The Adventures of Zelda: A Pug Tale

Chapter 3: Zelda vs. the Vacuum

After a few weeks with my new family, my days fall into a pattern. Most nights, I sleep in Lucy’s bed under the covers with her. Ben thrashes and kicks during the night, so I stay away from his bed. In the morning, I wake Lucy with a sneeze to her face. I never intend to sneeze in her face, but when I lick her, a sneeze overpowers me, and I let loose.

Nate, Ben, and Lucy leave in the morning after breakfast. After they leave, Hannah and I take our morning walk. After the walk, I nap for several hours. When the kids return home in the afternoon, the rest of my day begins.

This afternoon Hannah returns home with a giant box. She places the box in the corner of the living room. I sniff the box, but it has no traces of other animals or dogs. The box stays in the living room until Nate returns home later in the day. He opens the box and assembles the parts into a robot. I hear Nate call the assembled creation Vacuum.

Vacuum has a blue, square base with two back wheels. On top of the base is a clear cylinder with another blue cylinder inside. Sticking out from the cylinder is a long tube that thins toward the top end. Vacuum doesn’t have eyes or arms.

Hannah moves Vacuum into the coat closet, but she leaves the door open a crack. I approach the closet slowly. I paw the door open to see if Vacuum is blocking the milk-bone slot. Almost every day a milk-bone appears in the slot with envelopes and paper. When I stand on my back paws, I can reach into the slot and grab the milk-bone with my mouth. Sometimes I rip apart the paper to get to the milk-bone, but I hide the mess under Ben’s bed.

As I approach, Vacuum stands still. Even though Vacuum doesn’t have eyes, she is staring at me, daring me to come closer. I bark, hoping to get a reaction. She does not respond. I bark louder. No response.

“Leave it!” Nate shouts.

Leave it? Oh man.

I don’t want to get in trouble today. I turn and run to Nate, forgetting Vacuum for now.

The next day Hannah opens the coat closet and drags Vacuum into the living room. She pulls a long black cord out and plugs it into the wall. Vacuum comes to life with a horrible, deafening sound. I rub my ears against the floor to block the sound, but it doesn’t work. I need the sound to stop. I can’t function with the piercing noise.

I shake until I regain my bearings. Hannah and Vacuum glide through the living room from one side of the room to the other. I think Hannah is trying to push her away, but Vacuum pushes back.

What if Hannah is in danger?

My ears hurt, but I can’t let my ears get in the way of saving Hannah. I run forward and chase Vacuum. I give her my loudest, fiercest bark. Vacuum does not stop. I nip and bite at her, but she keeps going. I chase her around the living room. The three of us run laps until the deafening noise disappears. I stand frozen in the middle of the living room.

Hannah takes the black cord out of the wall and moves Vacuum back to the coat closet. Vacuum does not make a sound.

What just happened?

I don’t understand Vacuum. I don’t know if she is trying to hurt Hannah, but Vacuum needs to understand I am the protector of this family. I walk to Vacuum, bark three times, and walk away. 

For the next several days, Vacuum stays quiet in the closet. She doesn’t move an inch when I retrieve my milk-bones, so I stop shaking when I walk into the closet.

My shakes return when Hannah moves Vacuum from the closet and pulls the cord out. I know trouble is coming.

Hannah and Vacuum move next to the living room couch. Hannah pulls a tube out from Vacuum and attaches an arm.

Wait a minute. Where did the arm come from? 

I bark at Hannah, trying to warn her this is a bad idea. She ignores me.

My fear rises when I hear the terrible sound. Vacuum propels into motion. The tube starts swinging as Hannah drags the arm along the couch. A million ideas run through my head of how Vacuum will hurt Hannah. I need to save Hannah.

Vacuum approaches my spot on the other end of the couch. The arm continues to sweep back and forth. As the arm approaches, I notice the place where the arm connects into the tube. Her weak spot is the connection.

I dart for it and wrap my mouth around the tube. My small jaws barely fit around it, but I pull as hard as I can. Nothing moves. I hear Hannah yelling in the background, but I can’t make out any of the words. The end of the arm must have attacked her. I put every last ounce of strength into the next yank. The arm bursts free from the tube.

I did it!

With the arm in my mouth, I bolt downstairs to the basement. I carry the arm into the back corner closet. I drop it on the floor, use my head to close the door and run back upstairs.

I hear no sound in the living room. I hope Hannah is safe. I creep around the corner. Vacuum is out of sight, but Hannah glares at me.

“Where did you put it?” Hannah asks. I stare at her blankly.

Doesn’t she understand that I saved her life?

“Zelda, the Vacuum isn’t going to hurt you,” Hannah says.

That’s right!

There’s no way that Vacuum can hurt me because I destroyed her arm. I smile and let my tongue hang out. Vacuum can’t stop this stubborn, flat-faced, and wrinkly pug.