A Dog's Tale

by Mark Twain

For deft plotting, riotous inventiveness, unforgettable characters, and language that brilliantly captures the lively rhythms of American speech, no American writer comes close to Mark Twain. This sparkling anthology covers the entire span of Twainâ s inimitable yarn-spinning, from his early broad comedy to the biting satire of his later years.

Every one of his sixty stories is ranging from the frontier humor of â The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,â to the bitter vision of humankind in â The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,â to the delightful hilarity of â Is He Living or Is He Dead?â Surging with Twainâ s ebullient wit and penetrating insight into the follies of human nature, this volume is a vibrant summation of the career ofâ in the words of H. L. Menckenâ â the father of our national literature.â

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Animals, Audiobook, Literature, Humor

52 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.

Reviews

[Koko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of a good author's job is to make the reader think. Having read the other reviews of "A Dog's Tale" (and of "A Horse's Tale" as well) I think some of the reviews may be missing the point.

I agree wholeheartedly that in all, it is an upsetting story. I also agree that it is probably not suitable for young children. Speaking as someone who loves her dog, one reading was certainly enough for me. However, there are deeper things at work here, and they should be looked into.

Consider that "A Dog's Tale" was written very early in the twentieth century.. This was a time when treatment of animals did not measure up to the same standards we as a society hold today. In fact, animal cruelty was societally acceptable. Levels of animal abuse that will have you in court in today's world were utterly unremarkable then. The dog was yours; you could do anything you wanted to do to it, good or bad.

What "A Dog's Tale" does very well is put the reader in the dog's life to experience firsthand the astounding cruelty being dished out by the dog's "scientifically detached" owner. The man demonstrates no sympathy or caring at all for his own dog, but through the story, Twain certainly elicits it from the reader! And I propose that this was the point; to make the reader think about the way they treated animals then. Twain was someone who saw much pain in his own life, and it's my personal belief that he probably disliked people that casually inflicted pain. Such people would be a ripe target for an iconoclast such as him.

All in all, a superbly crafted story, even if it is disturbing. Being disturbing, I think, was very likely the whole point. Don't get completely wrapped up in the emotion, look deeper. Five stars for making us think.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took an entirely unexpected turn for the worse, and was dreadful to read. I would not recommend for animal lovers. ☹️

[Pradnya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a heart-wrenching story. So few words and so much depth! It's going to haunt me for long time.

[MaryAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first the story was engaging, funny and full of life. The ending was that like a heavy hammer hitting one on the head. I cried and cried and cried at the cruelty to such innocence. And struck by the turn of events in the writing.

I felt rage and anger over this book and the author, but decided I would reserve my opinion until I researched Mark Twain's opinion on animals. I was relieved that he was an advocate for animals and supported anti-vivisection. (See Note below.)

If you are a dog lover, beware; the ending with break your heart. But know that Mr. Twain wrote the story to expose scientific animal cruelty.

Brilliant writing, but then again, it is Mark Twain.

Thank You Mr. Twain.

NOTE:

From Wikipedia
A Dog's Tale

'A Dog's Tale' is a short story written by Mark Twain. It first appeared in the December 1903 issue of Harper's magazine. In January of the following year it was extracted into a stand-alone pamphlet published for the National Anti-Vivisection Society. Still later in 1904 it was expanded into a book published by Harper & Brothers.

[Praveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I read the story of a stolen elephant by Mark Twain and this year I was thinking why not a more handy pet this time, a little bit cuddly, a bit fluffy. Something more convenient to handle, without fear of being trampled down. There must be a tale on these pets too, by the American greats. I brooded over.

A piece of advice came. If you are looking for a pet that will be as happy to see you as you are to see them, a guinea pig you should consider. A guinea pig! oh, that sweet American rodent of the cavy family? Yes. Yes. The same. I opposed it. I think an American story is fine, an American author is also fine, but the pet, the pet should be something universal sort, you know! Which is found there and here too, so that I may feel a connection. Go for a dog then. This was the swift alternative recommendation.

And thus this tale appeared. A dog’s tale by Mark Twain. The narrator is a canine. And the tale begins with a bit of humor. It was expected by me that I was yet again on a chucklesome tale narrated by the lady dog this time. But Mark Twain surprised me and the story took a grisly turn. It was ghastly. And, ah! that poor animal! The mother dog! She softly mewls like a human baby for her baby in the end.

This is a story told by a dog and she introduced herself at the beginning that

“My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, But I am a Presbyterian. This is what my mother told me, I do not know these nice distinctions myself. To me, these are only fine large words meaning nothing”

This lady dog shares her story from childhood, her association with her mother, and how much she loved her. She narrates that all other dogs were envious of how her mother got her education because she was using those large words. She further reveals that her mother learned those words by listening in the dining room and drawing room and by listening to what children say when she went to Sunday -school with children. Her narration about her mother, in the beginning, is very hilarious and it will make you laugh. She says how her mother uses the synonymous big words and when a stranger looks profane, how they initiate slatting of the floor with their tails in unison and their faces transfigured with holy joy.

When she grew, she was sold and taken away from her mother and then they both were broken-hearted and cried. Then she talks about her new home and master. There was a baby of her master. And one day she also becomes a mother, her puppy comes into the world,

“By and by came my little puppy, and my cup was full, my happiness was perfect, it was dearest little waddling thing, and so smooth and soft and velvetty…”

One day the fire broke out in a nursery and this benevolent mother dog saves the baby of her master, first, she was beaten hard by the master as they felt she is the culprit behind the calamity. But when they later discovered that she had indeed saved the life of their baby, they realise their mistake and start worshipping her. Up to here, this story was rollicking fun, but after this, it turns morbid and the animal lovers will hate this tale for sure. I too detested the end of this tale. I took pity on this mother dog, but her master whose baby she has saved from the fire did not have mercy, they were too much human, so-called intellectual beings who feel that for their scientific experiments they can do anything with an animal.

Mark Twain has written this tale in his familiar humor and finally, he has been able to give a message in an emotive wind-up, by ending this tale in a heart-rending manner. In the end, these words of the servant of the house to this poor mother dog will reverberate in your head for long, I am sure.

“Poor little doggie, you saved his child.”

[Asha Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian. " and starts the tale of Aileen Mauvourneen.

How often does one come across tales that leave you asking for more, as though the book had never ended? And imagine if it had to be mere 50 odd pages? No matter how unexpected but this was that book which left me feeling rather incomplete and what do they say, speechless?

Being the kind of animal-lover that I am; especially dog-lover, I am always on the look-out for books on dogs, about dogs. It took me by surprise that I had missed this short yet intriguing story all these years when I accidentally stumbled across it on Librivox. So I audio-read the book which is as short as 35 minutes and the story is done.

The beginning of the story goes like this,

My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian. This is what my mother told me, I do not know these nice distinctions myself. To me they are only fine large words
meaning nothing. My mother had a fondness for such; she liked to say them, and see other dogs look surprised and envious, as wondering how she got so much education. But, indeed, it was not real
education; it was only show: she got the words by listening in the dining-room and drawing-room when there was company, and by going with the children to Sunday-school and listening there; and whenever she heard a large word she said it over to herself many times, and so was able to keep it until there was a dogmatic gathering in the neighborhood, then she would get it off, and surprise and
distress them all, from pocket-pup to mastiff, which rewarded her for all her trouble.

and I knew I am going to be hooked to it. But only to find it ending pretty too soon.

Aileen narrates her life of how she is raised by an English family and then given away to a different family. There, she gives birth to her puppy and is living her life until one day the house of her new owners catches fire. She tries to rescue her owner's baby by pulling the baby out of fire when the owner sees her and misunderstands her and hits her with a stick that gives her a deep wound. She runs for life and hides in a secluded corner for hours, all starved but starts to miss her puppy. Later, her intention was discovered and the owners praise her for her deed. A short period later, the owners of Aileen who are science experts perform an experiment on her puppy who dies in the process and is buried in the owner's garden-yard. She learns what was done and yearns for her baby over the grave with a clear intention of doing so for the rest of her life.

The story is simple yet captivating, short yet compelling, sweet yet aching.

Its incredible what such a short story has to offer to its readers. Its packed with humor, grief, love, greed, and much more that makes the story so impressive and long-lasting in memories in just 50 pages which most 500 some page books these days fail to do. It tugs and then pulls at your heart wanting to make you cry and pull Aileen in a hug for so adorable she is.

There are few things that the story holds for us, as human beings to understand and apply.
When Aileen leaves her mother's house, her mother tells her,
We were sent into this world for a wise and good purpose, and must do our duties without repining, take
our life as we might find it, live it for the best good of others, and never mind about the results; they
were not our affair. She said men who did like this would have a noble and beautiful reward by and
by in another world, and although we animals would not go there, to do well and right without reward
would give to our brief lives a worthiness and dignity which in itself would be a reward.

I guess there is a far deeper message for us as human beings in there. To be lot more considerate about our actions toward other beings of the eco-system and stop using other inhabitants of the planet for our purposes.

There is this instance in the end that made me realize that I was reading through teary eyes.
It is when the servant carries Aileen's dead puppy to bury him in the garden. She helps him dig the ground for she thinks that the puppy will grow into a handsome dog like Robin Adair(another Presbyterian in the neighborhood she loved). But she realizes she was tricked, her baby was tricked when the servant says to her, ""Poor little doggie, you saved HIS child!" . And she waits for weeks at the grave for her baby to grow and come out but he never does. She is so broken-hearted and depressed with anguish and doesn't help herself one grain of food.

I know I have uncovered fairly good chunks from the book but I cannot stop myself from doing so for the sake of prospective readers of this book. Its a tale of sacrifice, selflessness, love, compassion and one's duties toward others. Its about being human and I, totally respect and admire the way Mr. Twain has put it across to his readers. Strikes a cord and makes one think about each of those times when they have done or seen someone mistreat/disregard animals.

I cannot say I loved the book, I mean I cannot say enough. All through the book as I read it, I felt as though Aileen was talking straight to me. I laughed a lot and cried a lot more. More than once I imagined Alfey in place of her. But I guess that's what happens when you own pets, their grief becomes yours even if its just fiction.

Well, if you've really read the review till this last word, do yourself a favor. Read this book, whether or not you like animal literature.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dog's tale by Mark Twain is an excellent piece of writing that takes you through all life's emotions in 50 odd pages. A thought provoking book that entertains, makes you laugh and maybe by the end makes you cry.

[Oziel Bispo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que conto triste. ..confesso que me levou às lágrimas. .a inocência de seres tão puros como os animais e a brutalidade do homem. ..Como fiquei revoltado!

[Tristram Shandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“‘Poor little doggie, you saved HIS child!’”

A Dog’s Tale, which first appeared in Harper’s Magazine in December 1903, starts funnily enough but it quickly turns into a very dark and heart-rending story, probably one of the saddest that Twain ever wrote. One month after its publication it was transformed into a pamphlet for the National Anti-Vivisection Society, and it is quite ironical that some people – also here on Goodreads – actually blame Mark Twain for writing such a story in which a loyal and loving dog is treated so cruelly and callously by the father of a family, when in fact Twain did this with the explicit intention of helping prevent such cruelty in real life. The more you read of Twain’s later works, the more obvious it will become to you that Mark Twain was highly sceptical of tenets as to Man’s superiority over Beasts, that he had a very high opinion of animals’ understanding and learning faculties and that his cynical view on human nature also made it very doubtful to him that humans have the edge on animals as regard to moral sense.

I can say that after reading this short story, which began in a playful way and which is told from the perspective of the dog herself, I was shocked at the unquestioning arrogance with which the dog’s master decides to perform vivisection on the puppy. The dog in this tale evinces high moral standards, which she has been taught by her mother:

”[S]he […] said we were sent into world for a wise and good purpose, and must do our duties without repining, take our life as we might find it, live it for the best good of others, and never mind about the results; they were not our affair. She said men who did like this would have a noble and beautiful reward by and by in another world, and although we animals would not go there, to do well and right without reward would give to our brief lives a worthiness and dignity which in itself would be a reward.”

Now, if that scientist from the story goes to Heaven, I’d rather go where the dog does for I find that this place, if accorded to the dog’s merits, must even be better than the scientist’s heaven. At least, the company there will be better. What I also find interesting about this quotation is that, maybe, Twain suggests, with the last sentence, that doing good for the sake of one’s dignity is based on a higher standard of morality than doing good for the sake of a celestial reward.

[Lemar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Twain spurred the public to evolve by getting us to laugh about our pretensions. That he applied this funny and effective method to the plight of animals is telling.
He begins with a funny pun in the title and opens with some hilarious scenes. By the end (no spoilers here) we are awakened to the fact, often even fleetingly verbalized, that animals are really nice people, loyal, brave, loving and certainty conscious.
In the very same way that Twain caught the public ear on slavery by first reassuring the reader that he wasn’t going to preach and sermonize, he uses his humor to deliver his point in A Dog’s Tale that animals deserve better, have a right to better.
I once read a quote that, “to consider slavery is to condemn it.” A lot of time, effort and training was spent trying to prevent people from stopping to consider slavery. In our century a lot of cultural forces are at work keeping us from stopping as we watch a mouthwatering ad for a burger to consider the slaughterhouse, the life of an animal born into a factory farm, or the the medical and cosmetic testing on animals.
The Dog’s owner, who the dog calls his Master, at one point sits up and for a moment takes in the implications of the his dog’s actions and says, “It’s far above instinct; it’s reason, and many a man privileged to be saved and go with you and me to a better world by right of its possession, has less of it then this poor silly quadruped that’s foreordained to perish”.

Twain gets us to see the world through their trusting eyes, suggesting that the fight to recognize equal rights will not have succeeded until we humans accept animals as sentient beings and then ACT on that. This little story got me thinking.

[Pia G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

hikâyemiz ailesiyle yaşayan sadık ve sevgi dolu bir köpek tarafından anlatılıyor. ailemizin evinde bir yangın çıkınca dostumuz kahramanca bir cesaret örneği gösterir (her ne kadar sonu dramatik olsa da). twain'in bir köpeğin gözünden bu kadar derin duyguları aktarabilmesi beni etkiledi. kitabın dili son derece sade ve etkileyici, özellikle köpeğinden dilinden yazılmasını sevdim.

ilk hikâyeye veriyorum bu yıldızları, hak ediyor çünkü.. 

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I scratched my dog's belly for a full night after this one.

[tiago. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but sweet. It is a very sad story, but very beautiful nonetheless. Great writing, but then again nothing else could be expected from Mark Twain.

[Jon Reading Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The more I see of some people, the better I like my dog." — Mark Twain

Skillfully penned with moments of the famous wry levity that Twain is known for. It's also quite deep in its examination of how casually human cruelty is often committed. While human beings don't have a monopoly on dealing death and pain to other species, we're certainly the most well-practiced at it, and one of the few species who revel in dispensing such things for purposes of pleasure. Perhaps animals are not possessed of human emotions or intellect, but those are not always attributes necessary to experience suffering, nor does a shallower view of suffering make it any less considerable or more bearable.

I'm too sad to write any more and I want to go hug my dog now.

[Muhammad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant piece of writing! Twain in his comical tone describes the cruelties practised upon the animals in his time. The reader is being put in the position of a female pet dog and is experienced a 'dogly' journey with her masters. A depressing story that builds up anger inside you while reading. Sarcasms are very often, scattered here and there (the usual Twain) and it begins with a curious opening line "My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian". A deserving 'Overture' for a real masterpiece. Hail Mark Twain.

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story breaks the heart, and increases my opinion of Mark Twain as a writer and a person for bringing attention to animal rights in a time when they were hardly a thing that people thought about.

I feel like this is not nearly up to the par that it should be, given how wrenching the story was, but I tried to arrange my thoughts into a haiku:

"Cold as Job's trials,
Steadfast, humble devotion
Is no guarantee."

[muthuvel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story from dog's perspective gives ample amount of morality and virtuous deeds hold not all the times among humans and even if it does, it holds only within themselves, within the selfish humanity - it's my second favorite oxymoron, my first being "wise human".

[Shanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took to reading this book first thing in the morning. Instantly, I was taken into the life of Aileen, the people she loved, her extremely beautiful description of her mother, the classy subtlety with which Mark Twain has described her pup's father, indirectly portraying the scenario of women in those times where they could only grieve and do little else, fear, happiness, respect and undying love Aileen could feel even more than a warm-hearted human being. I did not want it to end the way it ended and badly wanted another chapter or at least a paragraph describing some justice done, some pain reduced. But that would have made me shut the book, smile about what a lovely book I read in the morning and in the next 15 minutes get busy with something else. This book would have been in the back of my memory, just enough to remember it when someone mentions it's name. Instead it made me sit stunned thinking about it for 5 whole minutes, surf through the Internet about this book's interpretations, read up on some recent animal activist programs and think about our puppy in our folks place and how I am going to be smothering him with all the love that would make him beg for some space and time-out. This ending was what this book needed, as quite sadly, it would never get irrelevant with age.

[Ankit Saxena · Rating 5 out of 5]

he has always been the master of words with Pen. Creating characters with imagination was far better than any other writer ever. He among those few writers who makes grip on your head and keep you stuck to their each and every book.
Hats-off Sir Samuels.
For me it's 4.5/5.0

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

[Sheila · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARGH! NO!! Mark Twain!?!? What are you doing to me!?!

I have had this short story by this well loved author on my kindle for ages, and last night was looking for something for a quick read and thought, "What could be nicer that a short dog story by Mr. Mark Twain?"

Well, the answer is "Anything would have been better!"

It is not the language I have the problem with either, as Mr. Twain writes as well as ever, it is the story itself, the horror, the pain, the abuse that the dog suffers! The beating for no reason that leaves her injured with a possibly broken leg, and cowering and starving for days in hiding. The torture and death of her puppy. Her vigil by her puppy's grave. Since it is all told from the dog's point of view, we feel her emotions, her confusion, her pain.

Not a good book when you want to read something nice before bed, unless you want nightmares. Not a good story for children, this could scar them for life! Not sure when this would ever be a good story.

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dog's Tale is a short story that begins with Twain's usual flair for wit and humor and ends most surprisingly with a tragic bow. Written to express his views on animal experimentation, Twain leaves us in no doubt of his disgust and disapproval as he tells us of a bright, but niave female doggie who saves her family's baby from a fire only to be ultimately rewarded be having her own pup the subject of her scientificly bent owner's experimentation - by which the pup quickly perishes. Its a sad tale, but a short one, and one worth reading if only for the benefit of our own reflections. I would recommend it.

[Emre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nihayet iyice büyüdüğümde beni sattılar, oradan götürüldüm, onu bir daha görmedim. Çok üzülmüştü, ben de aynı haldeydim, ağladık ama beni elinden geldiğince rahatlattı; bu dünyaya anlamlı ve iyi bir amaç uğruna gönderildiğimizi, görevlerimizi yakınmadan yerine getirmemiz, hayatı olduğu gibi kabul etmemiz, başkalarının iyiliği için yaşamamız ve ortaya çıkan sonuçları kafamıza takmamamız gerektiğini çünkü bunun bizim sorunumuz olmadığını söyledi. Sf:13

Korkular acılardan kötüdür, çok daha kötüdür. Sf:19

[Prashant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twain strikes just at the right place with this short story of a dog, covering right from the time when it was a puppy in care of its mother to the time when it had a new life with new owners and its own young one.

The story is tragic and I don't know what to make of it by the end.
If he wanted to tell us how heartless human, science, rationality and objectivity could be, there couldn't be a better example than this one right here!

[Ankit Garg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short-story converted to a book (which is short too, of course), A Dog's Tale by Mark Twain leaves a huge impact. It ends abruptly, yet leaves one wondering forever.

Verdict: A recommended read.

[debbicat *made of stardust*]

Ugh! I did not read this with any prior knowledge. I wish I had looked it up. Was listening on audible. As a dog lover... this is just too difficult. Makes me angry. Maybe I'll review it better later, but right now I just want to forget it. I wanna throw up!

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think we can all agree that dogs are much nicer and smarter than humans.

[Valerie Kite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story is moving with powerful message. Heartwarming and proof dog is better than man. One wishes the planted pup WOULD sprout somehow.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leave it to Mark Twain. Suck me into a story called A Dog’s Tale. Get me well-and-true into the dog’s viewpoint and feeling the joy of puppyhood and then the pain of leaving mother. Then there’s the joy again: family found! Romp, romp, romp … BAM! Did Twain make me forget of the often-occurrence of a story featuring a dog? Oh, he sure did. Did I shake my fist in the air and say “How could you suck me in like that and then do THAT?” Yes, I did. Did I then go “Damn it … he’s good.” Yes, I did.

This was a quick story (21 minutes on audio) that intimately conveyed a dog’s life. The good, the bad, the ugly. You are warned – but it was a tremendously powerful tale.

[Hafsa Sabira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how he portrayed a pet animal's entire life in such a short story. The narrative being followed by the dog's own perspective makes us feel what the poor dog is feeling. Dogs are generally loyal animals but we humans still torture then, use them in the laboratories and kill them mercilessly. This story makes us wonder about our deeds towards pet animals. We need to learn to be kind and loveable towards them, not use them till they can serve us in every possible way.