Week 2 Storytelling: The Dog and His Bone

A dog and his bone

Source: Moral Stories

There once was a dog named Spot. One day, Spot was traveling through the neighboring town when he stumbled upon a butcher. The butcher noticed Spot gazing at the leftover bones he had in the corner.

After a few minutes, the butcher cleaned himself off and introduced himself to Spot. “Hello there! You’re a cutie, aren’t you?” as he reached him hand out to pet Spot. Spot wagged his tail in excitement. “Maybe if I seem excited, this sucker will give me one of those delicious looking treats,” Spot thought to himself.

A short time later, the butcher walks back into his shop and picks the biggest, most delicious bone he could find in his stacks. When he found the right one, he brought it back to Spot. Curious if Spot could do any tricks he begins trying different cues. “Can you speak?” he questioned. Spot slightly tilts his head to the side, unsure what the butcher is saying. “Hmm, let’s try something easier. How ‘bout shake? Can you shake?” Spot tilts his head to the other side. “I’m not sure what else a pup like you might know. Is that all you want?” as he raised the meaty bone up to Spot’s eye level. Spot’s eyes immediately went to the bone, and he couldn’t take his gaze off of it. His tail went wild, his ears perked up, and he had the biggest grin on his face. Spot barked hoping this was enough for the butcher to hand over that delectable thing in his hands. “Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme,” he thought.

Finally, the butcher handed it over.

Spot ever so gently took the bone from the butcher’s grasp, and almost immediately ran off. He didn’t want to give the butcher a chance to change his mind. He must get home, so he can hide is new found delicacy.

About half-way home, Spot noticed a strange figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned around, and the figure was gone. He continued on. A few moments later, the figure returned. He froze mid-step. He lowered his head and started to snarl. His fangs became visible, his ears perked up, he lowered his body to an attack stance. “No one is going to take this bone from me,” Spot thought. Again, he quickly turned around, trying to catch the dark figure in the act. “Catch him, before he catches me,” was Spot’s logic.

Again, he lost the figure, so he continued on. “There’s the Sleepy River. That means, I’m almost home!” Spot sped up so he can get home slightly faster.

He finally reached the river, and was sure slow his pace as he crossed the bridge. The bridge was really old and creaky, which made Spot uneasy every time he walked over it. As he trotted across, Spot noticed the figure again. This time he could make out more features than before.

His image the Dog did not know,

Again, Spot gnarled at the figure in attempt to protect his treasure.

Or his bone's, in the pond's painted show:

That’s when he realized the figure already had a bone of its own.

"T'other dog," so he thought,
"Has got more than he ought,"

That bone looks even bigger than the one he already had. “I must have that one instead,” Spot was determined. He took a moment to come up with a game plan. “I’ll walk a little further, and when he least expects it, I’ll make my move,” he decided.

He’s now halfway across the bridge, “Now!”

So he snapped and his dinner saw go!

He lost the delectable bone the butcher had given him. The strange figure became indistinguishable in the chaos. Spot jumped into the Sleepy River, trying to save him prized possession, but it was a lost hope. He was unable to find it again. Spot crawled out of the river, shook the water off his golden fur, and sulked all the way home.

Author's Note: The original story was short, sweet and to the point. I just expanded on the back story, explained how the dog got his bone, and a little insight on how he lost his bone in the end. I included the original fable in my story to allow the reader to relate the two different stories to each other.