Stay out of the Storm

 

Midge's owner was getting ready to go to work. Midge laid on the end of the bed watching her getting ready and followed her to the kitchen when she finished. She sat on the floor next to her as she fixed her bowl of food for the morning. She was eating her breakfast when her owner went out the door going to work.

She was about to finish her breakfast when a loud crack of thunder seem to make the windows rattle. Midge jumped back from the bowl and ran into the living room and squeezed behind the sofa.

"Hey Midge," called Snappy. "What are you doing?"

"I don't like the thunder," said Midge as she poked her nose out from behind the sofa.

"Are you afraid of the thunder?" asked Snappy.

"It is too loud," said Midge. "It scares me."

"It won't hurt you," said Snappy. "It is only loud."

"Why is it so loud?" asked Midge.. "Can't the thunder be soft?"

"Soft thunder," said Snappy. "That's funny. I never heard soft thunder."

"Don't the loud thunder scare you?" asked Midge.

"No," said Snappy. "It's loud and sometimes I jump when it is loud, but I'm not afraid of it."

The boom of the thunder startled Midge and she back up behind the sofa and laid down. "I don't want to come out Snappy."

"I thought Jake was coming so you can go to the zoo," said Snappy.

"Oh I forgot," said Midge. "He might not come in this heavy rain."
"Is Jake afraid of the thunder too?" asked Snappy.

"No," said Booker-T as he walked into the living room. "Hi Snappy."

"Hi Booker-T," greeted Snappy. "Is it still raining out there?"

"Yes," said Booker-T shaking off the water. "Where's Midge?"

"She is hiding," laughed Snappy.

"Why?" asked Booker-T. "Is she playing hide and seek with you?"

"Did you know she is afraid of the thunder?" asked Snappy.

"No," said Booker-T. "Maybe she is only afraid of it when she isn't with Jake and I. Hey Midge! Where are you?"

"I'm here," said Midge as she poked her nose out from behind the sofa.

"Where?" asked Booker-T looking around the room.

"I'm here," said Midge as she crawled out from behind the sofa. "I was behind the sofa."

"Why?" asked Booker-T. "Snappy said you were afraid of the thunder. I didn't know you were scared of the thunder."

"It is too loud and I never know when it is going to go boom," said Midge. "when it suddenly goes boom, I get scared."

"Me too sometimes," smiled Booker-T.

"You get scared too?" asked Snappy.

"Yes," said Booker-T. "Do you get scared, Snappy?"

"No," said Snappy. "I just ignore it."

"How do you ignore it when it is too loud?" asked Booker-T.

"Maybe because I lived at the pond and was always outside when the thunder boomed," said Snappy.

"Is it still raining?" asked Midge.

"Yes," said Booker-T. "I heard my owner talking to someone on the phone before she went to work and she told someone that it was suppose to rain all day today."

"We can't go to the petting zoo today with the rain," said Midge. "We can stay here and I know how to push the button on the TV remote."

"We can watch TV," said Booker-T. "Do you think Jake will come here in the rain?"

"Maybe," said Midge. "He likes walking in the rain."

"I'm singing in the rain," said Jake as he hurried into the living room at Midge's house and stood

in the living room and shook off the rain.

"What are you singing?" asked Midge. "Why are you singing?"

"I heard the song on a movie my owner watched one night," said Jake. "The human on the movie was dancing in the rain and singing."

"Okay," said Booker-T. "Hey Midge. That might be fun."

"What might be fun?" asked Midge.

"Going for a walk in the rain and singing," suggested Booker-T.

"Lets go Midge," smiled Jake. "I like walking in the rain."

"Why?" asked Midge.

"You like swimming in the pond," said Booker-T. "Walking in the rain is like swimming in the pool."

"How is is the same?" asked Midge.

"It really isn't the same," said Jake. "What is the same is, you get wet."

"I like getting wet," said Midge. "I don't like the loud boom of the thunder when it booms."

"I think the thunder is done for the day," said Booker-T.

"Do you think it is over with now, Jake?" asked Midge.

"I do," agreed Jake. "Come on and lets go for the walk."

"Okay," said Midge.

Midge, Booker-T and Jake told Snappy good-bye and they hurried through the kitchen to the doggie door in the back door. Midge followed Jake out the door with Booker-T coming out last. They started walking to the front yard when suddenly a loud boom of thunder broke the silence of the morning. without warning, Midge was under Jake. Jake jumped back.

"Midge!" said Jake. "What are you doing?"

"I got scared when the thunder was so loud," said Midge. "I was trying to hide."

"I don't think it's working, Midge," laughed Booker-T. "I can still see you under Jake."

"The thunder isn't going to hurt you," said Jake. "It's the lightning that hurts you if it hits you."

"The lightning can hurt you?" asked Midge as she stood shaking.

"Yes," said Jake. "Lightning can be dangerous and the weatherman said we shouldn't go out in the lightning."

"Do you want to go home?" asked Midge. "We can go to inside and I can push the button on the remote and we can watch the TV."

"Okay," agreed Jake. "We can go watch TV."

The three hurried back into the house, shaking the water all over the kitchen floor.

"Hi Snappy!" called Midge. "We are back inside the house."

"Hi," greeted Snappy. "What are you going to do?"

"We are going to watch TV as Midge pushed the power button with her paw. They laid down on the floor in front of the sofa and watched the TV.