Spring Cleaning

 “Hey Midge!” called Jake as he came strolling through the gate. “What are you doing?”

“I'm watching my owner,” said Midge.

“What is she doing?” asked Jake as he looked through the front window where Midge was looking.

“I think she's gone nutty,” sighed Midge.

“Oh my,” said Jake as he looked at Midge and then back into the house. “She sure is making a mess in there.”

“I know,” said Midge.

“Why?” asked Jake.

“I don't know,” said Midge. “I heard her tell her friend that she was going to do something called Spring Cleaning.”

“Looks more like she is doing Spring destruction,” laughed Jake.

“The house will never be the same,” said Midge shaking her head.

“Hi you guys,” said Booker-T. “What are you doing?”

“We are watching Midge's owner doing something called Spring cleaning,” said Jake.

“I heard of that thing,” said Booker-T.

“Does your owner do this?” asked Midge.

“Oh yes,” said Booker-T. “My owner does it every year.

“Why?” asked Midge.

“She cleans out everything,” said Booker-T. “When she is finished, the house is all cleaned up nice.”

“Wow,” said Jake. “Looks like a strange way to clean a house.”

“Why do they make a big mess if they are cleaning?” asked Midge.

“They throw out stuff they don't use anymore,” said Booker-T. “I see a truck come every time my owner does this thing called, Spring Cleaning.”

“Why does a truck come?” asked Midge.

“The truck takes away the things that they don't want anymore,” said Booker-T. “My owner does it all the time.”

“I hope she won't throw away my toys,” said Midge. “I like my toys.”

“Maybe she will get you some new toys,” said Jake.

“Maybe,” smiled Midge. “I would like that. New toys would be fun.”

“I would like that too,” said Jake.

“Does your owner do this Spring Cleaning thing?” asked Midge.

“I don't know,” said Jake. “I have never seen her do it. She cleans house every day, but she don't make a mess when she cleans.”

“That's a lot of stuff,” said Booker-T. “Where did she have all that stuff?”

“In the closets and the drawers,” said Midge. “She has been pulling that stuff out of them all morning.”

“Are we going to watch her clean?” asked Booker-T. “I want to go to the park.”

“Maybe when we get back from the park, she will be finished,” said Jake.

“Okay,” said Midge. “Lets go.”

The three friends ran out the gate and hurried along the sidewalk to the park.

“Hey, look!” said Booker-T.

“Look at what?” asked Midge. “I don't see anything.”

“That truck over there by that house,” said Booker-T. “That's the truck that comes to our house when my owner is cleaning that Spring Cleaning stuff.”

“Oh,” said Jake. “It says, Used clothing and household goods.”

“What is household goods,” asked Midge. “I know what clothing is, but what is goods called household?”

“I think that is stuff like old dishes, pans, toasters, and all,” suggested Jake. “Why do people throw that stuff away. I never throw away my toys.”

“I don't throw mine away either,” said Midge. “But sometimes when they get chewed up, my owner throws them away and gives me a new one.”

“What does the truck do with the stuff the humans give them?” asked Booker-T.

“I don't know,” said Jake. “Maybe the truck takes it to the trash dump.”

“Why not just set it out for the trash man to take them away?” asked Midge.

“You sure ask a lot of questions that I can't answer today,” said Jake.

“This is the first time I saw my owner doing this Spring cleaning stuff,” laughed Midge.

“Lets go see what is happening at the skateboard ramp,” suggested Booker-T.

“Okay,” said Midge. “I just don't know about this Spring cleaning stuff.”

“I don't think I want to know,” said Jake. “It looks like too much work.”

“We could get really tired just watching her clean,” said Midge.

“She does work hard,” said Jake. “Do you think she will clean the yard next?'

“I don't think so,” said Midge. “I don't see any mess out there.”

“Did you see a mess in the house before she started cleaning?” asked Booker-T.

“No,” said Midge. “The house was clean and then she started taking things out of the closets and drawers. Now it is messy.”

“Well, maybe she will do the same outside,” said Jake.

“We don't have closets and drawers outside,” laughed Midge. “How would she do Spring cleaning in the outside?”

“My owner pushes a lawn mower around the yard,” said Jake. “When she finishes that, she takes something and makes cuts on the bushes.”

“That's why your yard always looks nice when we come,” said Booker-T. “My owner has some boy who comes and pushes the lawn mower around the yard and she pays him for it.”

“Do you think I could learn to push that lawn mower?” asked Midge.

“Why do you want to push a lawn mower?' asked Jake.

“Then I could make some money,” said Midge.

“What would you do with the money?” asked Booker-T. “We can't go to the stores and buy things.”

“I could buy some ice cream from the ice cream truck when it comes,” said Midge.

“How do you tell him what you want?” asked Booker-T. “We can't talk to humans like we talk to us.”

“I don't know,” said Midge. “I didn't think about that. Isn't it funny?”

“What is funny?” asked Jake.

“We understand everything the humans say,” said Midge. “But they don't understand what we say.”

“It sure would be nice if the humans understood us,” said Booker-T. “We could ask for what we want to eat and if we want them to play with us.”

“I wonder why they can't understand our language,” said Midge.

“I don't know,” said Jake.

“They just don't understand bark and meow,” laughed Booker-T.