A brown, furry squirrel and a golden
retriever were playing together one warm sunny, summer afternoon in the
middle of a large backyard out in the middle of the Tennessee
countryside. The owners of the dog could tell the dog was having
an enjoyable afternoon with his animal friend as they watched him from
their covered patio, sipping on some sweet tea. By watching the
big dog gallop around in the yard, it was enjoyable and entertaining to
them as well. It had been about a half hour of a game of chase
with the two animals when the small squirrel decided to take the dog’s
favorite ball in his mouth and run up an oak tree trunk. The
golden retriever did not appreciate this very much and started barking
loudly and ferociously at his little friend. It sounded like
barking to the owners but to the squirrel the dog's words were very
clear.
“Give me back my ball, you little fur ball! That is my favorite ball and I play with it every day!” The dog continued, “You have no use with that ball because it is almost too big for your small mouth. Now come down with it right now or I am going to stop being your friend!”
“What do you mean it’s too big for me? I am carrying it in my mouth quite comfortably right now and I could use this as a payment to get something nice for myself.” The squirrel carried on, “I’ll tell you what, go over to your neighbor’s yard and find that rat that lives in their barn out by the stream. Tell him that I need some materials for my house I’m planning on building up in this big oak tree. He’ll know what kind of materials I’m talking about.”
The golden retriever thought about his mission and agreed to it because that ball meant the world to him. He turned to look at his masters and they had decided to go in, perhaps to cool off or to get away from the pesky mosquitoes. That meant the coast was clear and he better hurry through the fence before they could find out what he was up to.
The dog raced over to the neighbor’s barn and found the rat quite easily. He told the rodent his predicament and that he was sent over by the squirrel to recover some materials for the squirrel’s new home. The rat sat and thought about what was in the deal for him and came to a conclusion.
“I will help you out because you seem like you really like this ball of yours. The only thing is, I am in a bit of trouble myself.” The rat kept going on and said, “You see, I have fallen in love with this beautiful cow who lives in the barn with me. She is the maker of the cheese that I love to eat and I have decided that I want to marry her. Will you please speak to her for me and see if she has any interest? As you do this favor for me I will be gathering up materials for you to take back to the squirrel for the construction of his new home.”
The golden retriever decided that this would be an easy task since he was a professional at conversing with others and happened to be very good at persuading because of his charming good looks. He sprinted to the edge of his neighbor’s land where the cow was resting under some willow trees and lying in a small pool of water.
The cow saw him coming and as the dog approached the cow mooed, “What is the matter, doggie? Why are you running so fast to come see me?”
The dog panted back, “I was just on my way to tell you that you have a secret admirer and you should be excited because I think that the two of you would be something great!”
The cow’s ears perked up because she had never been told that anyone was ever interested in her. “Oh yeah, doggie? Are you pulling my udder? No one has ever told me that they had found me attractive. Who is this you are talking about?”
The dog replied, “Well, as a matter of fact, it is my dear friend rat. He has watched you from afar and loves what you do for him and he has decided that he wants to marry you. If you would be so kind, please get up from your bath and follow me back to the barn so that I can formally introduce the two of you and then I can be on my way back home.”
The cow was so flattered that she immediately got up from her favorite watering hole and followed the dog as fast as she could back to the barn. The dog introduced the cow and rat to each other and backed up out of the barn and left the two of them alone. Then the retriever grabbed up in his mouth the bundle of sticks that the rat had placed by the door of the barn and raced to his yard, praying that his owners were not outside, looking for him.
Once the golden retriever reached his yard, he was thankful that no one was outside so he galloped over to the oak tree to find his squirrel friend asleep with the ball underneath his chin. “Eh hem,” barked the dog, “wake up!” The squirrel jumped up and nearly lost the ball but reached out and got it back before it fell into the dog’s mouth.
“I have the materials you requested for your home. Since I did what you asked, can I please have my favorite ball back?” pleaded the dog. “Yes, yes, yes you may!” said the squirrel. The small, furry animal threw the ball down as hard as he could at the dog’s face and sprinted down the oak tree trunk to begin their game of chase all over again.
Author's Note
In the original story, the characters involved were a cat, a mouse, a cow, a farmer, a butcher, and a baker. The reason why it was a chain reaction with the characters involved was because the cat bit the mouse's tail off. In order for the mouse to receive his tail back he had to fetch the cat some milk from the cow. The cow wanted hay so the mouse had to go to the farmer to retrieve the hay. The farmer wanted meat from the butcher if he had to give away bread so the mouse went to the butcher. The butcher wanted bread from the baker if he had to give away meat so the mouse went to the baker and the baker said that he would give away bread but if the mouse ate the baker's food then he would cut off the little mouse's head. The mouse was the deliverer of all the goods and in the end, he received his tail back from the cat. I spent more time describing the landscape and gave more details to the setting than the original story. I decided to include fewer characters than Joseph Jacobs' original story, The Cat and The Mouse. By using fewer characters I believe that it is easier and less overwhelming for the reader to keep up with what the animal in need has to do. I felt like I made my version more relevant to the modern day but retained the creativity and sense of imagination with the animals speaking to one another. I think by using more time to describe the setting allows the reader to visualize the story better. Once the reader sees the pictures included above, it makes their imagination that much more clearer.
Jacobs, Joseph (1890). English Fairy Tales: The Cat and the Mouse. http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-37.html
Image Information
Ball Thief
Golden Retriever Running
Cow and Golden Retriever
Squirrel
Coverpage
Introduction
Author's Homepage
“Give me back my ball, you little fur ball! That is my favorite ball and I play with it every day!” The dog continued, “You have no use with that ball because it is almost too big for your small mouth. Now come down with it right now or I am going to stop being your friend!”
“What do you mean it’s too big for me? I am carrying it in my mouth quite comfortably right now and I could use this as a payment to get something nice for myself.” The squirrel carried on, “I’ll tell you what, go over to your neighbor’s yard and find that rat that lives in their barn out by the stream. Tell him that I need some materials for my house I’m planning on building up in this big oak tree. He’ll know what kind of materials I’m talking about.”
The golden retriever thought about his mission and agreed to it because that ball meant the world to him. He turned to look at his masters and they had decided to go in, perhaps to cool off or to get away from the pesky mosquitoes. That meant the coast was clear and he better hurry through the fence before they could find out what he was up to.
The dog raced over to the neighbor’s barn and found the rat quite easily. He told the rodent his predicament and that he was sent over by the squirrel to recover some materials for the squirrel’s new home. The rat sat and thought about what was in the deal for him and came to a conclusion.
“I will help you out because you seem like you really like this ball of yours. The only thing is, I am in a bit of trouble myself.” The rat kept going on and said, “You see, I have fallen in love with this beautiful cow who lives in the barn with me. She is the maker of the cheese that I love to eat and I have decided that I want to marry her. Will you please speak to her for me and see if she has any interest? As you do this favor for me I will be gathering up materials for you to take back to the squirrel for the construction of his new home.”
The golden retriever decided that this would be an easy task since he was a professional at conversing with others and happened to be very good at persuading because of his charming good looks. He sprinted to the edge of his neighbor’s land where the cow was resting under some willow trees and lying in a small pool of water.
The cow saw him coming and as the dog approached the cow mooed, “What is the matter, doggie? Why are you running so fast to come see me?”
The dog panted back, “I was just on my way to tell you that you have a secret admirer and you should be excited because I think that the two of you would be something great!”
The cow’s ears perked up because she had never been told that anyone was ever interested in her. “Oh yeah, doggie? Are you pulling my udder? No one has ever told me that they had found me attractive. Who is this you are talking about?”
The dog replied, “Well, as a matter of fact, it is my dear friend rat. He has watched you from afar and loves what you do for him and he has decided that he wants to marry you. If you would be so kind, please get up from your bath and follow me back to the barn so that I can formally introduce the two of you and then I can be on my way back home.”
The cow was so flattered that she immediately got up from her favorite watering hole and followed the dog as fast as she could back to the barn. The dog introduced the cow and rat to each other and backed up out of the barn and left the two of them alone. Then the retriever grabbed up in his mouth the bundle of sticks that the rat had placed by the door of the barn and raced to his yard, praying that his owners were not outside, looking for him.
Once the golden retriever reached his yard, he was thankful that no one was outside so he galloped over to the oak tree to find his squirrel friend asleep with the ball underneath his chin. “Eh hem,” barked the dog, “wake up!” The squirrel jumped up and nearly lost the ball but reached out and got it back before it fell into the dog’s mouth.
“I have the materials you requested for your home. Since I did what you asked, can I please have my favorite ball back?” pleaded the dog. “Yes, yes, yes you may!” said the squirrel. The small, furry animal threw the ball down as hard as he could at the dog’s face and sprinted down the oak tree trunk to begin their game of chase all over again.
Author's Note
In the original story, the characters involved were a cat, a mouse, a cow, a farmer, a butcher, and a baker. The reason why it was a chain reaction with the characters involved was because the cat bit the mouse's tail off. In order for the mouse to receive his tail back he had to fetch the cat some milk from the cow. The cow wanted hay so the mouse had to go to the farmer to retrieve the hay. The farmer wanted meat from the butcher if he had to give away bread so the mouse went to the butcher. The butcher wanted bread from the baker if he had to give away meat so the mouse went to the baker and the baker said that he would give away bread but if the mouse ate the baker's food then he would cut off the little mouse's head. The mouse was the deliverer of all the goods and in the end, he received his tail back from the cat. I spent more time describing the landscape and gave more details to the setting than the original story. I decided to include fewer characters than Joseph Jacobs' original story, The Cat and The Mouse. By using fewer characters I believe that it is easier and less overwhelming for the reader to keep up with what the animal in need has to do. I felt like I made my version more relevant to the modern day but retained the creativity and sense of imagination with the animals speaking to one another. I think by using more time to describe the setting allows the reader to visualize the story better. Once the reader sees the pictures included above, it makes their imagination that much more clearer.
Jacobs, Joseph (1890). English Fairy Tales: The Cat and the Mouse. http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-37.html
Image Information
Ball Thief
Golden Retriever Running
Cow and Golden Retriever
Squirrel
Coverpage
Introduction
Author's Homepage