Long Hollow

Max, curled up in his huge porch bed, stared out into the nearby woods. Belle lay nearby, stretched out in the dirt, gnawing on a piece of Dad's firewood. 

Beyond her, Max spotted a squirrel sneaking closer and closer, determined to scavenge a bit of bird seed from the ground under the feeder. He'd done his fair share of squirrel-chasing, but today it just didn't sound like fun.

Max sighed. It was a perfect day – the sun was shining, there was a light breeze blowing – what a waste to spend another afternoon dozing on the porch. 

His elbow didn't ache so bad anymore. His hip bothered him a little, but he wasn't ready to just give in to old age.

And by golly, he wasn't going to! Scrambling up, he headed into the woods.

"Let's go exploring," he told Belle.

She looked up at him, tilting her head. "Huh?"

"Come on! Follow me."

And off they went. Not in the same old direction Mom and Dad always took them, but a new and different direction – off into the unknown, Max leading the way with only a slight limp, and Belle, grinning, trotting along close behind.

Before too long, their noses took over, as one new scent after another popped up to be explored. They zig-zagged their way through a valley and up a hill, and there they found the most amazing place … a yard full of something soft and cool … like water, only not wet. There weren't any rocks or sharp, pointed plants or burs or anything, just this soft, cool, fluffy stuff.

A woman stepped outside of the big house and spoke softly to them, petted them. She didn't shoo them away, but invited them into a special gated place where other dogs were playing. Friendly dogs.

That was fun for awhile, but the lush lawn out front called to Max, inviting him to stretch out and soothe his aching muscles. (That had been a long walk and tough climb from the Hollow!) He and Belle found a way to escape the gated area, but instead of heading back home,  they lolled the afternoon away in suburban luxury.

Time seemed to stand still. Neither of them noticed the sun dropping lower in the sky. It was only when the red minivan pulled into the driveway and the woman stepped out and hollered their names that they thought, "Oh, crap! We're in trouble now!"

The ride home, crowded into the minivan with angry parents, wasn't nearly as much fun as the hike up to heaven …

The end. 

P.S. Max and Belle are grounded for two weeks and we're re-thinking Max's aspirin therapy. Apparently, it works too well…

P.S.S. We're not really re-thinking it. We're not cruel. Just mad. Dang dogs. And they aren't really grounded. (How do you ground a dog?) We went for our normal walk this morning. I think Max is limping a little bit more, but he tried hard not to show it.

Dang dogs.