Blackie was running through the house to fetch Papa D's slippers like he did every morning when out of the corner of his eye he spotted an old dog. He backed up and put down the slippers. Strange, the old dog stopped and looked back at him. He looked left. The old dog looked the same direction. He sat down and the old dog sat down. He lifted his paw and the old dog lifted his paw! He was perplexed! He just sat there looking at the old dog in bewilderment when slowly the truth dawned on him. "Oh holy roly poly! That old dog is me!" Blackie howled.
He studied himself for a minute longer before taking Papa D his slippers. His muzzle was greyer than he remembered. His coat, once shiny and full, was dull and shedding more and more fur these days. His stomach, once so tight that you could bounce a biscuit off it, now it just hung there sagging lower than ever. He couldn't look any longer. He slowly picked up Papa D's slippers and carefully placed them next to the bed. Then with his head held low, he walked over to his bed and collapsed in defeat.
Papa D opened his eyes and smiled. See, he had been expecting this. It happened every year for the last three years on Blackie's birthday. Fortunately, this year, he was prepared and he began belting out the commands.
"Sit."
From the time Blackie was born, he loved chewing on his bones. Even before he had teeth, he would gum the bones! So, every week on Sunday, Blackie's father, Papa D, would treat him to a bone and praise him for the good things he did that week. Blackie would listen, laugh and chew for hours as Papa D talked to him. Then, Sunday evening right before bedtime Blackie would take the remainder of the bone and bury it.
After time, Blackie had quite the collection of bones in the backyard - each bone associated with a story and time. Every now and again, Blackie would dig up a pile of bones and recall the stories.
Papa D noticed that Blackie was always happy after digging up his bones. That is why every year on his birthday, Papa D makes Blackie go into the backyard and dig up all his bones. It makes a HUGE mess, but it is worth it to see Blackie smile.
***
This year, there was even more digging to do since he had collected an additional 52 bones over the year! Certainly this was too much digging for one dog who had (ahem) collected a large number of bones over his life. Can you guess how old Blackie is? There were 520 bones in the backyard and he received one every week, 52 weeks per year. (520/52 = 10) That's right, he was 10 years old! That may not seem very old to you, but remember that we are talking dog years.
Papa D has already called all of Blackie's friends over to help in the digging fun. Since this was the third year of the digging tradition, everyone had their roles. The guests began filling into the backyard.
***
First, 3 of Blackies girlfriends arrived. They were great at helping dig and got to sneak a few licks in when the bones came up.
Second, Snub Bear pushed the gate open almost knocking down the whole thing. He could dig out 10 bones with one big swipe of his paw through the dirt.
Third came Biff Beaver who was quite adept at clearing the yard of sticks in preparation for the digging. He wasted no time and began gathering the sticks immediately.
Fourth, Jim Squirrel jumped from the fence and assumed his position in the tree so he could manage the operation. Occassionally, he would jump down and collect some nuts off the ground.
Fifth, Doc Jumbo and his nurse, Jill Monkey, came. It was always good to have them around just in case someone happened to get in the way of Snub Bear when he was swiping up the dirt.
Sixth, Bill Ant announced his arrival. He may be small, but you could always hear him barking orders at the others. He liked to think that he was in charge of ground operations.
Seventh, Roly Poly just rolled right in the gate. He was not as loud as Bill Ant, but the animals always wanted to listen to him. He offered moral support and words of encouragement.
Eigth, Buzz Bird flew down and took a seat next to Jim. She would collect the piles of sticks that were currently being piled up by Biff and take them back to add to her nest.
Finally, late as always, Mother and Fat Pig sauntered in plopped down under the shade of the tree. They usually slept for the whole operation. Their contribution came at the very end of the day when the bones were all put back in the holes. Mother and Fat Pig would roll through the piles of dirt filling in the holes and smoothing out the backyard once more.
So, let's see, how many people were at the party? Papa D, Blackie, 3 of Blackie's girlfriends, Snub Bear, Biff Beaver, Doc Jumbo, Jill Monkey, Bill Ant, Roly Poly, Buzz Bird, Mother and Fat Pig. That's 14 members of A-Ville in attendance!
***
INTRO TO BE CONTINUED....
Blackie was awarded a bone for helping his friend, Biff Beaver, build a dam. Blackie was a good swimmer and he was happy to help Biff build a home for his family. Beavers work at night so Blackie was very tired that week after staying up late with Biff. Poor Biff could not see very well so anytime a stick would go floating down the river, Blackie would go fetch it for him. They always had lots of fun together working on the dam.
Another week Blackie received a bone for helping Snub Bear prepare his den so his family could hibernate for the winter. Snub Bear did not have many friends so Blackie worked very hard to dig a giant hole for Snub Bear's family to sleep in. Blackie was always a little lonely when Snub Bear was hibernating. In April, Blackie anxiously waited outside Snub's den for him to wake up and venture out into the warm sun. And, of course, Blackie brought lots of berries with him because Snub Bear usually awoke from hibernation very hungry and grumpy!
During the summer months, Blackie received many bones for helping Fat Pig and his mother stay cool. He would often carry a pail to his morning swim out to visit Biff Beaver and bring it back full of water for Fat Pig. Mother and Fat Pig would take a few sips, and then dump it over to mix with the dirt and make mud. They loved to roll in the mud until they were practically as black as Blackie! One week, Blackie thought it looked like so much fun that he rolled around in the mud with them. That was the last time he did that though. Papa D was very angry when Blackie tracked mud into the house. He did not receive a bone that week.
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