Running Dogs

After a long day lying around the house and chasing the neighbor, the dog stretches out as if to say she worked hard today.

She had accomplished a lot, despite what you might think.

She got in two naps, an hour of tug of war with her dad, and even threw up on her mom’s new rug because she ate too fast after running as fast as she could along the fenceline.

She finally rests her head on her dad’s lap as she lets out a long puppy groan. “It ain’t much, but it’s honest work,” she thinks to herself.

By: Mikayla Chandler

The Dog-Loving Dedicated Photographer

Once upon a time, in a land far far far away, lived a sweet, gentle little photographer.

Now this photographer loved taking pictures, but not just any pictures: she loved taking pictures of her precious dogs. She had four dogs, and they were always running around, both in and out of the house.

One day, she took her camera to take pictures of the dogs, but she couldn’t find the fourth. Frantic, she ran around the house and didn’t cease looking until she found him. Once she found him, she rejoiced and took hundreds and hundreds of pictures to celebrate.

We rejoice when lost is found.

By: MS

The Hidden Treasure

Deagle could feel something within the cloud. He began digging ecstatically for he knew it could only be one thing. Treasure!

Time and again he would dig, try different angles, and even try to bite through.

Inevitably, he tuckers himself out, and rests for the next attempt.

Deagle has yet to find treasure.

By: MA

That’s the Life: One Perspective

I trudged into my room after an unbelievably long day at work. It was late and I was exhausted from spending the day talking with clients and using my customer service voice. I knew people were just trying to find Christmas gifts for their families, but did they all have to show up on the same day every year?

I sighed, kicked off my shoes, and switched on the light.

“Hey there, little one. What did you do today?” I asked.

“Meow,” my cat replied from the same spot on the bed where I had left her early that morning.

By: CM

That’s the Life: Another Perspective

I woke up to the lights flashing on overhead.

Why does she always want to talk when I’m clearly sleeping?

By: CM

Ollie and Rory: Attorneys at Paw

Once upon a time, there was a grey cat named Ollie and a chihuahua named Rory.

The two were quite an unlikely pair. Ollie was confident and authoritative, while Rory was timid and submissive. However, the two had one very important passion in common: animal rights advocacy. They had seen one too many friends be treated poorly, and refused to stand for it any longer.

So, they started a law firm together. They both already had their license, so it was a perfect idea! They would work together to ensure that all animals would be treated kindly and with respect.

By: Natalie Leiter

A Shared Spirit

The mustang appeared undeniably fierce. His hooves pounded the earth, his mane crashed from side to side, and muscles rippled in the sun. His spirit was almost visibly emanating from his being.

A little girl played in the dirt by his feet. Her small fingers gently combed the ground, and as the mustang pranced in place, surveying the surroundings, her little shriek was filled with joy and wonder. Her fragile innocence seemed to summon the mustang’s grace and serenity, and his spirit and beauty enthralled her small mind.

The little girl rose, and the mustang followed his best friend home.

Gentle, proud, powerful: they were one.

By: Rachel Fisher

The Greedy Squirrel and the Nut

Yellow and orange leaves fell to the ground to be swept away by the whistling wind. Acorns fell to the ground to be swept away by squirrels.

A squirrel woke in the early morning to start his daily routine of gathering acorns. On his way back to his den he found a beautiful nut. The greedy squirrel squished it in his mouth that was already carrying two acorns.

He scurried along the dark, black ground. He hated this ground. It was scary…

Uh-oh.

The beautiful nut slipped out of his mouth.

He quickly scurried back for it and WHAM.

By: anon.

The Driver and the Squirrel

Yellow and orange leaves fell to the ground to be swept away by the whistling wind. Leaves flew, flipped, floated, and then finally landed on the freshly paved road.

There was a squirrel on the road.

The driver slowed as the squirrel crossed the road, its mouth swollen and puffy.

“What a greedy squirrel” thought the driver.

Once it passed, the driver sped up. He never liked to hurt any living creature…

Uh-oh.

The squirrel was running back into the road.

“What a stupid squirrel” thought the driver.

The driver tried his best to slow down in time but WHAM.

By: anon.

Rabbit’s Great Discovery

One afternoon, Rabbit decided to leave his hole. He had always heard stories about humans, but he had never seen one.

He hopped through a lush meadow, over a trickling stream, and stopped once the grass under his feet changed to asphalt.

Rabbit hopped through town for a bit, and then it happened: he stumbled upon a human. The human shook the rabbit’s hand and answered all of his questions about humans.

Rabbit was intrigued. He had never seen anything like this human before.

Everything Rabbit’s parents and friends told him was true: humans are as stupid as they say!

When in doubt, try it out!

By: LW

Brer Rabbit and the Tug of War

“Help me pull my cow out of the mud,” Rabbit said to Elephant.

“Glad to help!” Elephant replied.

“Pull when I give the command,” Rabbit said, tying a rope around Elephant.

Then Rabbit said the same to Whale. Whale agreed, and Rabbit tied the other end of the rope around Whale.

Then Rabbit hid in the bushes between them and shouted, “PULL!”

Elephant pulled.

Whale pulled.

They were both amazed at how hard it was to pull the cow from the mud!

Finally Elephant pulled Whale onto the land, and they realized Rabbit had tricked them.

Rabbit just laughed.

By: LKG

Tortoise Bowl-On-The-Back and the Fox

There once was a tortoise sowing seed when a fox stopped by, saying, “May God give you strength.”

Soon the seed was ready for reaping and the fox came by to say the same thing as before.

He came again at harvest time, but this time he came for his share.

The two began to fight, leading to a proposed race.

The tortoise had his brother hide in the threshing floor since he knew he couldn’t beat the fox. When the fox got to the barn, he realized he lost.

He had been tricked.

The greedy are put to shame.

By: Morgan Pask

The Golden Goose

Long ago in a village, a man possessed a very special goose. This goose laid the most beautiful golden eggs.

This man would grab the egg and off to market he went, getting rich off his golden-egg-laying goose.

However, she only laid one egg a day and the man grew impatient and greedy.

An idea sprouted in the man’s head that if he killed his goose he would have an unlimited quantity of golden eggs.

He slew his goose, but once he did, she was dead for good, and the man had no more golden eggs to sell.

The goose was slain by greed.

By: Keana Jones

Anansi the Farmer

Anansi was a skilled farmer, but also selfish and greedy. Not wanting to share the harvest with his family, he suggested they go home for three weeks as he had business before they could enjoy their harvest. They agreed, but Anansi lied; he stayed to build a hut and ate their harvest.

Anansi’s son returned to the farm to weed and found the food dwindling, so Anansi’s son set a trap.

Anansi was caught after getting stuck to his son’s trap.

In his shame he transformed into a spider and hid in dark corners so no one could see him.

By: Jaicee Dickerson

The Owl

A widow wanted her daughter to marry a good hunter, and she promised to do so. In time, a suitor asked for the daughter’s hand as he was a good hunter. However, the daughter noticed that her husband brought back scraps from his hunts.

One day she followed after him and was surprised to find him becoming an owl.

Angry and betrayed, the daughter returned home and then confronted him. She asked about his fishing, and he responded that an owl frightened the fish away.

“I think you’re the owl!” She kicked him out and he pined for her thereafter.

By: Jaicee Dickerson

The Three Kids

There once were three little kids: Hunter, Breezy, and MK. All three stayed in a constant state of worry because of the big bad wolf.

The kids decided that they needed to build a house to protect them from the big bad wolf. So, the kids went off into the local village to see what they could find to build a house.

Hunter came back with straw, MK had wood, and Breezy had bricks.

They built the biggest, strongest house they could.

They were ready to battle the big bad wolf.

They waited and waited, but the wolf never came…

Don’t be afraid to be brave!

By: LW

The Lion and the Woodcutter’s Daughter

A woodcutter and his daughter Mary went to the forest to get wood for Christmas. By sunset, Mary and her dad decided to go home with the wood they cut.

On their way back, a lion appeared in front of them and said to the woodcutter, “I have been observing you all day, and I fell in love with your daughter. In order to let you go home, please allow me to marry her.”

The woodcutter recalled the “Beauty and the Beast” story and allowed the lion to marry Mary.

The lion turned into a prince, and they lived happily-ever-after.

By: Lumingo Lubobo

The Cursed Prince

A prince refused to help an old woman crying for help. She cursed him, saying, “I transform you into a lion. Only true love can make you a prince again.”

The lion lived unhappily until one day in the forest he saw a woodcutter and his daughter cutting wood.

The lion stopped them and said, “I have been observing you and I want to marry you. I fell in love with you because you are a hard-working woman.”

The daughter fell in love with the lion’s courage and married him.

He became a prince once again, and they lived happily-ever-after.

By: Lumingo Lubobo