Outside, the night was dark, but inside the miller's house logs burned in the fireplace.
Delicious smells filled the kitchen: roast ham, bread, honey, and cookies.
Evergreen branches hung from the rafters, and holly hung on the wall.
It was Christmas Eve.
Some neighbors came in for a glass of wine and a slice of ham.
They shook the miller's hand and laughed with his wife.
Alois was happy too.
She looked forward to seeing Nello tomorrow, on Christmas Day.
Alois put out a big bowl of meat for Patrasche, but he didn't move.
Patrasche's loyalty to Nello was too strong.
He was hungry and cold, but without Nello, he would not eat.
Patrasche had not moved from the door since Nello had left.
He was waiting until he could escape.
"The dog wants Nello," said Master Cogez.
"Good dog! In the morning, I will go over to the hut to see Nello."
But only Patrasche knew that Nello was not in the hut.
Only Patrasche knew that Nello had no food or blankets.
And only Patrasche knew that Nello was somewhere, out there, in the freezing cold.
Another neighbor arrived to join in the Christmas celebrations.
When the neighbor did not close the door properly, Patrasche saw his chance.
He quietly pushed the door open with his nose and ran out into the night.
It was late.
Snow had been falling all evening, and Nello's footprints were gone.
It took Patrasche a long time to find Nello's scent.
He ran back and forth, up and down the road, with his nose lowered to the snow.
When Patrasche found Nello's scent, he quickly followed it down the road.
The weather was wild.
The roads were sheets of ice, everything was dark, and the snow kept falling thick and fast.
In the wind and darkness, Patrasche lost the scent.
He stopped and circled around and around until he found it again.
This happened over and over, but Patrasche wouldn't give up.
Patrasche followed Nello's trail along the familiar road into Antwerp.
It was past midnight when the dog arrived in the city.
The streets were very dark.
Sometimes a narrow ray of light shone through a wooden shutter, but that was all.
There was no sound except for the wind.
Gusts roared down the narrow streets.
The wooden shop signs banged against the walls, and the streetlamps shook.
Many people had walked through the city streets that night.
Friends had visited each other and families had gone to church.
With so many scents to follow, it was difficult for Patrasche to find Nello's trail.
Patrasche followed Nello's scent down twisting alleys and streets.
He poked his nose into dark corners and doorways.
Where was Nello?
Would Patrasche ever find him on this dark, cold Christmas Eve?
Patrasche's fur was wet with snow.
He shivered with cold.
Finally, he followed Nello's scent to a familiar place─the Antwerp cathedral.
"Nello has gone to the things he loves," Patrasche thought.