It was a deserted place. A large house stood in a corner of the village near the foothills. It almost looked like a palace. A small family lived there.

That night was a special one. A theft was about to happen in a few minutes. Jack was ready to trespass the house and test his fortune. It had been quite some time since his last theft. That night he wanted to prove to himself that he still had it in him.

The night was stretching its blanket over the hills slowly. There was little possibility that he would get caught as it was a very dark night. He had been keeping a careful watch over the house for a few days.

He looked at it for one final time using his binocular. The writing engraved on the gate was shining in neon light. It read, ‘Beware of Dog’.

Jack gave a sarcastic smile reading those words. He knew that there were no dogs in the house. He did not see any dog in the past few days. It might be the idea of the house owner to write something deceptive to keep thieves and trespassers away. Surprisingly there was no guard to protect the house too.

Jack went surreptitiously towards the house hiding behind the bushes and shrubs. He was a modern thief, well-equipped with gadgets, a knife and a revolver. They would come handy while doing the ‘job’.

He reached the barren field behind the house. There was a glass window facing the field. Jack switched his torch on and found out that the glass was broken a bit near the latch. He inserted his hand into it to open the window from inside.

Suddenly he screamed loudly in immense pain. He felt that an unknown beast was piercing its sharp teeth into his hand. The torch fell down from his other hand. He strived hard to free himself but all his attempts were in vain.

‘Help! Help!’ he cried out. He brought out his revolver and fired some shots into the window with his left hand. Suddenly the whole house was illuminated with lights.

The revolver ran out of bullets, missing the target completely. Someone screamed, ‘What’s happening? Leave him now. I ask you to leave him now.’

A hellish wild voice rumbled and suddenly stopped. Jack felt that the beast had released him. He brought his hand out of the broken part of the window. He was still in deep pain. Two powerful hands were squeezing him from the behind.

‘Tie him tightly with the ropes to the post’, a woman’s voice ordered, ‘We will hand him over to the police.’

The man squeezed Jack with more power. After a few moments, the lady came in front of him with a rope.

Jack looked at her. There was a mysterious smile lingering on her lips. ‘Let me see your hand,’ she ordered Jack before touching his hand tenderly. ‘Oh my God! The flesh is about to get out of the skin. Why did my father bite you so harshly?’

‘Your father?’ Jack was terrified as well as astonished, ‘Are you werewolves?’

Everybody burst into a frightening laughter.

‘No, he is mentally ill. He thinks he is a dog. But we never imagined that his dentures would be so sharp.’

Jack was thinking that ‘Beware of Man’ would have been a better warning.