The tan stray dog, after getting cleaned and shaved, looked quite smart and attractive.
A girl from the research station, whose family ran a pet grooming parlor, helped give it a style—round-headed and plump like a glutinous rice ball dusted with brown sugar.
The girl named the stray dog Red Cotton, hoping it would blossom like a kapok flower, vibrant and splendid in life.
Red Cotton sounded like a girl's name, but in fact, it was a little male dog.
As if aware that he and the other rescued puppy were safe, the first thing Red Cotton did after eating his fill was to take a tour around the research station and stock farm, bringing back over a dozen ground squirrels that had been burrowing, which he laid out neatly in a row beside the flagpole.
"Wow, this dog is impressive! We've been wanting to clear the burrows around here. It took us three days just to find two or three, and this guy found so many in just half a day."
