On a Cloudy Day (A children's story)

Gloomy clouds scudded across a leaden sky when there was a loud splash in the water, sending ripples shimmering across the surface of the lake as a dog leapt high into the air from the grassy bank, and landed with a loud plop into the depths of the lake. He grabbed the stick firmly between his teeth & somehow was disorientated as he rose to the surface within a brief time, & started turning circles in the centre of the lake. His head looked around hopefully from where he had taken a mad leap into the abyss, & his paws paddled furiously under the gurgling water. Around the edge of the lake all seemed quiet & all seemed lost to him in the early morning, but from around a corner, two men strolling along a narrow pathway nearby, noticed the decreasing ripples & the little dark furry head of the dog swimming slowly now, in the cold water of the lake.
Like lightening, & with no thought of clothing, one man quickly removed his shoes & dashed to the water's edge, dived in & strongly swam towards the  struggling dog. He slowed as he reached the sodden animal & stretched out with one arm grabbing the sinking exhausted lump of black hair, pulling it free of the surface. The man kept his legs moving in the water as his hand clung to the dog & slowly swam to the grassy edge of the lake with the little wet bundle tucked into his arm. The dog managed to keep hold of the stick even though he had struggled to breathe when his head briefly ducked under the bubbling water. The man stood up & held the dog in his arms for a moment before putting him gently to the ground & relieved him of the stick still tightly clamped between his teeth. The little dog seemed quite able to breathe normally again, & stood shaking with cold for a moment on the grass before giving himself a violent shake. Water droplets flew into the air all around him & the little black dog stood looking up at the two men out of soft brown eyes with his head tilted to one side & his legs shaking a little with the last of the lake's water.
The two men examined him gently & found no identification tags or anything of help as to where he originated from. There was no-one else around to claim his whereabouts & after waiting & looking around for a short time, the man who rescued the dog, picked him up &, parting company with his friend, tucked the little wet dog under his arm & set off for home to a dry bed & a good supper.
After a time making certain enquiries, the man was able to keep his newly acquired friend who was lying on his own bed now, looking out of one eye at his champion, his new owner. The stick remained in the house & was put to one side for a while till the new friends got to know one another & form a special bond. The new owner of the small black dog with the soft brown eyes sat reading a book holding it to one side, while the dog lay on his new bed, his head resting on his front paws with one eye open.