Herd Dog Bolic

Author: Isamu Hayashi

The word Bolic is an evolution of a calling used by local herdsman to call dogs. No one could remember its original pronunciation. Perhaps it was a rude and hard word at the beginning, but later it becomes entirely different image when it went through a complicated evolution process. It sounds smooth, crisp, enthusiastic, and delightful. Every one of its syllables has a warm and a burst out explosive sound. Sun fang liked this word, so he named a puppy that he selected as his herdsman helper from the newly born Rottweiler puppies.

Bolic was such a lovely little thing when he was just a puppy. The charcoal colored coat covered his fat small body. He had short hair, a slightly pointed nose, and yellow brown colored markings decorating above his eyes and down his chest. His sparkling eyes looked around the world curiously. Just by a single glance any one would like him immediately. All of the herdsman here liked him.

Small Bolic

Every day when Sun Fang approached the barn near the sheep pens where the little bolic and other puppies lived, they would quickly come up to Sun fang. They jumped up and weakly barked all around Sun Fang and stretched their paws to scratch his shoes and cloths. If Sun Fang stretched his hands to them he would feel their wet and rough tongues. In this case small bolic would lick his fingers and try to bite them lightly. This made him not know whether to laugh or to cry.

Bolic was not forbearing. When feeding the puppies even if bolic came late he would try to take the food for himself by force without sharing it with other puppies. At this time he normally lowered his head and front legs, growled toward other puppies just like adult dogs. How imperious he was! Sometimes he might take a piece of sheep meat by force from the mouth of another puppy at violent speed

Bolic was a naughty guy. This deep and wide barn was originally a place to take care of the baby lambs. There were dried grasses and dried sheep droppings here and there. Some bad smells filled the air. That was a paradise of this group of puppies. Bolic could not satisfy this limited space any more. He would explore his new world. He was constantly trying to go though the gap beneath the door. How fresh the air outside was! How bright the light outside was! How attractive the outside world was to him! His explore heart was so strong that he must go out. He was biting the door frame with his young teeth and made up a strange sound. He was stretching his nose to smell the air streams coming from the outside. He was watching the ground outside shining under the sun light. Finally, he found that the earth was softer than the wood, so he began to push the earth under the door frame, dug the ground and made up a small sound from his throat. In this way he opened a small, narrow channel under the door frame and went out through it. He won the game! He shook off the dirt from his body and stood in the sun light. Ah, how happy he was! In front of him there was the whole new world. He was excited by joy, curiosity, and other generated interests.

Bolic with his mother and other puppies

Bolic went out to trace a familiar smell. He jumped over the door threshold, went through a place where there were many white big animals, and got out quickly from the gap in the planks of the fence. A great pleasure rose in his heart. He ran wildly for a while just like a sportsman doing a sprint, and tumbled around on the grass, then stretched out his body and forelegs. After that he began to wander between the fences and mud wall of the pen. He always met with those mild tempered white animals and some brown and black colored large creatures. Finally, he walked to the edge of the fences. There he found facing a great prairie that reached endlessly, stretching to the sky. It seemed so deep, so mysterious to this young little thing that he had to stop there.

After he was weaned off his mother’s milk, he experienced all kinds of practices to mould his personalities. He usually chased a piglet all around the pig pen. He and the adult dogs answered to even the fiercest male pig’s challenges. His appetite was very great! Even if you fed him sheep meat one after another continuously, he could catch it one by one and almost swallow it whole.

At the early times when Sun fang tried to bring bolic with him to herd, but bolic failed to follow him. One day he did begin to follow a herd of sheep to a distance far from the houses. Finally he stopped and was not willing to continue again. Perhaps he was too tired to go on. Even though he grew faster than other puppies in his litter, he was still a small dog, a weak puppy. He raised his head, perked up his ears, and stayed in the grass. His small chest was moving slightly. Both eyes were staring at the herd of sheep. Perhaps his eyes were filled with a look of regret. The herd of sheep had gone far away, and a motionless black spot still could be seen on the dark brown colored wild grassland.

When winter came, Bolic began to follow his master to herd. During that time, Sun fang was assigned to herd the cows. There were about sixty of cows, ox, and calf altogether in this group needed to be taken care by Sun Fang. The majority of them were meat cows. There several stud cows as well. They were much bigger and stronger than the others. One of those oxen was called Red Ox by the local folks. His body was twice as big as the normal cow. His red brown colored coat shined beautifully under the sun just like satin. When he called out his voice was fairly deep and frightening. He had a furious temper, so no one dared to bother him. One time he tried to fuck a small cow. He was so impatient and so strong that his penis stabbed out hers womb. The next day this poor little cow died.

Sheep

At that time, the first snow had just fallen. The high and low parts of the field were a mass area of white snow. The snow shone so bright that one could barely open ones eye. That was the traditional winter scene of wild northern China. The bushes covered with snow like white coral erecting up right slim and graceful in the ocean. The prairie was shining with a weak blue light. Sometimes the snowflakes were sparkling with rainbow colors in the sun. Sun Fang herded the sixty cows and oxen and went out on the road toward the accompany village. Cows are not a grouping kind of animals. They were separating into a vast expanse, covering a large area and moved on at a very low speed. At the beginning Sun Fang herded these big animals with great patient. But later the situation got more and more difficult to be controlled. Some of them went up the hills and others were still on the lower fields. They were wandering all around the prairie. Sun Fang could not control all of them. He became very impatient. It seemed that Bolic understood his master’s feelings. He ran to herd the cows back and forth. Wherever Sun Fang herded a cow Bolic always ran in front of him and barked to that cow with all his might. The cow did not mind him the slightest bit and didn’t even bother to make eye contact with him. Sun Fang thought that the cows probably think: “What a little fucking thing he is! I’ll trample you if you bark to me again!”

One time, the fiercest ox in the bunch, Red Ox, was getting angry at Bolic’s constant interfering, so he rushed directly toward Bolic. It seemed that he would trample Bolic into meat jam with his big hooves. But Bolic was not afraid of Red Ox at all. He rolled away from Red Ox’s feet and went aside. Then he jumped up even higher and barked toward Red Ox. In order to help Bolic, Sun fang beat Red Ox heavily with his stick. Red Ox ran away surprisingly and Bolic herded him and went back to Sun fang as a big winner. Sun Fang petted him for a job well done.

The distance between the accompany village and the sheep group was about 3 miles. The range of herding began to expand larger and larger along with the winter days, because the dried grasses on the fields decreased little by little, Sun Fang had to go farther and farther away with his cows to search new dried grasses. During these days the life of small Bolic was very difficult. Every time they passed the pile of millet sticks in front of the pig pens of the accompany village, Bolic’s stomach was always empty. He was also freezing and shivering. Even though he would not bark cause of this, he would just lie near Sun Fang’s feet. Sun Fang would take a rest there and put the millet sticks on Bolic to prevent him from freezing. Bolic sat under the covering of millet sticks and made a small whimpering sound. His small head rose from the millet sticks and stared at Sun Fang with look of pity. It seemed as if he was saying:” I am hungry!”. At that time Sun Fang would ask the local folks for some boiled potatoes and beans pies for Bolic. After Bolic had eaten the food and was full, he became different dog. He jumped and ran all around Sun Fang. How happy he was!

Red ox

Bolic had grown up during those severe winter days. The other folks of the sheep group said to Sun Fang “Your dog was growing with the wind!”  Bolic’s growing speed was really surprising. His muscle got fuller and rounder day by day and his bones got strong and wider everyday. He really looked like a full grown adult dog by the beginning of that spring. He had a wide chest, well balanced body, strong and handsome muscles, and robust movements. His character also looked more stable. It was as if he did not know the meaning of fear! His arrogance and on top of the world spirit had becoming one of his major characteristics.

The ranking of dogs are determined through fighting. There was a big dog named Old Gray who lived in north house of the sheep group. He always looked down upon this young fellow, Bolic. Every time Bolic passed near Old Gray he would growl loudly to warn Bolic. When Bolic started to grow up, he didn’t care Old Gary’s warning any more. Bolic sometimes even tried to challenge Old Grey. When this occurred, Old grey would bare all his teeth to young Bolic, but after a time this kind of threat didn’t work anymore. Therefore one time they finally wrestled each other. They ran and chased each other madly between the two highlands of the sheep group, and then wrestled with each other again, biting by the throat, pulling at tails, scratching and colliding into each other with heavy breathes. Finally Old Gary was too tired to fight, and his furious power had reduced to half. Then they began to repeat the circle of fighting and stop when the sun fallen to the west. Finally Old Gray gave up the fight, and from that point on Bolic became the strongest dog in sheep group.

With Bolic’s activity range expanding, his competitive characteristics started to show themselves more, but he received a bitter experience in turn from it. There were several strong dogs in the accompanying village who sometimes became his opponents. One of these dogs was named Gray Wolf, who belonged to Lao Yin’s family. Gray Wolf was a dry grass grey-yellow colored big wolf dog. Its ears erected and his two yellow eyes did not have any emotion. If you met him in wild field, you would not be able to figure out whether he was a dog or a wolf. Just the sight of him will make you break into a cold sweat. Another dog was named Bear. He was a dog who belonged to Lao Zhang’s family. Bear was a black dog with his droopy ears, tiger-like back, and bear-like waist. He was certainly not a kind dog.

One time Sun Fang and his herd of cows passed the accompanying village and a fight took place between Bolic and other dogs. Bolic’s opponents were Gray Wolf and Bear. These two dogs guarded the edge of the lower field outside the accompanying village. It seemed that they wanted to block Sun Fang’s road. Bolic growled loudly as he rushed at the black Bear. The Bear did not draw back at all. He growled and bared all his teeth and rushed upon Bolic. Soon they fought each other. Just at this time Gary Wolf also came from the behind with deep growling. The three dogs fought in a circle, and despite Sun Fang’s attempts to stop them with loud calling no dogs paid attention to him, so Sun Fang had to whip them all. Bear and Gray Wolf began to withdraw because the human interference, but Bolic did not give up. He chased those two dogs until they reached the other side of the high land and out of sight. Sun Fang could hear the barks of the dogs fighting.

When Bolic came back his nose was bleeding. Sun Fang knew that if there was only Bear Bolic would not be defeated. Gray Wolf was very fierce and was the overlord within the local land. Sun fang was a bit surprised when he saw Bolic still looking brave.

Bolic

The summer in northern China is always short; but it is also a very lovely time for the herdsmen because there were plenty of grasses for the sheep and cows. They did not need to travel large distances for all the resources needed. During those days, Sun Fang could even bring some of his favorite books to read. Most of the time the sheep stayed in one spot for long periods of time so he could sit on the ground and read his books. Bolic would help him watch the sheep. Whenever a sheep walked away from the group Bolic would herd it back. If nothing else he would sit right beside Sun Fang, stick out his little red tongue, and enjoy the sunshine. When Sun Fang went to herd the sheep and left his books and belongings on the ground, Bolic would stay there to guard the things until Sun Fang came back. He was a very clever little thing!

Whenever Sun Fang was on a break and went to town, he always brought Bolic with him. Sun Fang would go into the store and leave Bolic outside, and after he finished his shopping Bolic joined him again. Sometime Bolic waited in the bushes at the edge of town when Sun Fang came back and Bolic would appear just on time. Sun Fang felt very strong when he went on road at night because his loyalty helper was always accompanying with him.

The first leaf had fallen down from the low bushes. A few late blossoms of milky colored flowers with dews hanging on the unnamed plants were shaking with the wind just liked tears. Red colored wild berries were lowering their heads and enjoying their good dreams under the September quiet white clouds. There were so many splendid and beautiful wild plants on the wild prairie of northern china. At that time Bolic had become a good helper of his master. He could herd sheep and cows, and chase the domesticated animals falling behind. He could even help his master to stop the fights between the domesticated animals.

One day after Sun Fang went out for work, the sky suddenly darkened. A heavy rain with a strong breeze suddenly fell down. All the cows were surprised by the rain fall and ran away the wind direction. Sun Fang could not stop them separating from each other. At this time, Bolic helped his master herd the cows here and there until most cows could be controlled. There was only one cow that Sun fang could barely herd. That was Red Ox. He was running around madly and forcing his way in or out. Bolic stretched his neck to continuously bark toward Red Ox, and then he jumped forward and deeply howled at him. That was the final warning. Bolic rushed upon him and snapped at Red Ox’s leg. That made Red Ox extremely angry. He raised his hoof and kicked Bolic away. It blew him the poor dog right in the hip and Bolic rolled into a somersault but he did not stop bark and herd Red Ox. He growled madly and rushed toward Red Ox once again, and this time Red Ox withdrew from Bolic and escaped to the group of cows. Bolic chased him for a few more steps and then came back. He had a slight limp.

Then winter arrived again. The first snow had covered the land in a blanket of white. The absolute black colored land turned into a silver world. The mud houses on the east and west highlands of sheep group were also covered with snow. The few trees in the sheep group had been turned into beautiful silver coral branches. The washed cloths of the herdsmen were hanging on the ropes connected between trees. The cloths had been frozen stiff under the freezing temperature and were bumping each other made heavy sounds

During this period Bolic had experienced several extraordinary fights with his old enemies. Every time Sun fang passed the accompanying village, they always met with Bear. Though it was relatively easy for Bolic to defeat Bear; to fight with Gray Wolf was really much more difficult. That day Sun Fang had witnessed that fight. It took place on the empty lower field in front of the pig pens near the accompanying village. On this field there many raised mud bumps all over the ground that formed by the plant roots.

Gray Wolf came to provoke Bolic once again. Bolic erected his ears and growled deeply at the offending. Bolic wanted to challenge Gray Wolf for a long time so when he got the chance, he rushed forward toward Gray Wolf like a flying arrow. The sound of his rapid and heavy foot touching the ground could be heard clearly. Bolic was approaching him, Sun fang thought. Gray Wolf was really the strongest opponent of Bolic. He was cool headed while waiting to fight. He stood with his legs apart, and growled deeply from his throat. That was a dangerous warning. Bolic stopped at a place about three steps from his opponent. Perhaps that was for the preparation of the decisive battle.

At this time Bolic also stood with his legs apart and growled deeply toward his opponent. The two dogs stared each other with great anger. At the first moment no one stepped ahead. Suddenly Gray Wolf opened his mouth to show all his teeth and growled fearfully. What a fierce look it was! He slightly moved his left foot ahead, as if he was trying to find his opponent’s weak point. Bolic also cautiously moved his right foot slightly and lowered his body just like an arrow with strong tension on the bow. Then Gray wolf moved his right foot fiercely then Bolic moved his left foot slightly almost at the same time. They went on like this three or four times just like the movement in the hand to hand battle of human’s.

The dogs stopped moving toward each other, but the angry growling voices could be heard from a far distance. They confronted each other motionlessly like two statues for about 5 seconds. Those 5 seconds feel like an entire 5 minutes! Other dogs coming from the accompanying village sat around to watch the fight from far away. They could join this fight to help whatever side they chose, but they were surprised by the situation and only a yellow colored dog barked several times toward the sky as if to encourage the brave fighters. At this time Bolic growled loudly and took a big step ahead. Gray Wolf also went forward a step. Only several inches left until they physically contacted each other. Perhaps their whiskers began to touch each other. After a loud growl, they fought each other fiercely. All the watchers had gotten nervous. Soon they stopped again. Then they were staring at each other with anger, growling, moving back and forth, and fighting each other again. Bolic acted more and more violently, and his power got stronger and stronger each time. That led Gray Wolf to barely fight return. Gray Wolf began to withdraw in small steps, but he did not give up immediately. Bolic approached a big step violently. Finally Gray Wolf withdrew suddenly from the site and went away by himself. Maybe he knew the fighting crown should be give to the younger fighter or there was some other reason. Bolic did not chase him. He barked several times toward the sky to show his victory and stood on the battle place for a long time with his victorious dignity before going back.

As a herd dog Bolic was very watchful and he did not like strange things. He lived in this countryside area and seldom had time to see the vehicles. That was also because there were rarely cars or trucks passing through the sheep group. He disliked the trucks that he sometimes saw because to him they were all just big strange metal creatures. He always chased the trucks passing by and barked toward them loudly. This became one of his bad habits. Whenever a truck was passing he would chase it and he could run side by side with a truck for several hundreds meters until the truck sped away. Unexpectedly this led to a big misfortune to him.

It was a bitterly cold and dark snowy winter day. The flakes of snow were flying with the cold northern wind all over the sky. Thick snow covered with the ground. The temperature was 35 degree below zero Centigrade which was typical in the winter day of this area of northern China. The herdsmen did not even go out in these kinds of days. They used the stored dry grasses to feed the sheep and cows. During several weeks there were no trucks or horse carts that passed through the narrow road beside the sheep group. Suddenly one day there was a truck carrying a big load coming from the north. Bolic was outside the house beside the road and as soon as he saw the truck he began to bark and quickly run in front of it. The driver barely could see out of the lower area of his front window because the ice flakes gathered on the surfaces. When the truck went down the slope of the road it suddenly lost control and rapidly slid down because the truck’s tires had not been fastened by snow chains. Just at this time, Bolic happen to tumble down on the ground and rolled down under the tire. When Sun Fang was informed about this news he rushed to the site. The truck had sped away and disappeared in the snowy fog. The snow dusts were still flying in the air. Bolic was lying on the snowy ground and was bleeding. His broken body was still moving slightly. For a little while, he slightly raised his head and took a final glance at this vivid world with his last sight. Sun Fang felt great sadness the whole day.