Johnny didn’t trust anyone because he knew they were a lot like himself and knowing himself he knew better. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with his own behavior because when dogs ate dogs the rats better watch out.
After all, wasn’t it the point of the game, the purpose of life, to get more stuff than the other guy before one died? He just didn’t like it when someone pulled a fast one on him and wasn’t fair.
Surveying his wealth Johnny was proud of all he had been able to accumulate before he died. However, on the final day of his life, too weak to chase them off, he watched dogs fight over his treasures and rats clean up the crumbs.
Denise offers the prompt work “fair” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.
Poetry, Short Prose and Walking 
That’s the reality of life. Great story Frank.
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Thank you, Sadje! All earthly heaps are dispersed in the end.
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Indeed. You’re welcome
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We cannot take it with us. The dogs and rats may fight over what is left. Better to have treasures in heaven.
Blessings.
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It is far better to have treasures in heaven. Blessings, Michael!
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Great story on a man piles up treasure on earth.
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Those treasures on earth are fleeting. Thank you, Cassa!
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The best things in life aren’t things. Good one Frank.
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Good point. Thank you, Susan!
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Just as well the dogs and rats didn’t start eating him (although they may have after he died) 😉
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I think they might come back, but I hadn’t considered that possibility earlier. Thank you, Doug!
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That’s it, in a nutshell. So unless you’ve planned a party for the rats and dogs, all that chasing about and accumulating hardly seems worth it!
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It seems like his life’s work was hosting a wild party for the rats and dogs. I like that perspective. Thank you, Liz!
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Johnny may have imagined how people might behave at the end of his life but it sounds as if he was disturbed by the reality of it.
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Good point. He was disturbed by the lack of fairness he saw around him, but had no way to fight it. Thank you, Denise!
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What a deep message in six lines! People emulate the successful and believe that it is the only way.
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There are other ways to live. Thank you, Reena!
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Vanity of vanities…
This is a great short story.
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It is about vanity of vanities. Thank you, Romi!
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A powerful message, Frank.
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Thank you, Chris!
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At least he fulfilled his life’s dream? Even though it was all in vain.
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It was a fulfilled dream but all in vain. Thank you, Bernadette!
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Fun Six. (No, really! A moral and a tale tightly written, nicely done!)
but! that expression, “when dogs ate dogs the rats better watch out” I googled it and turned up nothin’
Which, in my reality, is ‘Bravo!’ To create an expression that sounds like it’s been around for a long time?
v cool
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The “dog eat dog” phrase has been around like in a “dog eat dog world”. At least it was a half-century ago when I was in school. I recall someone calling it a “doggy dog world”, but I don’t think they heard the original correctly. Like that person I also modified it a bit and added the rats.
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excellent work.
Your enhance/modification makes it sound totally Aesopian
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At least his dream came true, just a shame he had to watch it fade away.
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He should have had better dreams, but his did come true. Thank you, Keith!
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A powerful message, Frank! Material things don’t make the man.
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Those material things are often baggage. Thank you, Eugenia!
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Yes, indeed they are, Frank!
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Wow Frank! Loved that first line. And the last line. And the middle.
And that’s no way to live, but too late for him now.
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For him it’s too late, but perhaps he realized it at the end. Thank you!
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Ah, there’s more to life than dying with the most toys. There’s how many people are you leaving behind who love you, for one thing.
Treasures in heaven start with loving our brethren.
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Good point: treasures in heaven start with loving our brethren.
Your own story was a beautiful description of taking care of an infant who doesn’t want to sleep. Another way to love our brethren.
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Wow the ending show what life amounts to without Christ
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Life amounts to nothing without Christ.
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Truth
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He amassed wealth then left empty-handed. It sounded a nightmare for him with the dogs and rats waiting at the end (I imagine him as a high-up gangster, so the dogs and rats have probably always been there, but they largely abided by his principles of fairness). He could have left happier knowing his heart was full of love and not fixed to his material gain.
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Good point. It would have been better for him to have his heart full of love. I saw him also as a kind of gangster.
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Strong story, Frank, with powerful message
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Thank you!
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