Read the excerpt from "Stray." Then, type your answer to the prompt in the box. "Daddy," she whispered. "Please." She heard the car travel down the road, and though it was early afternoon, she could do nothing but go to her bed. She cried herself to sleep, and her dreams were full of searching and searching for things lost. It was nearly night when she finally woke up. Lying there, like stone, still exhausted, she wondered if she would ever in her life have anything. She stared at the wall for a while. But she started feeling hungry, and she knew she'd have to make herself get out of bed and eat some dinner. She wanted not to go into the kitchen, past the basement door. She wanted not to face her parents. But she rose up heavily. Her parents were sitting at the table, dinner over, drinking coffee. They looked at her when she came in, but she kept her head down. No one spoke. Doris made herself a glass of powdered milk and drank it all down. Then she picked up a cold biscuit and started out of the room. "You'd better feed that mutt before it dies of starvation," Mr. Lacey said. Doris turned around. "What?" "I said, you'd better feed your dog. I figure it's looking for you." Doris put her hand to her mouth. "You didn't take her?" she asked. "Oh, I took her all right," her father answered. "Worst-looking place I've ever seen. Ten dogs to a cage. Smell was enough to knock you down. And they give an animal six days to live. Then they kill it with some kind of a shot." Doris stared at her father. "I wouldn't leave an ant in that place," he said. "So I brought the dog back." Mrs. Lacey was smiling at him and shaking her head as if she would never, ever, understand him. Mr. Lacey sipped his coffee. "Well," he said, "are you going to feed it or not?" How does the excerpt from "Stray" develop the theme that kindness overcomes obstacles?
