The story
Two Many Dogs!
2/2/09
By Juliana Carter
"Hiccup, we have a guest coming. You'll
have to be on your extra best behavior this week."
Hiccup gulped. He'd never had a guest stay all week before.
The doorbell rang and Hiccup's master invited in an older lady,
tottering on high heels, trying to keep hold of a pink
rhinestone-covered leash and the little dog that was pulling
against her, trying to break free to meet the unfamiliar hairy
beast.
Princess Sally looked at Hiccup, wondering what he was. A moose? A
horse? A panda?
Hiccup regarded the strange little animal, wondering what it was. A
large rat? A cat? A ferret?
The lady in heels looked right at Hiccup and said, "Hiccup, you be
sure to take good care of Princess Sally. Okay? Now, there's a good
dog." She gave Hiccup a few pats on the head. Princess Sally
growled, not wanting Hiccup to receive a pat on the head from HER
owner.
"Now, that's no way for a princess to act," Princess Sally's owner
scolded.
"Hiccup, this is Princess Sally."
Upon hearing her full name, Hiccup rolled his eyes. Princess Sally.
Oh, brother, he thought.
Princess Sally was soon loose and ran over to Hiccup. The two
sniffed each other with great interest, as dogs always do.
Hiccup learned that this littler thing was, after all, a dog. How
interesting that dogs could come in such a small size, Hiccup
thought.
Likewise, Princess Sally learned that Hiccup was, also, a dog. How
interesting that dogs could come in such a large, bulky size,
Princess Sally thought.
The two were running in circles around each other, first clockwise,
then counter-clockwise.
"All right, you two. Out. Outside. There are too many dogs in
here," Hiccup's master said.
Princess Sally and Hiccup dashed outside, leaving the dog door
trembling in their wake, and made mad crazy-eights all over the
yard. Hiccup, who was one of a herding variety of dog, tried to
herd Princess Sally by running in circles around her. Princess
Sally, being one of the pest variety of dog, tried to run over the
back of Hiccup and ride him like a circus monkey. Hiccup's little
boy jumped up and down delightedly. He had never before had two
dogs in his house at one time. This was a momentous occasion.
To Hiccup's delight, Princess Sally had brought her toys with her
and was happy to share. Except for the tug toy. When Hiccup carried
HER tug toy in his mouth, Princess Sally didn't act like a princess
at all. She turned into a devil dog and wanted Hiccup to surrender
her toy, which, of course, Hiccup wouldn't. THIS was a great game,
until Princess Sally got a little carried away and ended up with a
mouthful of Hiccup's hair. The tug toy was then taken away.
Little Boy learned that little dogs have A LOT more energy than big
dogs, even big dogs of the herding variety, and this is how the
week went:
Princess Sally and Hiccup played, then rested for two-and-a-half
minutes, then played some more. When it was time to go to bed,
Princess Sally would lie upon her leopard-spotted dog bed, complete
with pink fringe. Hiccup would lie upon his red-and-green plaid dog
bed. They would do this for five minutes, then they'd play some
more.
Total dog biscuits consumed: Hiccup, 12. Princess Sally, 12 halves.
Total hours of sleep: 2.
At night, Princess Sally was scared of the strange noises in the
house. When she'd hear the whoosh of air that was sent through the
air vents when the heating system turned on, she'd whimper for
Little Boy's dad, who'd reassure her with a pat to the head and
send her back to her leopard-print bed. Or at least try. When
Hiccup would fall asleep, Princess Sally poked him with her little
nose to wake up and play.
All night long, the family heard the click-clack of Princess
Sally's nails on the house's wood floors.
In the morning, the family woke. Everyone had bags under their
eyes, including Hiccup.
Princess Sally never seemed to stop. Little Boy, Mom and Dad were
tired. Hiccup had red eyes. Princess Sally was ready to play and
did not have red eyes nor bags.
"Doesn't Sally ever sleep?" Little Boy asked his parents.
"Well, it sure doesn't seem like it," and Mom gave a nervous laugh,
the kind of laugh one gives when they haven't had a good night's
sleep several nights in a row and don't know when they'll get a
good night's sleep again.
"Yes, Sally is quite a ball of energy," Dad said, rolling his
eyes.
When the week was over and Princess Sally's owner came to pick her
up, the family assured her that Princess Sally had been "no trouble
at all."
Then they took a nap. Hiccup slept the longest of them all.
---
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