On a bitterly cold winter day, with icy winds howling and snow falling thick over the streets, PUGGY was running along the road while several laughing children chased behind. They hurled snowballs at it again and again, laughing as they ran. Each time a hard-packed snowball struck its body, PUGGY let out a cry of pain. Blood slowly began to seep through its fur, yet the children only laughed and ran off, leaving it to limp alone down the freezing street—wounded, helpless, and heartbroken.
Struggling forward, PUGGY made its way into a silent park and finally collapsed weakly beneath a large tree. From above, a little squirrel saw everything. Shocked and full of sympathy, it quickly climbed down from the tree. Somehow, it found bandages and carefully wrapped PUGGY’s wounds. Then it dragged over a big, bright red apple and placed it in front of the injured dog. When night fell, the squirrel led PUGGY into its warm tree hollow. There, in the midst of wind and snow, the two injured little creatures curled up together for warmth and drifted to sleep, and a deep friendship between different species quietly began to grow.
But their brief peace was soon shattered.
Early the next morning, two masked lumberjacks entered the park carrying chainsaws, with their eyes set on the very tree where they lived. As the chainsaws roared, the tree crashed to the ground. PUGGY and the squirrel were thrown violently from the hollow. Because PUGGY was sturdier and protected by its bandages, it suffered only minor injuries. But the squirrel hit the snow hard, blood seeping from its nose and mouth, its life hanging by a thread.
Faced with a friend on the brink of death, PUGGY was overwhelmed with grief, tears streaming down its face. But it did not hesitate for even a moment. Gently lifting the squirrel onto its back, it set off without fear to find help.
It pushed through the snow-covered paths in the raging storm until it passed a roadside sign marked with “−” and “+” emergency symbols—the direction of hope.
At last, they reached the animal hospital. The doctors rushed the squirrel into emergency surgery, while PUGGY sat anxiously on the cold waiting bench, keeping watch as tears slipped continuously from its large eyes. After the operation, the squirrel lay quietly in a hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask and connected to a heart monitor. And beside the bed, PUGGY remained motionless, guarding its friend through the entire night without sleep.
Then, at dawn, the squirrel slowly opened its eyes.
The very first thing it saw was PUGGY beside it—still wrapped in bandages, its eyes full of concern.
With a faint smile, the squirrel gently pushed forward that familiar red apple with its paw—the same apple that had marked the beginning of their friendship.
Seeing that its friend was finally safe, PUGGY at last showed the first truly radiant smile in the entire story, bringing warmth to the whole frozen winter scene.
