Whining Dog Chases Bag Floating in River, Fisherman Hears Baby's Cry out of It — Story of the Day

An old fisherman notices a whining dog chasing after a bag floating downstream. What he discovers next is beyond shocking, and his heart almost stops beating when he hears the desperate cries of a baby coming from the bag.

Neighbors called him the 'Grumpy Ole Grinch,' but otherwise, his name was Solomon—a 73-year-old fisherman who had forgotten what happiness was for 32 years.

After Solomon lost his parents, he feared getting attached to people and never got along with anyone. But that was until he met his sweetheart Doris at 41. They fell madly in love, dreamed big dreams of having an army of babies, and married in a simple beach wedding in Hawaii.

Solomon and Doris led a beautiful life and were over the moon when they were expecting their twin babies. But one day, everything changed. Everything. A heavily pregnant Doris died in an accident while crossing the road, taking their unborn babies with her to a place where there was no coming back.

From that day, Solomon was consumed by grief and trapped in a dark world of his own making. He ignored people and their problems. He just didn't care about all those New Year and Christmas feasts and lived a reclusive life devoid of every little pleasure...

But one day, while filling his shopping trolley at a supermarket, Solomon was drawn to the loud cries of two little girls, and for the first time in years, he stopped what he was doing and approached to look into someone else's matter.

"Mommy, can we have those dolls, please?" the girls were crying, stomping their feet.

"I'm sorry, sweethearts. But we can't afford to buy them now. Stop making a scene."

"Mommy, please! We've been good girls. We want the dolls. Please, we beg you!"

"That poor little thing could have drowned in the river because of your stupidity."

Seeing the stubborn little girls in ponytails, tiny pink shoes, and big blue eyes triggered Solomon's memories about his unborn children. He approached closer, startling them with his gruff voice and thick white beard.

"Show me the dolls you want," he spoke.

He then lifted the dolls off the shelf and marched to the checkout as the girls' mother ran after him, begging him to stop and refusing help from a stranger.

"I bought the gift for your daughters, not you!" Solomon coldly said, handing the dolls to the little girls, and just stormed out of the store without turning around.

Solomon's fingers trembled as he poured himself a glass of brandy on the porch of his humble home, the wind carrying memories of his past.

"How are our children, Doris?" he gazed up at the starry sky, lost in deep thought about the wife and kids he never got to see grow up.

Solomon sank into his favorite teak wood rocking chair, swaying back and forth, and fell asleep, lost in the rhythm of the night air. He forgot about his worries and grief, at least for a while, and awoke to a bright new sunny morning to go fishing in the river nearby.

Solomon sat on the rock by the shore, his fishing rod beside him, as he had done for the past three decades. It was his favorite spot, where he could escape from people and their nonsense and be all alone with his memories.

But that day, Solomon realized he was not the only one there. He noticed a little boy pushing aside a fluffy white puppy following him, brushing its little paws on his trousers and wagging its tail whenever he stopped to shoo it away.

"Hey there, sir," said the boy as he approached Solomon. "Mind if I sit here?"

Solomon shrugged. "Not like I own it. Sit wherever you want, kid."

The boy sat down beside him, and the puppy climbed onto his lap and curled up, falling asleep almost in a wink.

"Why did you push the poor thing away, kid?" Solomon asked, his gaze fixed on the furry white creature fast asleep with its black paws on its muzzle.

"I lost my pet cat recently. His name was Tabby. He was crossing the road when a car..." the boy sighed. "It hurts when you lose someone you love. I just gave him a biscuit on the way, and he's been running behind me like crazy. I don't want to take this pup home and go through the same thing all over again. I just can't. I don't want to cry anymore!"

Solomon nodded, understanding that pain all too well.

"I feel you. But believe me, kid. Love is worth crying for. You only cry for someone you love. And those tears...they're so precious."

The boy looked down at the puppy and sighed heavily, a small smile forming on his face." Maybe you're right, sir. I think he's made himself at home now...and in my heart too!"

The boy rose, chuckling, and carried the pup home.

"Take good care of him, kid," Solomon said, watching the boy disappear with the puppy.

"I will. See ya, sir!"

That was it. Solomon and the lad never met again. And nobody disturbed him ever again at his favorite fishing spot by the river.

One day, Solomon was sitting on the rock, counting the trout and catfish in the basket. But his peaceful moment was distracted by the loud sounds of a dog barking and whining in the distance.

As the dog drew closer, Solomon saw it was chasing something in the water. And then, he saw it—a big bright red bag floating downstream.

Solomon's heart skipped a beat when he rushed toward the bag and heard a baby's cry coming out of it.

Without sparing a second, he plunged into the river and swam towards the bag as fast as he could. The dog followed him, barking frantically, as Solomon grabbed the bag with all his might and pulled it to the shore.

"Thank God the bag was water-resistant. The baby didn't drown. Jesus! That was close. But how did it get here? Whose baby is this?"

Solomon gasped as he emerged from the water and unzipped the bag fully, and scooped the baby wriggling inside.

The big brown dog barked even louder, circling him in excitement.

"Easy there... easy... good boy... good boy," Solomon patted the dog's head. The canine wagged its tail endlessly and licked the baby all over her face as Solomon watched in disbelief.

"This dog's owner must be the child's mother...But where on earth is she? What was her baby doing in the river?" he thought and even checked the dog's collar for a phone number or something. But there was none.

Without a moment's hesitation, Solomon called 911 and took the baby home first thing to change her soaking-wet diapers before heading to the police station.

As the little one's tiny hand wrapped around his finger on the way to the station, Solomon felt a surge of emotions in his heart. A flood of memories came rushing back—memories of his dead wife and unborn children—as he held the baby closer to his chest.

When Solomon arrived at the station later, a woman bolted in his direction, crying, "Heidi...my baby...my baby!"

"And who are you? What are you doing with my baby?" she asked.

Solomon understood she was the baby's mother and was furious.

"What sort of a mother are you?" he blurted out. "How did your baby end up floating in the bag on the river?"

"You found my baby floating on the river? My poor Heidi! I didn't know..."

"Hold on, lady! I'm asking you something. Answer me first. What the hell were you thinking? How can you be so careless?"

"Ma—Ma—My name is Darcy...and this is my baby, Heidi," the woman burst into tears. "I ran away from my ex-husband with my Heidi last year...she's autistic..."

"What!" gasped Solomon.

"Everything was fine until my ex-husband David started coming home drunk. I endured his nonsense silently for my baby. But everything changed the day I saw fresh lipstick stains on his shirt. David was cheating on me, and soon, our marriage fell apart..."

But even after parting ways and getting custody of her baby, Darcy was far from peaceful as David started stalking her.

Afraid and betrayed, Darcy then fled from the city and landed on the streets of the town where Solomon lived. It was here where she met Elise, a rich lady who owned a shelter for underprivileged women suffering from domestic violence.

Darcy changed her phone number, landed a job as a waitress in a hotel, and several months later, moved into a small rented apartment with her baby and Bosco, the pup that had lived with them on the streets during their first difficult week in town.

Life was beginning to take shape again after that. Darcy slowly healed from the scars of her past. She lived peacefully with her baby girl and dog until David tracked her down a year later. One morning, he had broken into her house and threatened her to give the baby to him.

"But why would he want the baby now? You have custody of your child, right?" Solomon grew curious.

"Yes. But he kept saying bizarre things like he missed our baby, which I really don't believe. Once, during an argument when I was still married to him, he told me how his new girlfriend loved children but was infertile. That could be the reason. Maybe he wanted to raise my baby with her...I'm not sure."

"That scoundrel! And how did your baby end up floating on the river?"

Love is a risk worth taking, even if it leads to heartache and tears.

"I...I really don't know how. I gave my baby to the..." Darcy suddenly paused to answer the call from a pizza deliveryman.

"I need to go to the hospital," she said, hurrying out of the station with her baby.

A puzzled Solomon didn't understand what was happening and followed Darcy out of the station to the hospital.

"What's going on? And who is this delivery guy in the hospital?" he asked.

"I was frightened when I saw David on my doorstep," Darcy revealed.

"I pretended I was fine. And when he saw my daughter sleeping in the crib, he approached her. I wanted to stop him but didn't know how. I had to think fast. Then I remembered something he couldn't say 'no' to. I lived with that rogue for five years and knew his weaknesses very well. I offered to order us a pizza for a 'romantic' breakfast.

"The idea was to call 911 under the pretext of calling the pizzeria. But he demanded the phone to be on speaker so he knew I wasn't up to something. But then, I had another idea. I called the pizzeria and placed an actual order, praying desperately that my plan would work."

When the pizza delivery guy arrived, Darcy stood ready to answer the door, baby in hand. David was in the bedroom getting changed, so she had a minute to talk to the pizza guy and convince him to do something unusual. About a minute later, she put the baby in the delivery guy's big bag.

The instruction was clear: to leave baby Heidi at the nearest police station, which was about an hour away. Darcy also left a note telling the cops to keep the baby at the station until she arrived to file a complaint.

The confused delivery man regularly delivered food around the neighborhood and knew Darcy well. So he agreed and hurried away to the station with the baby in the bag, with the zip only partially closed so that the little one could breathe.

But on the way, speeding along the bridge to the police station as safely as he could, the man met with an accident.

He landed several feet away from his vehicle, and the big bag with baby Heidi flew across the bridge and fell into the river. He was taken to the hospital unconscious. Nobody knew about the bag with the baby except for Bosco, who chased the delivery guy for miles after seeing Darcy giving her baby to him.

"David found out and threatened again. But he ran away after I managed to somehow call the police. I hoped my baby would've reached the police station safely, but I had no idea she wasn't there until I came and checked."

"That explains it! And thank God I found your child on time. Giving your baby to a stranger like that was so naive of you! I know you wanted her to be safe. But do you know the danger you put her in? That poor little thing could have drowned in the river because of your stupidity."

Darcy nodded silently and broke down.

Solomon dropped Darcy and her baby at their house after visiting the pizza deliveryman at the hospital. And just as he turned the ignition key of his car to leave, he stopped.

"Darcy, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm scared. I'm afraid David will come back."

Solomon pursed his lips and stepped out of his car.

"Let's go inside. I'm a veteran...And I'm trained in judo. You can count on me. I'll make sure that scoundrel doesn't bother you again."

And to Darcy's horror, her ex-husband returned to her house in a drunken rage that night, demanding to see her baby.

"Wh—Who is that?" he gasped when Solomon appeared from behind her, clenching his jaws tight and bumping his fists.

Solomon sprang into action, and moments later, he sat down on the patio, breathing heavily while cleaning the crimson stains off his fist. David lay on the lawn, gasping in pain and with a broken nose, begging Solomon to let him go. Solomon called the police, who arrived and arrested David for trespassing and threatening a woman.

As days passed, Solomon started visiting Darcy and baby Heidi daily. They filled the hollow in his life, and he realized it was time to move on toward his newfound happiness. He offered Darcy to move in with him and be his daughter. She was happy to finally get a loving father through Solomon and eventually moved in with her baby and dog.

Once, during a fishing trip with Grandpa Solomon and their dog Bosco, Heidi, now 10, met a teen boy with a big white dog at the shore.

"Hey, sir! Do you mind if I borrow your fishing rod for a while?" said the boy. That voice, the attitude, and the fluffy white dog with him seemed all too familiar.

A hearty smile stretched from ear to ear as Solomon handed the boy his fishing rod and watched the two laugh as they headed to the deck, surrounded by nature and their furry companions.

What can we learn from this story?

• Love is a risk worth taking, even if it leads to heartache and tears. When the boy who lost his pet cat pushed the pup away, Solomon, who was grieving his pregnant wife and unborn children's loss for over 30 years, told him love is worth crying for. The boy changed his mind and took the pup home.
• Love is the only thing that truly matters. Love is such a powerful feeling that can change the world from bad to better. For a bereaved Solomon, that change started when he crossed paths with baby Heidi, her mother, and their dog, Bosco.

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A poor boy working in a warehouse notices a dog visiting a closed store without fail every day. He follows it one day and discovers something that breaks his heart. Click here to read the full story.

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