Chapter 17: Polly's Voice

Polly drifted farther and farther away from where Pilita was. He felt tired. He felt like he had consumed all his energy from all the barking that he had done as he watched Pilita sink helplessly into the dark flood water. But if there was any consolation it was that he knew Pilita got saved all because he barked.

Polly was not really a barker. He thought it ran in their family. His mother and brothers never really barked for no reason. In his heart of hearts, when he was very young, he knew he wanted to try it. He was curious what his voice would sound like. One afternoon, in one of his strolls with his mom, Lily, and brothers, Basil, Bitok, and Wacky, they went on top of a not-so-high hill. Their mother suggested that they practice barking there. She said the wind would carry their voices all across the fields right at the foot of the hill and no one would know it was them.

His mother and brothers barked and bayed effortlessly. Before long, it was as if they were s