On the sidewalk sat a box. In that box a small boy huddled close to the back, trying to escape the harsh winds whipping at his face. It was a terribly cold night, and the wind was howling. This was one of the worst winters the small boy, who went by Nathaniel, had seen. What made it worse was that he lost his big, warm coat and his clothes were in tatters. Eventually, he fell asleep with the wind shaking his box and the cold nipping at his bare feet.
When Nathaniel woke up a few slivers of sunlight shone on his face from the holes in his box. It was much warmer. He decided to go to the butcher’s, who was friends with his parents and might give him a few scraps. As he was walking, his feet crunching on the snow, he heard whimpering coming from an alley. He goes into the dark alley and sees a black tail peeking out from under a box. He lifts up the box and under it is a small, pudgy black dog. Her fluffy fur was covered with dirt. Nathaniel reaches out to pick her up, but she whines and backs up. He slowly moves closer and reaches out and pets her head. She tenses up but after a moment she relaxes. After awhile, he picks her up and carries her to the butcher’s.
“Hey Nathaniel,” says the burly butcher waving when he sees the small boy with the dog, “and who might this be?” He rubs the matted black fur on the dog’s back as Nathaniel points at the alley where he found her. He hadn’t been able to speak since his parents death. Then, the butcher goes to the back of the shop and gets a small plate of scraps. He hands it to the boy and gets back to work. Nathaniel takes a few scraps and puts the rest of the food from the plate on the snow-covered sidewalk for the dog. When they were done he sat the plate on the butcher’s counter, and started walking away. As he left, the butcher called goodbye.
When  Nathaniel got back to his box he sat inside, the dog in his frail arms, listening to the soft melodies coming from the bakery. They reminded him of his mother reading and singing to him. When the music stopped, he shuddered, remembering the death of his mother. She, along with his father, had been murdered in front of his eyes. They never found the culprit.
Later that night Nathaniel fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming about his parents. When he awoke, with a start, the small black form, who had been sleeping next to him, was gone. He frantically looked for the dog and about thirty minutes later found her sitting outside the butcher’s. She was eating some scraps on the ground.
“Here,” said the butcher, extending his huge hand with a plate with some scraps to Nathaniel, “I saved you some.” Nathaniel nodded gratefully and ate a few scraps, then he gave the rest to the dog. The butcher and Nathaniel both turned as they heard shrieking.
There was a woman in a fancy pink dress and big hat to match, running towards them. She picked up the little dog and gave it a hug.
“Where have you been?” asked the woman, fondling the dog. She looked at the dirty boy staring up at her, “Did you take her?” Dumbfounded, Nathaniel shakes his head and points at the alley where he found her.
The woman nods, somehow understanding, and looks at the butcher, “Thank you for feeding her,” she walks away with the dog in her arms, her heels clacking. Nathaniel bursts into tears. That dog was the best thing that had happened to him since before his parents died. That was four years ago, when he was five.
The butcher reached out toward him but, he swiftly ran back to his box, tears streaming down his face. When he got to the box he curled up inside, sobbing. He cried and cried. He couldn’t stop. That night Nathaniel cried himself to sleep.
The next day Nathaniel saw the woman walking. He decided to follow her. He followed her to a huge white house with a perfect, snow-covered lawn. When she got inside he came up to the house and looked through the front window. Inside he saw the little black dog lying in a basket with five tiny puppies. Four were spotted but one was completely black like it’s mother. He felt glad that she was in a safe place with her puppies. He didn’t cry over her anymore, he knew this was better for her.
A few months later (in spring) the woman’s husband and two of their children were standing near the bakery with a box. Nathaniel did not realize until he got closer that the box was full of puppies. They were all sleeping except for one- the little black one. He was jumping around the box biting his sleeping siblings. Since the family was giving them away (They couldn’t afford four kids, a dog, and five puppies.) Nathaniel took the black one. At first the man was reluctant to give a puppy to an orphan living on the streets, but decided he would. He was carrying him across the street, but didn’t notice the car coming. Bam! The car hit the small, nine-year-old boy and the puppy flew out of his arms. Nathaniel didn’t feel much pain, he couldn’t even hear the people screaming, or feel the puppy licking his face. The only thing he could hear was his mother softly calling his name.