01.
I inherited my family's closed-down kindergarten.
Since no new students were enrolling, I decided to recruit a class of animals.
As soon as they heard, the neighbors brought their dogs over:
“That’s perfect! I was worried Pip would be lonely at home by himself. Now I can bring him here and not have to worry!”
“Teacher Kỳ Kỳ, be sure to remind Pip to go potty in the right place!”
“Teacher Kỳ Kỳ, Đậu Đậu has some treats in his backpack. Just remember to give him one small piece at a time!”
While I was giving Đậu Đậu a treat, I suddenly heard him say:
“So tasty, so tasty! I’ll sneak one more while the teacher isn’t looking!”
I jumped, then hurriedly put all the treats away.
“No! Your mom said you can only have one small piece at a time. If you eat too much, you’ll get a stomachache!”
Đậu Đậu’s eyes went wide. “How can the teacher hear me talking?”
I was stunned, too.
But I quickly accepted that I could understand animals when they talked.
I led Đậu Đậu into the classroom and was immediately surrounded by a cacophony of voices all talking over one another:
“Let’s play ball! Let’s play ball! I love playing ball!”
“Who are you? Where’s my mom? Where’s my mom? Where’s my mom?”
“I have to go potty! I can’t hold it!”
The little ones… no, the little puppies were far too noisy!
I couldn’t take it anymore and slammed my hand on the desk.
“Quiet! I could hear you all the way from outside!
“You’re the worst class I’ve ever taught!”
Then I took out a can of pâté and tried a mix of firmness and gentleness:
“The best-behaved student gets this can of pâté. Who’s a good pup?”
Sure enough, they all sat down and behaved.
Just then, a timid voice came from the corner of the classroom:
“Teacher, I need to go potty…”
I hurriedly set down the pâté and immediately led the Labrador out to the grass to do his business.
The first day passed in a flurry of chaos, but in the end, everything worked out.
That evening, the neighbors showered me with praise in the group chat:
“My dog came home and fell right asleep. He doesn’t have the energy to get into mischief anymore!”
After hearing that, the other neighbors eagerly said they’d enroll their pets the next day.
02.
The next morning, ten new students joined the kindergarten.
The workload was too much, so I had to hire more staff.
Yesterday, I had to care for five dogs all by myself. I tossed a flying disc for the Border Collie, gave the Poodle water, and the Labrador kept asking to go potty. I wished I had eight arms like an octopus!
By the time I got home that evening, my whole body ached. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down.
As soon as I posted the job opening, someone showed up for an interview.
The first was chú Lý, a tall, muscular man in his middle age. He’d worked as a driver, a security guard, and a deliveryman, but his fierce appearance often drew complaints from customers, and he’d lost his jobs.
The moment I saw him, my eyes lit up.
Strong and hardworking—he was born to walk dogs!
The second was a college student named Miêu Miêu. She loved animals, but was rather introverted and didn’t like interacting with people.
Perfect! We needed someone just like her!
The third was dì Vương, a kind-looking woman who was an excellent cook. At lunchtime, she promptly prepared a delicious, beautiful meal of three dishes and a soup. I was so moved as I ate that I nearly cried. At last, I wouldn’t have to eat takeout anymore!
I immediately decided to put her in charge of preparing three meals a day.
And so the four of us began running the pet kindergarten.
Word spread among the neighbors, and more and more people brought their pets in.
Luckily, with two employees helping out, my workload became much lighter.
One day, Miêu Miêu came to me, looking worried.
“Teacher Kỳ Kỳ, Pip’s acting really strange today. He just sits there staring into space and won’t play fetch with the flying disc like he usually does.”
Pip was the upstairs neighbor’s Border Collie, and he was incredibly smart. He was always the first to understand and follow my instructions, and even helped me manage the other students.
Now he wouldn’t even play with his favorite flying disc. Something serious must be wrong.
3.
Miêu Miêu and I went out to the grass and saw Pip lying there dejectedly, letting out a long sigh now and then.
I sat down beside him and gently asked:
“Pip, why are you sad?”
Pip sighed.
“I have a new baby brother, and Mom doesn’t love me anymore. I even heard Dad say he was going to send me away.”
I understood immediately.
A few days earlier, Pip’s mother had given birth to a baby and handed out candy to celebrate. Everyone had been busy caring for the baby, so they might have neglected Pip.
Pip was sensitive and prone to overthinking.
But I knew for sure that Pip’s mother wouldn’t send him away.
I reassured him. “When your dad said that, what did your mom say?”
Pip thought about it, then remembered:
“Mom… Mom scolded Dad! She told him not to say that again!”
As he said this, Pip’s eyes lit up.
“Mom’s good, Dad’s bad! Mom won’t abandon me!”
He jumped to his feet and happily ran off to play flying disc with Miêu Miêu.
Still, to be sure, I texted Pip’s mother and told her what had happened.
Pip’s mother replied right away:
“No wonder Pip hasn’t been eating or drinking much lately. So that’s what’s going on. Thank you, Teacher Kỳ Kỳ. I’ll explain everything to Pip tonight. I would never send him away.
“But… how did you know what Pip was thinking?”
I made something up, telling her I’d studied pet psychology and could analyze animals’ thoughts from their gestures and expressions.
Pip’s mother exclaimed:
“That’s amazing! Just like those pet communicators online!”
I chuckled and didn’t deny it.
Somehow, word that I could communicate with animals spread throughout the apartment complex’s residents’ group chat.
4.
Not long afterward, someone sent me a friend request, hoping I could help them talk with their pet.
After I accepted, an old woman came to my door carrying a little cat.
“I heard you can talk to animals. Tiểu Mi hasn’t been eating well lately and keeps running outside. What could be so interesting out there?”
I invited her inside and started asking Tiểu Mi questions.
To my surprise, its answer left me stunned:
“Grandma’s health is poor, and she hasn’t been able to go hunting lately. I want to hunt for her and bring food home.”
“Grandma doesn’t eat on time. I know how awful it feels when your stomach hurts from hunger. It hurts so much, so much—I can’t stand it.”
The old woman’s eyes reddened at that. She gently stroked Tiểu Mi’s head.
“My children all see me as a burden. None of them wants to take me in. I never imagined… after a lifetime of living, the one who cares about me most would be a cat.”
She told me Tiểu Mi was a stray she’d taken in. Back then, it had been so hungry it was lying in a dumpster, barely clinging to life and waiting to die. She’d brought it home and saved it, one spoonful of goat’s milk at a time.
“Don’t worry, Tiểu Mi. I’m all right. I just want you to be healthy and live a good life.”
Tiểu Mi meowed, then gently rubbed its head against her hand.
“I want you to live forever too, Grandma. Don’t die.”
“You’re so clever, Mi. Now you can catch mice. I’ll take care of you!”
My nose stung, and my eyes started to well up.
But I still spoke seriously to Tiểu Mi:
“Grandma can’t eat mice. You don’t need to bring any more home from now on.”
Tiểu Mi tilted its head.
“Then… what about geckos?”
“No.”
“Grasshoppers?”
“No, those either.”
“What about snakes?”
“Definitely not!”
“All right. I’ll be good and stay home. I won’t go outside anymore.”
After the old woman and Tiểu Mi left, the room suddenly felt cold and empty. I let out a huge sneeze.
I picked up my phone to check the date. It was already the end of October.
Winter was coming.
5.
The weather kept getting colder, and I’d had to put on a fleece jacket.
That day, just as I walked into the kindergarten, a hulking shadow blocked my way.
It turned out that the one blocking my way was a calico cat.
It stood in front of me without saying a word.
But whenever I stepped to the left, it moved left too. When I stepped right, it blocked me on the right.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, crouching down.
The calico took a deep breath, then murmured:
“I don’t have a parent. Can I still enroll?”
“I know I have to pay tuition to enroll, but I don’t have any money…
“If I can’t, I could work as a security guard. A little dried fish would be enough for my wages.”
“It’s okay if you don’t pay me…
“If I still can’t… that’s okay too… I’ll just sleep through the winter.”
The more it spoke, the quieter its voice became, until it was barely louder than a mosquito.
I smacked my forehead. How could I have forgotten?
Tiểu Mi had told me before that winter was a life-or-death ordeal for stray cats. They had to worry about going days without food and find somewhere sheltered from the wind and cold. Without a warm place to hide, they could easily freeze to death.
Tiểu Mi had said that one of its siblings had gone to sleep and never woken up, staying forever in that winter.
When the calico saw that I wasn’t answering, it said softly:
“I’m sorry to bother you.”
Then it lowered its head and prepared to leave.
“Wait!” I hurriedly called after it.
“You can enroll even if you don’t have a parent!”
The cat’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”
“Really! You can even invite your friends to come study with you.”
The cat grew even more excited.
“I’ll go get them right now!”
It darted off like the wind. A little while later, it came back with three other stray cats.
The calico stood at the front like their big brother and solemnly introduced me: “This is the teacher. She’s very nice.”
Then it turned to introduce them to me:
“This is Tiểu Cam, this is Tiểu Bạch, and this is Tiểu Hắc. They’re all my little buddies. Don’t worry, they’re well-behaved and won’t cause any trouble!”