Daisy And I

• Simrata Sagar, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2022

-“I reflected that most of our life’s fears are a figment of our own imagination”. -

It was a hot, sunny morning and I was sitting under a tree on a rock by the lake near my house. I was just starting to enjoy the scenery, when I heard a puppy yelping and panting loudly, running towards me. As I looked around, I saw a cute white pomeranian. She was not on a leash, however had a collar and I could not see her owner nearby. Swept by the wind there was a yellow daisy flower that had landed neatly behind her ear. I laughed and said to her “I’ll name you Daisy because you have a daisy flower sticking to your ear.” Daisy appeared very thirsty as she was panting frantically with her tongue hanging out. I pointed her towards the lake. Daisy yelped again, ran towards the lake joyfully and then leaned towards the water. However, instead of lapping up the water she yelped and jumped back in fear. I observed with interest that though she was thirsty she was also very scared of her own reflection. I sat up quietly to watch what she would do next. After a few scared attempts back and forth Daisy mustered up the courage to ‘take the bull by its horns’. In other words, she had decided to tackle her own fears. She then plunged in and tried to attack her reflection. At first, Daisy appeared a little confused that her rival had just melted away into the water. Then Daisy had the realisation that it was her own reflection. She then quenched her thirst to her heart’s content.

”Polly”, a gentle voice suddenly called out. I looked around to see an elderly lady calling out to Daisy. “Polly, come here. Why are you playing in the water?” the lady asked. I interrupted and said “Um … Daisy was thirsty. Then I added, "Is Daisy your pet?”. “Yes, she ran off her leash”, replied the lady kindly. Before returning to her master, Daisy ran towards me and gave me a big cuddle. Her wagging tail told me that she wanted to be friends. “Bye Daisy”, I said. The kind lady smiled “Er, her name is Polly not Daisy”. I patted Polly’s head as she frolicked all around me. I said “Well, then, bye Polly.”

After they left, I reflected that most of our life’s fears are a figment of our own imagination. Tapping my chin, lost in thought, I strolled back home.