The Dentist

 

Midge was sitting on the porch waiting for Booker-T to walk over to her house. He strolled into the yard through the gate and sat down beside Midge on the porch.

"Hi Midge," smiled Booker-T. "What are you doing?"

"Just sitting here," said Midge.

"Are you okay this morning?" asked Booker-T. "You look little sad this morning. What happened?"

"I'm okay," said Midge. "I was worried about my owner."

"What happened with your owner?" asked Booker-T.

"She went to something called a dentist yesterday," said Midge. "Do you know what a dentist is?"

"No," said Booker-T shaking his head. "Was she okay when she got home from this dentist place?"

"I think so," said Midge. "Her brother called to ask her to come to dinner with him and his wife and she said no. Said she was at the dentist that afternoon and was going to skip it this time. I don't know what a dentist is."

"Maybe Jake knows what it is," suggested Booker-T. "Lets go see him."

"Okay," sighed Midge.

They hurried through the gate and stared to walk to Jake's. As they turned the corner, they saw Jake coming their way. They stopped to let Jake catch up to them.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Jake.

"We are coming to your house," said Midge.

"I beat you here," laughed Jake. "What kind of fun do you want to do today?"

"I don't know," said Booker-T. "What do you want to do?"

"Do you want to go see what animals are at the zoo building?" asked Jake. "We can go to the petting zoo too and see Pinky if he is still there."

"Okay," said Booker-T. "Lets go Midge."

"Do you know what a dentist is, Jake?" asked Midge.

"I think a dentist is like a doctor for your teeth," said Jake.

"Your teeth needs a doctor?" asked Midge. "Do we have a doctor for our teeth?"

"I think the vet checks our teeth when we go for our checkups," said Jake.

"I remember the vet looking in my mouth," said Midge. "I didn't know he was looking at my teeth."

"What did you think he was looking at?" asked Jake.

"My throat," said Midge.

"He maybe looks at that too," said Jake. "Why are you wanting to know what a dentist is?"

"My owner told her brother she went to the dentist," said Midge. "But I didn't know what a dentist was."

"I remember my owner going to the dentist last year," said Jake. "She telling her sister that she had to have a crown put on one of her teeth."

"She got a crown in her mouth?" asked Midge. "Don't they put crowns on your head?"

"Is your owner a queen?" asked Booker-T.

"I don't think so," said Jake. "But I think a queen wears the crown on the head. Why did they put it in her mouth."

"Can you see the crown when she talks?" asked Midge.

"No," said Jake. "I just see her teeth when she smiles at me."

"Humans are funny," said Booker-T.

"I know it," said Jake. "They do funny things and talk funny."

"But some things they do look so fun," said Midge. "I want to do them too."

"But it is hard for us to do them because we don't have feet and hands," said Jake. "We only have feet."

"I know," sighed Midge. "Why do humans have hands and feet and we animals only have feet?"

"I think there are some animals who have hands too," suggested Booker-T.

"Who?" asked Midge.

"Remember when we went to the little zoo building?" asked Jake. "And we saw the monkeys. They have hands and feet."

"I remember," said Midge. They are lucky. They can pick things up with their hands. We have to pick things up with our mouths."

"Do you thing the monkeys do human things?" asked Booker-T.

"Maybe," said Midge. "If they do things that the humans do, why are they in cages?"

"I don't know," said Jake.

"Can a monkey be a pet like we are?" asked Booker-T.

"Maybe," said Jake. "But I don't know. I never saw a monkey walking around the streets like we do."

"Do you think the wild animals have teeth doctors too?" asked Booker-T.

"Maybe they have vet doctors like we do," said Midge.

"Do humans go to vet doctors too?" asked Booker-T.

"I don't know," said Jake. "They go to the doctor sometimes, but I don't know what kind."

"Maybe it's the dentist they go see all the time," suggested Midge.

"Maybe," smiled Booker-T.

"We go to the vet and the humans go see the dentist," said Jake.

"Who do the dentists go see?" asked Midge.

"Maybe they go see another dentist," suggested Booker-T. "Or maybe they take care of themselves."

"We are standing here talking about vets and dentists," said Jake. "What do you want to do today?"

"Let's go see what new animals are at the zoo building," suggested Midge.

"Okay," agreed Booker-T and Jake.

They started walking along the sidewalk and crossed the street to the building.

"Look there, Jake," said Midge. "They are taking an animal into the building."

"What is it?" asked Booker-T.

"I don't know," said Jake. "I can't see what is in that big box. Lets walk closer and look"

"What does it say on the side of the truck?" asked Midge.

"It says, Wild Cat Transport," read Jake.

"Maybe they took a cat in there," said Booker-T. "But cats are small."

"I think tigers and lions are called cats," said Jake.

"Lets go see," said Booker-T. "Maybe it is a tiger. I like tigers."

The walked into the building and saw the men locking the gate on the back cage and taking the empty box to the truck.

"Wow, look!" said Booker-T. "It is a big black cat."

"It looks pretty," said Midge. "Lets go see it."

"Lets go," said Jake. "I want to read the sign they put on the cage."

The three walked to the cage and stood looking at the big cat. Jake read the sign. "It says it is a Panther."

"Wow, it is pretty black," said Midge.

"No orange stripes like me," said Booker-T.