So, the first day the dog went to the owner and said, "I must go and catch that squirrel!". The owner replied, "And you will! But first, I will teach you how to sit."
"What is the nature of this trick?" the dog asked.
"Well, when I say 'sit', and hold a hand above your head, you will sit on your back legs and await a treat!" the owner replied.
They did this over and over, and by the time that the dog had mastered the trick, it was night time, and it was too dark to go get the squirrel.
The dog learning how to sit.
(Personal photo, 2016)
The next day the dog went to the owner and said, "I must go and catch that squirrel!" The owner replied, "And you will! But first, I will teach you how to shake."
"What is the nature of this trick?" the dog asked.
"Well, when I said, 'shake', and extend my hand out, you will put your paw in my hand as if we were shaking hands, and then you will receive a treat!"
They did this over and over, and by the time that the dog had mastered how to shake, it was night time, and it was too dark to get the squirrel.
The next day the dog went to the owner and said, "I must go and catch that squirrel!" The owner replied, "And you will! But first, I will teach you how to speak."
"What is the nature of this trick?" the dog asked.
"Well, when I say, 'speak' and hold my hands by my mouth, you will bark once, and then you will receive a treat!"
They did this over and over, and by the time that the dog had mastered how to speak, it was night time, and it was too dark to get the squirrel.
The next day the dog went to the owner and said, "I must go and catch that squirrel!" The owner replied, "And you will! But first, I will teach you how to fetch."
"What is the nature of this trick?" the dog asked.
"Well, when I say, 'fetch' and throw the tennis ball, you will go and retrieve the ball and give it to me, and wait for me to throw it again."
They did this over and over, and by the time that the dog had mastered how to fetch, it was night time, and it was too dark to get the squirrel.
The next day the dog went to the owner and said, "I must go and catch that squirrel!" The owner replied, "And you will! But first, I will teach you how to roll over."
"What is the nature of this trick?" the dog asked.
"Well, when I say, 'roll over' and twist my wrist, you will roll over on the carpet, and then you will receive a treat!"
By the time that the dog had mastered how to roll over, it was night time, and it was too dark to get the squirrel.
Finally, the dog had learned all the tricks that the owner could think of, and she could not hold the dog back any longer. So the dog insisted that the owner take her outside for a walk to catch the squirrel.
Unfortunately for the dog, it was now wintertime, and the squirrel was in hibernation until the spring. Fortunately for the owner, the dog was very well trained.
Author's Note:
I was inspired to write this story after reading 'Tales of a Parrot" by Nakhshabi. In this storybook, a parrot distracts the King's wife every night so she won't go out and meet her lover and betray the king. In the story, however, when the King finds out about the wife's lover, he kills her.
Bibliography:
From "Tales of a Parrot" by Nakhshabi. Source here.
This story made me laugh- especially since it was about your dog! The author's note put it all together. I am reading this story this week for my assignment so I understood the context in which it is coming from. The dialog was the best part. I can't wait to read more of your stories in the future!
ReplyDeleteHey Emily!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your version of the story, especially the character being a dog. I thought it was cute and funny! I was already pulled into your story considering that your character is an animal and I love animals. I really liked how you changed up each factor of the story such as the dog wanting to go outside for a walk. I thought it was clever and well written. It is hard for me to wonder what else you could have changed about the original story because I already like what you have done here. Maybe if you continued on with the story once the dog got outside with the owner you could see how it goes from there. Will the owner be a stickler towards the dog? Would the dog get carried away and possibly get lost? Either way, I enjoyed your story! Great job.
Stories that make me laugh are always my favorites, so I really enjoyed this one—I totally laughed at the image of a dog squinting suspiciously up at her master and asking about the nature of each trick. Reading about the way you adapted the dramatic source material to this lighthearted, modernized take was interesting, too; it’s always fun to see how different a story looks when it’s still held together by the same bones, but wearing a whole new skin.
ReplyDeleteI also imagine the dog had a trick of her own to show her master once she finally realized she’d been conned, haha. Thanks for the fun read!