C - THE LOST DOBERMAN

The Lost Doberman

A man was hurrying down the road and suddenly his eyes fell on an open
gate of a house. Sitting on an easy chair in the porch, was an elderly
gentleman with an open book, the pages lying face down on his chest and
the front and back covers looking up.

Standing just outside the open gate the stranger spoke loudly so that
his words could reach the ears of the gentleman seated there. "Excuse
me, have you seen my Doberman near about. Your gate is wide open, has
he sneaked in?"

The elderly gentleman turned his head, looked at the stranger and said,
"You are asking about the Dover Mail of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles
Dickens."

Instantly the stranger replied, "I live in this city. Which other city
are you referring to?" Just then a ball came and hit his right leg.
Angrily he kicked the ball and said, "These boys play cricket but their
fielding is so poor."

"Ah!" said the gentleman, "You are talking about Fielding. Do you like
his books?"

The stranger replied, "I'm sorry I think my dog has entered your
neighbour's house, that of Mr. Biswas."

"You are talking of V.S.Naipaul's The house of Mr. Biswas. Such an
interesting and descriptive book isn't it?" was the reply.

"I don't know Paul, who's he? Someone must have kidnapped my dog," said
the stranger.

"So, you've read R.L.Stevenson's Kidnapped, that's what you said I
believe," was the reply.

"I think I can find my dog in that narrow passage down there. Really I
can't understand what you are telling me," said the stranger.

The gentleman lay relaxed in his easy chair and continued, "The Passage
To India by E.M.Foster is a book worth reading. You have a good choice
for books and authors."

By now the stranger was fed up with the absurd replies and said, "I
think you can't follow what I'm saying. Do you need an
interpreter?"

"The Interpreter of Maladies has won Jhumpa Lahiri the Booker Prize.
Are you fond of reading?"

In came the stranger's irritated reply, "Oh! God, you will make me mad.
I don't understand all that you are telling me."

There was a smile on the elderly gentleman's face and he spoke again.
"You enjoyed reading Roy's The God Of Small Things?"

"I know you cannot give me a clue about my dog, you are simply wasting
my time. I will cross over that narrow canal bridge and search for my
dog." So saying the stranger started moving.

"Just a minute, I didn't know that you have also read Hardy's The Mayor
of Casterbridge." By then the stranger had moved away. Just then his
wife came and asked, "With whom were you conversing?"

He laughed and said, "No dear, I was only remembering the names of the
books in my library. He was giving me a clue and I was completing it.
It was a game of finding the names of books and authors. Both of us
enjoyed this interesting game."

His wife was surprised and said, "Who is the He that you mentioned.
There is nobody around."

He laughed loudly and said, "You don't know him, only I know him. He
has gone away."