Royal Dog Disaster

Queen Sydney was furious!

“What is that…that THING doing in my castle? Get it out of here!” barked the queen.

“You said you wanted a princess to play with. She is the one you ordered from the catalogue,” answered her loyal servant, Hildegard.

Queen Sydney poked the princess with her nose.

“Do you even have a name?” she asked the princess.

The princess lowered her head to the floor.

“Princess Clementine,” she growled.

The puppy pounced up, leapt in a circle, and raced out of the room.

“Princess Clementine, come here!” howled the queen. She and Hildegard ran after the puppy.

The princess galloped:

     over the red carpet,

          across the ballroom floor,

               around the courtyard,

                     and through the kitchen.

By the time they caught up, Princess Clementine had wolfed down,

“My food! You’ve eaten my entire bowl of doggie treats!” wailed the queen.

Again, the princess lowered her head to the floor.

“Hildegard, off with the puppy’s tail!” snarled Queen Sydney.

And again, the puppy pounced up, leapt in a circle, and raced out of the room. Queen Sydney and Hildegard followed:

through the kitchen,

     up the stairs,

          along the red carpet,

               and behind the throne.

Queen Sydney heard RIP! SCRATCH! POUND!

“My toys! You’ve chewed my favorite squeaky fluffy stuffed animal octopus!” yowled the queen.

The puppy lowered her head.

“Hildegard, bite that puppy’s neck!” gruffed Queen Sydney.

And again, the puppy pounced up, leapt in a circle, and raced out of the room. Queen Sydney and Hildegard followed:

around the throne,

     over a water dish,

          down some steps,

               and into the royal bedchambers.

 

Queen Sydney saw,

“My bed! You’ve destroyed my royal soft, lumpy, cushy doggie bed!” bayed Queen Sydney.

Queen Sydney and Hildegard snuggled on the remains of the doggie bed.  Princess Clementine nestled in beside them. Queen Sydney sniffed the rear end of the princess.

“Humphff!! You don’t even smell like a princess! What is that disgusting scent?” barked the queen.

“The humans made me take a bath before they would let me meet you,” whimpered the princess.

“Ah, yes, the humans. They have no respect for doggie odors,” yapped the queen.

The princess wagged her tail.

“Want to play?” asked Princess Clementine.

“Well, you do need to get rid of that nasty clean scent. Hildegard, guide us to the Royal Mud Pond at once!”

Hildegard pounced up, leapt in a circle, and raced out of the room. Queen Sydney and Princess Clementine followed:

past the Palace Guards,

          under the drawbridge,

                along the moat,

                               and in front of the mud pond.

SPLASH! CRASH! WHISH! Was heard through out the land.

Queen Sydney, Princess Clementine, and Hildegard pounced, leapt and raced in and out of the thick, yucky, gooey mud.

When they were covered in gunk, and smelled like wet dog fur, Queen Sydney ordered, “Hildegard, prepare the Royal Bones! We shall have a welcoming feast for Princess Clementine!”

“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!” woofed the dogs.

Queen Sydney, Princess Clementine and Hildegard licked and sniffed and nipped. They raced away for a night of doggie fun.

Because that is what the queen ordered.

Reindeer Vacation

Santa’s reindeer disagreed on where to go for their yearly vacation. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, and Donner wanted to go to a warm and sunny beach. But Blitzen had his heart set on seeing penguins in the South Pole.

“Snow, snow, snow. All we see is snow. We need warm beaches,” said the group.

“But penguins are the cutest animals ever!” said Blitzen.

Santa overheard them arguing. After telling him what the problem was, Santa lay his finger aside of his nose and laughed so hard his belly shook.

“But you can go to Brazil! They have penguins on the beach.”

The reindeer looked at each other.

“Um, okay, Santa, thanks for your input. We’ll just be going now,” said Dasher.

They sauntered away and Dancer said, “All those milk and cookies have gone to his head. He has gone totally crazy.”

“Penguins on a beach. Wow, where did he come up with such a silly idea?” said Prancer.

While they went to play reindeer games, Vixen snuck away to her computer. Within minutes she had made a discovery. She soared back to her friends.

“Listen up! Santa is right. There really are penguins on the beaches of Brazil.”

The reindeer looked at each other again.

“Then what are we waiting for? To Brazil it is!” said Comet.

Reindeer pack light, so they were ready to go the next morning. It was time for lunch when they came to a landing at a Brazilian beach.

“Sand is hot and gruffy on my hooves. I love it!” Cupid said.

The reindeer lay on their backs and scratched their fur in the sand.

“What are you doing?” cried Blitzen. “We have to find those penguins!”

“But we want to play first,” said Donner.

“Wheeze! Well, I am off to discover penguins,” said Blitzen.

And he stomped off to find the cute black and white birds.

Blitzen searched all along the coast. He looked in beach caves, galloped around meadows, and even flew over the nearest town. There were no penguins anywhere!

He slumped back to his friends.

As he rounded the bend, he could hear singing and laughter. And there to his wondering eyes did appear, seven reindeer and eight penguins!

A penguin was teaching Dasher how to run, jump and slide on his belly in the shallow sand.

Another was showing Dancer how to float on her back; with her long legs, it didn’t work too well.

Prancer was diving off a boat dock with a penguin buddy. Prancer is a great diver, but no one can compete with a penguin.

Vixen had a penguin on her back and they were chasing waves. The penguin kept yelling, “Ride ‘em cowboy. Woo hoo!”

Comet and his new friend were rolling down sand dunes. The penguin was doing an excellent job with his roly-poly body.

Cupid and Donner were playing Frisbee with two penguins. The penguins were surprisingly good with their short flipper arms.

As Blitzen was watching his friends play, a penguin waddled over to him.

“You must be Blitzen. Your friends told us about you. Want to learn how to surf?”

“Surf? With a penguin? Wow, this is the best vacation ever invented,” said Blitzen.

When Blitzen stood up on his surfboard, all of his friends cried out, “Yey, Blitzen! Hanging four!”

So next time you go to a beach, be on the lookout for reindeer and penguins. Because who knows where they will vacation next.

The Great Chase

Clemy and Trog were tugging at their leash on their daily walk.

“What is going on, you two? Why are you pulling me?” questioned Heidi, their owner.

The dogs stopped pulling when they met their dog friend, Terry, who was owned by Billy.

“Terry, what are you doing here?” Heidi asked the small tan and grey dog. “And where is Billy?”

Heidi and her friend, Billy, often met in the park to let their dogs play together. But today, he was nowhere to be seen. Bending down to pet the cheerful terrier with the tiny wagging tail, her dogs jerked at their leashes—again!

“Whoa, what the heck?” cried Heidi as Trog and Clemy surged forward and started running. 

Terry decided to join in with the scampering dogs and even raced ahead of them!

The dogs were pulling Heidi so hard, that she had no choice but to hold on to the leashes for the ride. And what a ride she had! They ran down the street passing sixteen people, five stores, and three fire hydrants.  The dogs even lunged right past the ice cream shop that served them free treats!

“Where are you going?” shouted a fellow dog-walking friend.

“I don’t know! They must be chasing something!” yelled Heidi.

They ran three entire blocks before Heidi saw something orange and furry scurry in to the park.

The pack of dogs rushed toward the creature--

ZIP! ZOOM! ZIP!

--dashing and darting.

Heidi could just make out a blur of dog friends as she was dragged onward. Squirrels scampered up into the trees and chattered at the group for disturbing their quiet day. A group of sparrows searching for worms fluttered out of the way of the stampeding animals.

“Hello, friends! Sorry squirrels! Excuse us, sparrows!” cried Heidi as she ran.

Just as suddenly as Heidi had been pulled into running, the dogs stopped the chase. The stop was so abrupt that she ran

SMACK!

into Billy.

Pushed in to a tree, Billy cried, “Whoa!”

Heidi still had her hands clutched to the leash. Whatever the orange thing was that the dogs had been chasing must have ran up into the tree. The dogs circled around the tree.

BARK! WOOF! BARK! WOOF!

Their leash circled around Billy and Heidi, tying them to the trunk. They were completely tangled together!

“This is sure a funny way to meet,” said Billy.

“Our dogs seem to have gone crazy,” answered Heidi.

Heidi and Billy carefully unwound the leashes and stepped away from the tree.

“Clemy, Trog, and Terry what were you chasing?” Heidi asked.

“I think they were chasing our newest pet,” offered Billy.

“Woof woof!” Terry agreed.

Heidi peered up into the tree and saw some fluffy orange fur.

“We were trying to come up with a name for him, when he ran out of our house,” said Billy.

“Well, I think he has named him self--Chase,” declared Heidi.

Chase must have agreed. Down the tree climbed an orange striped cat.

“So you are what all of the fuss was about,” said Heidi.

“No more running away,” Billy told Chase.

“Meow,” agreed Chase.

“Let’s go to my house for dog treats, milk for Chase, and cookies for us,” said Billy.

“Sounds good to me,” answered Heidi.

“Woof, bark, woof,” agreed the dogs.

They turned to walk to Billy’s house, with Chase chasing behind them.

Rainy Days and Cookies

 Kids, this is your chance to tell the story. What is happening in this picture? 

You get to make up the whole story.

Little Hatchling Has An Idea

BOOM!  CRASH! SMASH!

          “Oh my crocking goodness! What is happening?!” cries Momma Croc.

“I think the world is being eaten by giant lizards!” yells Little Hatchling.

“Well, it’s over now,” says Poppa Croc, as everything calms down in their river home.

Poppa puts the green plant back on the table. Momma picks up the teacup from the floor. Little Hatchling puts the lamp back in place.

They all go to the window to see what caused the noise and commotion. They see the river flowing gently all around them.

“Everything looks crocodile dandy,” says Momma.

“No reason to get green about anything,” says Poppa.

“Hmmm, I’m not so sure,” says Little Hatchling.

That night, Little Hatchling decides to sleep in her parent’s room.

“In case that noise comes again, I want to make sure you are not scared,” she tells her parents.

They all fall asleep to the sound of the soothing river.

Just when the sun is lighting up their home, the Crocodile Family once again hears:

BOOM!  CRASH! SMASH!

“Oh, no! Everything is not crocodile dandy,” says Momma.

“There is a reason to get green, now,” says Poppa.

“We better go outside and have a really good look around.  But let’s be careful. What ever is out there might have REALLY big teeth!” says Little Hatchling.

After getting dressed, the Crocodile Family ventures out into the river.  They float down the river and don’t see anything with big teeth.

Then they swim up the river and see this:

“Beaver! What are you doing?” cries Poppa.

“You are making a racket as loud as snapping jaws!” says Momma.

“And you scared my parents,” says Little Hatchling.

“Well, me and my big teeth. I’m so sorry.  I’ve been trying to build a dam,” explains Beaver.

Little Hatchling swims over to the dam.

“Hey, it’s full of tasty fish!” she says.

“Yes, but every time I put the dam together, it keeps breaking,” says Beaver.

“So that is what the noise is that's been bothering us,” declares Poppa.

“You need your dam to catch fish, and we need a quiet crocodile home,” says Momma.

“This is quite a problem to seek our teeth into,” says Beaver.

Beaver and the Crocodile Family shoot water through their teeth and think about what to do.

“Hey, I have an growling good idea! We learned how to make dams in school. I could help you fix your dam,” offers Little Hatchling.

“If you do that, you and your family could have all the fish you could eat!”

“It’s a deal!” shouts Little Hatchling.

So Little Hatchling shows Beaver how to fix his dam.

That night, the Crocodile Family and Beaver have a wonderful dinner of tasty fish.  And the evening is as smooth as a crocodile’s tooth. 

Alexander Pig Complains

Nobody in the Pig family liked bath time, but Alexander Pig was the biggest complainer. He would snort, shudder, and oink about his unhappiness every time he saw the bath barrel coming out of the barn.

His brother, Bernard, would try to hide beneath Farmer Dell’s feet. This did not work. The farmer always found him and plopped Bernard into the bath barrel.

His sister, Caroline, would beg and plead and whine to get out of bath time. That didn’t work, either.  She was also washed.

Alexander Pig thought that the water was too hot, too cold, or not deep enough.  Farmer Dell always got water in Alexander’s ears and that made them itch.  His snout tickled as the water dripped into his nose.  The farmer scrubbed Alexander’s skin too hard, pulled his tail, and got soap in his eyes.  And Alexander especially did not like the way he smelled so clean at the end of the bath. Yuck!!! Alexander wanted to smell like mud, not clean pig.

 

Then one day Farmer Dell’s niece came to visit.  Her name was Elizabeth.  When she saw the barrel being taken out of the barn for bath time, she asked if she could give the Pig Family their baths.  Farmer Dell agreed.

“Oh, no!” cried Alexander to his brother and sister.  “She will get the water too cold, make my ears itchy, and tickle my snout. This will be the worst bath ever! This is terrible!”

So Alexander Pig snorted and grunted and ran in circles. He complained as loud as he could.  But nobody listened. Bath time was coming.

Elizabeth put bubble bath into the tub. She tested the water to make sure it was warm; not too hot and not too cold.  She put in just enough water so that the pigs would be able to stick their heads out of the water.

“Hmm, well, she will probably scrub too hard,” said Alexander Pig.

His sister, Caroline, went first.

“Is she hurting you?” asked Alexander.

“No, actually it feels good,” answered Caroline.

“Guess since I have to, I’ll go next,” said Alexander.  “Might as well get it over with.”

So when Caroline was taken out of the barrel, Alexander stood next to it and waited for the dreadful bath.

Elizabeth gently helped Alexander into the barrel.  She put in more warm water and added more bubble bath.  He kept quiet and hoped she would not brush his ears too hard.

The brush Elizabeth used was soft and she scrubbed Alexander just the perfect amount. Elizabeth did not get any drippy water in his ears or snout. She curled her finger around his tail and never pulled it.  When she put the shampoo on him, it smelled like grapes.  Alexander loved grapes!

When Alexander was taken out of the bath barrel, he complained. 

“I wasn’t done, yet!” Alexander snorted.

Elizabeth laughed.  Then she looked for Bernard. 

Bernard was sitting right next to her feet, waiting for his turn.  Elizabeth placed Bernard into the warm soapy water.

“Uncle Dell, I can come every week and give the Pig Family their bath,” said Elizabeth.

“Great idea, Elizabeth,” agreed Farmer Dell.

Alexander was a very happy pig, who happened to smell like clean grapes.

Onionetta And Her Friends

The smell of Onionetta made her friends cry.  First they would sniffle, then their eyes would water, and finally drops of salty tears would spill down their cheeks.  It was tearily difficult for Onionetta to play with them.

Her friends, Carrotlina, Patato and Grapelette, called an emergency meeting at the clubhouse.  Onionetta stood outside the window.

“How do we play with Onionetta?” whined Grapelette.

“I don't have the eyes to see how,” said Patato.

“I have an idea!” cried Carrotlina.

      "Guess what I got?!" exclaimed Carrotlina, when she came back. "It's white, gooey, and smells super sweet."

"What is it?" they asked.

"Marshmallow crème!  Now you won't smell like yourself, Onionetta, and we won't cry," Carrotlina said. 

Jumping hopscotch had never been so much fun, now that they could all play together--until it was Onionetta’s turn.  Every time she hopped, marshmallow crème splattered all over the hopscotch squares, the sidewalk, and her friends!  

The marshmallow creme was not covering Onionetta and her scent was back.  They cried about it.

“I’m sorry,” Onionetta cried with them. 

       “Let’s play catch,” said Patato with a sniffle.  “I’ll get sunglasses so our eyes won’t water.”

       He ran home and came back with the sunglasses, which they all wore. Patato had so many eyes, he had sunglasses all over his body!  

Grapelette threw the ball to Patato.  He dove to get it, rolled in the grass, and--"Crash, crack, crackle"-- every pair of sunglasses he was wearing was broken. 

Onionetta ran over to help him, making Patato cry.  Onionetta looked at her friend.

“I can’t play with anyone,” wailed Onionetta.

“Don’t you cry, too,” said Grapelette. “Let’s go swimming at my house.”

“But I’ll just turn you to juice,” said Onionetta.

“I’ll stay on the other side of the pool, away from you.”

     The four friends went to swim at Grapelette’s pool.  

Onionetta did such a great, huge, wonderful cannonball, that the water went all the way over to Grapelette.  It was like being covered in onion juice!  Grapelette couldn’t help but cry purple grapey tears.

"For crying out loud," Onionetta said with a sigh.  She had awesome friends, but every time she played with them, they ended up crying.  Friends weren't supposed to make each other cry!

She left Grapelette’s house and went home.

     Soon there was a knock at Onionetta’s door.  When she went to answer it, there were her three friends, each wearing a bandana around their noses. 

“We can’t smell you!” they cried. “Now we can play together.”

“You are the best friends, ever!” said Onionetta.  “Let’s go play in the clubhouse. Last one there smells like a rotten egg!”

Her friends laughed.

“No more smells!” they cried.