“Oh stop it Bran… you are driving me crazy! You are a daft dog aren’t you!” She patted him on the head. “I know you want to go for a walk but I am far too busy now. Where are those two children?”
“Rian! Orla! Take this silly dog for a walk before I trip over him.”
“Rian! Orla! Take this silly dog for a walk before I trip over him.”
There was no answer. Mrs Sullivan sighed and she went into the sitting room with Bran following her. Rian and Orla sat on the sofa playing computer games on their Xbox whilst wearing headsets. Their mam went around the back of the sofa and took off their headsets.
“Mam, what are you doing?” shrieked Orla.
“You just spoilt the game!” yelled Rian.
“Forget about your game. It is a beautiful day outside and you’re stuck in here? Take Bran for a walk before my hair goes completely grey.”
Orla looked up at her mother and saw from her mam’s face that she was serious. Rian muttered to himself but turned off the Xbox and went to get Bran’s lead.
It took a while to get the lead on Bran as he kept jumping and twisting around with excitement. Orla knelt down to him and held her finger to her lips and Bran calmed down long enough for her to clip the lead onto his collar. Rian put some water bottles and a small dog bowl into a small rucksack as it was a very hot day, whilst Orla held Bran on a short lead. When they got outside their farmhouse which was at the end of a country lane, Bran kept tugging and pulling Rian as they walked down past the estate of new houses that had recently been built. At the end of the road they turned right, walked through the village of Kilduff and then turned right again and headed towards the black mountains that looked down over the village. The little road narrowed into a stony path that led to fields that ran alongside a mountain stream. The pathway actually went up past their family’s farmland and carried on past their neighbour Dan Finnegan’s little cottage.
Il fallut du temps pour mettre la laisse à Bran car il n’arrêtait pas de sauter et de tourner d’excitation. Orla s’agenouilla à côté de lui et posa son doigt sur ses lèvres et Bran se calma assez longtemps pour qu’elle puisse fixer la laisse à son collier. Rian mit quelques bouteilles d’eau et une petite gamelle dans un petit sac à dos car il faisait très chaud, tandis qu’Orla attachait Bran à sa courte laisse. Quand ils sortirent de leur ferme située au bout d’une route de campagne, Bran se mit à tirer et à tracter Rian alors qu’ils passaient à côté d’un lotissement de nouvelles maisons qui venait d’être construit récemment. Au bout de la route ils tournèrent à droite, marchèrent vers le village de Kilduff et ensuite retournèrent à droite se dirigeant vers les montagnes noires qui surplombaient le village. La petite route se rétrécit et devint un sentier rocailleux qui menait à des champs longeant un ruisseau de montagne. Le sentier dépassa les terres agricoles de leur famille et mena jusqu’au cottage de Dan Finnegan.
Dan was leaning over his gate as they approached his cottage.
“Hi Dan!” the children greeted him.
“Well hello there. How are you today? Hello Bran! Going walkies?”
Bran jumped up at the gate and put his front paws on the gate and stood on his hind legs. He cocked his head and barked. Dan laughed and patted Bran’shead.
“Yes, you’re a good boy, Bran.”