LittleBig from Morro Bay
Published by Jack Zatarra at Smashwords
Copyright 2010 Jack Zatarrra
Smashwords Edition License Note
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Captain Mike was standing in front of his mirror, making all the faces that he could think of. His little friend walked into the bathroom, looking for his breakfast. He continued to make faces until he felt the dog reach up, and put his paws on his leg. He looked down, making the smiling face; his dog smiled back. If you are going to start the day smiling, always share it with someone you love.
Jack Zatarra
Fire
LittleBig jumped off the bed, and ran to the big, front window. He needed to see what the noise was that woke him up. He was always sure to save his barking until he could see what was bothering him.
He thought, ‘Probably, that blue jay’.
The bird poked at him every morning, when he went in the front yard.
He started a low growl, when he saw the teenagers leaning against the fence. They laughed loud at their joke; he let out his most fierce bark.
Jack woke up, startled; he saw that it was bright in the room.
He thought, ‘LittleBig’s shouting at that blue jay again’. Jack noticed his barking was different this time.
Jack found his clothes, rushed to the other room, and saw LittleBig trying to climb the window.
“Easy there, amigo! You’re going to get yourself all worked up before breakfast.”
Jack leaned and looked out the window. He saw the teens leaning against his fence. One of them lit a cigarette. Jack rushed out the door of his cabin, and went straight to the boys.
“Hey, I don’t care if you want to clog up your lungs with that nasty stuff, but you guys need to remember that you’re in the middle of a dry season. Be careful with that match!”
LittleBig was barking, standing between Jack’s feet. The boys didn’t know who to look at first, the man or the dog. The leader of the boys squatted down, and put his hand up against the wire fence. LittleBig rushed up to the fence, too fast. The teen smacked his face, hard and quick. He yelped and ran behind Jack. Whimpering, he sat and rubbed his face with his paws.
Jack balled up his fists, and started towards the fence.
“Alright, that tears it! I can’t smack you because you’re just a bunch of punks. Get out of here before I call the sheriff!”
The other boys pulled the mean teen away from the fence and started to walk down the hill towards the beach.
“Come on, Joey. I guess the old man just doesn’t like kids.”
Jack heard that. He knew better than to say anything more. He could easily jump his little fence and chase the boys all the way down to the beach.
He thought, ‘They’re leaving and I’m hungry’.
He turned around, and saw LittleBig rubbing his face.
“Hey, big fella, you’re just a five-pound jackhammer, aren’t you? That deserves your favorite breakfast. Come on.”
Jack knew better than to pick up his dog and carry him. LittleBig only weighed five pounds, but he was the boss of everything. He shook his head, and stood up to follow Jack inside.
Jack didn’t look back when he said, “Who wants a biscuit with butter and honey?”
LittleBig jumped up and down, hopping into the house, forgetting about his face and the boys.
Joey stopped halfway down the hill, took the cigarette from another boy’s mouth, and ran up to the edge of the backyard. He flicked it into the grass.
The smoke started to trail up into the air as the fire started to grow. It crawled to the back of the house, and ate, hungrily, at the wooden cabin.
Jack was holding the canned biscuits in his hand, when he smelled the smoke. He looked around his cabin, and he saw faint, blue hazy sunlight in the room.
“LittleBig, you didn’t start the stove, did you?”
The smell of smoke now smelled like a campfire, and it was starting to feel warm in the cabin. Jack walked over to the bedroom and felt the heat. There were only two rooms, and this one was definitely, too hot. The smoke started pouring in through the wall of the bedroom.
Jack didn’t have to guess what was going on. There was no time to think about how this happened. He knew the boys were the ones that did it. He backed out of the room in a hurry.
“LittleBig! Sorry little fella, no time for breakfast.”
He ran out the front door with LittleBig right behind him. They kept on running out of their little yard, up the hill to the trees. LittleBig followed until Jack stopped. Jack reached down, clipped the leash to his collar, and tied it to the tree.
“Sorry, LittleBig. I know you don’t like the leash, but our shack’s on fire. I’ll be back.”
LittleBig liked the leash at the store, and Jack bought it for him because he liked the way it smelled. He didn’t know how Jack used it, until they went to town. LittleBig didn’t like the leash after that.
Jack ran off toward the cabin into the back yard to fight the fire. LittleBig started to whimper because he was not loose, and he wanted to run to his master. He tugged on the leash for a long time, until he was just too tired. He lay down, and waited for Jack to come get him.
Jack was busy trying to get the pump going, and throwing buckets of water on the back wall. His pants burned at the bottom, from running through the yard. He was all alone on the hill, fighting the fire at his cabin. He was fighting a losing battle.
He decided that he had better get inside, and save the things he really needed.
Jack reasoned, ‘If I don’t get in there, I’ll have nothing’.
He raced around to the front door, and he saw LittleBig tied to the tree.
‘Poor guy’.
He shouted, “I’m coming, LittleBig! Hang in there!”
Jack entered his cabin for the last time, he couldn’t see anything. The smoke was too thick, and his lungs filled with smoke. He couldn’t even cough. He covered his mouth, and felt the smoke in his chest. He fell to the floor on his hands and knees. There was only one chance to get out.
He had lost the way to the front door, but he felt the rug in the middle of the room. There was a big hole in the rug. LittleBig made it when he was a puppy. It was on the side of the room by the big, front window. He grabbed the blanket off the couch, and threw it over his head. Leaping, he crashed through the big window, and landed in the front yard.
Jack thought, ’Thanks, LittleBig’. He passed out.
LittleBig sat up, when he saw Jack lying in the front yard. He found new strength, and started to tug on his leash, even harder than before. It was no use; LittleBig was stuck right where Jack had left him.
After twenty minutes, LittleBig saw the big red truck coming up the hill. It had a loud siren and flashing lights. It stopped in front of the burning cabin. The firefighters jumped out, smashing through the fence, pulling a big long hose.
Two firefighters held onto the end of the hose, as it jumped around filling with water… lots of water. The water came from the truck. The firefighters and the hose put water everywhere.
One giant-sized firefighter shouted, “Hey, Jack’s down! He’s under the blanket!”
Two more firefighters came with a big board, and rolled Jack onto it. They carried him out of the yard to the other side of the fire truck. LittleBig couldn’t see Jack anymore, and that made him nervous.
Firefighters were shouting, running back and forth, and spraying water on LittleBig’s home. He was scared; he went behind the tree, out of sight. He waited for Jack to come get him.
Another smaller, covered truck had come while the firefighters worked hard to put out the fire. It made the same noise as the big red truck, but it carried only two people. LittleBig peeked; he saw that Jack was still not moving. He saw them take Jack away. LittleBig lay down, and watched the men from behind the tree. He felt all alone, but he was afraid to bark because, now, Jack wasn’t there.
Two hours passed, the two firefighters were starting to roll up their big hose. LittleBig peeked again from behind the tree. He saw black, smoky boards, and smelled the ashes and water in the air. LittleBig’s home was missing.
A firefighter with the white helmet stood in the spot where the living room used to be. He bent down and picked up LittleBig’s doggie dish, and looked around to the back yard, and then to the front. He took his time as he looked around into the trees, up and down the hill. He couldn’t see anything that was out of place.
The firefighter with the white helmet knew that Jack’s dog lived here, too. He didn’t know he was tied to the tree up the hill, hiding. The captain called out to the dog. The dog didn’t recognize any of his firefighter friends in their heavy fire equipment. He stayed behind the tree.
A firefighter shouted, “Hey, Cappy, they just brought some kid out of the surf, not breathing! We have to go right now!”
The firefighters rode down the hill toward the beach. LittleBig couldn’t bark at anything as he stepped from behind the tree. He sat alone, staring at his burnt home. No sounds came from anywhere, except for the wind in the trees. Jack didn’t come back as he had promised. LittleBig lay down and whimpered. He fell asleep, waiting for Jack to come and get him.
Breakfast
“Waaaaaackk!”
The blue jay called out again.
“Waaaaaackk!”
LittleBig popped up on all four paws; he looked around for the noise. His pesky, old friend was on the ground, a little bit away from him. He remembered jumping up in the air, trying to grab the annoying bird’s tail feathers, every morning. He barked at the blue jay, and ran to grab him. The leash jerked him off his feet and stopped him.
The blue jay hopped further away, watching LittleBig land on his back. He flew up and around, catching bugs. They rose up from the grasses on the hill that LittleBig, Jack, and the bird lived on. LittleBig saw the sun down the hill, heading toward the water.
The blue jay flew high into his old tree that was his home. He only landed for a moment, and came right back to LittleBig.
The bird’s favorite tree was in the yard, burned, next to the cabin. The bottom branches of the tree were black. The firefighters put water on the tree, before the fire could reach up to burn it. The firefighters were smart to put out the fire on this tree, and save the other trees on the hill.
LittleBig was too tired and hungry to chase the bird. He lay under the tree, watching his friend catch all the bugs he could eat. The dog was very hungry, all he could smell was smoke. LittleBig slowly stretched out his leash, and felt it pull against his neck; he stood up on his back legs. He howled for Jack. He went back to the trunk of the tree to lie down again.
The blue jay came out of the tree, and dove straight down to LittleBig’s tail. He grabbed it and let it go. He landed a couple of feet from the dog. LittleBig was not in the mood to play, he charged the bird with all the power a five-pound jackhammer had. He saw that the bird didn’t move, and leaped to bite his tail feathers. The leash snapped off the ring on his collar. He was free!
LittleBig was surprised that he caught the bird in his mouth. They both tumbled down the hill!
Faster and faster, they went. LittleBig landed at the bottom of the hill. He looked halfway up the hill, to see the bird, shaking and flapping his wings in the dirt. The blue jay squawked, flying up into the tree that held LittleBig’s leash.
LittleBig shook his body, letting the dirt fly. He spit a feather out of his mouth. He looked over at the burnt cabin, and ran into the yard. He felt the water on his feet as he ran to the front step where the door used to be. The firefighters had watered everything.
Everything he had ever hopped on, took a nap on, or played with in the cabin was gone. The smoke was too strong for his nose, and he sneezed hard.
LittleBig saw the familiar wood stove and ran to it. Jack and LittleBig ate breakfast every morning because of this stove. It just stood there and stared back at him. LittleBig‘s nose wrinkled, he smelled something very familiar.
LittleBig thought, ‘Biscuits!’
He sat up; put his two front paws out, waiting.
LittleBig sat silently and felt his stomach growl. He waited for a long time; he started to drool from the smell of the biscuits. Was it his imagination or were there biscuits in the stove?
LittleBig walked over to the stove, putting his paw on the door. He howled at the big, black, iron biscuit maker. He licked the oven door and whimpered. He stopped and smelled the biscuits again.
He thought, ‘There are biscuits here somewhere, I just know it!’
LittleBig sniffed the edges of the door. He didn’t smell the biscuits in there, but he smelled them. He lifted his head and smelled them up on the stove. He sat there thinking about the biscuits.
Jack had rushed out to tie up LittleBig; grabbing the leash, above the stove, next to the pots and pans. He kept it there where LittleBig couldn’t see it. Jack had knocked down the cooking gear on top of the canned biscuits, thrown on the stove. The fire cooked them and kept them from getting wet, when the firefighters came.
LittleBig smelled them again and howled louder. He heard squawking coming from up the hill. LittleBig turned around and went to the front step. He looked at his friend. The bird flew very fast and caught bugs for his dinner.
He looked at the stove; he felt his stomach growling, again. He ran, jumping onto the shelf attached to the wall. The burnt shelf didn’t fall down. He sat on the shelf, staring at the pile of pans on the stove.
He jumped down onto the floor, ran back to the front step; he sat with his head hanging down for a second. LittleBig took off towards the shelf; he was running as fast as he could. He bounced off the wall and shelf, heading toward the cookware, lying on the stove.
LittleBig crashed into them; the pans and dog flew off, and landed on the floor. He barked at the stove, flipping over the pans, looking for his biscuits. He found them, still in the can. They had popped open, and cooked in the can. It looked like a pumpkin, stuffed into the container, trying to escape.
LittleBig grabbed the can with his mouth; he ran out of the yard to the tree up the hill. He tore at the biscuits with his paws, and ate them fast. LittleBig chewed on the cardboard from the can, he didn’t like that taste. He sniffed at the cardboard tube, and rolled over, groaning.
LittleBig looked up at the tree he lay under, and saw his old friend staring back at him. The blue jay just stared at LittleBig. The dog rolled back over and sat up, moving his head back and forth. The bird started to move his head back and forth, too. LittleBig thought about what just happened, and looked at the cabin. The bird wasn’t staring at him, but at the cardboard on the ground.
He put his nose on the cardboard to smell the biscuits again. His tongue came out, and licked at a biscuit that he had missed. It was stuck to the end of the tube. LittleBig stopped licking it and looked up at his friend in the tree.
The dog felt the cool air on his face, and looked at the shadows getting longer around him. He turned around, looking down the hill; he remembered that Jack was in the small truck that went down towards the water. He barked once, up at the tree. He ran down the hill towards the sun over the water. He reached the bottom of the hill, and turned around to see if his old friend was still in the tree.
The blue jay was grabbing the cardboard with his feet, pulling at the biscuit with his beak. He didn’t notice that LittleBig was watching him, as he ate the gift the dog had left him. LittleBig ‘ruffed’ a good-bye to his feathered friend, and headed down the dirt road to the beach.
Water
LittleBig remembered how the cool water felt in the ocean. Jack had taken him to the beach many times to play in the surf. LittleBig stepped onto beach, ran straight to the water, and jumped into the surf. He dove under the next wave that came and swam in a big circle.
The water was cold. He started to shiver as he continued to swim. He felt a tug on his paw from beneath the water, and quickly pulled his foot up to his body. Something had tried to nibble on him. His eyes got very big, and he felt scared. He started to swim as fast as he could to the beach.
He felt the tug again, and pulled his foot up quickly; he swam even faster to the sand. He felt the bottom of the ocean at the edge of the water, and hopped the last three steps onto land. He didn’t want the nibbler to get him one last time.
He didn’t see anything in the water that spilled onto the beach, as he walked along the edge. It felt safer on the ground, even though he wanted to swim; but the nibbler was out there. He remembered the blue jay grabbing his tail; he barked at the water beyond the surf, thinking, ‘Enough grabbing LittleBig, everyone!’
After a few minutes, he looked around for a place between the rocks as the sun started to touch the water. The long shadows started to creep up the hill, over the trees and rocks that were near the beach. He knew that the darkness was coming. He needed to hide; he hated the dark.
He tucked his little body between two small boulders and curled up to sleep. He missed his home and Jack, he whimpered as he fell into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~
LittleBig thought he was dreaming when he heard the voices, he rose up his head and looked through the rocks. The little girl and boy were running and screaming, as they splashed into the first morning wave they came to.
He thought that the children were going to be ‘nibbled’. He stood up and started forward. A man walked past his boulders where he was hiding, he sank back down.
The father raised his voice, “You two make sure that you don’t go out too far!”
The little girl yelled back, “Awwww, Daddy, we wanna be surfers!”
The man smiled, slowly shaking his head and yelled back, “You need surfboards, sorry, no surfing. Besides, your mom said she was making a special birthday breakfast just for you and your brother!”
The little boy looked at his twin and said, “Man, I’m hungry Beth. Let’s tell Daddy that we’ll run over to those big boulders. Then we’ll go see what Mom made for us.”
Tim yelled, “Can we run to the big rocks and back?”
Mr. Malone said, “Make it quick, then we can go eat! The first one who touches my hand gets the first biscuit! On your mark, get set, GO!”
Beth and Tim knew to hold hands at the start of their race when he said, ‘On your mark.’ Their father always said it was fair. The eight-year-old twins took off running toward the big boulders down the beach.
LittleBig heard the voices, but only heard the one word that mattered to him-BISCUIT! He sat back down behind the rocks, watching the children go past him near the surf. He stepped forward, they were heading to the big rocks Jack called the ‘breakers’. He felt his hair rise up all over his body.
Every time Jack had talked to people in town, they said another word with the breakers, DANGER. LittleBig and Jack had been to the breakers only a couple of times, but Jack wouldn’t let him wander down to the water. They always stayed at the top of the huge boulders. They sat for a long time, watching the sea come up to the giant rocks.
Jack only whispered, “That’s a lot of danger, LittleBig.”
He remembered the rolling water from the sea come up to the big rocks, and crash with a loud thunder. He felt the danger that Jack felt, every time a huge wave crashed against a huge boulder. This was danger, and it never stopped.
He growled and took off after the twins running towards danger. He caught up with them; he stood in front of them, barking like a crazy dog that wanted to bite them. He showed his teeth and lowered his head. Beth and Tim stopped, hugging each other; they were very scared that the little dog was going to bite them. LittleBig stopped barking, and started to growl.
Mr. Malone saw the dog come from out of the boulders that he stood by; he came running to the children.
“Beth, Tim, Don’t move!”
Their father walked slowly up to the twins, and put his arms around their shoulders. He slowly pulled them back as they faced the growling little dog. LittleBig never moved from his spot as he growled, and they kept backing away. The family started to get smaller, and they went up the beach stairs. He stopped growling when they disappeared. The danger was gone.
He looked over at the breakers and sniffed the ocean air. He could smell the water and feel the danger on the other side; he backed away, a little afraid. He headed in the direction of the stairs. LittleBig thought about what the man had said, ‘BISCUIT’.
He sniffed the stairs, and smelled the three people who were just on the beach. He started to follow the smell.
The laughing was loud when he reached the top of the stairs. He thought the people were coming back to the beach. He ran down the stairs and back between the boulders to hide.
He heard the laughing come closer to the rocks where he was hiding. LittleBig remembered that laughing from the day before, and saw the backs of the teenagers. They were standing right in front of his boulder!
Joey said, “I hear the old man died with his dog in the fire.”
Another boy quietly said, “Joey, that’s not funny, man.”
Joey grabbed him by the T-shirt, and pulled him close to his face.
“I don’t think you should be worrying about it. They probably think that old man was just burning too much wood in his stove. Everybody just shut your mouths. Let’s go to the breakers.”
LittleBig stood at the back of the boulders, watching the boys walk away.
He poked his head out, watching the boys running to the huge boulders. He felt no danger, and his hair didn’t rise up.
He ran up to the top of the stairs and sniffed the air again. The smell of the three people wasn’t there. He was hungry again. He could smell something, and it was close by. There was a garbage can at the top of the stairs. He sniffed and could smell the food that people had thrown in the trash.
Jack had yelled at him for getting into the garbage at home, because he had made such a big mess. He didn’t want anyone to yell at him. He sat by the garbage can and started to drool. No one yelled, and no one came. He backed up and leaped up to the top of the can. He fell in, landing right on top of a half-eaten pizza slice and a cup of cold coffee.
The lid of the coffee cup popped off; he felt the coffee soak into his fur. He sneezed at the smell of the drink. This was Jack’s morning drink with biscuits. Jack had given him a taste when he was a puppy; he didn’t like it. He sneezed every time he stuck his nose in his cup.
His face fell into the pizza slice; his nose covered in pizza sauce. He licked his face, and liked the taste of tomato and spices in the sauce. He didn’t move from where he had landed, and started to eat the slice. This reminded him of Jack.
They would go to town once a month to eat at his favorite place, Coastal Pizza… and to see Maggie. Jack and LittleBig liked Maggie and her pizza.
He knew when they were going for pizza. Jack would shave and put on a clean shirt before he went to town to see his friend. He would run out to the yard, waiting for Jack, so they could walk down the hill to see Maggie. They didn’t own a car or a phone, but Maggie always knew when they were coming.
This place was special for LittleBig. He wasn’t allowed to come inside, because he was a dog. He sat under the picnic tables and waited for Jack. He could see Jack and Maggie, talking and laughing, through the glass door that opened into the tiny restaurant. This meant that she was going to come and sit with Jack at the table, while he ate pizza.
Maggie always brought out a sack of pizza crusts for LittleBig.
The dog and man, both thought, ‘This is my favorite place’!
Jack always stayed quiet, while Maggie talked to LittleBig. He knew that LittleBig was in safe hands with his friend. Maggie would feed him a pizza crust, one at a time, until he was full. This took a long time because the little dog really liked pizza crusts.
Maggie would walk in and out of the restaurant, when somebody wanted to eat at her place. LittleBig would sit and wait for her to give him another ‘pizza bone’. He ate until his little belly was stuffed and round.
He would finally roll over on his back, and groan from being too full. He would just lie there, and his lips would fall back into a smile. Maggie would always give the bag to Jack. LittleBig knew he would be eating more ‘pizza bones’ for a few days at home. Pizza bones or biscuits, he loved the taste of both. He was a lucky dog.
Jack had told Maggie that he had given him the name, ‘LittleBig’ because he chased the blue jay, first thing, when he brought him home.
Jack laughed, “Little dog, big heart.” Maggie laughed, too.
Jack had told Maggie that it was good that he named him ‘LittleBig’ before he came to see her the next day. He didn’t think ‘Pepperoni’, ‘Pizza’, or ‘Za’ were good names for a dog. Maggie laughed and gave LittleBig a big kiss on his head. LittleBig and Jack really liked Maggie.
LittleBig finished his pizza sitting at the bottom of the garbage can and sneezed again. The coffee was stuck to his fur, and he didn’t like sneezing because of it. He didn’t smell or see any more food in the can. He jumped straight up, and caught the top of the can with his front paws. He held on, his back legs crawling up the can until he sat on top, sitting like a bird on a fence.
The dog jumped down to the ground, walking along a path toward the trees. It led to the campground and the other beach. He was feeling happy because he had eaten pizza; he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going as he walked away from the little town by the breakers. He wasn’t scared as he walked along the dirt path, enjoying the morning sun.
He looked over at the water he had swum in the day before, and remembered the nibbler. He also remembered the slap in the face, the fire, and the mean boy at the beach. He quickly spun around in a circle on the dirt path to see if somebody was trying to grab him. There was nobody there.
He started to whimper when he thought about Jack, lying very still with the firefighters. He thought that the small truck had come down to the beach to leave Jack. He didn’t see Jack anywhere. He kept on walking, hoping to see Jack.
Camping
LittleBig walked for a very long time, and soon came to a road where the cars zipped by. This was a problem for him. He had never seen so many cars. The other side of the road was full of grass, and he wanted to go there. He would take a step to cross the road, and a car would come along to stop him. He saw each car get larger, each time they came toward him; he backed up to the gravel on his side of the road to wait.
He lay down for a long time; he became very tired as each car went by. An hour passed, he noticed there were no more cars. His ears went up, listening for the sound of a car coming. He didn’t hear one. He stood up and ran very fast onto the road; he kept running onto the grass, far away from the black road and the zipping cars. The little dog was smart.
He rolled in the field and bit at the flowers that grew in the grass. He was playing with the flowers, until he was bored with them. He sat in the middle of the flowers and stared at the road. He knew it was danger, but something was making him come back to the edge of the black, hard road.
He sniffed the air and walked slowly to the road. He stood at the edge of the grass, looking at the dirt before the highway. He could see a pile of trash lying in the dirt. He had smelled it when he was running across the road. He was too scared to stop and see what it was. The pile of cups and wrappers didn’t have a strong smell to it, but he sniffed long and hard this time.
The smell came to his nose. He trotted over to the pile, stuck his face in to the middle of it. He sneezed. He grabbed the small package that had the smell, he ran back to the flowers. It was sticky, sweet, and almost smelled like biscuits. He ate the cupcake that had been in the store wrapper. He held down the cheap plastic and licked it, until he couldn’t smell the sweet. It was all gone. Lying down in the grass, he licked his lips for the longest time, and then, fell asleep.
After awhile, he felt the sun, hot on his fur. The smell of the coffee was still stuck to him. He didn’t want to wake up; but it was uncomfortable, and he couldn’t stay asleep. He jumped up and started to walk through the flowers, away from the road to the trees up the hill.
It looked like his home, and he thought that Jack would be there, waiting for him. He just wanted to be home with Jack.
He kept looking at the trees, and kept walking towards them. He saw something moving, far up the hill. It was moving to the trees, too. He started to run, thinking it was his old friend, Jack. He ran straight up a hill, and onto a road that was going to the trees.
He saw the hiker up ahead of him; he went as fast as he could. He stopped when he smelled the person going to the trees. He stopped on the road, looking at the hiker, getting smaller.
LittleBig was lonely. He needed Jack, and this was not Jack. He sniffed again; the smell wasn’t bad, and it didn’t make him nervous. He took a cautious step. He followed the hiker from a safe distance. The hiker didn’t turn around to see if a dog was following him. The dog was silent.
No cars came up this way and he felt no fear. The hike was starting to tire him. The hot day was making him thirsty. He didn’t see or smell any drinking water as he followed the hiker up the hill.
He could see the ocean come to the sand from the road above. The road continued into the trees as they hiked. The dog’s tongue was starting to come out of his mouth; soon it was hanging to the side of his face. He panted, needing water for his little body. The hiker didn’t stop as he went up the hill.
LittleBig saw a dirt trail that led down to the beach. He smelled the footprints that went to the water. This was a strange smell; he could tell that it was a big animal, but it didn’t smell like Jack. He stayed on the path, until it turned into the beach.
He didn’t like ocean water in his mouth. It didn’t help him stop being thirsty. The little dog forgot about the water he needed, when he heard a strange sound.
The horse whinnied, “Naaaaaaay!”
LittleBig jumped back, ready to run back up the dirt trail into the trees. He waited for the big animal to chase him. The horse ate hay from a box, and didn’t look at the little dog. The horse knew he was there, but didn’t move towards him. He watched and smelled the big animal; he soon smelled a different smell… it was water!
The horse took a drink from the round tub on the ground. LittleBig needed water, too. He took a step towards the horse; it swung its head in his direction, and then turned back to eating its hay.
He took two more steps, and the horse didn’t move. He was very close to the tub, smelling the delicious water. He reached to the top of the tub with his front feet, sticking out his tongue to drink. With all his stretching, he could barely touch the water with his tongue. He tried to drink, but the water was too low in the tub.
He sat down, watching the horse eat and ignore him. He looked around and saw a saddle close to the tub. He went over and climb on top of it. It was slippery, but he was able to reach down into the tub and drink the water. It felt good in his little body. The horse swung his head, dipped his mouth deep into the water, and flipped a big splash of water in LittleBig’s direction. He felt the water hit his face and body. He slipped off the saddle and fell to the ground.
The horse held his head over the water and didn’t move. LittleBig sprang to his feet and looked at the horse. He didn’t growl, and the horse didn’t move. He trotted over to the dirt trail and looked back at the horse. He wasn’t confused. The big horse wanted his water, and the little dog wasn’t getting anymore. He understood. He ran up the trail, and sat at the edge of the road.
It was cool in the trees as he started down the hill. He suddenly stopped and looked up the hill. Where was the hiker? He was going the wrong way. He went past the dirt trail, looking for the hiker. He didn’t know why he was looking for the hiker. He just ran up the road to where the hiker was, before he went to get water.
His legs were tired as he reached the top of the hill. He ran to a shady tree and rested for a long time. He had traveled far from the breakers to the top of the hill. The sun was high over the ocean. He could see it through the trees; he knew that the night was going to come again.
He saw the white building faraway, and thought it was Coastal Pizza. He started to trot to the building, thinking that he was going to get more pizza. The closer he got, the more he sniffed. There were no pizza smells, and he heard voices that he knew.
Beth and Tim were looking at the board on the wall of the ranger station. Reading the posters, they spelled out the big words slowly. LittleBig saw their backs when he came around the corner of the building.
Tim was pointing at the poster; it had a big red circle with a line through it. Beth told Tim that it meant danger. Tim spelled B-R-E-A-K-E-R-S. The little dog hopped onto the porch and sat. Tim looked over at his twin sister; he saw the dog from the beach. Tim didn’t move.
Tim whispered very low to his twin, “Beth, don’t move.”
Tim remembered his dad being very calm at the beach this morning. He wanted to keep his sister safe, and get back to the campsite where his parents were. He turned his head slowly; he could see the station wagon. His parents were busy talking, and drinking sodas after lunch. Beth started to raise her hands onto her hips. Their mom did that when she started to get mad.
Tim stayed calm and said, “No foolin’, Sis. Turn your head slow.”
Beth saw LittleBig, and put her hand to her mouth. She didn’t want to scream. LittleBig sat looking at the kids. Tim took a step back from his sister, slowly raising his hand toward her; she reached out to hold it. The brother pulled his sister slowly off the porch, backing away from the building and the little dog. They could see LittleBig watching them as they left. He didn’t move from his spot.
Tim felt it was a good time to run to the camp, Beth thought the same thing. She turned when her brother turned, and they took off running to their parents. Beth was screaming at the top of her voice as they crashed into their parents’ arms.
Mr. Malone shushed them and said, “Hey, there are other people trying to enjoy their vacation. There is no need for screaming. You should save that for the beach.”
Beth and Tim pointed at the same time over to the building, telling their father about the little dog from this morning. Beth started to cry, her mother held her tighter in her arms. Dad said he would go to see about the dog, and tell the ranger what had happened this morning over by the breakers.
Mr. Malone told his wife that the kids are probably done running around the campground. They could play board games until they go to dinner in town. He headed in the direction of the ranger station.
Mrs. Malone looked down at Beth’s feet and asked, “Beth, where is your sandal?”
LittleBig started to run after the twins, but stopped when the little girl had lost her beach sandal. He grabbed it in his mouth, and ran behind the building.
Mr. Malone reached the ranger station and pushed on a locked door. He looked inside the half-glassed entrance. If the ranger came back, he would tell what happened to his kids on their birthday.
Mr. Malone turned, stepped off the porch, and headed back to his family’s campsite. LittleBig came around the corner when Mr. Malone had stepped off the porch, he held Beth’s sandal in his mouth. He went back behind the building to sit in the shade, and chew on the twin’s sandal.
He had seen where the children ran to, and saw the big car that was at the campsite. He was still chewing on the sandal, when he saw the big car go by. The children were in the backseat, singing and clapping their hands. He ran to the road, and watched the big car get smaller as they drove down the hill.
The little dog went to the back of the ranger station and picked up the sandal. He jumped on the porch and saw the campsite. He walked over to the campsite, and hopped onto their camping table. He started to drool from all the smells of food. He dropped the chewed-up sandal on the tabletop, and sniffed around for something to lick or eat.
He remembered sausages, eggs, milk, and cereal with each sniff! He hung his tongue out when the sweet smell of honey came to his nose. He fell off the table while he was licking all the breakfast stains the twins had left.
He landed on his side in the dirt. He didn’t smell any more stains, and walked under the table to rest. He watched the other people in the campground. There were big trucks, little cars, tents of all shapes, and people playing. This seemed like a happy place.
One big truck and a little car left. A strange car with two wheels and a loud motor came to the campground. The motorcycle rider got off the bike, and rolled out his sleeping bag on the ground. LittleBig watched him start a fire in his camp ring and cook food. He sat up when the man opened the lid to his pot.
He smelled the stew coming into his nose. Jack would make stew when it was cold and rainy outside. He looked around to see if Jack was close by. He would let him have his own bowl of beef stew with two biscuits. He ate his stew so fast that he couldn’t breathe when he swallowed.
Jack laughed so hard, that LittleBig thought he was crying. Jack would always reach over, and wipe the stew off his friend’s face. He wiped his own laughing eyes, and told him he was just a hungry, five-pound jackhammer.
The motorcyclist turned his head, and saw LitleBig under the table. He stood up, and called the dog to come over to him. LittleBig stared, not moving. He wouldn’t move.
Evan thought, ‘Good dog, guarding the camp for the family’.
He noticed the dog had a collar, but not tied to rope or a leash.
He thought, ‘This must be a good watchdog that didn’t wander off.’
He felt sorry that this little dog was not enjoying the beach and ocean. He decided to share his stew with the little guard dog.
He laughed, quietly thinking, ‘A good guard dog must keep up his strength. He might have to fight off a bear.’
He spooned some beef stew into a plastic bowl, and brought it over to the Malone’s camping table. LittleBig jumped up, ran to the other side of the table, and watched as Evan came closer.
He looked at LittleBig on the ground. Some dogs need to feel that they’re the boss of something. This was the little dog’s family. He put the dish under the table.
He looked over his shoulder, grinning at the guard dog, “Hey, hero, wash the dish before you bring it back.”
LittleBig barked at the motorcycle man. He scooted under the table and started to eat the stew. He didn’t see the biscuits in the stew. He was hungry from climbing the hill. He licked the bowl clean, until he couldn’t smell the stew. He missed having the biscuits, but it was good stew.
He looked over at Evan watching him from his campsite. He sat, satisfied, like a lion under the Malone’s camping table.
He was wondering where he was. The people laughed and played until it started getting dark in this place, the camp rings soon had fire in them.
Some of the campsites used lights that didn’t smell like fire. Jack had one for each room at the cabin. They kept the room bright when it was dark outside. The Malone family didn’t have a light for their camp.
The Malone campers weren’t here. The sun was almost out of sight and LittleBig started to look for a place to hide. He went away from the campsite to a tree behind the Malone tent. He was in the dark.
He could still see the people, cars, and tents, because of the fires and lights. He watched the people sit, talking quietly. He lay his little head down on the ground to sleep. The sun was almost gone; LittleBig felt his eyes getting heavy.
Raccoons
LittleBig had just closed his eyes, when he heard a noise behind him. He heard the leaves and dirt moving. He turned around and saw it, a big, fat furry animal. He not only saw the one that was coming towards him, he saw a whole row of them on the hill above the campground. They had bushy tails with rings around them, pointy noses, black little hands, and masked faces.
The little dog didn’t move. The raccoon didn’t look at him, as he went past him. He stood on his hind legs in front of the Malone tent. He took the zipper into his little hands, pulled it open, and went inside.
LittleBig remembered the night one of these bandits went into the cabin through his doggie door. Jack jumped up from the couch, and chased the thief all around the house. The raccoon jumped on everything to get away from Jack.
He knew better than to try to grab the furry animal because it would bite him. Jack threw everything that he could find to chase the raccoon out of the cabin. The raccoon wasn’t happy; cups, pans, books, and other strange things were hitting him.
LittleBig sat watching the other raccoons go down into the camps, and sneak into the tents. The people didn’t move, they didn’t know the thieves were there. LittleBig felt his hair rise, and he stood up. He crept slowly down to the tent, stuck his nose in, and sniffed. It smelled like cheese and fruit.
He poked his head in, and saw the raccoon sitting in front of Mrs. Malone’s beach bag. The bandit was nibbling on an apple with his little hands. He looked over at the little dog. He dropped the apple, picked up the cheese stick, and took a bite.
LittleBig rushed to the back of the tent, he barked as loud as he could to scare the robber away. The raccoon sat, eating the rest of the cheese stick, watching the dog bark at him. The little dog wasn’t throwing things at him. LittleBig just kept on barking. The barking started to bother the bandit; he left the apple, and walked out of the tent. LittleBig followed him at a safe distance to be sure he left. He watched as the food robber walked slowly up the hill, disappearing into the bushes.
He saw the other dogs in the camp on leashes. He didn’t go to them, and they didn’t come to him. They might have smelled him when he came to camp to lick the tabletop, but no dog barked to say he was there. When he started to bark at the raccoon in the tent, every dog in the campground started to bark. He let them know that there was some kind of danger.
He couldn’t see the people running around in the dark. He saw them moving fast as they crossed in front of their fires and lamps chasing the other bandits out of their tents. He heard pans banging together, dogs barking, and everyone yelling.
He thought the thief might come back and steal more food; he decided to sit in front of the tent. He lay his head down on his front paws, staring into the dark. The loud noises from the other camps had stopped, only one dog was still barking. The campers were quietly talking and laughing about the raccoon raid. The lone dog stopped his barking, and soon it was quiet again.
Evan watched LittleBig go up the hill, saw the raccoon come down, and the rest of the battle that just happened. It was now dark. He lay in his sleeping bag thinking, ‘This is the bravest little dog I’ve ever seen. I’m going to give him a special treat for breakfast.’
Evan started to drift off to sleep, smiling, ‘What a fantastic dog!’
The big car came an hour later. LittleBig jumped up and ran under the camping table. Mr. Malone and his family got out of the car. He had a beaming flashlight in his hand to see in the dark. He asked his wife and the kids to stand still until he turned on the camping light.
Mr. Malone told his wife, “I guess we came back a little late.”
Mrs. Malone said, “It’s different than back home. The lights are there when you need them. Oh well, the kids had fun at the pizza place for their birthday. That was a tiny restaurant, but the pizza was delicious.”
Mr. Malone looked back at the car, “We’d better leave the leftover pizza in the car. One of the signs at the ranger station said that the raccoons were a big problem here. They like to come out of the bushes from the hills, and find whatever food they can. Let’s not make it easy for them. Is there any food in the tent?”
Mrs. Malone thought about her beach bag, “Oops, I forgot about the cheese sticks and apple I have in my bag.”
Mr. Malone swung the camping light to the front of the tent. Tim was holding the flashlight, with Beth right behind him. Their father saw that the zipper was halfway up.
“Tim, Beth. Don’t go in.”
Tim moaned, “But Daddy we’re tired from pizza and swimming.”
“I think someone has been in our tent.”
Tim backed away, bumping into his sister, who grabbed him by the arm. He was trying to raise the flashlight.
“Beth, you gotta let go of my arm. I can’t see anything, except my shoes.”
Beth let go of the arm that was holding the flashlight, and grabbed on to his other arm. The twins backed away from the tent. Father stepped forward with the camping light, and poked his head in the tent. He saw the mess the raccoon made, and he just smiled. He grabbed the bag that his wife had left, put the food and wrappers in it, and pulled his head and bag out of the tent.
He told Tim and Beth to jump into their sleeping bags. He reminded them not to laugh loudly. The other campers were asleep. Beth and Tim went straight to their sleeping bags, and fell asleep within minutes. What a day!
Pete sat next to Emily at the camping table. He put the light on the table, and saw the chewed-up sandal.
He held up the missing footwear, “It looks like Beth’s shoe as come to haunt us. Somebody must have figured the sandal belonged to us. They must have been hungry for a shoe snack.”
Emily giggled, “That young lady loses more things in her room at home. It looks like we’re going to have to buy her another pair. I saw a store in town by the pizza place that sells T-shirts. I’m sure we can find her a pair of sandals.”
Pete shook his head and kidded, “Twins.”
Everything that Mom and Dad bought for their children had to come in twos, one for the boy, one for the girl, Tim and Beth. This was the way it was since the day they were born. Pete and Emily Malone loved their children very much. They thought that since they did very well in school, a camping vacation would be the perfect gift.
The eight-year-old twins were starting to grow in their brains and out of their clothes. Brother and sister were doing well in school, and each one did what their mother asked them to do at home. They kept their rooms clean, and didn’t leave their bikes in the driveway.
Their father would always honk the horn when he saw the bikes lying on the ground. Beth and Tim remembered for a whole month to put their bikes away. Camping was their reward.
“I’d better put your bag in the car before the bush bandits come back.”
Mr. Malone grabbed Emily’s bag that he set on the ground, and went to open the tailgate of the big station wagon. He asked her if she would like a juice from the ice chest. He walked over; he sat down next to her with the bottle and kissed her cheek. Mr. and Mrs. Malone talked about the different things to do tomorrow with the children.
LittleBig was still under the table watching the lights dance and the kids disappear into the tent. He saw the man bring out the robber’s lunch bag and put it in the car. He looked over at the car and saw the tailgate down.
He snuck out from under the table right between Pete and Emily’s legs. The little dog managed to stay in the shadow of the camping light. He stood at the back of the family car looking in. He looked over at the parents talking at the table; he leapt into the back of the car and over the back seat. He found a hiding spot right behind the driver’s seat on the floor. It felt nice to lay on the rug and not the dirt outside.
He went so fast to his hiding spot that he didn’t notice the pizza box he stepped on in the back seat. He heard Mr. Malone come over to the car, and closed the tailgate. He was too tired to worry about the locked car. He couldn’t open the door anyway, he was just a little dog.
He closed his eyes, laid his head down on the floor, and started to dream about Jack. His nose started to wrinkle, and he moved his head back and forth. He opened his eyes. He didn’t know when he jumped on the seat, sticking his nose right on the pizza box.
He knew how to open pizza boxes. He flipped the front of the box open with his nose and saw the beautiful pizza slices inside; he ate all four slices quickly. He licked his face several times until he was satisfied all the pizza sauce was off. He reached out with his paw and flipped the lid closed. He went to the floor and fell fast asleep. What a day!
Malone
Evan woke up to the sound of a camper dropping his stack of pots and pans. It wasn’t close by, but it was the only noise that made him jump right out of his dream. He finally found some peaceful sleep since he had left the East coast two weeks ago. He hadn’t seen his brother in four years. Now that he had arrived on the West coast, he was with family.
Evan’s big brother shook hands with him in the dream. He was dreaming about the day that he left to go work in Florida. His big brother’s hand was on his shoulder.
He half-smiled, “We‘re all the family we’ve got. Please be careful. I’m not trying to be our Dad, worrying about you, but it would be nice to get a birthday card from someone in this family.”
They both grew up exploring the beaches and campgrounds of this tiny ocean town. The boys’ father was gone all day working on the docks. He sometimes went on the boats to help any captain do chores out on the ocean.
Dad didn’t say much to them about what they did while he was working. He knew that they were good boys and didn’t cause too much trouble.
In his dream, he saw his Dad taking them to eat lunch at the breakers one day. The boys were listening to what he had to say. He was very serious with his sons.
“The sea is very beautiful, but she will not say a word if you fell in and drowned. She won’t tell you that your father or brother is gone.”
The big brother always watched over the little brother until they were older. They camped at this very campground, every weekend through college. This was one of his favorite places in the world.
Evan soon became just as good at fishing in the surf as his big brother did. They were the two fastest brothers in town, when it came to racing up the hills that over looked the cliffs. None of the other kids could beat them. They were just too fast.
These memories in Evan’s dream came like little movies. He dreamed of when he was in high school. He wanted to go out on the water in the boat they kept on the side of their garage. He had hauled it down the hill to the beach by himself with his bike. Big brother was gone exercising, walking to town to get groceries.
He smiled at the movie in his head. He held the aluminum boat with one hand, and trying to steer with the other. The boat was sticking straight up in the air, on the back of the bike. He sailed down the hill, feeling the wind push against the inside of the boat. His hand was squeezing the handbrake, but he was going faster, as he reached the bottom of the hill. He crossed the road in a split second and went over the wall at the back of the beach.
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(Pages 1-28 show above.)