← Sleep Tight Stories - Bedtime Stories for Kids
Sleep Tight Stories - Bedtime Stories for Kids
Don, the Runaway Dog - Part 2 🐕
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A bedtime story series for kids
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Hello, friends. Before we begin, there's a quick ad and then we'll get right to the story. Hello, friends, and welcome to Sleep Tight Stories. Don and his brother and sisters are still learning how to be puppies. Now that their eyes are open, they have lots of adventures before Don's new owner comes to take him to his new home. Bob, the boy who picked out Don, takes him into his house to meet his mom and sister. Don has lots of things to learn at his new home. Don the Runaway Dog Part 2. The puppies lived in the kennel a good while longer, and every day they grew bigger and stronger and steadier on their legs. Don grew faster than any of them. Then one morning, two boys came walking out to the kennel. One was Willie, whose father owned Mrs. Gurr. The other was the boy who had picked Don out before his eyes were even open. Well, Willy, can I take my puppy now? The boy asked. Yes, Bob. I think he's big enough to leave home, said Willie. Are you sure you want the one you first picked? Oh, yes. Don's the best puppy in the lot, said Bob. He reached into the straw and lifted Don up and rubbed him behind the ears. He's a fine dog, he said. Don liked that he wasn't a bit afraid, because he could tell the boy was kind. Well, I'm glad he thinks I'm so nice, don said to himself. By now he had begun to understand boy and man talk, even though he couldn't speak it. Bob carried Don off to a new home. There wasn't time to say goodbye to Spot and Prince and Violet and Ruby, or to give the mama dog one last nose kiss. And that was a little sad. But Bob was so kind, and there were so many new things to look at along the way that Don wasn't lonesome for long. At last, Bob turned up a walk toward a big white house. Don, he said, this is your new home. Mother, I've got my dog, Bob called, carrying Don inside. Have you? That's nice, said Bob's mother. I just hope he's a good dog and doesn't track muddy feet across my clean carpets. Don heard that, and right then he made up his mind to be as good good a dog as a puppy could be. Though as it turned out, he still had a great deal to learn. He won't be a scrap of trouble, Bob promised. And to show off his new dog, he lifted Don up high in his two hands. A little girl with curly hair was sitting on the floor with a doll in her lap. She was Bob's sister, Sally. Oh, put him down. He's scared, she said. I'm teaching him not to be scared, said Bob. You're not scared, are you, Don? And Don found that he wasn't, not really. He could tell Bob would never let him fall. Bob set Don down on the floor, but instead of staying by his new master, the puppy trotted straight over to the little girl. He had never seen a doll before, and he wanted a closer look. He likes me best, said Sally, laughing. Come here, Don. But her mother shook her head no. Sally dear, if Bob is going to have a dog, the dog needs to learn to come when Bob calls. Once he's learned that, he'll come to you. Bob carried Don to one end of the room and set him down again. Then he went and stood over by the door. Come on, Don. Come to me, he called, and he snapped his fingers. Don lifted his ears to hear better. Then he looked over at Sally. No, I didn't call you, said the little girl. Here, come to me. Called Bob again. This time Don understood, and with a little yelp, he ran straight to him. That's it. Good dog, said Bob, very pleased. He's going to be a fine dog. Don was glad to hear it, and he made up his mind all over again to be as good as he could. Where are you going to keep him? Asked Bob's mother. I can't have a dog in the house all day long. I'll build him a kennel just like the one he had at Willie's, said Bob. I'm going to make a hunting dog of him. A hunting dog? Said his mother, smiling. Then you'd better teach him to hunt up your cap, since you can never remember where you leave it. Bob laughed because it was true. He put Don in a box with a piece of old carpet to lie on. That'll do until I build your real kennel, he said. And I expect you're thirsty. I'll fetch you some milk. Don lapped up every last drop of the milk. It was very good. In a few days, Bob had the new kennel built and filled with fresh straw, and Don had just as nice a home as he'd had before. It was different, though. There were no brothers or sisters to wrestle with and no mama dog. And at first Don was a little lonesome. But so many new things kept happening that after a while he hardly thought about it. Every day, sometimes two or three times a day, Bob came out to see Don and bring him something to eat. Then the two of them would go for A walk. Don's new home was a farm, and the farm was full of animals he had never seen before. Some of them he didn't know the names of yet. But before long he could tell a cow from a horse, even though they both had four legs and a tail. The cow had horns the horse did not. Don was learning something new all the time. He was a big puppy now. He could run fast without tumbling over, and he had strong, sharp teeth, which he used for gnawing bones and crunching puppy cakes. The cakes were hard, almost as hard for him as gingersnaps are for you. One warm afternoon, Don was asleep in the soft straw of his kennel when a loud noise woke him up. It sounded just like somebody saying, what are you going to do? Don jumped up and opened his eyes. Do. What am I going to do? Who wants to know? Then the voice came again. Cock a doodle doo. And a long, feathery neck poked right inside the kennel. And something sharp jabbed on on his little back nose. Hey. He barked. Stop that. You're not a cat. And you've no business scratching me. Cock a doodle do, went the funny creature. Of course I'm not a cat. I'm a rooster. The biggest rooster on this whole farm. I'm bigger than you are, even if you are a puppy. And you're so nice and soft that I like to poke my bill in your ribs. Well, I don't like it, Barked Don, scrambling out of the way. But the rooster kept stretching his long neck into the kennel and pecking at him. Don didn't know what to do if he ran out. The rooster would surely chase him, but he had never seen a rooster before because the chickens were always kept in their own yard, far from the kennel. He howled and barked and tried to scare the big bird off, but the rooster just kept right on crowing. Cock a doodle do. It still sounded exactly like what you going to do? And poor Don couldn't do anything at all. But Sally saw what was happening. Oh. She cried. That big rooster got out of his coop and now he's pecking dawn. I'll chase him away. She ran up to the kennel, waving her arms. Shoo, shoo. Get along, you bad rooster. That frightened the rooster. He flapped his wings, gave one more crow, and flew off to his coop behind the wire fence where he belonged. You poor little puppy, said Sally, scooping Dawn up in her arms. Did that bad rooster hurt you? Wow. Yo yip. Said Don softly. But he was all right. A puppy is so soft that a rooster's bill doesn't do much harm. That was nearly as bad as the cat. Don thought so now there are two things I have to watch out for for cats and roosters. But when I'm a big dog, I won't be afraid of either one. When Bob came home from school, Sally told him all about the rooster. There must be a hole in the fence somewhere, said Bob. I'll go and mend it. Come on, Don. We'll fix it so that rooster can't get out and bother you again. On the way to the chicken coop, the two of them passed the pen where the pigs were kept. I'll show you the pigs, Don, said Bob. You ought to know them. Then if one ever gets out, you can chase him back where he belongs. He lifted Don up so he could see over the edge of the pen. Inside was one big mother pig and seven little ones. And one of the littlest pigs was the funniest looking creature Don had ever seen. He had a squinting eye half shut while the other was open wide, and one ear stood up while the other flopped down. When the little pig looked at you, you couldn't help wanting to laugh. Hello there, Squinty, called Bob, for that was the little pig's name on on account of his eye. I suppose you'd like to get out and dig in the garden, wouldn't you? Well, you can't, so you'll just have to stay put. Squeak, squeak, went Squinty. Then he looked up at Don. You look like a nice dog, he said in the animal talk that Bob couldn't understand. Couldn't you come and let me out someday when nobody's looking? I'm so tired of staying in here. No, said Don. That wouldn't be right. Will you at least come and bite a hole in the pen so I can get out? No, said Don again. I can't let you out. And that was how Don first came to know Squinty, the funny pig. Bob set him down, and the two of them walked on toward the chicken coop in the warm afternoon sun, with Don trotting close at his master's heels where he liked best to be. And that is the end of this part. Good night. Sleep tight, Sam.