Beware of the Dog

“Beware of the Dog” is a short story by British author Roald Dahl. The narrative recounts the experiences of Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot Peter Williamson after he is shot down during a World War II bombing mission. The story was originally published in Harper’s Magazine in 1944 and later appeared as part of Dahl’s 1946 collection Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying. (This guide refers to the version of the text included in the 1946 edition of Over to You). Although Dahl is most known for his children’s books, he wrote this story early in his career, when he was trying to establish himself as a serious adult fiction writer. Throughout the narrative, Dahl combines modernist techniques (including vivid imagery, stream of consciousness, and an emphasis on interior monologue) with elements of psychological suspense (such as calculated pacing and an unfolding mystery) to explore themes such as The Fragmented Nature of Truth, The Utility of Fear, and Loyalty and the Subsuming of Identity.

“Beware of the Dog” uses a limited third-person point of view, closely following the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist, Peter Williamson. The piece begins as a seemingly action-oriented war story before evolving into a psychological suspense narrative with a twist ending.

The action begins with Peter, an RAF fighter pilot, flying his Spitfire above the clouds during World War II. His plane has been shot during an air battle, and his right leg has been destroyed from the knee down. He is attempting to fly his damaged aircraft back to base in Britain.

Peter’s interior monologue is full of bravado. As he struggles to fly home, he plays out scenarios in his head in which he reveals his injury to the rest of his squadron with a casual offhandedness. He imagines surprising his girlfriend with the news while downplaying the seriousness of it: “I won’t say much until it’s time to go to bed, and then I’ll say, Bluey, I’ve got a surprise for you. I lost a leg today. But I don’t mind so long as you don’t. It doesn’t even hurt” (150).

Dahl seamlessly intersperses Peter’s thoughts throughout the piece, forgoing quotation marks, italics, or other punctuation that would serve to separate action from inner dialogue. The technique foregrounds the protagonist’s mental and emotional state. Peter’s self-soothing insouciance eventually gives way to rambling, free-associative thoughts. Guessing his plane is over the English Channel, he ejects himself and finally loses consciousness.

Peter wakes after an unknown amount of time has passed. Disoriented, he pieces together sensory clues from his environment—a bedsheet, a basin, a medicine glass—until he realizes that he is in a hospital. He observes a fly crawling across the ceiling, and suddenly, the memory of the plane and his injury returns.

A nurse comes in to check on Peter. She tells him that he was brought into the hospital two days ago and that they are in Brighton (a seaside town on the coast of England). Peter points out his injured leg, but the nurse refers to it with a cheery dismissiveness, assuring him, “That’s nothing. We’ll get you another one” (153).

An hour later, an army doctor comes in to talk to Peter. He has a friendly bedside manner and tells Peter that his squadron has asked to see him but will have to wait a few days to visit.

After the doctor leaves, Peter hears the distinctive noise of an airplane outside: it is unmistakably a Junkers 88—a German bomber. Peter is confused. The JU-88 is apparently flying over Allied territory in daylight but there are no sounds of sirens or guns. He tells the nurse about the plane, but she disregards it, saying he must be confused.

Later, when the nurse is washing him, Peter mentions that he went to school in Brighton. The nurse seems to react to this but quickly composes herself. She complains about how hard the water is and how the soap won’t lather. This triggers a memory in Peter: He remembers his time as a schoolboy in Brighton and how “the water was so soft that you had to take a shower afterward to get all the soap off your body” (157). He almost says this aloud but catches himself and withholds the realization.

That night, Peter lies awake, fixating on the discrepancies he has observed. He has been told that he is in Brighton, yet he hears JU-88s in the daytime, and the water is hard.

A thought seizes him: He must make his way across the room and look out the window. He slides off the bed and crawls across the floor, his bandaged stump throbbing in pain. He eventually reaches the window, opens the curtain, and sees a cottage, a field, and a sign stating “Garde au chien” (“beware of the dog” in French) (161). Peter realizes he is in France. Since the hospital staff has no other reason to lie to him, it is implied that Peter must be in a Nazi-controlled zone and his caregivers are Germans in disguise.

He crawls back to the bed and lies there, thinking about his discovery. Later, the nurse comes in, and Peter begins to observe little details about her mannerisms, including indications of uneasiness that previously escaped his notice. The nurse tells him to expect a visit from Wing Commander Roberts of the Air Ministry. Wing Commander Roberts will ask about what happened when Peter was shot down so that he can create a combat report. Peter remembers that his intelligence officer, Johnny, would remind pilots before they went on their missions: “And if they get you, don’t forget, just your name, rank and number. Nothing else. For God’s sake, say nothing else” (162).

When Wing Commander Roberts arrives and begins asking questions, Peter does what Johnny instructed him to do. He states, “My name is Peter Williamson. My rank is Squadron Leader and my number is nine seven two four five seven” (164).