A black dog lying next to the man lifted its head and looked at me. I saw reproach in those eyes and a feeling of dread swept over me. I knew if that dog somehow gained the power of speech it would say, “You can ease the suffering of one of your tribe. You can be a better human being. It is not a difficult thing to do.”
But the dog didn’t speak. It dismissed me and rested its head on outstretched legs, closed its eyes and became still. The dog knew I was not going to help another of my kind down on his luck. As I walked away from the sleeping man I wondered which of us was the one whose luck had run out.