Once upon a time, there was a little dog. He was a pug: small and round, with short legs, a sturdy little body, a flat nose, and big, round eyes. He didn’t have a name, because he didn’t belong to anyone. And nobody wanted him, either. So he wandered through the town all alone.
His tummy often rumbled, because he didn’t even have his own little bowl where someone might give him something to eat. All he could do was hope people would take pity on him.
One day it was raining, and the Little Pug had nowhere to hide. He was cold. When he spotted a nicely dressed lady in a hat, he trotted after her. But she didn’t even notice him. It wasn’t until she stopped at her front door that she noticed the soggy little creature curled up on the ground.
“Who are you?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. She carefully touched the little dog with her finger, but quickly pulled her hand away. “Ew, you’re all wet and dirty.”
The puppy wagged his tail happily. He thought the lady would play with him, feed him, and maybe even let him stay somewhere where the cold rain wouldn’t fall on him. But he was wrong.
“Get out of here, I don’t want you. You’re ugly. You’ve got bulging eyes like a fly, a pudgy body like a round snowman, and I bet you snore at night. Off you go!”
The puppy drooped his ears and ran away. But just next door, a mom was standing with her little girl, Amalie. They’d heard the lady grumbling, and then saw the little pug dashing toward them.
“Oh look, a puppy!” cried little Amalie, pulling the puppy into her arms. “He’s a bit dirty, though.”
“But he’s beautiful. Poor thing, he probably doesn’t have an owner,” said Mom.
The puppy looked at her with his head tilted to the side. Did she really say he was pretty? But that lady before said he was ugly.
“You’re not ugly at all,” Amalie told the puppy, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “That lady was describing herself. She was bulging her eyes like an old toad, too. And I bet she snores at night as well.”
“But Amalie, you shouldn’t talk about people like that,” Mom scolded her.
“But I’m right. Our teacher at preschool told us not to judge others by how they look. And besides, that lady lied. That dog is beautiful. Can we keep him? Can we?”
“If his owner doesn’t turn up, then he can stay with us,” Mom decided.
“Hooray! And his name will be Jerry!”
And so it happened that the little Pug got his very own bowl, tasty food, and a cozy bed just for him. He lived warm and snug, slept in bed with his people, and never again heard that he was ugly. At last, he found people who loved him just the way he was.