The Fable of Mosey the Mutt

A scruffy, scraggly mutt sniffed around the garden of peas and beans.  “What a lovely place to visit,” sighed Mosey the Mutt.  “I don’t know how I never found this place before.”

📷 Pierre Stickney, public domain

“Bark, bark!  My name is Bravo,” said the dog over the fence.  “Come for a visit.  My humans own this land.”

Mosey looked over at Bravo, a strong,  proud black labrador.  Hesitant, he asked first, “Yip!  Are you sure it’s okay?  I don’t want to get sent away.”

“Yes!  Yes!  You are welcome here.  I’ll be your friend.  Besides, my human likes animals and will likely take you in.  But,” sniffed Bravo, “you may have to get a bath first!”

A bit embarrassed, Mosey the Mutt replied, “Well, yeah, I guess that would be okay.  What about some food?  I am a bit hungry.  See, I’ve been traveling a long way, trying to find my humans.  We were camping in the woods, but I followed after a squirrel, who led me to a raccoon.  Then I followed the raccoon, who led me to a cat.  Then I followed the…”

“I see, I see,” said Bravo.  “Well, you have a nice necklace on.  I’m sure my human can check it out and try to help you find your humans.”

“Can he?  Can she?  That would be wonderful!” cried out Mosey.  “Oh, I’m Mosey, by the way.”

“Bark!  Bark!  Good to meet you.”  Bravo reached out his paw to Mosey, who hung his head down and slowly walked forward.  They sniffed each other out, started laughing, and played away the afternoon.

By dinner time the human returned.  “Aw, a little scruffy, scraggly mutt,” said the human.  “Bravo, you did good keeping him company.  But he looks a little hungry.  Let’s get some food.”  So the human went to get Bravo and Mosey big bowls of crunchy dinner.

“A feast!” thought Mosey.  “yum, yum, yum,” he delightfully and noisily ate up his meal.  Then lapped up fresh water.   “Thank you Bravo, and thanks to your human.”

“No sweat,” Bravo smiled.

“Now my little darlings, I think you both need baths!”  The human had returned with the water hose and an inflatable baby pool.

“Woof! replied Bravo.  “Yip!” replied Mosey.

Human sprayed both of them.  It was refreshing as the day had been a hot one.  The human soaped them up and they played and laughed and ran in circles.

After bathing, they all sat out on the grass.   Human had a glass of iced tea, and the dogs each had a rawhide chew.  Human reached over to look at Mosey’s necklace:  name, human name, and phone number.

Yes, human had to call to let them know Mosey’s whereabouts.  Even though it would be fun having another dog, Mosey’s family would be worried and sad.

Two days later a camper pulled up to Bravo’s house.  A man, a woman, and two boys got out and excitedly ran over to Mosey.

“Bark!” Bravo called to announce their arrival.  Human came out and talked to the visitors.  They exchanged greetings and talked about their recent events.

As they did, Bravo and Mosey looked at each other, each whimpering a bit.  The two human boys noticed and let them get together one last time.  Bravo and Mosey sniffed each other out, started whimpering again, then laughed.  “It’s okay,” Bravo said, “you had an adventure, made a friend, and now get to go home again.”

“I did.  Yes, indeed I did.  Thanks to you and your human for being so kind to me.  I will never forget,” Mosey said, as he reached out his paw to Bravo.  They wrestled lightly but politely.  It was time to go.

Mosey peered out the back window of the camper, paws on the window, as the family drove away.  Bravo sat bravely, “Bark!  Bark!” His human waved.

“Yip!  Bark!” cried out Mosey.  “What a lovely place to visit.”

Moral of the story:  Be a friend to a stranger.

 Be of help. 

And then, even in the goodbyes, life is good.

Theresa M

The Fable of the Brown Cow

Out in the green pastures, cows grazed on the grass.  Some lay down as they chewed, others stood on all four hooves.  One brown cow named Hownow, was a bit smaller than the rest.  She liked to walk around and try out different patches to graze on, and was a very sociable bovine.

The neighbor named Doggie, a little yellow cat, always enjoyed visiting Hownow, the brown cow.  “Hey Hownow!  How’s it going?” asked Doggie, one wonderful brilliant summer day.

Chewing her cud, Hownow looked over to see Doggie sitting on a fence.  “Well, hello Doggie!  All is well in the pasture, my friend.  How about for you?”  Hownow was happy to see Doggie, yet continued chewing her cud.  “Might I offer you some great green grass?”

“Silly cow, cats don’t eat grass, well, unless it’s catnip of course!” replied Doggie.  They both laughed.

“Moo!” exclaimed another cow in the field.  Apparently she thought this was funny as well.

Doggie said to Hownow, the brown cow, “You know your humans are very pleased with the milk and cheese she gets thanks to the help from all of you.  I like it as well. It’s wonderful to have you around not just for what you provide, but also for your friendship.”

“Ah, shucks,” replied Hownow, looking to the side shyly.  “That is right kind of you to say Doggie.  I appreciate your friendship too.”

Continuing to chew her cud, Hownow said thoughtfully, “You know, the humans treat us really nice here.  They talk kindly to us, feed us generously and have a veterinarian routinely check our health - although that can be scary sometimes, needles and things.”  Hownow’s eyes widened as she said that last part. Doggie’s eyes widened too but she nodded in agreement.

“Yes,” replied Doggie, “We have a very good life here.  For that I am grateful.”

“Moo too!” said Hownow.  “Moo!  Moo!  Moo!” said a chorus of other cows, apparently listening in on the conversation and shouting out their approval.  Everyone laughed!

Hownow and Doggie chatted away for an hour or so, as the warm sun beams brightened their day as much as their friendship did.

Feeling like a fine feline, Doggie decided to go on about his usual trails, so he said goodbye to Hownow.  Hownow stood in the pasture, still chewing her cud, and mooed goodbye.  Such is the farm life of Hownow and her peers, simply being mellow and content.

Moral of the story:  You don’t have to have a cow. You can live in harmony by being kind and content. Just hanging out and chewing the cud with a friend is a simple pleasure.          Theresa M

The Fable of Raggy the Raccoon

“Screeee!  Screeee!! Ahhhh!” My goodness!  There were strange night sounds as two raccoons were pulling at each end of a trash bag.  Tears and splits popped here and there; trash flew everywhere.

“It’s mine!” yelled one raccoon with an extra long tail.

“No! Mine! Mine! I found it first!” cried the other raccoon, whose tail was a bit bushier and his fur a bunch disheveled.

Back and forth they tugged till the contents of the bag were strewn between them.  Hurriedly they picked through the items, cans, bags, old tomatoes and half a taco.  They each ate fast and when lights flashed on at the nearby house, they grabbed as much as they could and scurried off.

A gray tom cat sat on top of one of the garbage cans and laughed at them.  “Silly raccoons.”  But he jumped when he heard a human voice yell, “Scat cat!!” Oh well, no surprise he was getting the blame.

Later the raccoon with the bushy tail and the disheveled fur came upon the tomcat who was prowling for mice.

“Hey there Big Cat! Got any grub to share?” asked the disheveled raccoon.

“Not for you Raggy.  Go get your own. I know you can. I saw you with that other raccoon at the trash bags. And I got yelled at for it by the human.”

“Well, well. Don’t those humans know everything is not always what it appears to be? Sorry mate, we know it wasn’t you,” replied Raggy.

“Yeah, well. I still don’t have anything for you. But I know where you can find some yummy crunchy food,” informed the Big Cat.

Eyes widening, mouth watering, Raggy asked, “Where? Where?”

“Right over there,” Big Cat pointed to a neighbor’s house, fenced in. “It’s right there on the back porch in a big round bowl. Better get there fast before someone else finds it first.”

“Thank you Big Cat. I surely will,” Raggy replied and ran as fast as he could to the neighboring house.

Raggy climbed the fence easily, using his stealthy hands to hold on to the chain-link. “This is so easy. Why didn’t I look here before?” he snickered to himself.

He sauntered over to the big bowl, full of wonderful crunchy morsels, and just as he reached his hands into the bowl, holding the delectable delight before him, a bright light flashed on.

“What? I made no noise,” whispered Raggy. Barking from indoors could be heard. “Bark! Drop that food! Bark! Get out of here! Bark! Bark!” ordered the growling voice. 

Then a human came along, looked out the kitchen window, and said, “Ah, it’s a raccoon! Let me get my camera. Come on Bravo.”

Bravo, the barking dog, looked at his human, then looked at the raccoon, torn between what he should do. “But bark! Bark!” he yelled.

Raggy the raccoon, who initially was frozen in fear with that delectable delight of crunchies held in his hand, slowly began to munch on one morsel at a time.

“Ah, silly little raccoon,” said the human. “He looks like he’s eating popcorn watching a movie! Ha-ha-ha!” Human took a picture from the window. Bravo, whimpering a bit now, seeing that his human was not angry or in fear, felt a bit confused, and offered a mere “Yip!” in response. 

Meanwhile, Raggy was filled with his fancy of crunchy morsels and wandered off into the night. He stopped to stretch out his paws and yawn.

“Ah,” said the human. “I think he’s saying goodbye to us, Bravo!” The human waved at Raggy.

Bravo, forever trying to figure out his human, simply sat down, dropped his head to his paws, and mumbled, “Hmmph! Humans. Raccoons. Such silly creatures.”

Moral of the story:  Well, Raggy said it earlier: “Everything is not always what it appears to be.” 😊       Theresa M