And then the dog remembered the episode on the other river. He and his master and others were warming themselves up in the sun and eating food on big blankets. They also took turns swimming. And then one man suddenly began to sink. Then the master shouted: "Rex, save me! And Rex saved the man, though he smelled terrible: the sinker was drunk. Then the dog remembered how much he was praised then - and he knew the words of praise. And then he thought of very clever thought, which he did not hesitate to share:
- But you can swim across the river.
- I can't!
The movements of his friend's tail showed a frank panic. Rex moved his mustache with annoyance.
- You can swim across the river on my back.
Although the expression of machine eyes and mustache read a frank distrust, still there looked over the interest:
- Standing on your back?
- Well, yes.
- And you will swim?
The question was completely stupid. That's what Rexic showed us (with his tail).
- But not so fast!
The remark was considered a sign of agreement.
The cat jumped on its black back. She was so scared to the last degree, she was so scared that she almost caught on to the dog's skin with her claws. If Rex was wearing human clothes, Masha would have done so. When a cat clings to your pants or skirt, it still hurts less than if she used your skin.
The dog slowly entered the water. Strange as it may seem, it's easier to stay in the water than it is on land. Of course, the water-soaked the legs in a nasty way, but brave Masha agreed to put up with it.
Labrador swam. The cat was still afraid, almost as if she was going to swim on her own. Even worse, the water was carrying a lightweight Masha with a dog's back. There was no collar to hold on to. What was expected was that Masha collapsed.
The dog couldn't help hearing his friend's desperate, horrible scream. He turned around. The gray cat kept on the water and even sailed in the right direction. But the labradors were water rescuers. And Rex knew what to do.
He picked up the cat by the snap of his teeth and lifted it up a little bit over the water, just enough to make it easy for her to breathe. I had to work harder with my paws, but it didn't scare the mighty black swimmer.
- Don't interfere, and I'll swim," he said. And I swam.
The animals climbed to the opposite side of the river. The Labrador shaken off its soul.
And then Masha made the second great feat for this day. She approached a comrade, licked him in the face and said:
- You are so clever. You are so brave. You swim so well.
Usually she didn't say compliments, but rather the opposite: she waited for it to be praised. In response, Rexia was pouting with pride and pulled up her tail. It's not every day that a woman (even in a cat's skin) says such things to a man (even in the form of a black labrador).
Chapter nine, in which Rex makes a discovery and Masha is called a rarity
It's been another week. The travelers all went and went. Rex has lost a lot of weight (maybe three pounds). Yes, and Mashenka began to resemble a cat, because at that moment it was like that.
The way was blocked by a small village. The companions were already experienced: they did not get down there during the day, although it was in the daytime that one of the houses smelled very tempting (it was the dining room). No, they waited patiently for dusk.
Rex arranged an ambush. Not for game, as you might think. Oh, no! Lurking in the bushes, he waited patiently for food to be taken out of the fragrant house and thrown into a tall cylindrical trash can. At that time, they were taken in exactly the same way. The dog remembered that people with their fastidiousness often threw quite edible pieces in the trash cans.
Luckily, there was no host who (what an odd man!) forbade you from digging, not even sticking your nose in the charming gut of a wonderful garbage can. It must be said that Rexic was referring to such prohibitions... Let's just say he had some backward thoughts about it. He wouldn't go into that kind of smelly container before my eyes, because he'd heard the "Ew!" command in such cases, and you could get a leash on his nose for neglecting it. He didn't even show interest in food waste, pretending to be a dog of good behavior. But if the dog was sure I couldn't hear, see or smell anything, he couldn't resist the temptation.
People stopped going inside the house: the dining room was already closed to visitors because of the late hour. But there was clearly someone inside. The animals waited patiently and waited.
A woman smelling of food came out the door with a bucket in her hand. Of course, the bucket smelled even better. Its contents flew inside the tank. The heavy metal lid closed.
Mashenka knew that she could not lift such a lid. And she was worried.
- And how do we open the lid?
Rex thought about it himself. He couldn't raise the lid with his nose, he knew that. The dog didn't have any hands. What was to be done?
Drop the tank? He saw and heard one fall in his yard. The sound of it was totally disgusting, but the lid was lagging behind.
Continued in the next part of 12.