Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: The Family Pet (05/15/08)
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TITLE: Roger the Rabbit | Previous Challenge Entry
By Karen Story
05/19/08 -
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Patches had a bad habit of jumping over the four foot fence. Ike tried to fix Patches jump problem, so he chained him to the tree that was in the back yard
Last month an animal control officer had left a second warning attached to Ike’s front door. Someone called Animal Control again. That time Patches had run out into the street and was nipping at tires as children rode their bicycles around the block. Next time the official had to come out he would be served a warrant for one thousand dollars.
The first warning had come months ago. After scrambling over the fence for the umpteen-millionth time Patches was out on the driveway. He was barking at a man’s small terrier from around the block. The terrier was on a leash, but the owner wasn’t happy with Patches manner and appearance - or his bark.
Ike stepped out the kitchen door and called out to Patches, “Come here boy.” Patches came running to him with the toy. Ike reached down to pat him on the head and noticed that the toy wasn’t a toy. Oh my goodness, it was the rabbit from next door. Oh man, this is it, you’ve done it now Patches. I guess I’m going to have to take you to the pound. Ike had a brain storm as he used the pliers to repair the chain.
Ike picked up the rabbit and brought him into the kitchen. Putting him in the sink he washed off the dirt from Roger the Rabbit. Ike retrieved his wife’s blow dryer and plugged it in. Luckily she wasn’t home and wasn’t expected to return any time soon. Ike took the rabbit and the blow dryer and sat down on the kitchen floor. He fluffed and dried and fluffed with his fingers until Roger looked normal…except he didn’t move.
He noticed that there were no teeth marks and concluded that Roger must have died from shock. Patches didn’t hurt him at all. When playing, the dog never bit hard enough to break the skin. Patches loved his rope toy and would lock down and growl as you pulled the other end.
Ike looked out the front door to see if the next door neighbor’s car was home. Noticing no car, he took Roger the Rabbit and placed him back inside his cage.
An hour pasted and Ike heard his neighbor’s car doors slamming shut. Their home, I’ll go sit on the back porch for awhile. The young girl, about five or six years old, immediately ran to hop up on the swing. As she swung higher and higher the rabbit’s cage caught her eye and she jumped to the ground. She ran to the cage and screamed, “Mommy, Mommy, Roger is alive, Mommy, Mommy!”
The mother came out and went to the cage and opened the door. She placed her hand on Roger, turned to her daughter and told her to go get her daddy. Ike couldn’t contain himself; he stepped out and called to the mother, “Is everything okay over there? I heard your daughter screaming.”
Glancing over to his neighbor’s back door Ike overheard the father telling his daughter to stay in the house. The man walked to his wife standing next to the rabbit cage he asked, “What’s going on?”
She yelled, “We buried Roger the Rabbit yesterday and I don’t know why he is in here. Who could have done this? Why?”
Ike shrugged his shoulders and answered not a word. Raising his hands in the air, he turned and went back inside his house.
Ike gave Patches away to his brother who owned a farm on the other side of town. The brother raises rabbits and Ike picked out the most adorable baby white rabbit and brought it to his neighbors. It’s amusing what people will do to avoid facing a problem.
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Laury
I noticed several misspelled words: shepherd, past, they're are a few that I recall. A closer edit for spelling and writing mechanics will smooth this out a bit.
This story made me grin.