands that made these horrible, terrible noises...

            They got into the truck and went home.

            The man went inside. We’ll See stayed in the garden, performing his mission of hanging around and sniffing. As he was wandering around, he came across a long thing piece of wood. It looked like the thing the hunter was holding. It looked hollow. We’ll See approached it hesitantly. He sniffed it, but it had no smell. He nudged it with his snout, it felt light. He kicked it and the wood gave out a nice happy sound. Bang!

            Now that’s a nice noise, thought We’ll See, not like that other terrible sound made by the stick my master was holding.

             He kicked it again. And again it gave out a nice noise.

            He kicked it softly, and a soft noise came out. He kicked it sharply, the noise was sharp. He hit it with his nail, which made a cheerful clink, and then with his paw, making a muffled sound.

             We’ll See played with his new toy for a long time.  And when he got tired, he picked it up in his teeth, and walked toward the doghouse.