A Dark Brown Dog

by Stephen Crane
A very young child is leaning against a fence he is swinging at the dog. Nevertheless, for
when a small dark-brown dog approaches the most part the dog is able to evade their
him. The dog has a bit of rope hanging from physical attacks, and when the child is there
his neck, and he trips over it occasionally. the family refrains from abusing the dog so
The dog capers to amuse the child, who hits that the child doesn't cry.
him and then hits him again while he is
At the same time, all is not completely well.
cowering. The dog turns onto his back and
The dog howls in the night, which upsets the
appears to pray apologetically. This amuses
family and the neighbors. The child himself
the child, but eventually he grows bored and
sometimes beats the dog for no reason,
wanders off.
though he also snuggles into it for comfort
The dog follows the child back to his home, when he is sad. The family purposely
and the child beats and berates the dog underfeeds the dog, but eventually the child
again. The dog continues to follow the child, corrects this. The dog grows and prospers,
sneaking behind him, but trips on his and seems to earnestly love the child. He
dragging leash. The child sits on the step, accompanies the child on all his outings.
and this time the dog's playing amuses him
One day the father comes home drunk and
enough that he grabs the rope and drags the
proceeds to abuse his wife. The child and
dog upstairs to his family's apartment. The
dog walk in on this, and the child, having
dog follows to the best of his ability at first
been in this situation before, hides under the
but becomes panicked when the child pulls
table. The dog believes hiding under the
hard on the rope around his neck. Because
table is a game and does not take cover. The
the dog is smaller, the child wins and drags
father beats the dog savagely with a coffee
him into the apartment. Once there, he plays
pot. The child tries to intervene, but on a
with the dog, and both are happy.
whim the father picks up the dog by the leg
When the child's family comes home, they and throws him out the window.
are scandalized that the child would bring a
The fall kills the dog and elicits ambivalent
stray, dirty animal into their house. They call
reactions from the neighbors. They are all
the dog names, and the child cries. When the
surprised, but they seem alternately
father of the family comes home, he
perturbed and entertained. The child wails
demands to know what has made the kid
inconsolably and climbs backwards down
howl. Out of spite, and to upset the others,
the stairs to find the dog. In the alley where
he decides to let the child keep the dog.
the dog's dead body landed, the child sits
The child and the dog become good friends, and mourns the loss of the dog. Eventually
and the dog is with the child every waking the family comes and finds him by the body.
hour. However, the family continues to
abuse the dog. At one point the father
accidentally hits the child with a saucepan