Random181

I posted a (rather ridiculous) story on my blog the other night, which I wrote off the top of my head over 3 nights, asking people to comment to see the next bit....
Just thought some of you might like some short-story amusement. (It's a kiddie style story, so unfortunately, despite requests, noone gets runover by a roadtrain mounting a kerb because it;s too soppy...)
So here it is...

Once Upon A Time...

There was a puppy.
This puppy had 4 very cute white paws, but the rest of his puppy body was black. He was very shiny, because his owners took very good care of him.
His name was Rupert.
One day, Rupert's owners were taking him for a walk, to the local park, where he could sniff out all the local delights.
There they were, in the middle of this glorious park, with great leafy trees, and springy green grass, and Rupert was having the time of his life.
Friends of Rupert's owners saw them, and approached, and as all adults do, they struck up conversation. Very boring conversation, about very adult things, like bills, shopping, and what's for dinner. (Rupert's ears did perk up at the mention of steak, but he lost interest again very quickly).
On and on this conversation went. Rupert sat quietly. Then he scratched himself a little. Licked his soft white paws.
WHOOSH!
Something caught his eye!
Something small, white and furry had run straight past Rupert, and he couldn't help but be excited.
He ran off after it!
His owner's had relaxed and didn't have a very good hold on his leash, and gasped when it pulled out of their hands.
They tried to chase after him, but Rupert, with his springy little paws, darted in and around bushes, after what had now revealed itself as a bunny.
Rupert's nose followed this bunny's trail, whilst his eyes trained upon the bunny's behind.
He wasn't so sure why he felt obligated to chase this poor bunny, only that he was having more fun that he was before. He had also forgotten completely about his owner's. It wasn't long before he also noticed that he had no idea where he was.
Rupert stopped abruptly, and the bunny shot off, out of sight.
He sat down, and pondered his situation.
He was lost- he didn't recognise any of the trees, or bushes.
Even his own nose couldn't detect his own trail- he had been running around all over the place, and it was all very jumbled.
But worse still, his little puppy tummy was rumbling!
Rupert let out a tiny pitiful howl, a puppy howl.
Nothing.
He howled a little louder.
Nothing still.

And then....

Poor little Rupert, for lack of any better ideas, began to wander around, sniffing, whining. Just hoping for something that could help him find his way.
The sky had started to darken, and the part of the park that Rupert was in had lots of trees, so he started to get cold. He was shivering, despite his soft furry puppy coat.
Before long, he found himself at an altogether unfamiliar road, and began following it. He didn't know where he was heading.
Rupert had long since stopped his whining.
It was getting darker and darker, and colder and colder.
Rupert found an empty box by the side of the road, and curled up inside it, trying to warm himself up, but nothing could stop the rumbling in his poor little puppy tummy.
Exhaustion and fear finally overtook Rupert, and he fell asleep, dreaming broken dreams of warm plates of milk, big juicy steaks, and bunnies...

It had rained during the night, and Rupert awoke feeling not much better than he did the night before. He could hear cars driving past, and footsteps on the path.
Suddenly, a head poked over the side of his box.
It was a grandma! She had a kindly face, and tut tutted, seeing a poor little puppy soaking wet and shivering in a cardboard box.
"Oh, you poor deary. Someone must have abandoned you! Dear oh dear. Here, lets get you home, warm you up, and give you a good feed! You must be starved!"
She scooped Rupert up out of his sodden box, tucked him into her jacket, and briskly began walking home.
Grandma's house wasn't too far away, thankfully, and when she arrived, she promptly went about preparing a delicious meal for Rupert, of meat, some vegetables, some warm milk, and a bowl of water.
Rupert was absolutely delighted at this offering, and ate everything as fast as he could, before falling asleep in a cozy, warm bed Grandma had prepared for him.
At last, he was able to sleep solidly, a dreamless yet peaceful sleep.

Meanwhile, Rupert's poor distraught owners had spent the whole night looking for him, to no avail. They were so upset, their poor little puppy! Who knows what had happened to him!
Mum set about finding gorgeous photos of Rupert, and preparing LOST posters to put up around their neighborhood. Dad went out and sticky taped them to trees, telegraph poles, shop windows, anywhere he could find. What he had left, he stuck on people's car windows.
All they could do now, was sit, and wait, and hope for a call.

Rupert and Grandma were having a glorious time in Grandma's backyard, throwing a ball, playing tug-o-war. Grandma hadn't felt so happy for such a long time, but in the back of Rupert's mind, were his owners, and his real home.
Grandma had it set in her mind that Rupert was abandoned, that some cruel, evil people had dumped him in the street, and that she was going to keep him for herself.
"I'll name you Euston!"
But my name is Rupert, thought the poor pup, although he had no way of telling Grandma this.

Days passed, and Rupert forever pined after his owners, but Grandma loved him so much, and lived so far out of town, she never saw the posters declaring him lost.


Huzzah!

It had been a few weeks since Rupert's adventure, and he was slowly growing accustomed to the idea that he may never see his real owners, his real bed, and his very own special squeaky toys again. He had stopped pining- whining at the front door, and jumping with excitement at footsteps that sounded like his owners.
His owners were the same- they had all but given up hope. They had scoured the neighbourhood, rung the pound, rung every place they could think of, but ran out of ideas.

Rupert was beginning to grow into a big dog now- no longer the cute puppy, a small bundle of black fur, with deliciously soft white paws. He was a teenager now- somewhat more gangly, more of a handful, but still oh so adorable, and Grandma loved him dearly.


She took her Euston for walks nearly every day (except in horrible weather), always fed him the best food available, and played with him regularly.

One day, she grew bored of her regular walking route, and decided to go a different way, to the other side of town.
It was a beautiful day- the sun was shining brightly, hardly a cloud in the sky. Euston pranced gaily beside Grandma, delighted to be offered all these new sights and scents. Every now and then, his nose picked up something familiar, which jolted near-gone memories in his mind.

Then, all of a sudden, it happened.
Rupert saw them.
They saw him.
With Grandma.

Rupert was confused- excited, but oh so confused.
Mum and Dad were shocked- was this really their very own Rupert?
Grandma didn't know any better- she didn't recognise these people from a bar of soap.

Rupert pulled at his leash, which was an odd thing for him to do, because he had always been so obedient, happy to walk by Grandma's side.
Poor weak old Grandma, the leash was pulled out of her hands, and she gasped, as her Euston ran towards these strange people.

He sniffed them.
Walked around them, sniffed them some more.
It really is you! he exclaimed with a furious wag of his shiny black tail.
Mum and Dad were overjoyed- it really was their Rupert!

Grandma walked up to them.
"And who are you?" she asked, with a sneaking suspicion that these may have been the people that dumped her poor Euston.
"Rupert's owners! Oh my, we've missed him so much- been looking for him for weeks now!"
"Missed him?! You dumped him on the side of the road, in a cardboard box! I found the poor little fellow, wet and cold. I've been looking after him!"
Mum and Dad were utterly shocked at this accusation. They told Grandma their story though, explained how he got away, and how long they'd been looking for their darling puppy.
"Oh... Oh, I see. So... you'll be wanting him back?" Grandma looked devestated. Would these people take her Rupert away?
Mum and Dad could see the look on poor Grandma's face. They understood exactly how she felt- facing the prospect of losing one you loved dearly.
"Well, we would like to...."
"Oh...." Grandma's face fell even more.
"But, tell you what. Rupert obviously loves you dearly- why don't you come over and see him whenever you like? I'm sure he'd appreciate that, and so would we!"
"Really? You'd let me?"
"Of course! You've done such a wonderful job of looking after him lately, I don't see any harm in it!"
"Oh, my! That would be wonderful, thank you!"

Grandma handed Rupert/Euston's lead over to Mum and Dad, who bent down and spent a very long time kissing and hugging their long lost puppy, and admiring the changes in his growing body.
Rupert went home with Mum and Dad that day, but was visited by his loving Grandma at least once a week, for the rest of his long life.
Rupert, Mum, Dad and Grandma, were all brought together by one small twist of fate.

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