Búri The Dog

[Odinson]

Crown Prince Enoch and his girlfriend, Lady Sophia Anker, were both lounging under a gazebo at the King's summer residence, Bygdøy Royal Farm. The gazebo wasn't far away from the main home. The occasional breeze swept through as the perfect, lightly-warm Nordic summer air brushed over the two. Enoch was laying down on a large outdoor cushion. His straw hat was covering his face so that he could maybe take a short afternoon nap. Sophia was curled up on another cushion near him. She had been reading a book, but the copy of Aftenposten Enoch was now neglecting caught her eye. Specifically, a story in the cultural section.

The intoxicating smell of freshly-bloomed flowers and the gentle, dry afternoon breeze was enough to rock Enoch to sleep. It also felt as if he was laying on a cloud that was gently floating over a hill. He slowly started to fade out of consciousness and into a dream. He could see a man with an old, hooded cloak and a walking stick slowing making his way up a hill. Enoch's cloud drifted toward him. From a distance of 20 meters or so, the man turned around to face Enoch's cloud. He pulled down his hood, revealing he had only one eye, and bright white hair.

Enoch was awoken as he heard Sophia trying to quietly sniffle. He removed his hat and opened his eyes, blinking a few times. Sophia was wearing a think skirt and a light yellow blouse. Her long, golden blonde hair gently bounced even with the slightest of movements. He looked up to her face, and could see she was crying.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly, as if he didn't want to totally wake himself. Sophia set down the newspaper next to her and adjusted her skirt.
"Sorry... you were sleeping. It was just a sad story in the newspaper," she said.
"It's like all they print are sad stories," he casually noted. "Isn't that gross?"
Sophia cracked a small smile in return and said, "Yeah, maybe I should ask daddy to buy Aftenposten."
Enoch sat up and stretched. He looked around at the beautiful green grass, and the mountains off in the distance. "Hm, I think the Anker family owns enough. The Crown doesn't even own a newspaper - we can't have them outdoing the Crown," he joked.

Enoch scooted over to Sophia and put out his hand as he looked at the newspaper. "Which story was it?" he asked.
Sophia pointed at the cultural section's lead story. "That one about Búri, Búri The Dog."
"Búri?" Enoch asked. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time," he said as he looked down at the inky newspaper.
The unexpected irony of what he just said wasn't lost on Sophia. "Búri was the first god... the first Norse god, anyway," she noted.

Enoch read through the short news article.
OSLO - Bjorn Johansen and Alexander Larsen are two 10 year-old friends from Lille Tøyen. They were walking home together after a sleepover at another friend's home. Accompanying them was Alexander's dog, Búri. He was a small mutt of mixed breads, but was adorable nonetheless. He was covered in grey fur, but had a patch of black fur around his left eye. He wasn't leashed, but obediently followed his master. Búri was, at most, the size of a Cocker Spaniel. He paid little attention to the conversations of the two humans walking with him.

Bjorn wanted to play soccer after they finished their homework while Alexander said he wanted to play hide-and-seek. After a serious debate on what they would do with their summer playtime, they settled on exploring their small neighborhood. This all took place on the small, main road which went to their neighborhood, Økernveien. The road is wooded on either side and has no homes or buildings. It's not a busy street which makes it safe for boys like Bjorn and Alexander to walk on. Vehicle traffic would be the least of their problems that day, however.

A large stray dog, standing almost as tall as the boys, approached them from the other side of the street and started barking. Bjorn noted that the dog was "mangy and looked hungry." Búri said that he was "a big boy, he kind of looked like a wolf." The stray dog growled and snapped at the boys, which quickly got the attention of Búri. Búri leaped between the boys and got in front of him, returning his own vicious attempt at barking. Alexander tried to get in front of his kanine friend, but the stray dog nearly bit him when he tried to do so. Bjorn and Alexander agreed to run as fast as they could home. They would attempt to jump over a nearby fence, into a neighbor's yard, where the stray dog couldn't follow them. Alexander assumed that Búri would follow them. The fence was about twenty meters away. The boys would have stood no chance at making it to the fence, if it wasn't for Búri.

The small mutt, who was obviously outmatched by a dog four or five times his own size, stood guard and barked at the stray to keep his attention while his master and his friend retreated back. It's thanks to Búri's bravery and selflessness that Alexander and Bjorn made it over the fence safely. Búri was not so lucky, and met his destiny.

Alexander and Bjorn's families would like to erect a small monument for Búri on the side of Økernveien road - which they said they would pay for themselves. However, the local council has refused. They state that it will be a hazard to drivers, even though it would be located nearly 5 meters from the road. If you would like to support Búri, please call the mayor's office and demand that his memorial be allowed.


Enoch felt a wave of sadness, starting from his heart, move over his body. Sophia looked quite defeated as well. "That poor little dog," Enoch said simply.
Sophia waited a few moments, and then looked up at him with her own puppy-dog eyes. "Could you do something about this? Or King Oskar?" she asked sweetly.
Enoch looked down and though for a few moments. "It may be a bit of an overreaction for the Crown Prince to tell Oslo how to enforce their city ordinances. Wouldn't it?"
He could see that his girlfriend was disappointed that he didn't automatically say yes. "I think it's exactly what the Norwegian people expect of their Crown Prince," she said back to him in a bit of a huffy voice.

Enoch laid back down on the cushion and stared at the ceiling of the gazebo. "I'll see what I can do," is all he said.


::::::::::


"What do you mean you're putting me on hold?" Enoch said angrily. He was inside the large farmhouse. He watched Sophia as she cut some flowers from one of the rosebushes in massive yard near the gazebo.
"I told you already, tell the Mayor that I need to talk to him. I don't care what he's doing right now," he said, a bit louder into the phone.
"Sir- Your Royal Highness, I'm sorry. But the Mayor is very busy, and he doesn't have time to talk about the dog-situation right now. Could he perhaps call you back this afternoon?" a tired, unenthusiastic bureaucrat replied on the other end of the phone. Enoch hung up the phone by throwing it at the wall.
"FUCKING CITY GOVERNMENT!" he yelled, loud enough for Sophia to think she heard something all the way from outside.

 

[Odinson]

Four Days Later

Enoch carefully tied a red ribbon around Sophia's eyes. He was wearing his formal Royal Navy uniform and was adorned with the various medals of orders he was in, and others that he actually learned in battle as a member of the Navy's special force's group, the Nordic Rangers. Sophia was in a pretty, conservative black dress. As Enoch instructed, she wasn't wearing heals. "We'll be outside, no need for those," he had told her. Enoch's father allowed the pair to take the King's motorcade, including his limousine, for the special trip. They could barely hear blaring police sirens outside of the sound-proofing of the limo as they were escorted across the capital. After ten minutes of driving around town, Enoch removed the ribbon so Sophia could see. They had been heading east, to the more residential area of Oslo.

"Enoch, where are we going?" she asked.
"I called the Mayor's office. It took him three days to call me back, and when he did, he said he could only talk for a few minutes. He declined every request I made. I organized an honor guard with Oslo's city police, but the Mayor had the Chief cancel it. I asked the King's Guard to assist, but they have other ceremonial duties today... Then, I remembered that I'm a four-star Admiral," he said as the motorcade turned onto Økernveien road. Sophia didn't follow what he was talking about. He could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out where they were, and what they were doing.
"Who was the first god?" Enoch asked as the limousine creaked to a halt. Hundreds of people were gathered outside, including soldiers, and most if not all of the local neighborhood.
"Búri..." Sophia said, as it finally clicked in her mind. She had no time to react as Enoch's door was opened by a soldier from the outside. He stepped out, and put on his cover. Sophia's door was opened as well, and she stepped out.

They both saw hundreds of people gathered around them, as well as a 5-foot tall object covered by a white sheet. Next to it was a podium. A military honor guard made up of Royal Navy officers were assembled next to the limo. They were wielding rifles, and were standing at attention. Each of them had small, metal gold anchors pinned among their ribbons on their chests - they were all Nordic Rangers, and friend's of Enoch. Many of the people were holding small Norwegian flags, but no one was cheering, as this was a solemn occasion.

Sophia took Enoch's arm as they walked from the asphalt of the road to the lush green grass on the side of it. She hesitated in following him to the podium, but he gently motioned for her to do so. Among the crowd, she suddenly noticed her father, one of the richest men in Norway, with a large smile on his face. Enoch rested his hands on the podium and cleared his throat. Everyone was quiet.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming. We are gathered her today to recognize bravery, and realize destiny. Fourteen days ago, Alexander Larson and Bjorn Johansen were walking home with Alexander's dog, Búri. A large stray dog approached the boys, with malicious intent. Little Búri, the dog, was a mixed breed and tiny compared to the massive stray. Regardless, Búri stood his ground and protected Alexander and Bjorn. They retreated to safety, thinking Búri would follow them. Instead, little Búri held off the vicious stray as long as he could. Knowing he was outmatched and stood no chance, Búri met his destiny and sacrificed himself for his two closest friends...

"Lady Sophia told me about this story a handful of days ago.." he said, briefly motioning to the beautiful young woman next to him.
"It made me realize how often we overlook the pure goodness that man's best friend is capable of. I've been to battle; I have waged war on other places. I've been outnumbered and scared before. It's every soldier's hope that in a situation like that, he would be capable of making any necessary self-sacrifice to save his friends. Soldiers, even the biggest and strongest among us, worry that we may get too scared to make such a sacrifice, and that we may let our friends down... Also, strong men normally don't need to brave. They're strong, it's easy for them to be protective and guard others. I think, what Búri did, was an act of bravery in its purest, truest form. That little dog wasn't strong and had never hurt anyone or anything in its life. Little Búri knew what his fate would be if he stood his ground, and he did it anyway. He made the ultimate sacrifice, like a good soldier..."

Enoch looked at the two young boys, Alexander and Bjorn, who weren't standing far from the podium. Both of them were crying. "Búri's actions were so brave, that the King has decided to issue him the rank of Captain in the Nordic Rangers."
Under Norwegian law, the Crown could confiscate any land from any municipality to erect war memorials.

Enoch pointed at someone standing near the sheet-covered statue. The man yanked the white sheet away, revealing the bronze statue of Búri standing bravely. After the statue was revealed, the honor guard of Nordic Rangers marched next to it, raised their rifles, and issued a 21-gun salute. The memorial was paid in part by the Crown, and in part by the Anker family. Etched at the bottom of the statue was the inscription:

Captain Búri
A Brave Friend and Nordic Ranger
1989-1996
::::::::::
Gave his life to save Alexander Larsen and Bjorn Johansen from a stray dog
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