Story Hour

Mikey Gets Puppied

Written by Gene B. Williams

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      The weather was getting cold. Christmas was coming. With Christmas came wonderful things – candy, pies, cakes, lots of other good things to eat … lights, songs, a Christmas tree … presents and … Santa!
      Mikie was excited.
      “What do you want for Christmas, Mikey?” he was asked.
      Other kids might say just about anything, but Mikey didn’t want just anything. In fact, he wanted only one thing. He would say, “No one has to get me any presents this year. All I want is a puppy.”
      Maybe you know how that feels? A puppy, all your own, to raise and love – and to love you.
      Mom and Dad sure didn’t seem interested in the idea. They’d said things like, “Maybe next year.” They’d said that last year, and also said it for his birthday.
      He hoped that maybe Santa would bring him a puppy, but he didn’t count on that. Santa would know that Mikey’s parents wouldn’t want it. (Santa seems to know just about everything, doesn’t he?) Mikey hoped – but he didn’t hope much for this.
      Mikey worked hard in school. His idea was that if he did well, his parents might let him have a puppy. He discovered something else instead. The harder he worked, the more fun school became. He was enjoying it so much that he rarely thought about a new puppy. By that I mean, he thought about a new puppy only 117 times each day.
      Christmas vacation was coming. Mikey began to think that he might even miss going to school each day. His uncle had been teaching him some things about arithmetic, though. Mikey hoped they would do more of this, and maybe some science, too. Mikey really enjoyed visiting his aunt and uncle. Not only did he get to learn new things … his aunt and uncle had three dogs and two cats. (They even had a giant tortoise!) He was always allowed to play with the dogs before his math lesson, and again after.
      Mikey figured, even if he couldn’t have a puppy of his own, at least he could play with the dogs of his aunt and uncle.
      One day, Mikey came out of school and saw his grandma waiting for him in the car. Sitting next to her was his aunt. They were both smiling.
      “Be careful when you open the car door,” his aunt said.
      Hmmm, he thought, why did he have to be careful. He always was, of course. Even so, he was extra careful this time. He looked both ways to be sure that no other cars were coming. Then … he opened the door to the car.
      “A PUPPY!”
      Maybe you know how that feels?
      And maybe you know how this feels? The puppy took one look at Mikey and became a black ball of wriggling fur and tongue and paws. It hurt a little. Puppies have very sharp teeth – as Mikey was soon to find out. Have you ever been … puppied?
“Puppied” is a verb I invented for just this kind of thing. It describes when a puppy goes a bit nutso out of pure love. If you’ve ever been puppied, you know just what I mean. It’s like a single puppy suddenly becomes eight or nine puppies. It’s when the puppy wiggles and climbs and crawls and bites and licks and chews and sometimes falls down, then starts all over again. It’s like … well, it’s a little like when you blow up a balloon and let it go, but there are 15,473 balloons … with fur!
      And Mikey got PUPPIED! The two were all over the backseat of the car on the ride home. For Mikey, there was no escape. He got puppied from one door to the other. He got puppied from the back of the front seat, to the front of the back seat. He even got puppied on the floor between the seats.
      I’d tell you a secret, but you probably already know.
      Mikey liked it! In fact, he loved it!!!
      They went straight to his aunt’s house. (That’s where there were other dogs, remember?)
      The puppy was taken inside. Then one by one, it was introduced to the other dogs. Each time, the puppy looked up at the bigger dog and asked in doggie talk, “Want to play?” Each time the bigger dog said, “Sure!” So they did. It didn’t take long before all four dogs were out in the big yard, romping and running, and making up games.
      Dogs don’t always get along, but Mikey’s aunt was there. She knew exactly what she was doing. Soon, all four dogs were friends. Soon, all four dogs were tired out! But when they wake, there will be another game. Then another and another.
      Since this is a true story, there will be more stories coming.
      Mikey decided to name the puppy Joe. Joe is a black Labrador. Joe has met Gus and Mabel and Kage. The two cats pretty much ignore him – so far.
      One of these days … Joe will meet Gordie the Giant Social Tortie. I’m curious how that will go. Aren’t you?

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