Needless to say, the deer that Uncle Davy Lane shot ran fast, faster than lightning, especially when the wind was blowing at his back. However, if he happened to compete in a race with a certain dog named Da Hurry, it is not known who would win. The dog received this nickname while still a puppy, and this was at the dawn of his childhood, and it happened by itself, because he was ready to run rather than eat. Actually, this applied to everything he did, and everyone said about him: “Yes, he would rather run than drink, eat, sleep or play.” So everyone called him Da Hurry.
And when he had no one to run after, he chased his own shadow. And almost always he was far ahead of her, and the shadow remained behind him at his last breath. If there was no shadow nearby, Da quickly ran around his owner. The dog's owner was a fireman on a steam locomotive, which roared along the rails from East to West and from West to East. And not just a fireman, but also a big fidget. He never worked in one place for a long time: he would work for one railway company for a month, and then the next month would turn into another. This is probably why everyone called him Fidget.
Fidget and Yes Soon led a wonderful life together. While Fidget was throwing coal into the stoker of the locomotive, Yes Quickly ran next to the locomotive - it didn’t matter whether it was carrying a freight train or an express train. Yes, Skory was a devoted dog, as he was destined to be, and therefore did not want to part with his owner for more than a second. The only time their separation lasted a whole minute was when Da Hurry, at sunset, rushed beyond the horizon, wanting to overtake the setting sun. But he ran so fast and ran so far that he overtook not the sunset, but the sunrise, and was very embarrassed.
One fine day, Fidget decided to go to work for the Pacific United Railway Company-TOZH. He went to the head of the road to ask about the place, and Yes, of course, quickly jumped after him. The boss looked Fidget from head to toe, decided that he was suitable for a fireman, and said that the place was behind him.
“You’ll just have to place your dog in a dog boarding house,” warned the head of the road. -The administration prohibits letting passengers, even a flea, into the stoker room or into the service car. And we're going to assign you to a freight train.
“Yes, it’s probably not a problem,” Fidget objected. - No matter what I work at, he runs after any composition, and that’s it. When I work at the goods store, he has to make runs to the side - into the field or somewhere else, otherwise he gets bored of running so slowly. But, however, he agrees to everything, just so as not to be separated from me.
The head of the road snorted:
“There is no dog in the world that could keep up with a train, even the slowest freight train.”
- You don’t know Yes Hurry! Lightning, not a dog,” said Fidget. “I’ll bet my entire salary against a five-dollar note that at the end of the road Da Sooner will be waiting at the switch, and will also run around the station fifty times before to warm up.”
- Hands down! — the head of the road happily agreed, anticipating winning a tidy sum.
The fidget climbed into the stoker of the locomotive, lit a fire under the boiler, and the station master gave the signal for departure. Yes, Quickly started skipping next to the clanging wheels, every now and then glancing at Fidget. Even when the freight train picked up speed, Yes Rather slowly ran alongside. Was this speed for him? As he walked, he stopped every now and then to catch a flea or sniff out a rabbit. In the end, Yes Quickly ran far ahead straight to the arrow. He ran around the station a hundred times and sat down to wait for his owner.
The head of the road clenched his teeth in anger, so much so that he broke them, and trampled on his hat, he was so annoyed at losing the bet. He transferred Fidget to a local passenger and doubled the rate. Of course, the passenger train walked much faster than the freight train, but Da Skory calmly ran next to the locomotive, his breathing did not even quicken. He was in no hurry at all, and yet he had to stop every now and then so as not to overtake the train.
This time the road boss, in a rage, trampled on his false teeth and swallowed his hat. He decided to get rid of Fidget at any cost, but at that moment there was simply no one to replace him. There was only one thing left to do: wait and come up with a new bet that he would win.
And Fidget rode back and forth in the passenger car. And Yes Soon did not lag behind him. But although the train was moving at a good speed, passengers began to grumble that it was moving too slowly for an ordinary dog to catch up with it. No matter how fast the locomotive was, this spotted mongrel, as if he knew nothing else, hovered around him all the time, not knowing fatigue. Finally, things took a completely bad turn when passengers said that it was better to walk than to trudge on the TOZH (that is, on the Pacific United Railway train).
As soon as the head of the road found a new fireman, he immediately called Fidget to his place.
“So, my dear,” he told him, “you’re not such a good fireman as you boast.” And your dog doesn't run that fast. I'm transferring you to the Cannonball Express. And if even one living creature on four legs keeps up with this train, which runs on the fastest wheels, I will part with the railway company forever.
The fidget didn’t say anything to this, but to himself he became a little worried. The head of the road was right about the “Cannonball”; it was the fastest of all the express trains chugging and whistling on the railway tracks at that time. Still, his faith in his beloved dog was unshakable, and he said:
- I bet my salary that Da will soon make even the “Cannonball” puff, which will not overtake him anyway!
News of the upcoming competition between the dog and the express quickly spread throughout the state. The farmers abandoned their plows and hurried off to the races, their wives leaving the fires and the washing. Even the schools in the towns through which the Pacific Railroad passed dismissed their students so they could watch the great competition. Offices and factories, even funeral homes, were closed.
On the appointed day, crowds of people gathered along the route of the express and the dog. Some brought posters;
“Yes, quickly, let him come soon!” And others had: “The Cannonball flies like a fired cannonball.”
The head of the road went up to the firehouse with Fidget: he decided to make sure that Fidget threw as much coal as needed into the firebox of the locomotive and would not interfere with its speed. Hundreds of miles ahead, the path was open for the famous express, all the signals were raised.
Yes, Skory stood next to the locomotive, yawning, as if in surprise at what everyone was fussing about. And even after the station master blew the whistle and “Cannonball,” releasing steam, knocked on the rails, Yes Quickly first scratched behind his left ear, then licked his right hind leg, and only then ran after the train.
“Cannonball” flew like an arrow. Knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock... He flashed in the eyes of the audience like lightning.
“He’s coming!.. Here he is!.. Flew by!..” These screams were heard at the same time, he was flying so fast. It was impossible to even really see anything because of the steam, smoke and flying ash. Under the locomotive wheels the rails sang like a harp, and moaned and hummed for another half hour after the express rushed along them.
However, Fidget was confident in his dog and was not afraid to turn up the heat in the firebox. Fire was sneezing and coughing. He wielded the shovel so quickly that the firebox door almost wouldn’t close. He was dripping with sweat, and in one run he lost fifteen pounds, no less.
The head of the road was about to stick his head out of the firebox, and then the wind tore his hat off his head and pulled his ears back. They splashed and splashed in the wind like holiday flags. He couldn't see anything ahead because the ash and smoke smoked his goggles, and he looked back and screamed with delight.
- He's gone! - he yelled right into Fidget’s ears. - Your Yes Hurry is in no hurry, you can’t even see him! He fell behind!
The fidget almost dropped the shovel with coal, his heart skipped a beat.
- Can't be! - he whispered.
- Left behind! Left behind! - the road boss screamed in delight, like a fly caught in a chocolate pop.
-I don’t believe it! - Fidget shouted over the roar of the locomotive. — My dog has never let me down! Let me see for myself!
And, throwing another ton of coal into the firebox, he leaned out of the window. I glanced behind me, then I couldn’t believe my eyes ahead: there was no trace, no sign of a running dog. But he saw something that made his soul sink into his boots.
- Stop the train! - he shouted to the head of the road. - Red flag ahead!
“Yes, they purposely stuck the flag there to welcome us,” objected the head of the road.
But he still looked out the window and screamed louder than Fidget:
- Stop! The path ahead is blurred! Without hesitation, he began to press all the buttons and levers to stop the “Cannonball”. The wheels screeched along the rails, sparks fell from under them, a whole fireworks of sparks - no, what is there, a thousand fireworks, you could open a whole factory preparing fireworks for the 4th of July holiday on Independence Day.
The passenger cars running behind the locomotive did not know what had happened, and therefore did not stop, but continued to drive forward and flew over the locomotive, as if they had decided to play leapfrog with it. But, seeing that the paths ahead were washed out, they spun their wheels back and returned safely.
The Cannonball shuddered and creaked to a halt just a few inches from the edge of the cliff, where the river had washed away the bridge supports. The fidget immediately jumped off the train, the head of the road behind him.
And here in front of them, wagging his tail, stands Yes Hurry. He has a red flag in his teeth. Then the head of the road understood everything. Yes, I quickly got ahead of the train and was the first to see the washout. Then he returned to where the red flag greeted them, grabbed it in his teeth and ran ahead again in order to signal in time and prevent the train from crashing.
So, the head of the road again found himself in the fool and was forced to admit that in his life he had never seen a living creature on four legs that could run faster than Yes, Quickly. Without hesitation, he paid Fidget the lost money and even patted Da Quick on the head.
“Such a dog deserves a reward,” he said to Fidget. “I’ll talk to the boss and make sure that from now on and for life, Da Quick can travel on any train of the Pacific Railroad Company and in any direction in his own carriage.”
“I thank you on behalf of my dog,” Fidget said to this. “However, as far as I know Da Quick’s character, he would rather run than ride.”
And this was the absolute truth. Yes, I was very pleased with everything anyway. And yet, from that day on, on the trains of the Pacific and other railroads, dogs were allowed to be transported in the carriage, if, of course, they were paid for.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru