When Delilah, a Basset Hound, watched her friend, Ruth, a flying squirrel, glide from tree, she so wished that she could join her. Ruth was well aware of this, and always wore an action camera on her head so that she could record her travels from tree to tree.
In appreciation, Delilah--who always befriended squirrels, for she found the other Basset Hounds who barked at them terribly rude--would collect seeds and nuts from the woods. Being a Basset Hound, Delilah’s acute sense of smell helped her pick out the choicest morsels.
“You always treat me to the finest meals, Delilah,” said Ruth. “In fact, I would venture to say that you make my taste buds soar.”
Ruth slumped back, a look of discontent crossing her face.
“I just wish I could find such excellent nuts and seeds the way you do. It always seems that when I try to collect them, they never taste as good as the ones you serve.”
“Well,” said Delilah, “it’s just a matter of picking the right tree or plant. Some of them haven’t received enough water, some have spent a great deal of time fighting off insects, and some of them just aren’t in a particularly good mood. It’s just a case of having the nose to sense all of it.”
Ruth thought for a moment.
“Say, Delilah,” said Ruth, “do you think we could maybe you could point out some of these prize pieces of fauna? I don’t wish to ask you to go above and beyond, but I would ever so much appreciate it.”
Delilah scoffed, not at the request, but at Ruth’s declaration of its magnitude.
“Why Ruth,” she said, “that is a simple, simple request. Not only will I point them out, but I shall make you a detailed map of them. All that I ask is that you occasionally climb some of the trees I point out and glide, so that I might vicariously do so.”
Ruth readily agreed, and of course she did much gliding while Delilah drew a map and applauded Ruth’s aeronautic skills. When Ruth saw Delilah run from tree to tree, however, an idea came to her as she watched her friend’s huge, floppy ears move up and down. Ruth was an excellent carpenter--her home, in a hollowed out tree, was one of the finest around--and she resolved that Delilah would do far more than dream of soaring skyward.
After many lessons, and after extensive work to widen her house’s spiral staircase, Ruth led Delilah to the very top of her tree. And when Delilah jumped, wearing a leather flight cap and pair of pilot’s goggles, Ruth clapped as the air caught Delilah’s ears.
Then the two friends, squirrel and hound, soared through the sky. And Delilah, front paws forward and back paws pointing behind her so that she looked as if she were leaping the countryside, bayed at the sun as birds sang songs of welcome to the sky’s new citizen.
In appreciation, Delilah--who always befriended squirrels, for she found the other Basset Hounds who barked at them terribly rude--would collect seeds and nuts from the woods. Being a Basset Hound, Delilah’s acute sense of smell helped her pick out the choicest morsels.
“You always treat me to the finest meals, Delilah,” said Ruth. “In fact, I would venture to say that you make my taste buds soar.”
Ruth slumped back, a look of discontent crossing her face.
“I just wish I could find such excellent nuts and seeds the way you do. It always seems that when I try to collect them, they never taste as good as the ones you serve.”
“Well,” said Delilah, “it’s just a matter of picking the right tree or plant. Some of them haven’t received enough water, some have spent a great deal of time fighting off insects, and some of them just aren’t in a particularly good mood. It’s just a case of having the nose to sense all of it.”
Ruth thought for a moment.
“Say, Delilah,” said Ruth, “do you think we could maybe you could point out some of these prize pieces of fauna? I don’t wish to ask you to go above and beyond, but I would ever so much appreciate it.”
Delilah scoffed, not at the request, but at Ruth’s declaration of its magnitude.
“Why Ruth,” she said, “that is a simple, simple request. Not only will I point them out, but I shall make you a detailed map of them. All that I ask is that you occasionally climb some of the trees I point out and glide, so that I might vicariously do so.”
Ruth readily agreed, and of course she did much gliding while Delilah drew a map and applauded Ruth’s aeronautic skills. When Ruth saw Delilah run from tree to tree, however, an idea came to her as she watched her friend’s huge, floppy ears move up and down. Ruth was an excellent carpenter--her home, in a hollowed out tree, was one of the finest around--and she resolved that Delilah would do far more than dream of soaring skyward.
After many lessons, and after extensive work to widen her house’s spiral staircase, Ruth led Delilah to the very top of her tree. And when Delilah jumped, wearing a leather flight cap and pair of pilot’s goggles, Ruth clapped as the air caught Delilah’s ears.
Then the two friends, squirrel and hound, soared through the sky. And Delilah, front paws forward and back paws pointing behind her so that she looked as if she were leaping the countryside, bayed at the sun as birds sang songs of welcome to the sky’s new citizen.
