The Stuffed Dog

Jake met Booker-T at his fence gate on the way to Midge's house.

“Hi Booker-T,” greeted Jake. “What are you doing?”

“I was waiting for you,” said Booker-T.

“Lets go,” said Jake as he started walking along the sidewalk, the short distance to Midge's house.

They entered the yard and found Midge sitting on the porch next to a stuffed dog.

“Where did you get the stuffed dog?” asked Booker-T.

“My owner's niece left it here last night when she came for dinner with her mom,” said Midge.

“What are you doing with it?” asked Booker-T.

“I want to be one of those ventoquists,” said Midge.

“A what?” asked Jake.

“A ventoquists” said Midge.

“What is a ventoquist?” asked Booker-T.

“They all have dummies,” said Midge. “And they make the dummies talk.”

“Oh!” said Jake. That is a ventriloquist.”

“I was close,” said Midge.

“You don't know how to do that,” said Jake. "How are you going to make it talk?"

“I can learn,” said Midge. “Watch.”

Midge picked up the stuffed dog and set it on the ground next to her.

“Hello Jake,” said Midge trying to disguise her voice.

“Your mouth moved Midge,” said Booker-T. “ Don't ventriloquists talk without without moving their mouths?”

“Yes” said Jake. “You need a lot of practice, Midge,” 

  "I can practice," said Midge.

“Why do you want to be a ventriloquist?” asked Jake. “You can't do it for the humans to see because they don't understand anything when we say.”

“I can do it for our animal friends,” said Midge. “They will think I'm really smart and funny when I make the stuffed dog talk.”

“But you can't move your mouth Midge,” said Jake. “And you have to sound different.”

“I will practice every day,” said Midge. “With the stuffed dog.”

“Won't your owner's niece want her stuffed dog back?' asked Booker-T.

“Maybe,” sighed Midge. “Maybe if I carry it around all the time and sleep with it, my owner will buy me one.”

“You could try that,” agreed Jake. “Without the stuffed dog, you can't be a ventriloquist.”

“Can we go to the little zoo place or go the park now?” asked Booker-T.

“You can practice later,” said Jake.

“Who's that?” asked Booker-T when he saw a blue car pull up in front of the house.

“That's my owner's sister,” sighed Midge. “Maybe she came to get the stuffed dog.”

The woman saw the stuffed dog sitting on the porch next to Midge and walked to the house to get the dog.

“Hi Midge,” said the woman as she picked up the stuffed dog and patted Midge on the head.

“Well, Midge,” said Booker-T. “There gores your stuffed dummy dog.”

“Will you be my dummy Booker-T?” asked Midge.

“I don't want to be a dummy,” said Booker-T shaking his head.

“You can pretend,” suggested Midge. “I want to be a ventriloquist.”

“I think maybe your have to find something else to do,” said Jake.

“Why don't you just be a dog,” said Booker-T. “Don't you like being a dog?”

“But I want to be a famous dog,” said Midge.

“You are famous to Booker-T and me,” said Jake. “You do a lot of things and you are really good at begging for food for us.”

“Midge, the famous begging dog,” laughed Booker-T.

“Very funny!” sighed Midge. “Lets go to the zoo building”

Pizza Galore

Midge crawled out through the doggie door and ran next door to Booker-T's house.

“Booker-T!” called Midge. “Where are you?”

“I'm right here,” said Booker-T as he came around the corner of the house.

“Lets go,” said Midge.

“What is the hurry, Midge?” asked Booker-T.

“The pizza place opens today near Jake's house,” said Midge. "I want some pizza.”

“And how are we going to get some pizza?” asked Booker-T. “We can't walk in and buy it.”

“I know that,” smiled Midge. “We can sneak in with some people and sit near the counter and beg.”

“They will just kick us out,” said Booker-T. “They won't let us in the place.”

“We can sit at the window with our little noses pressed against the glass,” suggested Midge.

“They might get angry if we mess up their clean window,” said Booker-T.

“We will think of something,” said Midge. “Remember that hot dog place that gave us some hot dogs for dancing?”

“I remember,” said Booker-T. “Do you think they will give us some pizza for a dance?”

“We can try,”s aid Midge.

They hurried along the sidewalk to Jake's house and entered the yard. Jake was napping on the porch swing.

“Hey Jake!” called Midge. “Wake up, Jake. I want some pizza.”

“Hi Midge,” greeted Jake as he sat up in the swing. “Look what I found.”

“What is it?” asked Booker-T. “Looks like a piece of paper with a picture of a pizza on it.”

“It is what my owner calls a coupon,” said Jake. “It is for one free pizza.”

“Can we use it?” asked Midge.

“We can try,” said Jake. “ They can only say no.”

“I sure don't like that word,” said Midge. “I really want some pizza. Lets go try.”

Jake gave the coupon to Midge who carried it carefully in her mouth as they went around the corner to the new Pizza Galore place.

“Look Jake,” said Midge. “There are many humans lined up outside the place. We can sneak in with some of them.”

They walked close to the door and watched as the humans entered the door to get their pizzas.

“Lets go, Jake,” said Midge as she got behind a woman and her two little boys.

They followed them to the counter and Midge sat in front holding the coupon in her teeth.

“Lady,” said the man behind the counter. “You can't bring your dogs and cat in here.”

She looked behind her and saw Jake, Midge and Booker-T sitting there waiting.

“They aren't my animals, sir,” said the lady. “I don't know who they are.”

The counter man asked, “Do these animals belong to anyone here?”

“No one answered. Midge sat up on her hind legs still holding the small coupon for the free pizza.

“Hey look,” said a young girl. “The dog has a coupon for the free pizza.”

“Isn't that cute,” said her mother. “They want pizza. Why not just give them a pizza and maybe they will go home. They do have a coupon for it.”

The young man took a small pizza and put it into a box and reached out with it to the dogs. Jake gabbed the box and the three hurried out the door as he heard someone say. “I bet someone trained them to do that, They were really smart.”

Jake smiled as they left the pizza place with their free pizza. They carried the box to Jake's house where they enjoyed the free pizza.

The Lost Bow

Jake and Booker-T walked together to Midge's house. They stood for a moment at the gate and watched Midge pacing back and forth across the porch. She seemed really nervous about something.

They slowly walked toward Midge, who was now searching the front yard.

“What are you doing Midge?” asked Jake.

“I lost my pretty pink ribbon bow, Jake,” said Midge. “My owner won't be happy with me.”

“Where did you see it last?” asked Jake.

The Park Express

Jake was napping on the porch swing when Midge and Booker-T entered the yard through the gate.

“Hey Jake,” called Midge as she ran to the front porch. “What are you doing?”

“I'm taking a nap,” said Jake.

“Why?” asked Midge.

“Why not?” asked Jake.

“Don't you want to play?” asked Booker-T.

“Play what?” asked Jake.

“Why are you asking me questions?” asked Midge.

“Because you are asking me questions,” smiled Jake.

“We should go for a swim Jake,” suggested Midge. “Soon they are going to take the pond out of the park.”

“They aren't going to take it out,” said Jake.

“Gabby said they were going to take it out,” said Midge.

“They are going to take it out only for a little while,” said Jake. “They are going to make it a bigger and better pond for everyone at the park.”

“Okay,” said Midge. “That will be good, right?”

“Yes, Midge,” said Jake. “It will be good for everyone.”

“Well, do you want to go for a swim?” asked Midge. “It is warmer today. I think winter is all gone now.”

“Do you want to swim Booker-T?” asked Jake.

“Sure,” agreed Booker-T. “Lets go.”

The three left the yard and started along the sidewalk. When they reached the park, they looked both ways at the street and then hurried into the park.

“Why are they putting train tracks in the park?” asked Midge as they entered the park.

“I don't know,” replied Jake. “They weren't here the other day.”

“Is there a sign somewhere?” asked Booker-T.

“I don't know,” said Jake. “Lets follow the tracks and see where it goes.”

They followed the tracks past the pond and the picnic area and found a small building that looked a little like a train station.

“Over there Jake,” said Booker-T. “I see the big sign.”

“I see,” said Jake as he walked toward the sign.

“What does it say?” asked Midge.

“It says the Park Express,” said Jake. “It goes all the way around the park.”

“We can ride the train when we come to the park,” said Midge.

“That will be fun,” said Booker-T.

“I like to ride the train,” said Midge. "Why are they putting in the train?" 
“On this sign, it shows there will be three stations around the park,” said Jake. “So humans can get on and go from one area of the park to another.”

“Where are the stations?' asked Booker-T.

“It says one will be at the picnic area, one at the pond and one near the street corner where we enter the park,” said Jake.

“Does it say when the train will be ready for humans to ride?” asked Midge.

“It says the Park Express will be complete,” said Jake. “At the end of May.”

“Wow,” said Booker-T. “That will be nice when the humans come to see the summer shows and swim in the pond and have their picnics.”

“So almost two months it will be ready,” said Jake.

“They are really making the park nice,” said Midge.  "When they start running the train, we need to come ride it."

“Every where in the town they are building stuff,” said Booker-T. “It is really changing. Soon, we will have a bigger town.”

“Guess what they are building near that little cafe,” said Jake.

“What?” asked Midge.

“A Pizza cafe,” said Jake. “I like pizza.

“Me too,” said Midge. “When it is ready, we have to go and beg for some pizza like we did at the other little cafe.”

“We have two more weeks to wait,” said Jake.

“We can wait,” smiled Midge. “We have two weeks to think of a way to beg for the pizza.”

"Oh boy," said Booker-T.  "I like pizza too. Think really hard Midge." 

"Come on," said Jake.  "Lets think about it later and now lets go swimming." 

     

I Can Be Anything I Want to Be

Jake and Booker-T walked through the gate at Midge's house. She was sitting on the porch looking at her feet.

“What's wrong with your feet?” asked Jake as he sat down with Midge on the porch.

“Can you stand on your toes?” asked Midge.

“I don't think so,” said Jake. “I never tried to stand on them. I think that would be hard to do.”

“You are right Jake. That is too hard to do,” said Booker-T.

“Why do you want to stand on your toes?” asked Jake.

Jake's Discovery

Booker-T walked through the gate at Midge's house, but Midge wasn't on the front porch as usual. He quickly walked to the back yard and stuck his head into the doggie door. He didn't see Midge in the kitchen, so crawled into the house to look for her.

He entered the living room and ran to the stuffed chair next to the tank where Snappy lived.. He leaped into the chair and put his paws on the tank.

“Hey there Snappy,” greeted Booker-T.

“Hi Booker-T,” smiled Snappy. “What are you doing?”

“I was looking for Midge,” replied Booker-T.

“She is still sleeping,” said Snappy.

“Wow,” said Booker-T. “She is sleeping late today. That isn't like Midge.”

“She was up late last night watching a movie with our owner,” said Snappy.

“What movie did they watch?” asked Booker-T.
“I don't know,” smiled Snappy. “I crawled under my log and went to sleep.”

“Good,” said Booker-T.

“What are you and Midge going to do today?: asked Snappy.

“I don't know yet,” said Booker-T. “I have to wait and talk to Midge and Jake and we will decide.”

“Midge always has ideas,” laughed Snappy. “But she always wants to do human things.”

Midge came wandering out of the bedroom and saw Booker-T standing on the chair talking to Snappy.

“Hey Booker-T!” said Midge. “What are you doing?”

“I'm waiting on you,” answered Booker-T. “You slept late today.”

“I know,” smiled Midge. “I was watching a movie with my owner last night so I slept longer this morning.”

“Was it a good movie?” asked Booker-T.

“Yes,” said Midge. “It was called The Journey Home, or something like that. These animals were making a trip to go back home.”

“Where were they?” asked Booker-T.

“I don't know,” said Midge. “But they had to go a long way to get home and so much happened to them along the way. It was a happy ending and they all made it home.”

“I like happy endings,” said Booker-T.

“Me too,” said Midge. “My owner cries when it ends happy.”

“Why does she cry when it is a happy ending?” asked Booker-T. “Does she laugh if it is a sad ending?”

“No,” said Midge. “She cries when it is sad too.”

“Does she laugh at any movies?” asked Booker-T.

“Sure,” aid Midge. “she laughs at funny movies.”

Jake entered the room where Booker-T and Midge were talking about crying and laughing at movies.

“Hey you guy,” said Jake. “What are you doing?”

“We were talking about moves,” answered Midge. “What are you doing?”

“I came looking for you,” said Jake. “I thought you were coming to my house.”

“Midge slept late,” said Booker-T. “What did you bring with you?”

“It's a big bone,” said Jake. “I found it in my back yard last night.”

“Wow,” said Midge. “It is really big. Do you think it is a dinosaur bone?”

“I don't know,” said Jake. “I tried to chew on it and it is too hard to chew.”

“Maybe it is alien bone,” suggested Booker-T. “We don't know how big they are.”

“You are always hoping for space aliens,” laughed Jake. “Just like Midge.”

“I think they are real, Jake,” said Midge. “ We just haven't seen one yet.”

“Maybe they are and maybe they aren't,”said Jake.

“Maybe one day we will know for sure,” said Booker-T.

“I can't wait,” said Midge. “I do like your really big bone. “Maybe it is a dinosaur bone.”

The Movie Song

Midge was walking around the front yard bouncing up and down and singing. “I'm an old cowhand, from the Rio Grande.”

Booker-T came into the yard and stood watching her, trying not to laugh too much.

“I can rope and ride,” sang Midge as she turned around and saw Booker-T standing there. “What are you doing over there?”

“I was watching you,” laughed Booker-T. “You are funny.”

“I was singing,” said Midge.

“Why were you bouncing up and down?” asked Booker-T.

“I was riding my horse,” said Midge.

“I don't see a horse,” said Booker-T. “Is it invisible?”

“It is a pretend horse,” said Midge.

“How do you ride a pretend horse?” asked Booker-T.

“You pretend you are riding a pretend horse,” said Midge.

“You are confusing me, stated Booker-T, tilting his head and staring at her.

“I'm singing a song, pretending to ride a horse,” said Midge. “But there is no real horse. I am only pretending that there is a horse. Little kids do it all the time.”

“Why are you singing about a cow if you are pretending to ride a horse?' asked Booker-T.

“I'm not singing about a cow,” replied Midge.

“You said you were a cow hand,” said Booker-T. “I heard you say it.”

“I know,” said Midge. “But that's not about cows and cows don't have hands.”

“Okay,” said Booker-T. “Then what is a cow hand?”

“It is a man who rides a horse and takes care of the cows,” said Midge.

“So,” said Booker-T. “It is about cows and cow hands.”

“What are you guys doing?” asked Jake as he entered the front yard.”

“Midge was singing a funny song,” said Booker-T.

“She does that a lot,” laughed Jake.

“But this time she was pretending to ride a pretend horse,” said Booker-T.

“What were you singing this time?” asked Jake.

“I'm an old cowhand,” sang Midge. “From the Rio Grande.”

“That was from a cowboy movie, I think,” said Jake. “I remember my owner watched it one night.”

“Mine too,” said Midge. “She likes those western movies.”

“My owner likes mystery movies,” said Booker-T. “I never heard anyone singing in them. Only weird music sometimes when something is going to happen.”

“My owner likes the mysteries too,” said Jake. “She watches all kind of movies. But she don't like the real scary ones.”

“Mine too,” said Midge. “But her little nephew's favorite movies are cowboy movies so when he is at the house, there is always a cowboy movie on the TV or cartoons for him.”

“My owner's nephew likes the cartoons best of all,” said Jake. “His favorite cartoon is Mighty Mouse. Remember that song. Here I come to save the day! Which means that Mighty Mouse is on the way.”

“I like that one too,” said Booker-T.

“Have you ever seen a strong mouse, Booker-T?” asked Midge.

“No,” said Booker-T. “Only Mighty Mouse. I like to watch cartoons. They are funny. Popeye is strong too. He eats spinach.”

“How about Tom and Jerry?” asked Midge. “Have you ever seen them?”

“Who are Tom and Jerry?” asked Booker-T.  "I never heard of them.”

“Tom is a big cat and Jerry is a little mouse,” said Midge.

“Oh, I know them,” said Jake. “Tom is a dumb cat always trying to catch Jerry who is always teasing Tom. They are so funny.”

“Cat's aren't dumb,” sighed Booker-T.

“I know that,” said Midge. “We know you are really smart and a little mouse couldn't fool you.”

“It is only a cartoon,” said Jake.

“That's right,” said Midge. “Tom pretends to be dumb. He really is smart. I pretend to ride a pretend horse and Tom pretends to be dumb.”

Booker-T just smiled.  "Maybe I will pretend to be a dog." 

They all laughed.