𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐦

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑂𝑁𝐸

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚.

"So the Gingerbread Man climbed onto the fox’s nose, in hopes of escaping the cold river water. The cunning fox tossed him into the air, opened his mouth and gobbled him up. And that was the end of the Gingerbread Man."

I concluded the last paragraph of The Gingerbread Man and closed the book to vigorous applause by the pups I sat on the grass to narrate the children book to.

"That was a nice story Karina will you read it again?" one of them, a pretty girl of six, asked with a grin.
I smiled, pleased at her interest in reading books, rather than wasting time doing mischief like the majority of the pups residing at Blue Moonstone Valley where we lived.

"Instead of reading The Gingerbread Man again, how about I read a new book," I offered, testing their readiness in exploring new things and indulging in them.
"What sort of book?" another pup, this one a boy of nine, wanted to know.

"It's called Goldilocks And The Three Bears," I replied. "It's about a little girl who went deep into the forest and found a cottage that belonged to three bears."

"Bears? That sounds scary! Did they eat her up?" the first pup, whose name was Elise, asked through wide eyes.
"You'll have to wait and see," I whispered, to grasp their interest even further, knowing they would certainly sit still long enough to listen to the story.

"Can you read it now, Karina? We want to hear it!" a small boy of five said happily.
"Yes Karina, we'd simply love to hear Goldilocks And The Three Bears, please read it," Elise added.

"It's getting late and I know your mothers will want you to come inside soon for dinner. So tomorrow, after you complete your afternoon lessons, I shall read it for you," I promised.
They appeared disappointed, but upon gazing at the earnest expression on my face, they brightened instantly.

"Mike, Josh, time to come in."

"And there's your Mom now, go on boys," I urged.
They nodded and obediently ran home to their cottage where their mother was waiting.
"Do I have to go home too Karina?" Elise asked sadly.

I glanced down at the girl pup standing next to me and saw the disheartened look on her little face.
"I'm sorry Ellie, but you're gonna have to. Your mother will be worried about you."

"I was colouring in my colouring book last night and my crayons were all over the living room floor. She got angry and took everything away," Elise sniffled.

Feeling bad, I bent down until I was at eye level with her. "Elise I know your mom can be...rough at times and I understand how you feel when she's behaving harshly with you. But trust me when I say she just wants what's best for you."
"But she yelled at me," she said. "What good comes from yelling?"
"No good comes from yelling, but I'm sure she didn't mean to. Maybe she was stressed out from work and when she saw you colouring in the living room; probably in your PJs, she lost her temper accidentally."

"I guess so," she mumbled as she kicked a pebble out of her way.
"Tell you what, if you listen to your mom from now on, doing what she says and behaving like a good pup, I'll talk to her and try to get her not to be so harsh with you," I offered with a smile.

Elise's eyes lit up with renewed hope. "Will you really do that for me Karina?"
"Sure I will, after all you are one of the best behaved pups I know," I said playfully tweaking her nose, making her giggle.
"I'll go home now, my favorite cartoon is about to start. See you later Karina."

I waved at her as she skipped cheerfully down the path that led to the cottages where wolves lived with their mates and pups. Seeing Elise so happy reminded me of my own puphood; the days I spent with my parents, Ricardo and Chloe Lopez and big brother Ryan.