Once upon a time, long, long ago

there was a little boy and a little girl.

They lived in a family with their mom

and their dad and a big shaggy dog

named Ruff that would let them

snuggle and cuddle with him

whenever they felt like it.

Sometimes, they would pull Ruff’s ears

or his tail, but he never seemed to mind.

Ruff would just lie there and look at

them and wait until they were done.

Some days, the little girl, Mary

and the little boy, Timmy would

play outside with Ruff.  They would

throw sticks for him to fetch, run with him,

teach him tricks and reward him with

a big hug around his shaggy neck.

And, when he would lick their faces

with his big sloppy kisses, Timmy and Mary

would smile and giggle and roll over and over

on the ground in sheer delight.  They got real

dirty being this happy, but they didn’t seem to notice.

Some days Timmy and Mary didn’t play

with Ruff at all, and he would sleep lazily

in a sunbeam.  That was okay with him

because he needed the rest.  With one eye

he would watch Timmy and Mary walk

hand in hand down the road toward the

big, beautiful meadow, and he knew they

would be gone for a while.

Ruff knew when Timmy and Mary went

to the meadow that they never paid

attention to the time.  There were so many

colorful, wild flowers in the meadow.

It was like touching a rainbow.