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.

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