We had named him Bushy, because he was bushy. He wasn't always, but one could always tell that he would be bushy.

Bushy is my dog and the size of a cat with eyes as big as a goat's. The long, curly hair growth all over his body and especially his face and his tail, hid his actual size. He is barely a dog till he attempts to bark. And his bark is more of an attempt than an actual bark; it looks like an attempt by a cat to be a dog, except he is actually a dog.

My name is Pixie and Bushy is my dog. I am all of ten, but I probably look younger as I am a little short. Bushy is even smaller. When I walk, he appears to run just to keep up. I love bushy as he makes me look and feel bigger than I am. Dad always said that all we need in life is a friend or two, someone to love and someone that loves back. And plenty of hope. And then he added the dog. Because they make sad things and sad days happy. So we got Bushy. Since then, I have always been happy.

Like all mornings, bushy walked by my side to the school bus. I hugged him and boarded the bus. He waited by the tree as I took my usual window seat in the last row next to my best friend Kevin.

As the bus moved, I knew, he will as usual chase us till the corner and then wag his small tail till we disappear.

So he ran, chased us till the corner. But wait, why isn't he wagging his tail? I kept looking from the window and then the rear glass till I lost sight of him. Bushy's tail was missing.

I was certain and so was Kevin. We just looked at each other and we nodded almost together - we have to solve the mystery of Bushy's missing tail.

We spent our entire lunch break preparing our plan. We had to find out where it all began. We both remembered seeing Bushy wag his tail yesterday evening in the park.
I was quite certain, I saw him wag during our evening walk with dad as well. I wasn't too sure about morning though. Kevin was smarter than me and always got better grades. He asked me about today morning and we weren't sure if Bushy had a tail today morning.

"That's it- someone stole Bushy's tail yesterday night."

"Couldn't he have dropped it ?"- we both laughed at my suggestion... it's not even possible for dogs to drop their tail. Somehow, someone had managed to steal his tail and he seems to have not noticed. Maybe, the hair on his body didn't let him notice. "Would it not hurt to have someone take your tail"? Kevin was right, as usual. Maybe, they gave him some meds to make sure he doesn't feel hurt.

Must be a kind thief.

Did he really lose his tail? Is it possible, we didn't see it due to Bushy's ever-growing hair? There was only one way to be sure.

As soon as the school bus reached the stop, we ran home. I rang the doorbell thrice. Mom opened the door with her eyebrows angry, but we ran past to the garden where Bushy had his doghouse.

I knew he would run to me as he always knew I was home. But, not today. He didn't run to me, he didn't bark. In fact, Bushy wasn't there at all.

Bushy had mysteriously disappeared along with his missing tail and we had no clue where he had gone.