-- *Mar*Here’s a touching and thought-provoking short story on that theme. ------------------------------ *“Burning Paws”*
The sun had turned the city into a furnace. The streets shimmered like rivers of fire, and even the air seemed to tremble under the heat. The scent of melting tar rose from the roads, thick and suffocating. On a corner of the busy highway, beneath a bent signboard, lay a stray dog named *Moti*. He was small, brown, and thin—his ribs pressing against his dusty coat. He had survived the winter cold, the monsoon floods, and hunger that twisted his belly each night. But summer—the cruel, merciless summer—was his greatest enemy. ------------------------------ *The Cruel Ground Beneath* Moti had no idea why the road burned that day. When he tried to cross, his paws sizzled against the black metal. He yelped and jumped back, trembling, holding up his front leg in pain. Steam seemed to rise from the tar. He looked around helplessly—there was no shade except under a broken rickshaw. He limped toward it, every step a stab of agony. His tongue lolled out, cracked and dry. The puddle he’d found yesterday had vanished—evaporated like mercy in the heat. Cars rushed past, their tires hissing on the scorching road. No one saw the small dog trying to drag himself to safety. To them, he was just another shadow beneath the sun. ------------------------------ *A Child’s Heart* Then, a small voice broke the monotony of horns and engines. “Ma! Look, the dog’s hurt!” It was *Ria*, a girl of ten, holding her mother’s hand as they walked from school. Her mother, sweating beneath an umbrella, frowned. “Beta, don’t go near it. It’s dirty.” But Ria’s heart didn’t listen. She ran across the footpath and crouched near Moti, who whimpered softly. She saw the burns on his paws—raw and red, stuck with bits of melted tar. Her eyes filled with tears. “Ma, please… we have to help him!” Her mother hesitated. The heat pressed down like punishment. But when she saw her daughter’s pleading eyes—and the dog’s trembling body—something in her softened. ------------------------------ *Kindness Like Cool Rain* Together, they fetched a small bowl of water from a nearby shop. Ria poured it slowly near Moti’s mouth. He drank greedily, his tail thumping weakly against the ground. The shopkeeper, moved by the sight, came forward with an old cardboard box. “Put him here. I’ll call the animal clinic.” When they lifted Moti into the box, he whimpered but didn’t fight. He looked up at Ria with eyes full of something deeper than pain—something like gratitude. Within an hour, an animal rescue van arrived. They wrapped his paws gently in wet cloth, gave him water, and carried him away. Ria watched until the van disappeared. The hot road still shimmered, but the world didn’t feel as cruel anymore. ------------------------------ *A Second Chance* Days passed. The animal shelter posted an update online: *“Street dog rescued from road burns—recovering well. Named ‘Moti’ by his savior, Ria.”* Ria and her mother visited him one evening. His paws were bandaged, but his eyes were bright again. When he saw her, he wagged his tail so hard that his whole body shook. And in that simple moment—under the same blazing sky that once tortured him—there was a tiny miracle: compassion had found its way through the heat. ------------------------------ *Epilogue* Every summer, roads across the country still burn, and countless stray dogs like Moti suffer silently—paws scorched, tongues parched, hearts faithful still. But sometimes, one act of kindness—one bowl of water, one moment of care—can turn a burning world into a place of hope. Because mercy, even in the smallest measure, is cooler than any shade. ------------------------------ Would you like me to make this story *shorter for a school anthology* or *longer and more descriptive*, suitable for a competition or magazine publication? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCLzMyLrdtEt3nRhzYQYJ4M%2Bp%2BzS18geBAA_f9OahAChyw%40mail.gmail.com.
