Robert is still Robert

In the evening, while I was gardening, I heard Robert talking with the crow.

“This morning, where did you go? I came but I saw the door and the gate were locked,” the crow said.

“I went with Pig to deliver the vegetables to the client. I wanted to be a business dog so I asked her to teach me to do business,” Robert said.

After hearing it, I didn’t say a word even when he came back to do gardening with me.

Robert was a dog; loyalty and honesty are his identity. Also dogs usually trust others easily and carelessly. It was the reason Robert didn’t lie and he always said everything even when he was not asked to say. It was not bad but it was not good as well. He could tell the crow that he went with me - to do some personal stuff. He should not tell her frankly that he went with me to meet with the client and he should not say about his wish to be a business dog and he asked me to teach him. However I wouldn’t instruct him to say or not to say because I knew exactly that he wouldn’t listen to me. I let him learn from his own lesson; it was the best way to teach someone to help or survive by their own selves.

First day of learning

The sun rose. I organized the vegetables with help from Robert. Afterwards, we left by locking the door and gate properly.

On the way, I saw Robert was having a delightful facial expression. It has been many months since he lived in my house. He didn’t go anywhere further; today was the first day. 

We didn’t talk much, but I tried to tell him a few things along the way till we arrived at the destination.

Normally Robert liked to talk, but he turned to keep quiet especially while I was meeting with the client. He stood by me and I saw he was focusing his eyes and ears on our conversation. 

When we returned, he changed to be himself.

“Can we play?” He said.

“Play?”

“Yes, we can do running competitions.”

“I think we cannot.”

“Why? It is a long way. We should have fun.”

“Because it’s a long way, that’s why we should not have fun.”

“Why not?”

“Because along this way, there are many troubles such as wolf, tiger, lion, hunter’s trap etc. If we have fun, we might lose caution and this will give an opportunity to those who want to harm us to be successful. Moreover, if we have fun, we will waste our energy. If a wolf or tiger appears, we will not be able to even run. So, along this way, we should maintain our caution both when we go and when we come back.”

Robert wagged his head, “I see.”

Dog wants to learn how to do business

“Pig, can I ask you for a favor?” Robert said.

“Say first,” I said.

“Well,” he hesitated to speak.

“Say it.”

“I want you to bring me with you when you deliver the vegetables to your client.”

“Why do you want me to take you with me?”

“I want to know how you do it.”

“Do you want to learn about it?”

Robert wagged his head, “Yes, I want to learn it. I want to know how you do business.”

I giggled, “Do you want to do business like me?”

“Yes,” he replied honestly. “I remembered you said that you don’t believe animals have to live by relying on humans and you proved it to me. You are a pig, but you can survive yourself; moreover, you do business with humans. You are a business-pig and I want to be a business-dog.”

I laughed; however, I loved him; he was great and awesome.

Pig swears to not lend even a thing

“What’s going on?” Robert said as he heard a loud argument from the next farm.

The voice became louder making him and I rapidly ran to the fence and focused our ears.

“What are they talking about?” Robert asked.

“Well, it is about money,” I replied. “Someone borrowed their money, and they didn’t pay back.”

“How can they do that? It’s not their money.”

“It’s nothing humans can’t do, especially bad things.” I strolled back to the garden.

Robert walked after me and asked me, “You seem to acknowledge this matter.”

“I know a lot about it,” I told. “I read the news and I listened to humans talking, there are a lot of money issues nowadays. Everywhere. A lot of people are in debt to the banks. Also, they are in debt to their relatives and friends. Most of them don’t pay back, and the lenders fall into big trouble. Recently, in Cambodia, there have been a few crime cases related to this issue - the debtors killed the lenders when they asked for their money back.”

“Oh god! They borrowed their money and they dared to kill the owner of the money!”

“Yes! It’s human. As well, the animals can do that too.”

Robert chuckled, “Animals don’t use money.”

“Yes, but they can borrow other things besides money and they can do the same like the humans do towards their kind. Because I know about it, I don’t lend anything, even food; I give them if I feel I want to; if I don’t want to, I will say I don’t have.”

“I see.” Robert wagged his head.

Pig tells dog to not put hands in human’s matter

“Pig, did you watch the documentary…”

“Shh. I watched it and I saw the news; however, please don’t talk about it.”

“Why? Are you afraid of them?”

“Yes, one hundred percent.” I nodded my head. “Humans are scary. They can harm the same human, how can’t they harm us who are just animals? So, don’t mention this matter. Not even between us but also other animals.”

“I see what you mean.” Robert wagged his head.

Duck likes to grumble

“I really don’t like that, I really don’t like that,” duck said by the gate of my house.

“What’s the matter?” I said and opened the gate for her. She came in but still grumbled, “I don’t like that, I really don’t like that.”

“What is that that you don’t like?”

She sat in the chair in the front yard and said, “I don’t like standing on a cow's back, it makes me dizzy; but all the time, when I go out with cow and twin piggies, they always tell me to sit on it. I really don’t like it.”

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you tell them?”

“I told them already but they still tell me to do it.”

“Then do something.”

“Do what?”

“If your words don’t have an effect, you should try to think of action.”

“What can I do? I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you don’t even try to help yourself, I can’t help you.”

I was about to get out, duck called, “Where do you go?”

“I'm going to do gardening.”

“Please stay here with me. I have a lot of troubles in my mind and I want to share them with you or I would explode.”

“I’m sorry, duck. I have a lot of work to do; I don't have time to listen to your complaints.”

“Oh no. Stay with me and listen to me. There are a lot of troubles I got from cow and twin piggies, please listen to me talking about what they have done to me.”

“If you want to complain, you should go to complain to the ones who give you trouble.”

After claiming, I left duck alone without turning my back.

When I finished gardening with Robert and came to the front yard, I didn’t see her in my house. 

Some truths that some people don’t see

“What are you doing, Pig?”

“I am writing.”

“To publish?”

“No, I just wrote to release pressure from my mind.”

“What is it about?”

“It’s about my ex-master’s youngest daughter.”

“Can I read it?”

“Sure, here it is.” I turned my laptop on for Robert to read.

 

My father and mother always said they love me, so listen to them and they will be responsible for everything.

I remembered there was a relative inviting us to their kid’s wedding. I wanted to go, but my parents said I didn’t need to go. Then another relative sent the wedding’s invitation, and they said I could go. Then another relative launched the wedding. They told me to join the evening party, but not the morning’s part even though I said I wanted to join the morning part - not the evening party. Not only the wedding, but also other ceremonies; they decided for me which program I could go and which program I could not. However this was not the bad thing, because there was a worse thing than that.

It was by accident that I heard that during the programs, when the relatives asked why I didn’t join, my parents told them that I was not well, or I was busy at work etc. And the worse thing I wanted to say was some relatives had seen me going around on the day of the programs and they said that I used an excuse to not join. In summary, I was a bad person in their minds. 

I even asked my siblings who went with my parents and they said that it was true my parents really did tell that about me to the relatives.

I was shocked to hear it and I was not happy. When the next program arrived, my parents wanted me to join, but I said no. When they asked me why, I narrated what I heard. They didn’t apologize, they turned to blame me and said that what they did was to create a good image for me. I could not tolerate it. I asked how they could say they created a good image for me since they were the one who ruined my image. They were angry with me and said something that was not relevant to this matter. I tried to calm down and listened to them until they finished their murmur, then I said, “Parents, you said you love me and you told me to listen to you and you will be responsible for everything. You were the ones who told me which programs I could go, which programs I couldn’t go; why you didn’t tell the truth when your relatives asked why I didn’t join that it was you who didn’t allow me to join, but you turned to lie to them that I was busy or I was not well. On those days, some relatives had seen me having fun around. You know, they thought I was the one who didn’t want to join and some of them thought I looked down on them.” My parents said, “Oh you are angry with us because you think we made you look bad!” I said, “The point is about you, parents. What I want to tell you is that you were the one who told me to not go, why don’t you tell the truth and be responsible that you are the one who told me not to go? Do you understand?” Still my parents raised up irrelevant stories and things, especially the part that their love towards me as a daughter was big and pure that no love in this world could not be compared with.

At last, I had to shake my hands in the air and left for my bedroom. I didn’t see the point I should continue talking with them since they refused to understand or even try to think.

However, I didn’t want to live in such a situation anymore, so I decided, by myself, that I stopped joining all social programs even if they were my relative’s, friend’s or neighbor’s.