Tiny Tongue

He was so tiny. Among other dogs he looked completely harmless. He seemed like a good little dog with much potential to bring good to those around him. His master called him Tiny Tongue because he had the tiniest little tongue the man had ever seen in an animal.

But, there was one problem.

He was not trained. His master would let him run wild wherever he pleased. No boundaries. No leashes. No command or control. The dog was his own master. And, that indeed was a very big problem for a such a small little dog.

He would jump in the mud, lick it and then jump on people and lick them. His filthy little tongue would soil everything it touched!

He would run full force at people if he felt scared and would bark ferociously, showing his teeth -- even at small defenseless children and the people that he knew and loved.

And, yes he would even relieve himself wherever he wanted to. Even at the expense of others' property!

Though Tiny Tongue had potential to bring much love, he could only bring harm because he simply was not controlled or trained.

And, then something terrible happened.

One day, Tiny Tongue decided to run as fast as he could through his house. He thought this idea was a very fun idea! And, so he began to run and run and run. He ran faster and faster and faster. There was no one to stop him and his adrenaline took over. He hardly even watched where he was going.

Lamps fell over.

Family picture frames went crashing to the ground.

Plants that were living and thriving were stomped on.

Tiny Tongue was completely out of control and on a reckless joy ride when suddenly his paw tipped over a candle that was burning in the living room. It landed right under the flowing drapes and immediately caught them on fire. Within minutes, the entire window went up in flames. Then the sofa. Then the carpet. The fire traveled quickly and before Tiny Tongue knew it, the entire house was on fire!

Tiny Tongue survived the devastation, but the house was burned completely to the ground.

When Tiny Tongue's master assessed the damage, he wept bitterly.
"How could such a small thing cause so much trouble and destruction?" he said through his tears.

The master learned his lesson. The very next day, with a humbled heart, he sought out professional help and began to tame Tiny Tongue. To the master's delight, when Tiny Tongue was trained, he contributed much love to his master's house.

The man rebuilt his home. And, Tiny Tongue and the master lived there happily for a very long time.

From that day on, the master was very careful about controlling his Tiny Tongue.