'You're back!'

“You’re back!” Vin cooed.

“I had meat!” the dog cried. “I’m so happy! I’m so happy!”

“That’s wonderful!” Vin reached through the bars and rubbed the dog’s flat forehead. “Idiot,” he added under his breath.

Vin had always been told that dogs were dull witted, but he had not expected this. This animal was stupid beyond Vin’s wildest dreams of stupidity.

This animal was stupid beyond Vin's wildest dreams of stupidity.

“But that was bad!” he said.

The dog sat down abruptly on his haunches.

“I told you to go. Go. Go outside.”

“Outside!” The stubby tail began to wag again. “I like outside!”

Vin sighed. “You. Go. Outside.”

'You. Go. Outside.'

The dog flattened his ears against his skull in embarrassment. At last he had realized his mistake.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” Vin sighed. “Every time you forget.”

The dog cocked his head in confusion. “What?”

The dog did not understand Vin’s own language, nor even the finer poetry of wolves. Vin was reduced to barking and whining like a miserable, stinking dog himself.

“Listen,” Vin said. “You. Go. Outside. Find man. Find elf. Bring here. Man find me. Elf find me.”

'Elf find me.'

The tail began to wag. “I like man.”

“That’s wonderful. Listen. You. Go. Find man. Man comes here. Man opens gate.” He shook the locked gate to illustrate, and then he shook it again harder out of frustration.

“Find man!” The dog stood, the better to wag his tail.

“Yes! Find man!”

“You come too!” the dog said eagerly.

'You come too!'

“No!” Vin pressed his fists to his temples and groaned. “You go outside. You find man. You find elf. Man opens gate. Elf opens gate. Then I come too.”

But it was the “then” that the dog did not seem to understand. Apparently there was no concept of first, next, and last in the world of dogs.

“You go outside,” the dog said.

“No! Listen. You find man. Man finds me.”

'No!'

At last the dog leapt with joy. “I find man! Man finds you!”

“Yes!”

“Yes! I’m so happy!”

Vin wriggled his body like a dog to show how pleased he was himself. “That’s wonderful! I’m so happy too! You go now!”

“You come too!” the dog yipped.

'You come too!'

“No!” Vin howled. “You’re hopeless!”

“What?”

“Listen. You go alone. You find man, find elf. Man finds, elf finds me. Now.”

'Listen. You go alone.'

“I find man alone!”

“Yes!”

“I go now!”

“Yes!”

The dog turned and trotted off at once.

The dog turned and trotted off at once.

Vin listened until the retreating paws could no longer be heard, and then he sighed. The dog had already slept and eaten. That made two less possible distractions. Perhaps he truly would remember this time.

But Vin did not think it likely.

Vin did not think it likely.