The Story of the Two Puppies
Once there was a young boy who had two puppies. The two puppies were different in every way. One puppy was short and fat and had short brown hair. The other puppy was long and skinny and had long black fur. The short fat puppy was named “Sophie.” The long skinny puppy was named “Cheryl.” Cheryl and Sophie were best friends even though they were different in every way.
Sophie, the short fat puppy with short brown hair, had droopy floppy ears that always hung down. Cheryl, the long skinny puppy with long black fur, had perky ears that always stood up on top of her head as if she was hearing someone whistle. Her ears turned this way and that whenever she thought she heard anything.
Cheryl and Sophie made the young boy very happy even though they were different in every way. Sophie, the short fat puppy, had a wriggly nose and sad droopy eyes that seemed to bay at the moon. Cheryl, the long skinny puppy, had a long sharp nose and bright sparkly eyes like the stars in the night sky.
Cheryl and Sophie loved each other very much even though they were different in every way. Sophie, the short fat puppy, was always getting into trouble. She would chew up shoes and chew up furniture and chew up wallets and purses and chew up rugs and socks and chew up garbage pails and just about anything else she found on the floor. Cheryl, the long skinny puppy, was never in trouble. She would spend the whole day lying by the front door, waiting to bark at the mailman, to bark at any cars that drove by, to bark at any dogs that ran by and any cats that were outside, to bark at airplane sounds, to bark at any other sounds that were there and even to bark at some sounds that her perky ears thought they heard but were not really there at all.
These two puppies kept the young boy very busy. Sophie liked her puppy chow hard and crunchy. Cheryl liked her puppy chow soft and mushy. Sophie was a very young puppy dog. Cheryl was a very old puppy, so old that she had white whiskers on her long nose.
Cheryl and Sophie loved to play together all day long even though they were different in every way. Sophie, the short fat puppy, loved to play ball. She would run after a ball all day long when the young boy threw it. She would run and get it and bring it back. He’d throw it again. She would run and get it and bring it back. All the while, Cheryl, the long skinny puppy, would simply lie in the sun and watch. First her perky ears would turn one way as the young boy had the ball. Then her perky ears would turn the other way when Sophie had the ball. But, she never ever joined in the game.
The two puppies were different in every way except one. There was one way they were both the same. They both loved to be scratched. But, here the similarity ended because Sophie liked to have her belly scratched and Cheryl loved to have her neck scratched. Whenever Sophie would see the boy coming, she would flop over on her back, throw her legs out, and whine and cry for her belly to be scratched. This was Sophie’s favorite thing in the world. Whenever Cheryl saw the boy coming, she would run up and nudge his leg with her nose so he would scratch her neck under the collar. This was Cheryl’s favorite thing in the whole world.
The two puppies slept in different places. Sophie, the short fat puppy, would always sleep in her cage. If the boy didn’t keep her in a cage at night she would have chewed up the whole house. Cheryl, the long skinny puppy, would alternate between sleeping in the young boy’s bed and sleeping on the floor in Mommy’s room. First she’d sleep in the boy’s bed for a few hours. Then she’d wake up and go in to sleep in Mommy’s room for a few hours. Then she’d go back in to sleep on the young boy’s bed for a few hours.
Sophie, the short fat puppy, was very fast and rambunctious. She would run all over everywhere. When the young boy took her for her walk, she would pull on her leash and pull and pull and pull with all her might. When she got to the park, she would jump up and bite the boy’s coat. She would run clear across the park and frolic and tumble and jump. However, Cheryl, the long skinny puppy, would just walk right alongside the boy without pulling on the leash. She was very, very slow. She was slow to walk, slow to sit down, and slow to lie down. Most of all she was slow to get back up. In fact, sometimes the young boy would have to help her by giving her a little boost from behind so she could get herself up on those long old skinny legs.
Two puppies who are so very different in every way (except that they both like to be scratched) can both make a young boy very happy. And, he loved them both just the same.
Two Puppies by C. Walker ©03