Folk Tales |Big City Greens One-Shots|

Paris the Puppy

Idk I thought this would be cute

General P.O.V.

"Ugh, I'm so booooored!" Cricket whined, for like the fifth time within three minutes. He, his sister, and their friend, Remy, were asked to stay outside in the backyard since they were making too much of a mess while their dad was repainting the kitchen. They offered to help, but knowing them, their 'help' wouldn't be any good.

"Dad says we can't do anythin' reckless, and all the fun things I can think of are reckless!" The 10-year-old boy said, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Well, we can always try a simple game!" Remy suggested, "Like, I dunno..hide and seek?"

"Not many places to hide out here." Cricket said, gesturing around the backyard.

"Hmm..truth or dare?" Tilly asked. "Andromeda and I play that all the time at her house."

"What dares could we even do?" Her brother asked.

"Would you rather?" Remy suggested.

Cricket opened his mouth to deny it, but he couldn't think of any reason it wouldn't be a good game. "Eh, why not." He shrugged. The three sat down in the grass in a small circle, then Cricket began, "Okay guys, would you rather...wake up with ten bugs in your pants or one spider on your face?"

Remy slightly cringed, but answered nonetheless, "Uh..I'm gonna go with bugs in my pants."

Tilly shrugged, "Well, considerin' I've actually woken up with a spider on my face, I'll go with that."

Cricket chuckled, "Yeah, me too. Your turn, Remy!"

The dark skinned boy thought for a moment, trying to be as creative as the Green kids would be. "Hmm..oh okay! Would you rather take a shower with milk or a bath in chocolate milk?"

"Chocolate milk!" The brother and sister said in unison, almost immediately.

Before the three could continue their little game, they all turned their heads over when hearing a faint sound of yipping. A dog's yipping. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the fence.

"Huh, that's odd. Phoenix is inside." Cricket said. It couldn't have been his dog anyway, it sounded to high-pitched and quiet to be his old Phoenix. The three stood up and walked over to the sound. And it helped that there was a bit of scratching as well,

Upon opening the gate, the three grinned in awe when seeing a white, black, and brown French spaniel puppy. It let out a small bark and hopped up onto Cricket, attempting to lick his face.

"Well, hi there little fella!" He chuckled, taking the puppy in his arms. "Aw, it's just a lil' pupper!"

"Look, it's got a collar. He must be lost!" Tilly said, taking the tag of the collar in her hands. The front side read in bold letters; Paris.
"Hm, that must be his name! Paris.." She said, while the boys gently petted the little dog. She turned the tag over, "Huh..looks like he came from the animal shelter. Guess he doesn't have an owner."

"Aw, he must've gotten scared and ran away!" Remy frowned. While petting little Paris, he noticed his hand beginning to swell up. This usually happened whenever he let Phoenix, since he was terribly allergic to dogs. But that never stopped him from sneaking in a few pets every now and then. Of course, he always regretted it later..

"Hm, you think Dad would let us keep him?" Cricket asked his older sister, a curious grin spread across his face. "I mean, we can't send this little guy back! He probably ran away for a reason!"

Tilly gently scratched Paris' head as she sighed, "Well, he is cute, and of course I want to keep him, but I don't think Papa will let us. We have enough animals to take care as it is.."

Cricket sighed, bowing his head, "Yeah, I know..but look at this face! How could Dad resist this." He pinched Paris' cheeks, earning another couple licks from the spaniel. "I'm sure if we ask nicely, he'll definitely say yes!"

**

"Nope. Not a chance." Bill said firmly.

Cricket frowned immediately, "What?! Why not?!"

"Have you even looked at Paris?" Tilly asked, gesturing to the puppy's adorable face.

Bill sighed, rubbing his head, "Look kids, he's cute and all, but we have enough animals around here. And one dog is enough. Besides, I'm sure the people at the shelter are out lookin' for him, so the responsible thing to do is to return him."

"But he must've ran away for a reason!" Cricket said, "Just hear us out-"

"Cricket, I said no." His father said, "Do not ask me again. Now come on, let's take him back to the shelter-"

"Wait!" Tilly said, "I-if we can't keep him, can we at least help him find a good home..?"

Bill sighed and shrugged, noticing the small, not-so-subtle pouting of his children. "Okay..I guess we could. Any ideas?" He said.

Cricket gently petted up and down Paris' fur. Then, he glanced at the shiny tag on the collar. "Hmm..well, Remy's allergic to dogs so that's a no.." He thought out loud. But he continued staring at the name, as if it was trying to tell him something. Paris..

He then let out a gasp, smiling widely. "Wait! That's it! I know exactly who'll be a good fit for him."

*That evening*

Sheltered under a heavy blanket, curled up in her chair, Gloria continuously watched mindless videos on her laptop, eating an entire tub of ice cream for the third time in a row. She seriously had a problem. But it wasn't like she had much to stay thin for.

She nearly jumped when she heard a light knocking at her door. It was odd, considering no one ever visited her, especially at this hour. She pulled the blankets off of her and set the ice cream aside, ignoring the annoying hawks of her parakeet. She ran a hand through her ponytail to fix up her hair, then opened the door. "Hello..?"

She glanced around, but then looked down when hearing a small yip followed by exited panting. She gasped and smiled delightedly, seeing a tiny French spaniel barely standing up in a shoebox. She crouched down and allowed to puppy to curl his head up against her hand. "Well, hi there..where'd you come from?" She asked curiously.

Gloria looked around the hallway, not seeing anyone in sight. But then she took notice to the piece of paper in the corner of the box. She picked up to unfold it, reading the slightly sloppy handwriting.

Dear Gloria,
This little guy stumbled across our house today. But since we have enough animals, we thought he should stay with someone special. He's super sweet and he'll lick ya like crazy! Anyway, here's some thing you should know;

One, his name is Paris (and he looks good in a barrette..I'm assuming?)
Two, he yips a lot so get used to that
Three, he only has a collar cause he's from the animal shelter. You can get him a cooler collar if you want, though!

I hope he keeps you company. Take care of him for us please!

From your friend,
Cricket Green

(P.S. Can I come visit him every now and then?)

Gloria bit her lip, smiling softly. She looked back at the puppy and chuckled, picking him up and taking him inside with no hesitation. She cradled him in her arms and sighed happily, "So..Paris is it?"