The Puppy Princess

Marilyn, a pretty yellow Labrador retriever, lives in the darkest, scariest corner of her owner's backyard. The corner is very scary at night, even more scary when a storm comes in. The thunder is so loud it hurts Marilyn's ears, and there is nowhere for her to take shelter.

Sometimes, on a clear day, Marilyn will talk through the fence to Teeter, the puppy next door. Teeter is a slick, black wiener dog with a high-pitched voice.

One day Marilyn asks Teeter, "What is my purpose?"

Teeter squeals and replies, "To love and be loved."

"How do I know if I am loved?" Marilyn asks.

"You just know," says Teeter as he squeals away excitedly.

"What is it Teeter?" Marilyn asks wondering what all the excitement is. Then she hears a strange new bark coming from Teeter's yard.

"Marilyn!" Teeter exclaims, "I have a new friend!"

"She looks just like me, except she's a caramel color! Her name is Totter! We are going to have so much fun together! See you later, Marilyn!" Teeter says.

Teeter and Totter go inside and Marilyn hears their backdoor close.

The next day Marilyn’s owner leads her to a bright, cherry red, vehicle in the shape of a bug. Marilyn hops into the backseat and sits up smiling. Marilyn has never been in a car before and watches out the window as things pass by. Marilyn sees a yellow school bus with kids waving at her and the giraffes at the zoo.

Marilyn cannot wait to get back to the yard to tell Teeter and Totter about her exciting ride in the bright red bug.

The car slows down and comes to a stop in front of a big building. Her owner gets out and motions for Marilyn to follow her.

Marilyn pauses in the doorway to sniff. Her owner is talking to a lady who is wearing bright red lipstick that looks like it came off her owner's red bug outside.

Marilyn starts sniffing again and smells lots of other puppies. Her tail wags in excitement. Maybe she, too, will get a friend to bring home.

The red lipstick lady walks up to Marilyn. "Welcome, to Cloud 9 Animal Shelter. We will be your home until we find you a new family to love."

Marilyn’s ears go straight up as she hears her owner’s red bug drive off. Marilyn feels confused and is not sure what to do.

"I don't want a new home! Please just take me home!" Marilyn says.

"This will all be for the best, I promise. Change is never easy. You just have to give it a chance," the lady says gently.

With her head hanging down, Marilyn follows the lady. They stop at a doorway and a strange man motions for them to enter. He looks like a mad scientist with wire-rimmed eyeglasses and tufts of silver hair sticking out of his bald head. He greets Marilyn and then examines her.

"All good," he says as he pats the top of her head.

All of a sudden Marilyn feels a slight stick in her backside and quickly turns around to see what it could be. A bee sting Marilyn wonders? She quickly scans the area for a bumble bee and sees the stinger part coming out of the mad scientist's hand.

Marilyn gets very sleepy. She hopes that the mad scientist doesn't get stung too, as bees can be very sneaky. She remembers getting stung right on her tiny, black nose when she was just a few weeks old.

The next morning Marilyn awakes to the barking of at least 1,000 dogs. A slight smile upturns on her face. She must be in puppy heaven, she thought.