In satucul Fan din Transilvania, iarna a venit mai devreme decat de obicei si a adus la poarta familiei Degetel un catelus zgribulit de frig. Treptat, toata lumea din casa se indragosteste de el, pana si micuta Thea, careia ii era frica de caini. Ghemotocul de blana primeste un nume – Floss – si reuseste sa intre chiar si in gratiile pisicilor. Dar nu trece mult timp si o veste neasteptata vine sa tulbure armonia noului camin al lui Floss.
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Fragment din cartea "Floss, catelusul pierdut" de Arabella McIntyre-Brown"
"I feel nervous, because he is a dog, and he's got a lot of pointy teeth. But I take a step forward. And another step. My hand's shaking a bit when I reach down, and I jump when the dog licks my fingers. I touch his head and - wow! His long fur is so soft I can hardly feel it. He licks my hand and looks up at my face, and he's got a big grin on his face, really he has. He sneezes again and we all laugh. Tudor sneezes too, a great big sneeze, just like the dog. We all laugh again.
`Give him the food, Thea' says Daddy.
I expect the dog to wolf down the food, but he sniffs first and eats a tiny bit.
He looks up at Tudor, then at me and our dad, and we all nod and smile. Then the dog begins to eat, and he takes more and more, till it's all gone, and he's licking the bowl for every last atom of food he can find.
`Good boy!' we all say. Dad and Tudor give him a pat.
We leave him outside the gate and go back inside the house. He's still there, lying by the gate, waiting.
I feel good, but I feel bad too. Good for feeding him, and bad for leaving him. I don't like dogs. But he's so sweet! I'm confused...
Sunt nelinistita, pentru ca e, totusi, un caine si are o groaza de dinti ascutiti. Dar fac un pas in fata, si inca unul. Imi tremura putin mana cand o intind spre el si tresar cand cainele imi linge degetele. Ii pun mana pe cap si... uau! Blana lui latoasa e atat de moale, ca abia o simt. Imi linge mana si se uita in sus la fata mea. Are un zambet larg pe fata, chiar are. Stranuta din nou, iar noi izbucnim in ras. Stranuta si Tudor, tare si cu putere, la fel cum a facut cainele. Ne punem cu totii din nou pe ras.
— Da-i mancarea, Thea, imi spune tata.
Ma astept sa o infulece, dar cainele o adulmeca mai intai si apoi gusta putin.
Se uita la Tudor, pe urma la mine si la tata si noi toti dam din cap si zambim. Atunci cainele incepe sa manance din ce in ce mai mult, pana nu mai ramane nimic, si linge castronul ca sa nu-i scape nici ultima faramita de mancare.
— Asa, baiatule, ii spunem toti, iar tata si Tudor il mangaie.
Il lasam in fata portii si ne intoarcem in casa. El ramane intins langa poarta, asteptand.
Ma simt bine, dar, in acelasi timp, ma simt si rau. Ma simt bine ca i-am dat sa manance, dar ma simt rau ca l-am lasat acolo. Nu-mi plac cainii. Dar el e atat de dragalas! Nici nu mai stiu ce sa cred..."