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Supein-Inu no Ie
The House of a Spanish Dog
by Satō Haruo
A short story for those
who are fond of dreaming
Frate starts running all of a sudden and waits for me at the parting of the road that leads to the blacksmith’s. He is a very clever dog and has been my friend for years. I am convinced that he is far cleverer than most men, not to mention my wife. So I take Frate with me whenever I go for a walk. Once in a while he leads me to some quite unexpected spot. That is the reason that when I go for a walk these days I do not have any set destination in mind but follow obediently wherever my dog leads me. So far I have never been down the side-street that goes to the blacksmith’s. Very well, today I shall follow the dog down there. So I turn in that direction.
The narrow road is on a gentle slope which occasionally makes sharp twists. I walk along behind my dog, not looking at the scenery, nor thinking, but simply letting myself indulge in idle fancies. Now and then I look up and observe the clouds in the sky. Suddenly some flowers by the roadside catch my attention. I pick a few and hold them to my nose. I do not know what they are called but they smell good. I
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