Story & pictures © Dianne Davies 2000 Scully woke up early. She peeped out from under her blanket and sniffed the air. No food. That meant that everyone was still asleep. She crawled out of her bed, gave her blanket a good shake with her teeth (just for luck), and trotted of to find Beamer, her best friend in all the world. Beamer lay snoring in the kitchen. She had told Scully, LOTS of times, that she "just wasn't a Morning Person," but Scully took no notice at all. She flattened her tummy to the ground, trying to make herself as invisible as possible (quite hard when you're a roly-poly puppy), and crept up on Beamer. Beamer snuffled and grunted, and looked as if she was about to wake up, so Scully POUNCED. Beamer would be SO pleased that she was getting to be such a clever dog and would soon be able to go hunting just like her! Beamer jumped up with a yowl, but Scully hung on tight. This was her favourite game! "Getoff, you silly puppy," growled Beamer, cross at having her Beauty Sleep disturbed. Scully tried to sound fierce, so that Beamer would know what a good hunter she was, but it sounded all funny with a mouth full of ear so she let go and fell to the ground with a bump. Beamer shook her head to rearrange her ears, then looked down at her and sighed. "Is it that time already?" and she took Scully out into the garden. Scully sniffed around and then decided it was time for her second-favourite game and went looking for her other friend, Bounce-the-cat. She was exactly where Scully knew she'd be - sitting beside the pond, hunting for frogs. Scully thought it was a silly game. SHE couldn't sit still for a couple of minutes, let alone a couple of hours, and anyway frogs weren't worth catching. They were all slippy and slimy and wouldn't stay to play but just jumped back into the pond. No fun at all. Bounce was not too impressed when Scully jumped on her and nearly knocked her into the pond, and she said something in Cat. As Scully didn't understand Cat too well, she went back to find Beamer to ask her what it meant. "Where DID she learn those words?" Beamer wondered, when Scully repeated what Bounce had said to her in Cat. "They're not very polite, I shall have to speak to Bounce-the-cat. Why did she call you that?" but when Scully told her that she'd only been playing, and that she hadn't MEANT to nearly push Bounce into the pond, Beamer sighed. "Oh, Scully dear - please remember, when I talk about Bounce the cat, it's her NAME, not an INSTRUCTION!!" Scully started to sniff round the kitchen, and soon found a lovely smell coming from above her head, just out of reach. She stood up on her tiptoes and tried to see what it was. "SCULLY!!!" shouted Beamer with a loud WOOF! "What DO you think you're doing?" "I'm just looking for something to eat," said Scully in surprise, "and this smells 'licious!" Beamer picked her up by the scruff of her neck, gently but firmly, and carried her back out into the garden. "Sit down, Scully," she said, " - SIT!!" as Scully started to wander off. "Time for school. You have a LOT to learn." Scully sat, half-listening to what Beamer was telling her. "That's People food, and you're not a People, you're a dog. People eat People Food, dogs eat dog food." Scully tried to listen, but her tummy was beginning to rumble so she began to fidget. "Don't wriggle like that - the People will think you have Worms and then they'll take you to the vet!" warned Beamer. Now Scully had been to the vet and she didn't want to go again - the vet had stuck a needle in her and made her squeal - so she stopped wriggling and started to listen. "We will be going for a walk soon, and if you're good I will teach you how to chase rabbits!" As this was just what Scully had been practising for ever since she could remember, she started to jump up and down and yip with delight. Beamer and Scully went off for their walk, with one of their People hurrying along behind them, trying to keep up. "Just let her think she's in charge," advised Beamer, "and whatever we do, we musn't let her get lost." "Never mind her," thought Scully "what about not letting ME get lost?" and she made sure she stayed very close to Beamer. When they reached the woods, Scully was so excited at all the wonderful smells that she began to run round in circles, until Beamer stopped her. "Time for your first hunting lesson," she said. Scully listened carefully while Beamer told her about rabbits. "You won't catch them," she said, "but they're great fun to chase." "Can-I-can-I-CAN-I-PLEEEESE!!" yapped Scully, so excited that she kept falling over her own feet. And off she went, scurrying through the brambles and among the trees, following the scent Beamer had told her was Rabbit. After a little while, she went off through the trees on another great chase, then suddenly came running back to Beamer. "You never told me rabbits could FLY!!" she barked. "They can't," said Beamer, "what are you talking about?" "I chased a big Rabbit and it ran faster and FASTER and it ran RIGHT UP THAT TREE!!" Beamer tried to calm her down. "What did I tell you rabbits' ears are like?" she asked Scully. "Long and furry." "And what are their tails like?" "Short and fluffy." "And did this rabbit have long furry ears and a short fluffy tail?" "We-e-e-ll, NEARLY." Beamer was getting more and more puzzled. "What do you mean, nearly?" she asked Scully. "Well, THIS rabbit had a long furry TAIL and short fluffy EARS - and it really truly did FLY right up into the trees!!" Beamer had to laugh. "Oh, Scully, you sausage! That was a SQUIRREL, not a rabbit!" Scully didn't mind - as long as it ran away, she would chase it! But soon it was time to go home, and she skipped along beside Beamer (sometimes getting trodden on, and sometimes falling over Beamer's feet) until they were back in the garden again. Bounce was waiting for her: the frogs had all gone to sleep in the pond so she needed something else to do. Teasing Scully seemed like a good idea. "Hello, puppy," she purred. Scully was surprised - she didn't know Bounce could speak Dog, even if she did have a funny accent. "Do you want to come and play?" Scully didn't need asking twice and leapt straight into a game of squish-the-cat. Bounce was very quick and managed to get out of the way almost in time - she only got a little bit squished - and they started to play "chase" around the garden pond. Bounce was too quick for Scully - just as it seemed that she was going to be caught, Bounce would jump into a bush, or over the rockery, and Scully just couldn't catch her. Then she just stopped and looked at Scully and smiled a very cat smile. "Now I've got her!" thought Scully, and she started to run across the smooth green patch in front of her. "OOH! AAH!! GLUB-GLB-GL..." and she sank through the mat of pondweed and into the cold water below. Bounce laughed and laughed and laughed. Scully struggled out of the pond and ran to Beamer, who was watching and trying not to laugh too. Scully looked so funny, dripping water and pondweed everywhere. "Did you SEE what she made me DO?" yelped Scully. "Never mind, poppet, a nice warm bath and you'll soon feel better," and she took Scully to show her to their People, who soon got her clean and warm again. When she was all snuggled up in her basket with her blanket, her tummy nice and full and her coat all clean and shiny again, Scully began plotting her Revenge. "I wonder if cats can swim?........." she thought darkly, as she drifted off to sleep. © D.G.Davies 2000 Back to top of page HOME PAGE / Hector goes to market - another story specially for children .....and just in case you think this story is all make-believe, have a look at the next page! May 2000: I am delighted to learn that this story has won FIRST PRIZE in a short story competition run by Misker's Den. Having seen the calibre of some of the other entries, I am very honoured to have been presented with this award and take great pride in displaying it here.