Fifteen Dogs

In Chapter Four, the narrative returns to Majnoun and the deepening of his relationship with Nira, following him through the end of his life. Despite Zeus’s edict, Hermes and Apollo continue to meddle in the dogs’ affairs.

Five years after Majnoun first entered Nira’s life, she thinks of him as her closest friend and confident, though they have occasional conflicts, most significantly their attitudes toward status. Majnoun’s view of Miguel as their pack leader annoys Nira, who views herself in an equal relationship with her husband. Majnoun’s assessment derives from simultaneously fearing Miguel and looking to him for protection, though he would die only for Nira. 

When Nira sneeringly asks who is in the second position after Miguel, Majnoun feels that she is challenging his position. Unwilling to defend it with violence, as he would with dogs, he determines to exile himself. Sensing that Majnoun cannot die happy without Nira, Hermes defies his father’s edict and intervenes. He appears to Majnoun in a dream, telling him that he has “misinterpreted Nira’s words” because “[h]umans do not think as you do” (123). Hermes instructs Majnoun to return to Nira, promises that he and Nira will never misunderstand each other again, and bestows on Majnoun the ability to perceive nuance in human language.