On a gloomy Monday morning, at the back of Rosa's restaurant Amici, Charo
and the others were eating as usual.
Suddenly, the front of the store became noisy.
People seemed to be gathering and the sound of police car was echoing through the neighborhood.
"Is something happening?"
Charo ran out to the street and followed the crowd.
They were all heading towards John's place.
Margherita was already there.
She had a worried look on her face.
"Margherita, what happened?"
"Charo, it seems that a burglar broke into John's shop."
"A burglar?"
"Yes, with a gun! He's barricading himself inside."
"That's terrible!"
"I hope this doesn't turn into anything more serious."
"Where's John?"
"He's okay. Together with all the other employees."
"よかった。Good."
Suddenly, the burglar came out into the street.
The police officers all pointed their guns at him.
The moment was frozen, but then...
A black shadow jumped on the burglar.
It was so quick that nobody understood what had happened.
It was a police dog.
With this sudden blow, the burglar dropped his gun and was taking down by
the police all in an instant.
"Good job, Sirius."
"Arf, arf!"
A female police officer patted the dog, a big, black Doberman, on the head.
He was very muscular and powerful, with his short fur shining very
beautifully.
The next day, Rosa was checking out the newspaper.
"Look! There's an article about yesterday's robbery. It says, 'The
wonder dog Sirius who saved the day is to be given a medal from the
NYPD.' Wow! Isn't this something?"
"Arf!"
"And just when we were talking about them."
Yes, the police officer together with Sirius entered the restaurant.
Sirius lead the way to his owner's usual table and waited for her to
be seated.
"Hello, Catherine! Congratulations!"
"It wasn't me. It was Sirius. He's the one who gets the credit."
"Good morning, Sirius. How does it feel to be a hero?"
"Bowwow!"
"So Sirius, shall I fix you something special? An extra reward?"
"That's nice but no thank you, Rosa. He was just doing his job. We
don't want to spoil him."
"Oh, okay. It's tough to be a police dog, isn't it?"
Charo came in for his food. He seemed surprised to see the big black
dog in the restaurant.
"Charo. Come on in. I'll introduce you to Sirius."
"Y-yes."
Charo was a bit afraid, but went closer to where Margherita and the
new dog were.
"Sirius, this is Charo. He's from Japan."
"Japan?"
"Hello. My name is Charo. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Sirius. Welcome to New York."
"Thank you."
"I hear that you're going to receive a medal for yesterday's work."
"A medal? すごい！"
"I was just doing my job."
"Job, job, job! When was the last time you relaxed and had fun?"
"I'm always on the watch. That's how I was strained."
"Well, then, I wonder if you could help us, too. This Charo over here, he wants to return to Japan. What kind of advice could you give him?"
Sirius looked at Charo, thought for a while, and finally, in a calm voice.
"None."
"That's it? You can't think of anything?"
"For a dog to get back to Japan, he would need the help of a human. Without that help, it's impossible. That's all I can say."
"But there must be a way. I mean, you are with the police, you're supposed to help us. And you're not even trying."
"A fact is a fact."
"Okay, okay. I shouldn't have asked you in the first place. Charo, let's go."
For Charo, he was nothing, but Margherita was really upset.
"He's always like that, you know. Calm and logical. All he cares about is his work."
"But he was right."
"He's always right, but... but... can't he show some heart, some warmth, some... I mean, it wouldn't hurt to say 'I'll try' or 'I'll look into it' or..."
"Please, don't be so angry."
"You're right, Charo. I shouldn't be so angry. It's a waste of energy. I'm going out shopping. See you later."
"Yes... See you later, Margherita."
At that moment, Sirius suddenly jumped and caught a wasp that might have stung Catherine.
The restaurant customers were all impressed.
"Oh my! Did you see that? He just protected you from a bad sting!"
"I know. He's really smart. He's the smartest dog that I've ever had.
He's good enough to be your sweetheart. Maybe he even beat that.
Right, Sirius?"
"Arf! Arf!"
Sirius moved closer to Catherine.
He seemed to be very proud and happy.
