Midge and the Dive

 

"Hey Midge!" called Booker-T as he entered the room. "What are you doing?"

"Hi Booker-T." greeted Midge. "I'm going for a dive."

"A dive?" asked Booker-T. "What is a dive?"

"I'm going to dive into the water and swim under water," said Midge.

"But you can't breathe under water," said Snappy.

"You swim under the water," said Midge.

"I have to come up for air," said Snappy. "I only go under the water for short times."

"How do the humans go under water for long times?" asked Midge.

"I don't know," said Booker-T. "Maybe they can breathe under water."

"Maybe," said Midge. "My owner don't swim under water. When we go to the lake, she swims but I never see her go under the water."

"Did you see any human at the lake swim under water?" asked Booker-T.

"I don't remember seeing anyone," said Midge.

"Hi you guys," said Jake as he came into the room where Booker-T and Midge were talking. "What are you guys doing?"

"Midge wants to go dive under the water," said Booker-T.

"How are you going to dive?" asked Jake. "You can stick your head under the water but you can't breathe under the water."

"How do the humans dive?" asked Booker-T. "Do they breathe under water?"

"I remember my owner watching this movie last week," said Jake. "Some humans in the movie went diving in the ocean."

"They could breathe under the ocean?" said Midge.

"I don't think so," said Jake. "They were putting on something on their backs and they put these funny looking masks on their faces before they went into the water."

"What kind of mask?" asked Booker-T.

"I don't know," said Jake. "But after they put the masks on and these big things on their backs, they went into the water and were swimming under the water for a long time."

"So if I had a funny looking mask and something on my back," said Midge. "I can dive."

"I don't know if they have those funny masks for animals," laughed Jake. "Why do you want to dive?'

"I think it will be fun," said Midge.

"But how did you know about diving?" asked Jake.

"I saw someone on TV talking about diving under the water," said Midge.

"Did you see what he had on when he did the diving?" asked Booker-T.

"No," said Midge. "He said it was so much fun and I like fun."

"You like trying to do the human things too," laughed Jake. "You are just a dog, Midge."

"I'm not just a dog," said Midge standing up and holding her head up high. "I'm a smart dog."

"We know you are smart," said Jake. "We know you always want to do what the humans do."

"They have so much fun," said Midge. "I want to have fun too."

"Doing human things always gets you in trouble," laughed Booker-T.

"Why do humans have so much fun and we don't?" asked Midge.

"We are animals," said Jake. "You and I are dogs and Booker-T is a cat. We have different things that we are good at."

"I am a turtle," said Snappy.

"Do you have fun being a turtle?" asked Midge.

"I swim in the water, I eat turtle food," said Snappy. "And I lay on the tree limbs and rocks. It's fun watching Midge running around."

"Do you get bored?" asked Midge.

"What is board?" asked Snappy. "I'm not made of wood. How can I be a board?"

"Not board like wood," said Jake. "I think bored is nothing to do and just sitting there."

"I don't get bored," said Snappy.

"I wish I could be a human for just a day," said Midge.

"You could go to sleep and maybe you will dream about being a human," laughed Jake.

"I think we are stuck being animals," said Booker-T. "I like being a cat and my owner takes good care of me. If I was human, I would have to take care of myself."

"If you were a human," said Jake. "What would you do?"

"I and dive, ride the skateboard, go to the carnivals," said Midge. "I could ride a horse and swings on the swings and drive a race car. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"You will also have to find a job and go to work," said Jake.

"I don't know how to do a job," said Midge.

"Lets go to the park and you can dive in the pond, but you will have to come up for air sometimes," said Booker-T.

"Okay," smiled Midge. "Lets go. Do you want to come too, Snappy? Jake could carry you."

"No," said Snappy. "I'm happy here."

"Okay," said Midge. "Lets go Jake."

The three friends ran out the doggie door in the back and hurried along the sidewalk to the park.