A Ten-Year-Old Boy Got Lost Picking Mushrooms for the First Time — and Was Saved by a New Friend: A Stray Dog
Early in the morning, Igor jumped out of bed before sunrise. And no wonder — today was the first time his parents were taking him mushroom picking! For a ten-year-old boy, it was a huge event. Naturally, he ran to wake up his mom and dad, who had naively hoped to sleep in on this Saturday morning.
All the way to the forest, Igor squirmed impatiently in the back seat, asking at least a hundred times, “Are we there yet?” Not even his favorite show on the tablet could distract him.
But the excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Within the first minute, Igor found a big mushroom, carefully cut it, and ran to show his dad.
“What are you doing, Igor? That’s a toadstool. We went over this in the book. Throw it out and keep looking,” his dad chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair.
But there weren’t any other mushrooms to find. The adults were busy walking from tree to tree, already filling half their baskets, while Igor was growing terribly bored. He shyly approached his dad to ask when they were going home.
“Are you kidding? We got here just half an hour ago! Here, take this sandwich — don’t pout,” his dad smiled again. A hardcore mushroom hunter, he was planning to stay in the forest for at least half the day.
The sandwich kept Igor occupied for a couple of minutes — then the boredom returned. And to make matters worse, there was no cell signal.
At first, he wandered aimlessly near his parents. Then he started walking farther and farther away — and before he knew it, he had gone too far. In other words, he was lost.
First, Igor shouted for help — nothing. Then he cried — which didn’t help either.
“I won’t go any further. That way, they can find me more easily. Dad knows this forest well; this will be no big deal for him,” Igor decided. But he couldn’t stop crying.
Five minutes later, there was a rustle in the nearby bushes.
“Dad!” Igor brightened up. But then paused. “What if it’s not Dad? What if it’s a wolf?”
Then he remembered what their nature studies teacher had said — there had never been wolves in this area. At worst, maybe wild boars. And boars didn’t scare Igor much; he imagined them looking like harmless pigs.
Out of the bushes jumped not a boar, not a wolf, but a very normal-looking young dog. His sides were sunken, and he was covered in burrs — clearly, the pup had been living in the forest for a while. Still, he wasn’t afraid of people: he ran up to Igor, wagged his tail, and even tried to lick his hand — probably drawn in by the smell of the sausage sandwich.
“I’m lost, in case you hadn’t noticed. I don’t have any food left. But if you get me out of here, I’ll give you all the sandwiches I’ve got!” Igor promised.
The dog seemed to understand. He nudged Igor’s hand with his nose, as if inviting him to follow, and confidently trotted ahead. Igor hesitated for a moment — then followed.
They returned as a group of four. And each person in the car had their own thoughts. Igor’s pale-faced mother kept turning around to make sure her son was really okay. His father, just as shaken, drove in silence. Igor, after a scolding and fifteen minutes of pleading to keep his furry savior, had already dozed off from the exhaustion of the day.
But the happiest one in the car was the dog. First, because for the first time in ages, he had a full belly (he really did eat almost all the sandwiches). And second — because he was on his way to his new home…
