The Dog in the Alley, the Child in the Sky Summary

At dinner, Garp tells Helen that he is uncomfortable with Duncan spending the night at Ralph's house because of Mrs. Ralph's inappropriate behavior. Helen is not worried but tells Garp to go and get Duncan if he is so concerned. She tells Garp that she wishes that he would let the children grow up and stop being so overprotective.

Later that night, when Garp puts Walt to bed he tells Walt a story about a dog that is always chained to an old truck in front of his owner's business and is tormented daily by a mean cat which knows that the dog's chain prevents the dog from coming close enough to attack. Each day, the dog's pulling on the chain moved the truck just...