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Tavish ran around the back garden,
wagging his tail. "What are you so excited about?" his master, Niall
asked. "We’re only going to pick apples."
Tavish licked Niall’s hands. He
loved going to the orchard. The only time he ever got to go was in autumn,
during apple picking season. Niall carried a large, golden-colored bucket
and headed towards the trees. "Come on, boy. Let’s pick some apples."
Tavish barked and ran around in circles, nearly knocking Niall to the
ground.
"Look at all these apples. They’re
so red and beautiful and I’m sure they are juicy and crisp too. Why don’t
you go exploring and I’ll do the picking," Niall said. Tavish didn’t need
any encouragement. He bounded into the trees to see what surprises he
could find.
His nose was twitching as he sniffed
all the new smells. Tavish loved the smell of ripe apples. A few lay on
the ground. He nudged one with his nose. A plump worm came crawling out
and looked at the dog. Tavish tried to bite the worm but it crawled back
into the rotting apple.
A grasshopper hopped past. Tavish
chased it as it jumped from tree to tree. BOING! BOING! BOING! It landed
right on his wet, black nose. Tavish tried to lick it off with his tongue
but it bounced away into the orchard.
He saw three squirrels up in the top
of a tree. They were afraid of Tavish. They weren’t used to having a dog
running around the orchard. Tavish barked at them, but they only climbed
higher. BONK! An apple fell and landed right on Tavish’s head. He looked
at the apple and bit into it with his sharp teeth. Apple juice squirted
into his eyes. Shaking his head, he ripped a piece of the apple off and
chewed it up.
"Tavish. Here boy," Niall called.
Tavish started barking and ran towards his master. "I’ve filled this
bucket up. That’s enough for today. Did you have a good time running
around?"
Tavish wagged his tail. As he was
sniffing the bucket of red apples, he spotted a bluebird sitting on a
branch. He hopped up onto the bucket and started barking at the bird.
"Leave it alone, boy. It’s only a bluebird. If you’re quiet, it might sing
you a song. Get off the bucket apples," Niall ordered.
Tavish jumped down. He and Niall
stood quietly, listening as the bluebird began to chirp a melody. "What
did I tell you, Tavish. Leave the animals alone and enjoy them. Now, let’s
go home and I’ll make us an apple pie or two."
Tavish barked and ran around as the
two of them headed for home and some apple pie. |
