A New Friend

 

Hey Guys!  Sorry it took me so long to put another update up here- you know, it’s pretty hard to type with such big paws!  It’s been cold here in New York City.  My paws get a little chilly when I go for really long walks, but luckily my humans keep me pretty warm.

Now back to the story: when we left off, it was a warm summer evening and I fell asleep dreaming about that scent that was so intriguing….

When I woke up the next morning, I was determined to figure out what that glorious scent was.  I bonked my brother Freckles a few times with my nose.  ”YAWN…. I’m too sleepy…” was his response.  He flopped over and rested his chin on Lucy’s hind end.  

“Come ON!!! I said,” nudging him again.  ”You know mom won’t let us go off on our own!”  I tried again, but he was already snoring.

I snuck off on my own knowing that I would get in trouble later, but I didn’t care.  I quickly picked up the trail and followed it for a while.  I crossed under big oak trees and I walked around the smaller mesquite trees.  I hated it if I walked too close to the mesquite trees- they had big pointy stickers that hurt my paws if I stepped on them.  I walked so far I even had to cross a road.  My mom had always warned me to look both ways before I crossed, so I did.  No cars in either direction.

 I walked past many bushes that looked like the one I had tracked the scent to the first time but kept my nose to the ground because the scent of the trail was growing stronger.  Then it caught my eye- something darted as fast as lightening in front of me.  I looked up just in time to see it dart right into a bush that was pretty close by.  With the tip of my tail pointed skyward, I flew into the bush behind it.  The scent was so fascinating and I was almost at the source of it.  The bush was prickly, and it was tickling my nose.  I almost backed away but then my nose bonked on something soft and furry.  I peeked an eye open and saw the weirdest dog I had ever seen.

“What do you want?” he asked in a funny-sounding squeak.  My tail was wagging fast as my curiosity peaked.  ”Why do you smell like that?  I know what dogs smell like and you smell different.”  I asked.  I heard a little giggle, and I noticed his ears were just as long as mine, but they stood straight up.  ”Whoa, how do you get your ears to stand up like that?” I asked, moving my nose away from in between his eyes.  I slowly backed out of the bush as he started towards me and came into full view.  He was furry and his ears were definitely long, but his tail was short and fluffy. 

“Silly, I’m not a dog,” he said “I’m a rabbit!”  

“A what?” I asked, not sure I had ever heard the word before.  

“R-A-B-B-I-T  Rabbit.  Jack’s the name.  What’s yours?” he asked.

“I’m Henry- I live just over those hills, on the farm with the mean horse.  I followed your smell over here cause I was curious.”

“Well, Henry it’s nice to meet ya.  I live in this bunch of bushes, but really I have a den underground.  My daddy built it a long time ago.  I was about to go get some cabbage- wanna help?”

“R’okay,” I said, not really sure what cabbage was, either.

I followed his funny looking tail for a little ways. He sure walked weird- kind of hoppy- but I decided I shouldn’t say anything.  Maybe he had a hurt foot or something.  I once got my foot stomped on by Frank the horse and I walked funny for a few days because of it, and I definitely didn’t want to talk about it.  I started to notice that Jack was heading in a direction that I’ve never been before. 

We came upon a huge farm, with a big pond right in the middle of it.  For a minute I thought we were going to stop at the pond, but Jack kept going.  He took me to this big field, with rows and rows of plants.  Then I realized that we had this at our farm, too.  The farmer and his wife taught us to stay away from these plants.

“Jack,” I said.  “I’m not supposed to go near these plants.”

“Why not?  It’s just cabbage.  Cabbage isn’t dangerous.” He said.

“No, but the farmer and his wife said that I can’t go near the cabbage or else I’ll be in trouble.  They’re really nice and I don’t want to get in trouble.” I said.

“Nah, they only said that cause they don’t want you to eat the cabbage.  They eat it themselves- it’s really good.  Try some” he said as he ripped a piece of the green plant and put it in his mouth.

I bit off a little piece of it and started chewing.  It tasted exactly like I thought it would- like a plant. 

“Blech! You like this stuff?” I asked him.

“Sure, you don’t?” he asked.

“Not so much.” Was my reply.

He put down the cabbage and looked at me while tapping his foot.  “Ya know, I think we should go for a swim in that pond we passed by.  It’s kind of warm and I don’t have any chores today.  Whaddya think?” he asked.  Without waiting for an answer, he darted towards the pond and dove in.  I followed him with an excited yelp and started doggy-paddling across. 

The water felt so cool and refreshing.  We swam and splashed and jumped in and out of the pond.  Jack couldn’t swim as well as I could, but he sure could jump really high and then curl into a ball as he came back down into the water, splashing everywhere.  After a while Jack mentioned that his tummy was starting to rumble. 

“I think I’m gonna go and eat some more cabbage- I’m getting hungry.” He said

“Yeah, okay.  I should probably head home soon anyway.” I replied, noticing that my belly felt pretty hungry too.

“Wanna do this again tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah!” I said excitedly.

I sniffed my way home, stopping every once in a while to shake from head to tail to get all that pond water out of my coat.  When I got back I told Freckles and my sisters all about Jack and his funny ears and his fluffy tail.  I don’t think they really believed me, so I told them that I was going to meet him at the pond again tomorrow for another swim and that they could just come along and see for themselves that I had a new friend.

I was surprised that I didn’t get in trouble for wandering off on my own.  In fact, I even thought I saw my mom smile and wink at my dad.  Wonder what that was about?

Sniff Sniff… Anybody There?

My name is Henry and I’m a hound dog.  Basset hound, to be exact.  I am six years old and I live in Brooklyn, New York.  I haven’t always lived here though.  In fact, I was born deep in the heart of Texas. Wanna hear my tail?   (Swish Swish!)  Just kidding.  Wanna hear my tale?  Well grab a box of milkbones and your comfy pillow…

I was born on a humid summer night under a big oak tree.  We lived in a big red barn on a farm that had a mean horse named Frank.  Frank was always trying to bite us if we got too close.  Have you ever seen a horse eat an apple?  Those big ugly teeth are nothing to wag your tail at.  He bit me a few times and I quickly learned to keep away from old Frank. 

My mom, with her big droopy eyes and wrinkly forehead nudged me and my brothers and sisters to go exploring.  ”You need to learn to use your nose.  A hound is nothing without his sense of smell,” she told us.  So my brother Freckles and I decided to do just that.  Right away, I caught the scent of something interesting.  ”This way!” I said, and started to follow it.  I was running this way and that, letting my nose lead the way.  It was like I didn’t even have to think about where I wanted to go, my nose just took me to where the scent was going.  Freckles was right behind me and I could hear his loud nose taking in the same delicious smell that I was enjoying.  All of a sudden, a big bunch of bushes was in our way.  I couldn’t get through them so I decided to go around, but the smell was not on the other side of the bush.  Freckles looked just as confused as I was so we went back to the other side.  We sniffed all around that bush, but the scent just stopped right in front.  I laid down in front of the bush;  we had run a long way and would need to rest before heading back home.  ”What do you think it was?” Freckles asked me.  ”I don’t know, but isn’t it cool?” I said as I drifted off to dream of that wonderful scent.

My rumbling tummy woke me up.  The sun was setting and it was time for dinner.  I woke Freckles up and we started to head home.  ”Uh oh, which way is home?” I asked, as nothing around us looked familiar.  I sniffed in long drafts of air, but all I could smell was the dirt.  I couldn’t even find the smell that had brought us out this far.  We wandered in circles, our tummies growling and our noses to the ground.  All of a sudden Freckles yelped “Baroo!” and his tail perked straight up.  I knew he had caught the scent of home cause I smelled it right after he did.  We ran and sniffed and ran some more.  I hadn’t remembered running this far, but the smell of home was getting stronger by the minute.  Finally as we got to the top of a small hill, I could see the roof of our barn.  ”Betcha can’t beat me” I yelled to Freckles as I darted down the hill, my long ears flapping behind.  

When we got there, Sally and Lucy looked worried, but Mom had a proud look on her face.  She licked us each once as we headed over to our food bowl, which was full of warm delicious kibble.  

That night I lay in the moonlight.  My belly was full and I was sleepy.  I could hear old Frank snoring away in the barn and I started thinking of that smell again.  What was it?  How could something smell so sweet and delicious and interesting all at once?  Why had the scent stopped right in front of that bush?  I decided that I was gonna find that smell again tomorrow and figure out just what was hiding in that bush.