Jack London (1876—1916)

Jack London, an American writer, came of a poor family. When he was a schoolboy he had to sell newspapers and do other work to get money for a living. Then he became a sailor. Later he did some other work.
His life was very hard and he described it in his book 'Martin Eden'.
Jack London wrote about fifty books: short stories, novels and other works.
He was made famous by his book 'Call of the Wild'. 'Martin Eden' is another of his well-known books.
You will read 'Brown Wolf', one of the stories written by Jack London. The story is adapted.

BROWN WOLF (after J. London)

One day John Smith and his wife Mary found a dog. He was a very wild and strange dog. The dog was weak and hungry, but he did not let them touch him and ate the food they gave him when they went away.
When the dog was strong again, he disappeared.
A few months later, when Smith was in a train, he saw his dog. The dog was running along the road. Smith got off the train at the next station, bought a piece of meat, caught the dog, and brought him home again. There he was tied up for a week.
At the end of the week Smith tied a metal plate to the dog with the words "Please, return to Smith, Ellen, California", and set the dog free. He disappeared again.
This time he was sent back by the train, was tied up for three days, was set free on the fourth day and disappeared again.
As soon as he received his freedom, he always ran north. The dog always came back hungry and weak and always ran away trcsh and strong.
At last the dog decided to stay with the Smiths, but a long time passed before they could touch him. They called the dog 'Wolf'.
One summer day a stranger came to the place where Smith and his wife lived. As soon as the dog saw him, he ran to the stranger and licked his hands with his tongue. Then the stranger said:
"His name isn't Wolf. It's Brown. He was my dog."
"Oh," cried Mary, "you are not going to take him away with you? Leave him here, he is happy."
The stranger then said, "His mother died and I brought him up on condensed milk. He never knew any mother but me. Do you think he wants to stay with you?"
"I am sure of it."
"Well," said the stranger. "He must decide it himself. I'll say goodbye and go away, if he wants to stay- let him stay. If he wants to come with me, let him come. I will not call him to come."
For some time Wolf watched the man. He waited for him to return. Then he ran after the man, caught his hand between his teeth and tried to stop him. The man did not stop. Then the dog ran back to where Smith and his wife sat. He tried to drag Smith after the stranger. The dog wanted to be at the same time with the old master and the new one. The stranger disappeared. The dog lay down at the feet, of Smith. Mary was happy. A few minutes later the dog got up and ran after the old master. He never turned his head. Faster and faster the dog ran along the road and in a few minutes he was gone.