Grumpy & Chump

June 1932.

The twelve-year-old boy wanders through the wheatfield, the summer breeze brushes against his face. His hand strokes the tall stalks that dance and float gently in the wind like synchronized ballerinas. Nearby, is a little wooden shack. Smoke is gently drifting from the chimney. There lives his grandma alone taking care of everything, the carepenting to keep the house on his feet, the gardening to eat good veggies, the wheathfield to have income for a year of necessities.

The sun is setting, he knows it’s time to come in for his bath, this consists of a wet washcloth over his face and hands. Every now and then he takes a real bath with hot water in an outside tub, but that's just on special occasions in the summer.

She used to tell him bedtime stories, they always end the same way, if something should happen to her, he must go see Walter, his grandfather’s friend. He will take care of him.

The boy's been living with his grandmother since his mother died. His father left a long time ago, probably dead anyway.

Granny always made dinner and yelled for him to get in, but not today. When he comes home, he can’t smell dinner warming on the stove. Grandmother is lying on the floor. Her heart had failed her for the last time.

He grabs a bed sheet and makes a bundle with a stick and gathers what she told him, a glass water bottle and a loaf of bread.

As he grabs his bundle to leave, he feels sad, he knows he will never see her again, like his father and mother. When he looks back at his grandma’s house, tears run down his cheeks. When he was younger, he cried because he hurt himself, but this is a different pain, an inside pain, he was too young to feel this inside pain when his mother passed away. He knows he won’t ever come back here. With his little bundle on his shoulder he starts walking. He’s walking slowly, he's attached to this place, the boy don't want to leave.

After a while an animal appears on the horizon, the boy can’t see if it is a mountain lion, a coyote or simply a stray dog. The only thing to defend himself with is the stick from which his towel bundle is hanging. He slows down his walking pace. The furry threat walks faster toward him. The young explorer waves his stick in front of him to keep the animal from jumping on him. Too late he realizes that his precious treasures, especially the bread, is now near the animal’s muzzle. He sees that the dog, a husky, has picked up the delicious scent of whatever is inside the pack that the boy seems to be offering him.


“Easy boy, good boy.”says the boy with a shaky voice.

The dog shows him his teeth and growls.

“It’s okay, are you hungry?”

The boy’s hand slides up the stick and reaches for the bundle. The dog takes a step forward as the boy pulls the loaf out.

“Easy!”

Crumbs fall on the dirt trail as he breaks a piece off his grandma’s bread. Immediately the dog moves forward, sniffs the ground and finds the pieces.

“There. You’re hungry, boy. Take this.”says the boy as he lets a piece drop before the dog’s teeth touch him.

“You like it, my grandma made it.”

As soon as the dog swallows the piece, he sits and faces the young boy.

“Oh you want more!”

He breaks off another piece, and this time, the dog takes it from the boy’s hand.

“Good boy.”

After the one second that it took the dog to eat the bread, the young courageous boy shows his hand to the dog. When he tries to pet him, the dog growls again. He pulls his hand back as quickly as he can.

“Okay, okay, it's alright. You’re not ready yet.”

The boy puts the bread back in his bundle and lays the stick on his shoulder, and starts walking. The dog looks the way the boy is going, then the other way. As if he was thinking whether to walk with the boy or walk alone in the opposite direction. He decides to follow his new best friend. Side by side they walk until the sun goes down over the horizon.

“Do you have a name? I can’t call you ‘dog’ all the time.” says the boy.

“I’m….” he realizes he doesn’t know his own name.

“My grandma used to call me Sweetie Pie,so you can call me Sweetie Pie.”

It’s getting too dark to keep walking, there’s a tree not far off the trail, they could lie down under it and might be protected if it rains.

The next morning when the sun wakes him up, his new friend is sleeping close by his side. It feels as if the dog has protected him and kept him warm during the cold night.

“I’m going to call you…. Grumpy! Yeah Grumpy will be your name.” says the boy as he breaks off two pieces of bread.

“You’re my best friend starting now!” he declares as he bites into his bread.

The boy gets up and starts walking.

“Come on boy! Come on!”says the kid while making hand gestures.

The dog catches up to the boy and walks by his side. The sun is over the boy’s head when they see a plume of smoke in the blue sky. The further they walk the better they see where the smoke is coming from. A little wooden house in the middle of nowhere. When they come closer a man jumps out with a hunting rifle. He points the gun at the dog.

“That damn beast, got away from me. I’m gonna shoot him right there.” The man shouts.

Boy and dog stop in their tracks.

“No, don’t shoot! He’s my friend! My best friend!” says the boy yells in panic.

“Well, I saw him the other day, he comes here and eats the vegetables in my garden.” says the angry man.

“I’m sure it’s not him he wouldn’t do something like that.”

“I doubt it. It’s a dog, and that’s what dogs do.”

To show the man he’s wrong. The boy places a piece of bread on the ground.

“That’s my dog and if I don’t tell him to eat, he will not eat that piece of bread.”

The boy put a lot of trust in his new friend. The dog knew something was going on, and he kept looking at the boy, trying to understand. He wanted to eat that bread so much, he drooled like ever.

“Go!” says the boy.

Lucky for him the dog was about to eat the bread, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Okay, you want to stay here, I could use a hand around her.”

“Doing what?” asks the kid.

“I don’t know, chopping wood, getting the logs inside, helping with the cooking.”

“I don’t know how to cook!”

“You’re going to learn, everything in life is learnable.”says the old man.

“What do you think Grumpy, we stay here?”

The dog growls again looking at the man.

“Oh, don’t worry Grumpy, we’ll be fine here.”

Six weeks passed since they met the old man. The old man is on the porch. Next to the porch is a pile of rocks of varying sizes.

“Hey chump! Chump, come out here!”

“I’m not finished with the floors.” Yells the boy as he looks at his shriveled fingers.

The old man tries to stand up, but he clearly had too much to drink. So he put his numb ass back on the chair.

“Leave that alone right now and get your ass out here. Don’t make me come inside!” says the drunkard.

The boy leaves his bucket and sponge and runs outside. Not only does he have shriveled fingers he also has bruises on his body. When he doesn’t do what the old man wants he gets a beating.

“Get those rocks over there!”says the man.

“Why, Yesterday you wanted them over here instead of over there.” says the kid as he’s pointing with his shaking finger.

“I’m tired of moving those rocks, why can they just stay there, they are fine right there.”

“Are you questioning my orders?” screams the man making a fist with his right hand.

“No…no sir, I’m not.” says the boy while tears stream down his cheek.

It’s not a sad tear but an angry one. So the boy bends over and tries to grab a rock. His fingers hurt so much, he drops it. The man struggles to get to his feet.

“When you're done you can go back inside, not before.”

“What about Grumpy?”

“What about him?” says the old man.

“Can we let him come in the house?” asks the kid, looking at his best friend. The dog is tied up in the middle of the yard in full sun.

“If you move all of the rocks from there to there!” The man points with his crooked finger.

“I might let him in.”

“You said that yesterday and the day before that.”

“Yeah, and you made me angry, so we let the dog out. Move them rocks and quit bugging me.”

The kid keeps moving one rock at the time. Starting with the smaller ones and moving onto the bigger ones. The sun is almost touching the horizon and the kid is rolling the last rock. He couldn’t get it off the ground. He’s tired and his hands are bleeding from the cuts and scratches. He sluggishly walks to his tied up friend.

“Tomorrow night, Grumpy tomorrow night.”whispers the boy into the dog’s ear.

The kid walks back inside to get some sleep. The old man made a little space in the corner of the house. Just a small blanket on the floor, that’s about it. No more comfortable than a dog would be.

The next morning, the scared soul had his plan sketched out in his head. At noon he brings the old man one after the other, like he always does. After the man eats his chicken dinner, he asks the kid to dig a hole with the pile of rocks. That’s when the generosity of the kid kicks in. He stops digging to bring the old man more beer. After three more beers the man gets up and grabs the boy by his neck and squeezes hard enough to hurt the kid.

“Go inside and grab me another beer.”as he walks toward the dog, unbutton his pants and relieve himself. The dog moves aside to keep from getting splashed. Growling at the old man.

“Don’t do that!” says the boy.

“Get me my beer!” shouts the man.

The boy has no choice but to go inside. He doesn’t say anything. When the boy tries to hand him the bottle, the man impatiently yanks it from his hands.

“Gimme that!”

The boy stands in front of him, with his fist clenched, ready to hit the man. But he knows he must wait. Right now, he’s so mad he could kill the old bastard.

“What is it boy? You want to hit me with that frail fist of yours?”

The boy is so angry, he is unable to speak.

“So? Go ahead, gimme your best shot!” say the men.

The kid doesn’t move, keeps looking at him.

“That’s what I thought!” The man pushes him. The boy falls to the ground and nearly hits his head on one of the rocks.

“Stop acting like a baby and keep digging, the hole is not finished.” say the man just before taking a sip of his beer and spilling it all over himself.

“And next time you want to hit me, make sure to knock me out good.”

The boy grabs the shovel to dig the hole. The idea of hitting the man in his sleep with the shovel goes through his head.

Three hours of digging in hard and dry soil build blisters on the kid’s hands. The sun is going down slowly as if the time has slowed down to give the boy time to plan his escape

“As soon as he falls asleep, we’re going far from here, he’s never going to find us.”

The shovel’s handle has blood dripping from the hurting soft kid's hands. He can’t dig anymore. The boy and Grumpy hear the sound of an unconscious body falling on the floor. The boy leaves the shovel in the hole and walks towards the door. Frightened but determined, he goes in, without making any noise. The man is passed out on the floor.

Outside, the dog is standing up, looking at the door. The dog’s collar is locked to a chain.
The key to the lock is not hidden. The boy knows where it is, but it’s hard to get to. The old man keeps the key in his trousers pocket. Even though he’s out cold, the kid is nervous the man will wake up while he has his hand deep in his pocket. His heart has never beaten this fast, he can almost hear his own heartbeat.
He slips his hand in his front pocket, it’s wet. The old man pissed himself but the boy doesn't have a choice. He’s sure the hole he’s digging is for him. He pushes his hand further in and feels the key with the tip on his fingers. He has to push a little bit more so he can grab it.

The man moves a little, the boy stops breathing. Slowly. he pulls his hand out of the wet pocket. The key is between his finger hanging just by a thread.

The boy walks back to the door keeping an eye on the man. Once outside he runs to his friend. As he’s trying to put the key in the lock, Grumpy growls again.

“Stop it boy, you’re going to wake him up.” whispers the kid.

Grumpy barks twice looking behind the boy’s shoulder.

“He’s there isn’t he?”

“What in the name of God do you think you're doing?” says the old man.

The boy finally gets the key in the lock and quickly frees the dog. Grumpy runs and jumps on the man's chest making the mad man fall backwards. The man hits his head, and is knocked out for a second.

“Good boy!”

The boy and his best friend run as fast as they can. With all the beer he had and groggy from hitting his head on the ground the old man is too dazed to follow them. boy and his dog. The man stumbles his way to his gun, picks it up, and shoots in the dog's direction.

The dog barks and starts slowing down a bit.

“I think we're safe boy.” The boy shows the car key to Grumpy.

The boy stops when he realizes the dog is hurt. The bullet hit the dog in his upper back leg.

“No, please no!”say the boy.

“Come on, keep walking.”says the boy.

The dog just want to lay down. But the kid won't let him.

“No, don't sit, come on, move, we have to move.”scream the boy out of his lungs.

The dog finally gets up and starts walking. Limping beside the boy. They're walking slower but at least they're walking.


After walking for another day, snow began to fall. Grumpy is still losing blood. The two have gone an entire day without eating, when he sees lights. It’s a small town. He's so tired he drags his feet in the fresh snow, leaving a trail. He’s looking for shelter to get through the cold night . He comes face to face with a girl almost the same age as him. She’s playing in the snow. For the first time since he’s known Grumpy, the dog doesn’t bark or growl at another person. The kids look at each other without saying anything. The snowflakes fall slowly, dancing in mid air like in a fantasy. Then Grumpy starts barking. taking the boy out of his dream. He hears a police whistle from the next street. Grumpy walks as fast as he can, the kid follows his friend. By the time the cops arrive in front of the girl’s house they are gone.

“Did you see a boy and his dog around here?” asks the police man waving his truncheon.

The girl is scared and runs inside. The policeman continues his search in vain. The kid and his friend walks as fast as they can until they come to the edge of the town. There the boy sees a big red pine tree, probably hundreds of years old. The dog gave his last effort, he has lost too much blood.

“Come on boy, we can sit under this tree for a while. Ii’m exhausted.” says the boy walking towards the pine.

Tired, exhausted, and hungry he leans against the tree. Grumpy lies down on the kids legs to keep him warm. The snowstorm gets worse, the wind picks up and the temperature drops dramatically.

During the night, the wind blew the snow over the boy and the dog is completely covered with snow. Early in the morning a car passes by the tree.

“Daddy, stop!”

“What?”says the father.

“Back up, there’s a boy under the tree.”says the little girl in panic.

The father puts the car in reverse to get a better look.

“I think it’s the boy from last night. The one I told you about.”

“Oh my god!” says the father as he jumps from his old ford pick-up.

“I think he’s dead!” says the daughter.

“Don’t say that darling, let me check”

The father walks to the boy, touching him.

“I don’t think he’s dead! He’s still has a pulse, I think he’s breathing.” says the father.

“Bring him in the car quickly!”

The father tries to get him off the ground, but he can’t.

“I think he's injured, something is holding him down.” says the father.

With his bare hands he moves the snow to reveal some red snow from the injury, as he continues removing some snow Grumpy is revealed. Frozen like a block of ice, he gave his life to save the boy’s. After removing the dog, he puts the kid in the car and the dog in the back of the pick up. The father turns the pick up around and goes to his house. The boy finally wakes up after a day in a warm bed beside the fireplace.

The little girl is at his side.

“Daddy, daddy, come quick!”

The boy looks lost and he's looking everywhere for his friend.

“Where's Grumpy?”

“He didn't survive, I’m sorry!”s
ays the girl.

The father comes in and the boy has tears coming down his face.

“Are you ok son?”ask the father.

“Yeah!”

“What's your name?”ask the girl.

“I'm chump!”

The girl and her father look at each other.

“Well, we'll have to find you a better name!”says the father.