Being Different

   Ginny was a long-haired sheep dog. She loved to run and play with Buster who was a large boxer. They could always be seen running and playing together in the large field behind the warehouses at the end of the street where Buster lived.  They would chase after the rabbits and squirrels.  One day, while they were playing, a big gray and white cat casually strolled into the field.
   “Hi there,” he said to Buster and Ginny.
   “What do you want?” asked  Buster.
   “My name is Simon,” said the cat.  “Can I play with you? You look like you are having a lot of fun.”
   “What?” asked Ginny.  “We play with you? Why would we want to play with you?”
   “Why not?” asked Simon. “I would like to play with you.”
   Ginny and Buster looked at each other and thought for a moment.  They both started laughing at Simon.
   “We don’t play with cats,” said Buster.  “We are dogs.”
   Simon stared with a frown and said, “You two are prejudiced.”
   “What!  Us!  Prejudiced!” shouted Ginny.  “You are crazy.  We aren’t prejudiced at all.”
   “Yes you are,” said Simon.  “You won’t let me play with you because I am different than you are.  That is being prejudiced.  I want to play with you and I don’t care that you are different.”
   Ginny and Buster looked at each other and Ginny said, “Are we Prejudiced Buster?”
   “I didn’t think we were,” said Buster.  “But if Simon says we are because we won’t play with him, I guess we are.”
   “Oh Buster,” said Ginny.  “We never let cats play with us.  Oh no Buster, we are prejudiced.  I didn’t know we were.”
   “I don’t want to be prejudiced Ginny,” said Buster.  “Jake always tried to teach us that we should all be friends.  I guess we never really listened to him.”
    “Maybe cats aren’t that bad,” said Ginny.  “You know, Midge and Jake always play with Booker-T and he is a cat too and they are dogs.  I guess if they can do it, we can.”
   Simon had slowly turned and was walking away from them to go find someone else to play with.
   “Simon,” called Buster.
   “What?” asked Simon as he stopped and turned to face the two dogs.
    “We are sorry,” said Ginny.  “We didn’t realize that we were being prejudiced because you are different.   We are sorry that we hurt your feelings.”
    “We don’t want to be that way to anyone,” said Buster.  “We feel that everyone is the same really.  Will you forgive us for being so stupid and come play with us?”
    “Oh yes,” smiled Simon.  “I would love to play with you.”
    “My name is Ginny,” said Ginny.  “And this is Buster.  Come on Simon, lets go play.”

Better Dog Houses

    “Susie! Susie!” called Tiger as he strutted through the fence gate.  “Where are you?”
   Susie burst through the pet door on the back of the house, “What is it Tiger?”
   “Come on, lets go to the pond,” said Tiger.  “Come on, come on.”
    “What for?” asked Susie.  “Why all the excitement?”
    “Butch has gathered all the animals on the block to a meeting,” says Tiger.  “He wants us to be there also.”
    “What is it this time?” asked Susie.  “Last time he was trying to gang up on the humans to get more bones for supper. Doesn’t he have anything better to do?”

Brandy’s Problem

   Jake and Midge would take walks around the neighborhood once in a while before the sun came up. They enjoyed the quiet time of the morning.  This morning it was cool and the clouds were gathering slowly above them as they started their walk.  They had walked about a block when they neared the large white brick house at the end of the street.  The yard was closed in with a white picket fence.  Along the front of the house were beautiful pink, white and red roses.  On the front porch was an angry young woman who was screaming at a small brown puppy who was laying on the sidewalk near the steps.   Jake and Midge stood near the fence and watched in horror at the anger this person had toward the puppy.  Finally she went back into the house and slammed the door behind her.

Jessie’s Endings

   Jessie was a cute little schnauzer puppy.  He was running after a bright red ball that his master, Billy was throwing for him.  He was running and jumping, so full of energy.
   “Billy!” called a soft female voice.  “Billy!  Come on in here and eat your lunch.”
   “I have to go in the house now,” said Billy.  “I will come back out and play with you when I finish my lunch.”
   Jessie sat and tipped his head to the side as he listened to Billy talk to him.  He looked sad as Billy entered the house.  Jessie climbed the back steps and lay down on the porch waiting for his little friend to return to play some more ball with him.

Magic

    Bimbie was a tiny white puppy who loved to sit and tease Charlie, the green parrot, but she didn’t like it so much when Charlie laughed and teased her.  Charlie would sit on his perch and call to Bimbie and the laugh at her.
   “Bimbie! Bimbie!” called Charlie.  “Ha ha ha.  Bimbie looks funny!”
   “Shut up Charlie,” said Bimbie.  “You are all the time talking.  You are all the time bothering me.”

Trip to the Mountains

   Tippy and Kiki decided one morning to wander off on their own little adventure.  They had gotten bored with what they were doing in the yard and wanted to find something more exciting to do.  Tippy wanted to know what was out beyond the big wooden fence that surrounded the yard. 
   “KiKi,” said Tippy.  “Why don’t we go out and find something exciting to do out there.”
   “What did you have in mind?” asked KiKi.
   “Show me the mountains,” said Tippy.  “I heard Jimmy’s mother and dad talking about them. I really want to see them.”

Lost and Alone

   Allie was a white Persian kitten who lived with a boy named Joshua three houses up from Midge.  Allie decided she wanted to see the great big world instead of staying in the cozy back yard of her master.  She set out alone and sauntered up the road looking at everything along the way.  But Allie didn’t pay any attention to where she was going and before long, she saw that she was lost and didn’t know which way to go.  She made several turns but just couldn’t figure out the right way to get back home.  She found a large rock beneath a tall tree and sat down to cry.  She really wanted to go home, but she had gotten herself lost.  “Oh, why did I leave the yard?” thought Allie.  “I will never find my way home now.  I’m so scared.”

Biff, The Big Tiger

   Biff was a little black and white kitten. She lived in a big brown house with a little girl named Mary.  Biff would lay on the bed with Mary while she watched the shows on TV.  Biff especially liked the animal shows.   There were so many animals that it was hard for him to imagine them all.  After a couple of hours, Mary let Biff out into the back yard so he could run and play.   When Mary shut the door, Penny and Booker-T ran into the yard to play with Biff. 
   “Hi ya, Biff,” said Penny and they approached Biff.
   “Hi Penny,” said Biff.  “Hi Booker-T.  What are you two doing this morning?”

The Courage to Say No

   Tippy was a cute little Chihuahua puppy who liked to run around the back yard and play with his friend KiKi.  KiKi was a chipmunk who lived behind the garage.  Tippy ran into KiKi one morning when he was running from his master while he was playing.
   “Tippy! Tippy!” called KiKi as he came running around the garage.  “Where are you ?”
   “Hi KiKi!” shouted Tippy as he jumped off the back porch and went running across the yard to where KiKi stood near the garage. 

The Neighborhood Bully

    Chachi used to be a big bully when he moved into the neighborhood up the street from Jake.  Then one day, Midge put up with him for the last time.  She went to Jake and asked him for his help to put a stop to Chachi and his bullying. 
     “Jake,” called Midge as she strolled up the sidewalk to the front porch. 
     “Hey Midge,” said Jake.  “What brings you over here this late in the day?”
     “You know Chachi, right?” asked Midge.

Booker-T is Grounded

   Mitzie just finished her bath and her mistress clipped her and put tiny pink bows behind each ear.  She pranced around the yard showing off her pretty new bows to Jake and Midge when Booker-T walked up and joined them.  She was so proud of her pretty pink bows and her clean smelling curls.  She batted her big brown eyes at Booker-T trying to get his attention.  But he wasn’t paying much attention to her.  He had sat down on the porch swing. She huffed and stomped her feet, but still Booker-T didn’t seem interested in what she was doing.   “What could be so interesting to him that he doesn’t even notice me?” thought Mitzie.  “He has never completely ignored me before.”

Where the Roads Lead

   “Jake! Jake!” screamed Midge as she came running across the yard and up the sidewalk to the porch.  “Jake!  What are you doing?”
   “Slow down Midge,” said Jake.  “What is all the excitement about this morning?”
   “We are going on vacation,” said Midge. “I am actually going to take a trip Jake.”
   “Who is going on vacation?” asked Jake already starting to feel like Midge was leaving him all alone.

Chachi Wants to Fly

    “Hello Chachi!” called Jake as he and Midge ran into the back yard of the green and white house on the corner of Elm and Sycamore Road.  “Hey! What are you doing?”
    “Not much, Jake,” answered Chachi.  “What are you and Midge up to?”
    “We are going to the park for a swim,” said Jake.  “Do you want to come along with us?”

Doing it My Way

    Susie followed Midge and Jake to the park to play with Snappy.  As they approached the pond, Susie took off running to the edge of the pond. She stood staring into the water. 
   “What are you looking for Susie?” asked Midge.
   “Fish,” said Susie.  “I know I have seen fish in here before. I want to catch a fish”

The Darkness

    Molly was a cute little beige and white kitten.  She was frolicking around the yard with her friend, Chi Chi.  Chi Chi was a small black and tan Chihuahua who lived next door to Jake.  They were chasing each other and rolling around in the soft grass.  Molly looked up and saw the sun was beginning to sink lower and lower from the sky and she quickly ran and huddled next to the big oak tree near the house. 
  “What’s the matter Molly?” asked Chi Chi.  “Why are you hiding between the house and that tree?”

Promises

     Sissy was walking through the garden with her head high.  Near the garden pond sat Pepper.  He was a large muscular looking cat.  Sissy strolled slowly up to the pond and then sat beside Pepper who was swishing his paw around in the pond.
   “What are you doing?” asked Sissy.
   “What does it look like I’m doing?” asked Pepper.

Willie the Bunny

    Willie was a little brown bunny.  Every day he would hop and play around the bushes near his house.  He loved to sit and listen to the music of the birds as they sang high in the trees.  ‘They sing real pretty,’ thought Willie.  ‘I sure wish I could sing a pretty tune like they do.’
   One day as he sat staring at the trees and listening to the birds sing their pretty songs, a small tear rolled down his cheek.  Booker-T came around the corner and found him staring at the trees.  He sat down beside Willie.
   “What is wrong this morning Willie?” asked Booker-T.  “You look sad today.”

Minnie and Polly

    Minnie and Polly were little beige and white twin poodles.  Cindy was their mother, a golden champagne colored poodle.  She is friends with Midge and Jake.  Cindy was sitting on the porch watching her two little ones chasing after each other across the big back yard where they lived with Cindy’s mistress.  They were yelping and leaping on top of each other as they rolled around in the soft grass.
   Cindy got tired just watching them running around with all their energy.  She went inside through the doggie door to get some water and lie down on the soft rug near the door where she could keep an eye her two little ones.  Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.  She didn’t realize how long she had slept when she awoke.  She could hear the two still yelping at each other.  When she went outside to check on them, she found paper torn up all over the back yard.  The clothes were pulled down from the line and their toys were all over the yard.

Love Among Animals

     Sissy was a black Persian cat who lived in the big white house on Vickery Hill road.  The yard was filled with huge oak trees and a colorful array of flowers placed around the yard of deep green grass.  A warm breeze blew across the porch ringing the chimes that hung along the front of the porch.  She lay curled up on the porch in the sunshine that shone through the trees.   She raised her head and saw Jake and Midge coming up the walkway.  
    “Hi Sissy,” called Midge.  “What are you doing this morning?” 
    “Hi Midge,” said Sissy.  “Hi Jake.  What are you two doing this morning?”

Andy and the Frog

    Andy waddled out onto the back porch into the glistening sunlight of the early morning. Andy’s little brothers and sisters were all asleep snuggled closed to their mother just inside the back door.  Andy liked to investigate his great big new world outside.  He had been checking everything out in the back yard.  He didn’t want to miss a thing.  As the birds sang high above in the trees, he sat tilting his head from one side to the other trying to figure them out.

Mitzie and the Squirrel

   Mitzie was asleep on the back porch swing in the warm morning sun.  The birds sang their pretty songs high above her in the trees and a small brown squirrel scampered around the back yard gathering nuts and burying them under the big oak tree by the fence.  Mitzie heard a noise as the squirrel ran across the porch dropping a nut as he passed under the swing.  Mitzie raised her head as the squirrel jumped from the porch and ran to the tree. 
   Mitzie leaped up from the swing and darted across the yard after the squirrel. The little squirrel quickly ran up the tree and sat on the lower branch looking down at Mitzie. 

Skipper and Pepper

   “Pepper!” shouted Skipper.  “Where are you?”
    Pepper didn’t answer as he was crouched down behind the bush near the garage.
   “Pepper!  Hey Pepper!” shouted Skipper again as he raised his voice a little louder.  “Get your four little legs over here!”
   “What do you want?” asked Pepper as he came walking out from behind the bushes.
   “Why are you hiding back there?” asked Skipper.
   “Because you are mean to me,” said Pepper.
   “Where are the chew boned you had?” asked Skipper.  “You need to bring them here to me.”