Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield

Author:James B. Garfield
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2022-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

In the days that followed, Jimmy’s walks were extended and became more varied, going into busier sections of the city.

“I advise you to cross busy streets only where there are traffic signals,” Mr. Weeks instructed, “and you must watch for the green light. You know all dogs are color-blind.”

“Maybe that’s why Sirius bumped me into that post,” Jimmy said. “It must have been colored.”

Mr. Weeks laughed. “Then you better listen for colored posts and traffic lights.”

One day Sirius stopped as they were going down the sidewalk. Jimmy reached out with his foot. He was sure there was no curb there, but something was wrong. He put out his hand and everything seemed clear, so he said Forward. The dog took one step forward and stopped again. Jimmy didn’t know what to do. Mr. Weeks came to his side.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Carter?”

“I don’t know. Sirius won’t go.”

“Then find out why,” Mr. Weeks told him,

“I did. I asked Sirius, but he wouldn’t tell me. There seems to be nothing in the way.”

“There must be,” Mr. Weeks insisted, “or the dog wouldn’t stop.”

Jimmy reached out his hand again and found a board across the sidewalk, resting on two boxes. The dog could have walked under the board but Jimmy would have bumped into it.

Then Jimmy was taught how to go around all obstacles that block sidewalks—cars, bicycles, or even toys carelessly left there. Around these Sirius guided him expertly. Every day Jimmy grew more proud of his four-legged eyes. When the dog was leading him it was almost as if he could see again.

He was having trouble with the dog’s name. One day he told Mr. Weeks, “That name isn’t good enough for my dog.”

“But that is the most honored name a dog could have,” Mr. Weeks told him. “Don’t you know who Sirius was?”

“Why, no. Was there really somebody by that name?”

“It’s in a legend in Greek mythology,” Mr. Weeks explained. “Sirius was a dog who belonged to the giant hunter Orion. Sirius never left his master and went with him on all of his hunting trips. Orion was a friend of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. One day Artemis accidentally shot Orion with an arrow and then felt so sorry that she had him taken up into the heavens and made into the constellation of Orion. Sirius grieved for his master so much that Artemis had him placed in the heavens also. He is the Dog Star at the heel of the constellation of Orion in the southern hemisphere. The Dog Star is the brightest star in the heavens and is twenty times brighter than our sun.”

“Then why don’t we get light from it like we do from the sun?” Jimmy wanted to know.

“Why, Mr. Carter,” Mr. Weeks said. “You know that it is too far from our earth. The sun is only ninety-three million miles, in round numbers, and Sirius is about eight and a half light-years away.”

“What’s a light-year?” Jimmy asked.

“A light-year is the distance it takes a

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