Eight-year-old Lily never played with dolls, wore pretty outfits, or ordered pizza on Saturday nights like her friends. Instead, after school, she sat by her mother, Stella, and helped her knit sweaters and caps because that was how they made a living.
When Lily was five, her father, Adam, died of cancer. Stella was an orphan, and Adam’s family refused to help them, so Stella and Lily were on their own.
“God rewards those who are kind and brave. We’ll be alright, honey,” Stella told Lily every night before going to bed. Deep down, she was devastated after losing Adam, but she had to pull herself together for Lily.
Homeless and with no savings in hand, Stella and Lily were forced to live in the tent. They had set it up in a deserted parking lot so that they wouldn’t be kicked out, at least not anytime soon.
One day, Lily was walking home from school when she felt somebody was following her. She got scared and was about to run away when she heard a sad “woof” behind her. Lily turned around to see a whimpering sick doggo, muddy and drenched in dirty water. He was looking at her with sad eyes.
“Are—are you hungry?” Lily asked him, and he let out a slight woof as if he understood what she said.
Lily sat down and began petting him. “Listen, doggo, you look sick, and mommy and I don’t have enough money. We can’t take you to a vet, and well, mommy, she will be mad. I am sorry I can’t help you!” she decided.
But when the dog began whimpering in her lap, Lily’s heart melted. “Don’t be sad, silly! Mommy says we should be brave. Ok, ok, let’s get you home,” she said. “But I don’t think mommy will let you stay there.”
So Lily brought the dog to the tent, although she and Stella couldn’t afford another mouth to feed.
“You know our circumstances, honey,” Stella told her once she bathed the dog and gave him some milk. “We can’t keep him. He has to leave!”
“But, Mommy, isn’t the dog just like us?” said Lily. “You remember when daddy died, we had no one to help us, and we were also like the doggo. Can we please help him, mom? I will spend more time knitting so we can make more money.”
When Lily said that, Stella couldn’t refuse. She looked at the helpless creature, and her own tragic life flashed before her eyes.
“Fine then,” she sighed. “However, if we can’t manage, we’ll have to let him go…”
Lily nodded sadly.
Later, Stella made the dog a tiny bed out of a shoe box and a house with cardboard, which she placed outside the tent. And while she was against keeping him initially, a month later, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Sam, as Stella named him, became family to her and Lily. He would follow them everywhere they went and never left his place without permission. Moreover, he kept Stella company when Lily would be in school.
“Sam! Come and have breakfast!” Stella called out to him, looking around, only to be disappointed.
“Are you hiding there, boy? I told you not to bother Mommy!”
Lily looked behind the tent for him, where Sam occasionally hid, but he wasn’t there either.
“Mommy, maybe he ran to the park! I’ll go check it out!” she told Stella, who nodded. “Sam never leaves like this! Be careful, honey.”
But Lily checked the park and couldn’t find Sam. She was sobbing on her way back to the tent. “Did someone take Sam away from us? Did someone steal him?” She couldn’t stop crying.
Suddenly, she noticed Sam across the street. “Sam!” she shouted.
Lily followed the dog and was shocked when he ran to a mansion. “Sam!” Lily followed him inside, not knowing what awaited her.
Soon after, she spotted Sam in the garden, jumping on a man in a wheelchair and licking his face. The man was so old! And Sam seemed to love him!
“Sam!” Lily ran up to him. “Why did you run away, boy? You should be home!”
“Sam?” the old man suddenly asked, and Lily looked at him with huge blue eyes. “I am sorry, sir. Sam seems to like you, but I don’t want to bother you. I apologize on his behalf,” she said.
The old man started laughing, “And who are you, little miss? By the way, I’m Daniel, and this is my dog, Humphry.”
“Your dog?” Lily asked sadly. “But I—I found Sam on the streets…”
“I’m sorry to hurt you, miss. My wife kicked Humphry out of the house after I was hospitalized three weeks ago. She was evil,” he whispered. “I’m glad Humphry came back, and my wife left this house. I was so alone without him.”
“Really?” asked Lily sadly. “I’m Lily. You can keep Sam if he is yours…it’s ok.”
Daniel smiled. “Did you move to this neighborhood recently? I don’t think I have seen you around before.”
The little girl shook her head. Then she began telling him how she and Stella lived in a tent, knitted sweaters for a living, and struggled to make ends meet.
“God rewards those who are kind and brave. We’ll be alright, honey,” Stella told Lily every night before going to bed. Deep down, she was devastated after losing Adam, but she had to pull herself together for Lily. Watch video above for full story!
