Trip Around the Block, Part 4

“Is it gone?” Purl panted.

“Yah, I think so.” Trixie replied. They had bounded the corner and were now on Walnut Street.

“Whew! That was a close one,” Dove said.

“Yah…And I was in the garbage can with it!” Max exclaimed. The animals looked at him.

“You shouldn’t have gotten in it,” Trixie growled. Max hung his head. He watched the pavement as they walked along. He kicked at a rock. He poked at some dirt. Then, he saw it.

“Oh, wow! It’s a huge spider!” he cried.

“WHAT?!” Purl screamed. Her tail grew big. Her eyes poked out like a dragonfly’s. She turned around and scrambled up the nearest tree.

“What’s the matter, Purl?” Dove asked.

“A-a-spider?” she asked. “Get rid of it!”

“I had no idea you were so scared of spiders, Purl!” Trixie laughed.

“It’s no laughing matter, Trixie.” Purl defended. “Now, get rid of it!” Trixie looked down. The spider was gone.

“It’s gone,” she said.

“Well, find it! And kill it! I’m not coming out of this tree until you do!” Purl cried.

            “Tell her I ate it,” Max said.

            “It’s okay, Purl!” Trixie comforted. “Max ate-YOU WHAT?” She turned abruptly to Max.

            “I ate it,” he said. Trixie’s mouth dropped open.

“What?” he asked.

            “You ate a SPIDER? The things that crawl around on the porch and eat other bugs and have six legs and-“

            “Yes, that’s it.” Max said. Trixie looked like she would faint.

            “Rule # 48 in pet etiquette. Absolutely NO eating insects!”

            “This website says rabbits are supposed to eat certain vegetables, fruits, hay, and of course rabbit pellets,” Dove said. “But it doesn’t say anything about bugs.”

            “Well, it was tasty just the same,” Max said.

            “Purl?” Trixie called. She stared up into the dark tree. She saw an outline of the cat sitting on a branch.

            “You can come down now, Purl!” she called.

            “Is it gone?” Purl’s tiny voice rang through the night air.

            “It’s gone,” Dove said. “Max claims it was quite tasty.” Purl slowly climbed down the trunk.

            “Don’t say anything else about bugs,” Trixie whispered to Max.

            “Why?” he asked. Trixie gave him a look.

            “Because! We don’t want Purl climbing every tree from here to home!” Trixie snapped.

            The team of friends turned the corner and were now on Banta Street. Far down the long sidewalk, the roof of the little stone ranch house peeked over the dark green trees. The night moon hung high in the sky, sending beams of light down on the little group.

            “We’re almost home,” Trixie sighed. “Where could that cat be?”

            “Maybe she’s hiding in a tree somewhere because she saw a bug,” Max laughed. Purl glared at him.

            They headed up the street and came to a white house. It had a fence, with a tall gate. They started to pass, when they heard creaking. Turning to the fence, they saw the gate slowly open. Suddenly, a huge, brown and white pit bull came charging out. He stopped in front of them on the sidewalk.

            “Um, you’re in our way,” Dove said.

            “Oh really?” the dog said, sarcastically. “If you tell me the password, I’ll let you through.”

            “Oh, this will be easy.” Trixie stepped forward. “Pit bull?” she guessed.

            “Nope!” he laughed.

            “Tough dog?” Purl asked.

            “You’re freezing,” he said.

            “Dog?” Max asked.

            “Even colder,” the pit bull shook his head. The pets looked at one another. What could it be? Would they be able to get by? They turned to Dove. He was typing away.

            “Ok, let me see. Is it this?” Dove leaned over and whispered into the dog’s ear.

            “You’re super close, but no.”

            “Ok, how ‘bout this?” he whispered once more. The dog smiled.

            “Isn’t that a wonderful password? I love it!” he cried. “You may pass,” he said, stepping away. He headed back into his yard.

            “Wow. Now that was a handy time to have a cellphone and a smart bird like Dove around!” Purl said. Dove beamed.

            “Thanks!” he smiled. “But it was nothing. I just typed in ‘password for pit bulls’ and it came up!”

            “So what was it?” Max asked.

            “It was the most popular dog password. Well, actually there are two. The first is ‘Pork Pieces’ and the second is ‘Chicken Chunks’. They’re popular doggie snacks,” he said.

            “Wow,” Trixie said. “I’ve got to get a cellphone.”

            “Oh, yes! Mine would be blue. What about you?” Purl asked.

            “Totally pink. Love it!” the girls chatted on and on about girl things and how they wish they could have their nails painted.

            “I think it would look very cool,” Trixie said. The boys, however, talked about technology, and the newest inventions.

            “I think I might get a flat-screen TV installed,” Max said.

            “I have a laptop in my bird cage at home,” Dove said. “I use it to email all my bird buddies.” The groups chatted on and on as they walked, and they finally stood in front of the stone house.

            “Well, I guess we should go around back,” Trixie said. They headed around the side of the house and onto the porch. There was no sign of Socks. Max hopped back into his cage, and the others settled down on the pavement. The stars shined down, and a gentle night breeze blew. All was quiet and peaceful.

            “Hey guys, watcha doing?” The pets jumped.

            “SOCKS!” they cried.

            “Where have you been?” Trixie’s mouth dropped open. Socks looked around.

            “I was in the shed,” she said. “Where have you been?”

            “Looking all over the neighborhood for YOU!” Purl exclaimed.

            “Well, when we got locked out, I went into the shed to find some blankets or something soft to sleep on. It took long enough to find the right number of blankets, but it took even longer to get out of there! I sure hope the Henry kids clean that out soon! There’s bikes and toys and garbage cans, and boxes, and-“

            “Enough!” Trixie cried. “We get the idea!”

            “Well, at least you’re not lost after all,” Purl said.

            “How can you look on the bright side after all we went through?” Trixie asked, her eyes dancing.

            “Went through?” Socks asked, puzzled.

            “Oh, oh! Can I tell her about all the adventures? Please?” Max jumped up and down in his cage.

            “I guess, since you were always in the center of it,” Trixie rolled her eyes.

            “It all started when we thought you were missing…” he began.

            The bright sun shined down on the weary animals. The birds chirped, singing their morning songs. The pets opened their tired eyes. At last! Morning had come. They stood up and stretched. Trixie yawned.

            “Oh, I’m tired,” she said, half awake.

            “How come?” Socks asked.

            “Because I couldn’t get to sleep because of your snoring!” she exclaimed.

            “Snoring? I don’t snore!” Socks cried.

            “Yes you do!”

            “No I don’t!”

            “Oh, yes you do!”

            “Settle down guys,” Dove said. Suddenly, the back door swung open. Out stepped Lauren.

            “Here’s your food, Max-Why Trixie, Socks, Purl, and Dove! What are you doing out here?” she asked. She went over to the door and held it open.

            “Here,” she said. “Go back inside.” The animals gladly went in.

            “Finally,” Trixie said.

            “We certainly had an adventure last night,” Purl laughed, hopping onto the couch.

            “Yes, we did,” Trixie said. She snuggled down on top of a pillow.

            Honk! Honk! The visitor's cars were here. Their owners came inside. The pets started to say goodbye.

            “Thanks for all the fun!” Purl exclaimed. “We will have to do it again, soon!”

            “You’re welcome!” Trixie said. “And this time, we won’t get locked outside,” she said, giving a look to Socks. Socks shrugged her shoulders.

            “It says here that a proper goodbye is to tell your hostess how you enjoyed your stay and hope to do it again soon,” Dove said, pointing to his cellphone. “Well, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay.” He laughed. “Especially our trip around the block!”

 

         

                                                                   The End

I had so much fun posting this! I can't wait to start on my next one which is a little longer... It's called Trial by Fire, and it's about-well, I'll let you find out!

Love,

Kathryn :-)