There is a Tall One, and there is a Short One. The Tall One smells of gunpowder and sometimes blood. The Short One smells of tea leaves and the plastic the humans use in computers.
My name is Bear. I am a dog, the animal that is not a bear. But I do not mind, because a bear is a nice animal to be, and it means the Tall One thinks I am strong and brave.
I do not think I am strong and brave, or I would not have done the things the Angry One made me do before. The Tall One says we are the same. Sometimes, late at night, he tells me what the Powerful Ones made him do, and he does not seem any prouder of them than I am of the things I used to do.
The Tall One is very nice. The People do not know that he buys me my favorite foods to eat and gives me a bath every three days because I like baths. Most dogs do not like baths, but the Angry One never washed me, so I like them very much now. The Tall One uses a special brush that is very soft and makes my fur feel nice, and he lets me lie beside him in bed and put my nose on his pillow.
I did not think the Short One liked me. He did not want to touch my ball, and he did not scratch behind my ears the way the Tall One does. I did not mind because he did not hurt me, so I knew he was nice.
But the Short One likes me now. He does not run, and I do not put my head on his lap to watch television. Instead, he gives me a Special Look, and I know that he is happy that I am lying next to his feet. He asks me questions and then answers them himself, but he likes knowing that I am listening. Sometimes, he gives me half of his steak when he is not hungry. I love the Short One as much as the Tall One, though I show it differently.
The Tall One says I am a Good Dog, and I say that he is a Good Man, though he cannot understand me.
