Shuffleboard and Croquet

The three found the area where the games were being played and found a tree to sit under while they watched the humans playing the games.

"Look Jake," said Midge. "They push that flat thing away from them and they don't have anyone to bring it back to them."

"Maybe we can help them and bring it back," suggested Booker-T.

Jake watched as a man used the big stick and pushed the flat thing across the concrete. When it came to a stop, Jake ran out and picked it up and carried it back to the man.

"What are you doing?!" screamed the man. "I'm not playing fetch here. Go go, shoo!"

Jake dropped the flat thing at the man's feet and hurried back to where Midge and Booker-T sat watching.

"I don't think he wanted my help," sighed Jake shaking his head. "Lets go see what that Croquet thing is over there."

They walked over closer to where the humans were hitting the colored balls through some wire hoops that were pushed into the ground. They found another nice tree to sit under while they watched. A ball got hit too hard by someone and it hit the wire and went the wrong direction. Midge ran after the ball and picked it up and started to bring it to the young woman who hit it.

"Drop it!" shouted the woman as she ran toward Midge.

Midge dropped the ball and ran to the tree and sat down with Jake and Booker-T.

"I don't think they want our help with this game either," sighed Midge. "They don't want to play with us."

"Have you ever watched anyone play baseball?" asked Booker-T. "Maybe we can chase a ball there."

"No," said Midge. "Do you want to watch the kids playing baseball?"

"Lets go check out the baseball game," said Jake. "Kids like to play ball with us dogs."

The three walked across the park to the ball park area. They found some kids playing this baseball game. They stood watching the kids playing. Someone was throwing a ball at someone who was holding a funny looking stick and the ball flew past him. The boy swung that stick but it didn't hit anything.

A man behind yelled, "Strike!" The man had bars in front of his face attached to a funny looking hat he wore.

"Why does that man have those bars in front of his face?" asked Booker-T.

"I don't know," said Jake. "Maybe his face is in jail."

"Why?" asked Midge.

"I don't know," said Jake. "He does look funny."

"Why did he yell strike?" asked Midge. "I didn't see him strike anything."

"I don't know," said Jake. "Maybe he is telling the little boy to hit the ball."

"Maybe," said Midge.

The man with the face bars threw the ball back to the guy in the middle and the guy waved his arm around and around like a fan and then threw the ball to the guy with the stick.

"Why does he make his arm go round and round before he throws the ball?" asked Booker-T. "He looks funny doing that. Why don't he just throw the ball?"

"Maybe that makes the ball go faster," said Midge. "Baseball sure is a strange game."

"Hey, look Jake!" said Booker-T. "That guy with the stick hit the ball."

The ball whizzed by the guy in the middle, but he didn't run after it. He just stood there.

"Why didn't he go after the ball?" asked Midge. "It looks like the guy with the stick wanted him to have it."

"Maybe he was giving that other guy a change to catch the ball," suggested Jake.

The guy who hit the ball threw down the stick and ran fast to a little square laying on the ground. The announcer yelled, "Base hit!"

"I thought it was a ball that he hit," said Midge. "What's a base?"

"I don't know," said Jake. "Maybe that thing he is standing on is called a base."

"But he didn't hit it," said Booker-T.

"I know," said Jake. "I think this baseball game is confusing."

"Are you ready to go home?" asked Midge. "No one wants our help with their games and this one is confusing."

They all agreed and walked to the corner where they looked both ways before crossing the street on their way home.