Alfa Canis Majoris.

”En hund med fjer i stedet for pels! Det har jeg godt nok aldrig set før,” sagde alfen, mens han førte sin hule hånd over hagen, hvilket fik ham til at se både usikker og forbavset ud.

”Den er kun ti uger gammel, så måske falder de af, så der kan vokse en rigtig pels ud,” svarede gnomen. Han havde fået den af en nymfe, som ikke vidste, hvad hun skulle stille op med den. Dens to søskende var helt normale, og så nuttede som hundehvalpe nu er, og alle tre var sunde og legesyge. Hundemoderen havde ikke gjort forskel på dem, måske fordi fjerene havde samme lugt som pelsene, men nymfen syntes ikke om det og spurgte gnomen, om han ville have den.

Det ville han gerne, for han kunne godt lide det usædvanlige, og her fik han da noget for alle pengene, selv om han ikke skulle give så meget som en bøjet Rigsdaler for den.

”Det er en han,” sagde nymfen, ”og han kan overhovedet ikke gø. Han gør det i hvert fald ikke. De andre to bjæffer på livet løs, men han har, indtil videre, ikke givet lyd. Ellers opfører han sig ligesom de andre, på alle måder.”

Gnomen spekulerede på, hvad han ville kalde hvalpen. Den skulle have et passende navn, der føltes naturligt, når han talte til den eller kaldte på den, men det lå ikke lige til højretøflen, syntes han, mens han betragtede den.

Den havde et smukt glimt i øjnene, og pludselig kom han til at tænke på Hundestjernen. Ja da, han skal hedde Sirius, for Sirius er himlens klareste stjerne, og kiggede man hvalpen i øjnene, føltes navnet ganske passende.

Sirius opførte sig eksemplarisk og gnomen havde aldrig før haft så godt selskab. De hyggede sig med at kaste grankogler og pinde, og Sirius afleverede dem igen lige ved gnomens fødder.

Både han og Sirius elskede at indsnuse de mange vidunderlige dufte fra blomsterne i græsset og på buskene, men en uheldsvanger dag opdagede han for sent den bi, som var i færd med at suge nektar, fra den blomst han netop duftede til, og det udløste et væmmeligt stik direkte på næsen. Det gjorde nas, og han kunne ikke holde tårerne tilbage.

”Lad mig lige komme til,” sagde Sirius. Gnomen gned sig i øjnene og fjernede hænderne, så Sirius kunne se hans næse igen. Han tænkte slet ikke på, at Sirius havde talt, for det gjorde forbasket ondt i næsetippen, og Sirius talte så naturligt, at det først gik op for ham efter et øjeblik.

Sirius slikkede ham på den ophovnede og meget ømme næse, og pist var den lige så fin som før. Gnomen følte forbløffet efter og udbrød: ”Hvad i Helgoland skete lige her? Kan du både tale og helbrede med tungen?”

”Jada,” svarede Sirius. ”Det er almindeligt på Sirius B, eller Hvalpen som vi kalder den. Alle os, som er inkarnerede fra denne ledsagestjerne, kan tale, helbrede og flyve.  Mester Lucas vedligeholder og udbygger disse evner. Du skulle overvære en af hans Darshans, hvor han bærer sit magiske tæppe. Et syn for guder. Nåmen, det er også derfor, jeg har fjer, som du sikkert har observeret. Du synes måske, det er lidt langt ude, men alt er meget anderledes der, end her. Hvalpen er over otteogethalvt lysår borte, så vi har ikke helt den samme fortid, vi to.”

”Du sagde, du også kan flyve?” Gnomen kiggede måbende og tvivlende på ham. Sirius begyndte at baske med ørerne mens han lod halen rotere, hvorefter han, både elegant og selvsikkert, ophævede tyngdekraften uden mindste besvær.

”Der er mere mellem himmel og jord, end vi gnomer har kendskab til,” tænkte han, og smilede så pludselig ved tanken om, hvad han sikkert kunne overraske Sirius med.

For gnomer kan også et og andet, som nok vil få mange til at undre sig, men flyveører har de ikke og heller ingen hale. De kan såmænd bare gøre sig usynlige ved at sætte højre pegefinger mod næsetippen. Men det føltes ikke som noget særligt, for det var man jo vant til, og hvis ikke Sirius havde lynfixet hans næse med sin magiske tunge, ville der nu også være gået nogle dage, før han kunne udøve denne kunst igen.

Men sammen ville de to kunne sætte verden på den anden ende og få mange til at tabe både næse og mund.

Snip, snap, snude, og Alfa Canis Majoris er meget langt ude.

"A dog with feathers instead of fur! I have never seen that before," said the elf as he led the palm of his hand over his chin, which made him look both uncertain and astonished.

"It is only ten weeks old, so maybe they will fall off and there will grow a real fur again," said the fairy. She had received it from a nymph who did not know what to do with it. The two siblings were completely normal, and as cute as puppies are, and all three were healthy and playful. The dog’s mother made no difference between them, perhaps because the feathers had the same smell as fur, but the nymph did not like it and asked the fairy, if she would have the puppy.

She would, because she liked the unusual, and here she got her money's worth, even though she did not have to provide as much as a bent penny for it.

"It's a he," said the nymph, "and he can’t bark. He does it at least not. The other two bark a lot, but he has so far not been heard barking. Otherwise he behaves like the others, in every way."

The fairy wondered what she would call the puppy. He should have an appropriate name that felt natural when she spoke to or called to him, but it was not that easy to decide she thought as she watched him.

He had a beautiful twinkle in his eyes, and suddenly the fairy came to think of the Dog Star. Yes, he should be named Sirius. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, and looking at the puppy’s eyes the name felt quite appropriate.

Sirius behaved very well and the fairy had never before had such good company. They enjoyed themselves by throwing pine cones and sticks, and Sirius dropped them again right at her feet.

Both she and Sirius loved to soak up the many wonderful scents of the flowers in the grass and on the bushes, but an ominous day she discovered too late the bee, which was about to suck nectar from the flower she just sniffed at, and it resulted in a nasty plug directly on the nose. It hurt, and she could not hold back the tears.

"Let me see," said Sirius. The fairy rubbed her eyes and removed her hands so Sirius could see her nose again. She did not notice that Sirius had spoken, because it did damn sore at her nose tip, and Sirius spoke so natural that it first dawned on her after a moment.

Sirius licked her on the swollen and very sore nose, and then it was just as fine as before. The fairy felt amazed, and said, "What in Helgoland happened right here? Can you both talk and heal with your tongue?"

"Yes-yes," said Sirius. "It is common on Sirius B, or The Puppy as we call it. All of us reincarnated from this companion star, can talk, heal and fly. Master Lucas maintains and develops these skills. You should participate in one of his Darshans where he wears his magic carpet. A sight for Gods. Well, that's also why I have feathers, as you've probably noticed. You may think it's a little far-fetched, but everything is very different there than from here. The Puppy is about eight and a half light-years away, so you and I don’t share quite the same history."

"You said you can fly?" The fairy looked astonished and skeptical at him. Now Sirius flapped his ears while he let the tail rotate and then, both elegant and confident, he repealed gravity without the slightest difficulty.

"There are more things between heaven and earth than we fairies are aware of," she thought, and then she suddenly smiled at the thought of how she could surprise Sirius.

For fairies can also do a few things that probably will cause many to wonder, but flapping ears they don’t have and no tail either. They can just make themselves invisible by setting the right index finger against the tip of the nose, but it did not feel special, because they were accustomed to it. Now had Sirius cured the nose in lightning speed with the magical tongue, else there would be gone some days before she could exercise this art again.

But together, they could put the world on the other end and get many to yawn of wonderment.

Snip, snap, snout, and Alpha Canis Majoris is still very far out.