A Pancake for Cosmo

Cosmo the poodle puppy had three brothers and four sisters, and they all had long, thick hair that made them look like little black bear cubs. By the time Cosmo was five months old, all his brothers and sisters had gone to live with new families, so Cosmo played with his stuffed animals outside in the yard. Sometimes, though, when his people forgot to close the gate, Cosmo followed kids on their bicycles and neighbors had to bring him home.

Then, one day, Cosmo went for a long ride in the car, and it was past dinner time when they stopped. His people let him out and some new people talked to him and pet him and gave him some water and looked at his teeth. One of the new people took him for a walk, and when he got back his car was gone. Now it was dark out, and the new people lifted him into a van and drove for a long time, and Cosmo was getting tired, but he didn’t go to sleep because the bumps in the road kept him awake.

The new house was different than his old house, and there were no kids or toys to play with. But Cosmo was so tired, he lay down next to the bed and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Cosmo woke up and didn’t know where he was. He used to sleep outside, but he wasn’t lying on grass, and he didn’t hear the crickets, but he had to pee, so he peed like he used to do at his old home when he slept in the yard. Then the new people turned on the light and Cosmo saw he was someplace new and not outdoors.

The next morning, the new people made toast and let Cosmo share their breakfast just like the kids at his old house used to do. Then, they went in the van and got out in the fog and walked in the wind that made Cosmo’s hair blow back from his face. After a little walk, they came to a bridge that Cosmo could see had nothing under it but water, and Cosmo sat down and put his feet out in front of him so his new people would know this was something scary and they better be careful.

After they walked slowly across the bridge, the people let Cosmo off his leash and he ran like crazy in the sand until he came to some ocean waves that tried to get him and he ran back to his new people who gave him a cookie. When they rolled a ball down the beach, Cosmo ran and jumped high in the air and landed right on top of the ball. Then Cosmo met some kids who rubbed his hair and ran into the waves and screamed and ran back in the sand.

When they got back to Cosmo’s new home, the new people gave him some dog food and he laid down to rest. A little later, he woke up and smelled something really good. His new people were eating at the counter, and the good smell was on top of it, so Cosmo jumped his front feet on the counter and saw hot dogs, and he wanted to eat one right then but the new people pushed his feet off the counter, so he went to lay down with his new teddy bear.

In a little bit, the new people gave him a bowl with a hot dog cut up in pieces and he thought it was the best thing he ever had.

The next morning, the new people got up early and put Cosmo in the van before he had any breakfast. Then they drove a little ways, and the woman got out, and the man drove until they stopped and got him out to walk. Cosmo saw birds and other dogs and some people running, and then the man and Cosmo walked in a field with tall grass until they came to some mud that smelled good. When the man let Cosmo off his leash, he ran and jumped and bounced in circles and then fell in some water in a ditch he didn’t see when he was bouncing. Then Cosmo climbed out of the ditch and he smelled good, too, just like the mud.

When Cosmo and the man drove in the van again, they stopped and got out at a new place and walked a long way on sidewalks past other houses where big dogs barked at him and skateboards tried to run over him. Then a big red fire engine went by with sirens and horns and lights, and Cosmo stood behind the man and looked at the noisy truck until it was gone. The man and Cosmo walked and walked and walked, until the man told Cosmo to “Wait” and they stopped at a crosswalk and looked both ways. Then the man said, “OK” and they crossed the road.

After Cosmo and the man did this ten more times, they came to the park where Cosmo played in the creek. When he got out of the water, Cosmo didn’t smell like the good mud smell anymore, and the man’s pants were all wet from Cosmo splashing in the creek. Then they walked until they came to the new house where he ate hot dogs, and Cosmo jumped because he was happy and he knew this was his home.

When they went inside, the man took off his clothes and put them in a washing machine and started cooking something that smelled like the kids Cosmo remembered from his old home. And Cosmo was right; the man was cooking pancakes, and when he came out of the kitchen, he had two plates. Then the man put one plate on the counter and one plate on the floor that had a pancake for Cosmo, and they ate their pancakes with syrup and then took a nap.