Falkor’s Journey

Falkor was a golden retriever, and if you asked Jason, he was the best dog in the whole wide world. When Jason was born, Falkor was already five years old. His parents were a little worried if the dog would accept the baby into the family, but as soon as they brought him home from the hospital, they saw there was nothing to worry about.

Falkor couldn’t be more excited. He greeted them by jumping high up in the air, then licked Jason’s face and nestled down beside the baby’s cradle. He lay there day after day, sleeping and standing guard.

When Jason was just a baby, Falkor would protect him with his life. He let Jason pull his hair and tail, stick fingers in his bowl, crawl over his back, and sometimes even ride him like a horse. And when it was too much even for Falkor, he just firmly, but gently pushed the child with his snout and walked away. But he never went too far, just far enough to stay close to his little friend and keep an eye on him.

Every time something happened to Jason, Falkor was there in a wink. He licked each and every one of his scrapes and bumps, and when Jason hit his head one time, Falkor ran home and barked at mummy like crazy, until she finally came to rescue.

When Jason was a little older, they would race across the meadows and play in the garden together. They went for walks with Jason’s mother to the woods and to a nearby lake in summer, where Jason and Falkor always swam together.

One day, on their way back from the lake, his mother said:

“A little further along this path, there’s Flora’s grave. We should…