Way down in a valley called Shu, tucked away between tall mountains, the clouds loved to hang out. It was rainy and misty most of the time, so the sun didn't visit very often.

The dogs in Shu were quite used to this. They played chase in the damp grass and took naps under gray skies. They thought gray was the only color the sky could be!

Then, one very surprising morning, something happened. The clouds decided to go on a little holiday. And peeking through, big and bright and golden, was… the SUN!

The dogs of Shu had never seen such a thing.
First, a little puppy stopped chasing its tail. It looked up and tilted its head. "Woof?"
Then, an older dog, who was about to enjoy a bone, dropped it. Its eyes went wide. "Ruff?"
Soon, all the dogs were looking up at this strange, warm, shiny ball in the sky.
"What IS that?" one barked.
"It's too bright!" yapped another.
"It must be a giant, scary firefly!" howled a third.
And so, all the dogs in Shu started to bark at the sun. "Woof! Woof! Go away, strange bright thing! Grrrr! Woof!" They thought it was something to be scared of, simply because they had never seen it before.

A traveler, who came from a land where the sun shone almost every day, heard the commotion. He saw the dogs barking their little hearts out at the beautiful, warm sun. He couldn't help but smile a little. "Silly dogs," he thought kindly. "They're just not used to seeing such a wonderful thing."

And that’s how it was with the dogs of Shu. They barked at the lovely sun only because it was new and unfamiliar to them. Sometimes, things that are different can seem a bit puzzling until we get to know them.

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