[Critique Group 2] reminder pieces are due and Leonard's subjission

[tuchyner5 at aol.com]

Just  a reminder  that pieces are due today. Also, my piece is below.----

1769: word count 




Old Dog Makes a Deal




 


Thursday was a typical day in Old Dog’s life. He watched thesquirrels from behind his sliding glass door. The other side opened up to aporch one story above the ground.  Locatedon this porch were the family’s bird feeders. For that reason, the porch andthe sliding glass window through which it was viewed, was the primaryentertainment center. The popularity was added to by the squirrels that also frequentedthe deck. 



The human members of the family were not the only interestedresidents. There were two dogs, one of whom was obsessed with watching thesquirrels. That would be Old Dog.  The otherdog was named Chloe.  



The squirrels were only about three in number. There might havebeen many more, but they had to content themselves with the seeds that thebirds dropped from the feeders. Many had tried to figure out how to reach the contraptions,to no avail. These feeders were suspended from arms that extended from thehouse. They hung over the porch far above the ability of the squirrels’capacity to jump.  They could get to thetop, but that was as far as they got. The feeders were either too long, or toowell protected from their tops, for the animals to reach the seedsthemselves.  



A major part of the entertainment were the attempts of thesewily rodents to gain access to the seeds. There was one squirrel in particular whosucceeded. He was the first contender to attain access in well over 15 years.He could easily be recognized by the unusual tail he sported. It was covered byshort hair for most of its length, but at the end it tufted out to a puff.  That’s how he got the name Puff.



Old Dog watched with intense interest while the rodents wentthrough their antics, gathering what seeds were made available by gravity. 



Old Dog had an interest in these squirrels, and they had aninterest in him. They knew that as long as the sliding door was closed, theycould get as close to him as they were able, without being in danger. 



“Na na na na na na. Hey, snaggle tooth, you can only look,but you can’t touch.”



“Yeah, that’s not what one of you wise guys thinks now,since he is dead.  I sneaked up and gothim. Deader than a doorknob in 2 seconds.”



“You got lucky. But we’re too smart to fall for that again.You snuck up on him while you hid in the bushes next to the cherry tree besidethe porch. Then when he got too low, you grabbed him.”



“I sure did. But lightning can strike again.”



“You wish. We see how your human makes a lot of noise beforehe lets you on the porch.”



“He forgets sometimes.”



That was usually when the discussion ended.  Old Dog usually attacked the glass slidingdoor at that point, and the offending squirrels would beat a hasty retreat. 



Old Dog used the same strategy, attacking the door and frighteninghim away, when dealing with Puff’s wiliness. Puff’s method was to climb theslippery metal door frame to within three feet of the feeder, then simply jumpthe remaining 3 feet to the platform/bird stand which encircled the feeder.When there, he would drape his body around the tray and leisurely satisfyhimself. Old Dog’s attacks were explosive enough to startle him away. 



One day, Puff decided to have a discussion with Old Dog.“Old Dog, you used to come out every night and spend hours out here. Notanymore. You’re in by 9. Why is that?”



Old Dog, who didn’t mind having a chat with the wiley rodent,said, “That was before I got bitten by that copperhead. You know the one thatmy mistress chopped off his head.”



“Hmmm, yes. As a matter of fact, I do remember that. Thanks.That was a good deed you incentivized her to do. That snake was responsible foreating some of our children.”



“Glad to oblige. But I didn’t intend to be bitten.”



“Yeah. I guess you’re not as fast as you used to be.”



“I’m fast enough to catch you, if I had the chance.”



“No offense intended. How would you like it if you could go outside like you used to do?”



“What is there about ‘not allowed’  that you don’t understand?”



“Are you prepared to break some rules?” Puff asked.



“If I could, I would.”



“I thought so. I think maybe we can do that and you will getaway with it completely,” Puff said.



“This is going to be interesting. How am I going to dothat?”



“You have a doggie door downstairs, don’t you?”



“Yeah, but I can’t use it at night because they close thedoor that leads to it.”



“What kind of door is it?” Puff asked.



“A regular door. A door is a door.”



Puff sighed.  Then said,“Not really. Some doors have knobs on them.” 



“You mean that round thing that they use to open it with?”Old Dog asked.



“Puff rolled his eyes. “The doorknob needs to be twisted toopen the door?”



“Twisted? What do you mean by twisted?”



“You know, like twisting a neck to break it.”



“Oh, that kind of movement. I kind of feel like doing thatto you right now,” Old Dog said.



“That’s a little like it is done. Except you’ve got to holdit in one direction while you pull or push the door.”



“Sounds complicated.”



“It’s the simplest thing in the world for humans. They havehands made for it.”



“Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I don’t have hands.”



“I think you can do it with your teeth, head, and legs.”



“Do you ever use a door knob?” Old Dog asked.



“No. Doors are too big for me. I’ve got hands, almost like ahuman, but they are too small. I don’t have the strength, but you do.”



“I’ll teach you how, but on one condition,” Puff said.



“What’s that?”



“Under no condition can you come after me, if I succeed inteaching you.”



Old Dog had to think about that for a while. “I’ll get backto you on that,” Old Dog said.



“Okay. But don’t take too long.”



Old Dog decided to see if he couldn’t use the informationPuff had given him without enlisting his help, but found he was too short toreally give it a good try. So, the next day when Puff came by, he said. “Okay. Ithought it over, and I decided to agree to your terms.”



“You mean you tried it and found you were too short.”



“Okay.  You’re right.I am too short. Do you have an idea for that problem?”



“Yes, I think I have an idea. But you have to agree to honorour pact if I tell you what it is.”



“Okay.”



“Did you ever consider dragging a chair over to get you uphigher?”



“Hmmm, good idea. The chairs are just a few feet from thedoor.  But I’ll have to wait tilleveryone is asleep to try it.”



“Good. Tell me how it worked tomorrow,” said Puff.



That night, Old Dog dragged the dining room chair 3 feet tothe closed door. And climbed up on it. But, when he grabbed the doorknob andpulled, the whole chair fell over. Old Dog wasn’t hurt, but he quickly ranaway, in case someone heard and came to look what had happened.  After hiding for a while, he was convinced noone was awakened.  But he couldn’t setthe chair upright. So, he moved it closer to its place at the table and waited tosee what his humans had to say about it.



“Hey, Diane, look at this,” his male human said.



“My gosh. How could that have happened? Do you suppose thedogs got frisky and knocked it over?”



She looked at Old Dog and eyed him suspiciously. “Did youguys knock over the chair last night? She asked. But of course, she got noanswer. Old Dog did a marvelous job of looking innocent. 



The male human said, “I guess that’s probably a close guess.”Then they went about human business.



Old Dog was relieved. When Puff came around that day, OldDog told him what had happened. “So, do you have any suggestions?” the dogasked.



“Yes. Be more careful.”



“That’s it? Be more careful? That’s really brilliant.”



“Also, you might consider positioning the chair better. And,didn’t I hear you say you fell over backward?”



“Yes, so what?”



“Well, I’ve watched the humans go in and out of the door,and if I’m not mistaken, the door opens inward. In other words, you aresupposed to push, not pull, when you twist.”



“Oh.”



“And another thing. You have to put things back the way theywere before you used them.  Make sureeveryone is asleep when you return and put everything in place.



The next night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Old Dogsuccessfully opened the door, ran down the basement stairs and went out intothe night through the doggie door. It was exhilarating. He was careful not to barktoo much to arouse everyone. He chased away a deer in his yard and almostchased down a skunk, but decided not to.



When he got tired and went back into the house, heencountered a problem. He couldn’t close the door.



“What am I going to do now?” he pondered and worried. Thenhe heard Puff at the glass sliding door, He was scraping for attention.



Old Dog told him of his problem. Puff sighed and said, “I’musually not up at this hour. I hope you appreciate that. But I was concernedthat you might run into trouble and need some advice.”



“I do. I do What am I going to do?”



“Get back on the chair and pull. The knob. Don’t push. You don’thave to twist this time.  Just give it agood pull until you hear it click closed. Got it?”



“I think so.”



“One last thing, be careful not to fall over backwardagain.”



“Good idea.” 



Old Dog successfully closed the door and dragged the chairback in place. 



Old Dog was careful not to push his luck, and didn’t usewhat Puff had taught him too much.  Henever got caught. As time went by, he found he enjoyed his discussions with thesquirrel and even came to like him. In fact, you might say they became the bestof friends.



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