There's a dog in that tree Part 2

[rich]

Tuffy opened his eyes. He was on the canvas roof of the PLANT SISTERS’ truck.

Then there was another, smaller, whump.

It was Natasha.

“Tuffy, you silly dog, you knocked me down too!”

Then there was a CRASH!

It was Professor Potts’s ladder falling out of the tree.

But no Professor Potts.

Where could he be?

From out of the tree a faint voice could be heard.

"Help!"

But, Hilda and Brunhilda didn't hear. They climbed into their truck, started the engine and drove away.

With Tuffy and Natasha clinging to the canvas roof.

The truck sped up. Tuffy and Natasha hung on while the wind whipped through their fur.

The whole canvas roof shook like a sail on a boat at sea. At the top of Duggan Avenue they span on two wheels past a big school with tall trees and tennis courts and a tower with a clock.

Then it was straight downhill along a road lined with apartment buildings.

The faster they went, the taller the buildings got. People in dark business clothes, carrying briefcases hurried along the streets.

Once they nearly hit a courier on a bicycle who got very angry and shook his fist.

But Hilda and Brunhilda were gone, underneath a railway bridge and out to a road by a big lake.

Street cars clanked by and when Tuffy and Natasha dared to take a peek over the canvas they could see sailboats and ferries and two ships with tall sails and joggers running.

The truck was going faster and faster.

Tuffy barked. “Please, please slow down!” But Hilda and Brunhilda didn’t hear him. That’s because they had a radio in the truck and they turned it up loud so they could hear music with lots of jangling guitars.

“What a great day,” said Hilda as they shot past a sign that said:You Are Leaving Toronto.

“Don’t you just love summer,” said Brunhilda. To show that she was happy she pressed her foot on the gas pedal and the truck went even faster. A new sign shot past. It said: Welcome to Etobicoke.

Underneath the canvas, something was clanking and moving from side to side.

Natasha yelled, “That’s the lawn mower.”

Tuffy shouted back, “What’s that?”

Natasha said, “Don’t worry. It’s like a vacuum cleaner only worse."

Tuffy made himself tiny and clutched onto the canvas as tight as he could.

Then there was no more Etobicoke, no more lake, no more joggers, just lots of roads and highways and dirty looking buildings and places where used cars were being sold.

And, finally, Brunhilda slowed down and turned off the main road and stopped outside a tiny strip of shopping plaza.

Tuffy and Natasha moaned with relief. Tuffy tried to stand up and fell over again his legs were so tired with hanging on.

“Time for coffee,” said Hilda to Brunhilda.


Hilda and Brunhilda went in to a shop called Desperate for a Donut.

Then it began to rain.

Tuffy felt lost and now he was getting wet.

He sat down on his back legs and stared up at the gray, rain-filled sky.

He got ready to howl.

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth as far as he could and then…

Natasha said, “Let’s take a taxi home.”

“A taxi?” said Tuffy. He liked taxis. Even though he’d never been in one.

Taxis meant pizza deliveries on Saturday night with delicious smells and a mouthful of crust if he was very good.

Taxis were fine.

And there one was. Parked outside Desperate for a Donut. A back door of the taxi was ever-so-slightly slightly open.

Tuffy and Natasha went over to the taxi and Tuffy put his nose inside where the door was open and pressed it open some more.

They jumped in and sat on the back seat. They could hear the rain on the roof. It smelled nice inside the taxi, like pine trees.

Then the Taxi Driver came and opened the front door and climbed in.

He looked at Tuffy and Natasha and said “What have we here?”

Tuffy thought, “Please, Mr. Taxi Driver don’t throw me out in the rain. I’m a little lost dog and I’m having a very bad day today.”

The name of the Taxi Driver was Ali.

Ali was the saddest man in the whole city of Toronto. He woke up in the morning crying he was so sad.

Ali was in love. That’s what was making him so sad.

Her name was Esmerelda and she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world. (That’s what Ali thought anyway. And that’s how you should see people you are in love with.)

But Esmerelda lived far, far away in Iraq. And all Ali had was a photograph of her. He took the photograph out of his pocket to look at Esmerelda’s beautiful face at least 50 times a day. The photo was getting very worn out. And it was stained with tears which wasn’t good for it.

Ali had come to Canada to make lots of money so he could go back to Iraq and have a huge wedding for himself and Esmerelda with hundreds of guests and family members and musicians and delicious food and then they would come back and live in Toronto and have at least three children.

“Two girls and a boy,” said Ali. “Two boys and a girl,” said Esmerelda. That’s the closest they ever came to fighting because they really loved each other.

But now that wasn’t going to happen because he was going to lose his job as a taxi driver. Today was his last day on the job because the man who owned the taxi cab wanted to give it his son-in-law who needed a job.

Now you know all about Ali. (If you would like to have a little sniff because of all this sadness do it now. Because the end of the story is coming and it’s not sad at all!!!) Ali reached out and looked at Tuffy’s dog tags on his collar where his name and address were. Then he looked at Natasha’s tags.

“23 Duggan Avenue,” said Ali. “That’s near where I have to go to give back this taxi. You can be my last fares. Except as you have no money there wont be any fares.”

He got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. Ali wasn’t a fast, bad driver like Hilde and Brunhilda. It was fun to be in the taxi with him because Tuffy and Natasha could see the world outside zipping past them, a world of high golden buildings and, huge clouds towering above everything.

One of the windows was open and Tuffy stuck his head out so he could smell the lake. “Don’t fall out!” hissed Natasha.

And Tuffy sat down again. He’d had quite enough of being lost for one day.

Then they were passing the school and the tennis courts and there was Duggan Avenue!

But what a commotion was going on in Duggan Avenue!

There was a fire engine outside no. 23 and a crowd of people and three television crews with camera men with big cameras and young women carrying microphones. Something was going on in the tree.

It was Professor Potts being helped down, out of the tree by a fireman who was at one end of a ladder. The other end of the ladder was on the fire engine.

Professor Potts was saying to the firemen , “There’s a dog in that tree somewhere.”

Then he was on the ground and the television cameras were all pointed at him and the young women with the microphones stuck them into his face and said, “What is a respectable astronomer doing climbing up a tree?”

At that moment Ali’s taxi drew up. He opened the door and out jumped Tuffy and Natasha – right into the middle of the television crews.

“That’s him!” said Professor Potts pointing to Tuffy. All of the television cameras swung round and there were Tuffy and Natasha – on television.

One of the microphone ladies said, “In an astounding development the missing dog has arrived by taxi.”

And another of the microphone ladies said, “The questions everyone is asking are how did the dog and his companion the cat got the money for taxi fares? And where have they been?”

Bit the third microphone lady told her cameraman to focus on Ali. She said, “Who is the good Samaritan in the taxi who rescued these two lost animals?”

And then Hana came and picked Tuffy up. “You silly little dog,” she said. (But she was really relieved to see him.) Natasha sat on the hood of the taxi enjoying being photographed.

There was a “ping” off the Chief Fireman’s helmet. Someone high up in a tree was throwing nuts at him. It was a little pesky squirrel but the Chief Fireman ignored it.

Instead the Chief Fireman came over and said to Ali, “You are a fine strong looking man and you have shown great compassion and initiative. You should be in the fire brigade. Come and see me tomorrow.”

And Ali nearly swooned. If he was a fireman he would earn lots of money and he and Esmerelda could be married.

And that’s what happened except the wedding took place in Toronto in the Fire Station near St. Clair Avenue. And Tuffy and Natasha were guest of honour. So it all ended well. And Ali has rescued lots of animals from trees. Oh yes and Professor Potts found two new planets in the Andromeda Galaxy and called one Tuffy and the other Natasha.


THE END!!!!!

[golach]

Well done Rich

[trinkie]

I'm sure I wrote earlier to say how much I enjoyed the story -
I wonder where it went.
It was a great little story many thanks. I love a happy ending.

Trinkie

[rich]

Hi,Trinkey - a million apologies for not having acknowledged your lovely letter. We starving artists need all the support we can get!