THE STORY OF TUBBY

Once upon a time there was a little black Scotty dog whose name was Tubby. It was a good name, because tubby was just what he was. But he hated to hear that he was fat. He had lived with the Thompsons--mother, father and their boy since they got him from a downtown pet store. Tubby was not entirely happy at the Thompsons. He thought they had gotten him just so the boy could be mean to him.

On the boy's tenth birthday, his mother gave him two big boxes. In one box was a doll that looked like a man. In the other box were clothes for the doll. There was a dress suit and little hat, and a work shirt, workpants and a big straw hat. "I don't play with dolls," the boy said angrily. Mother looked sad and put the boxes in the attic.

A few days later, the boy was teasing poor Tubby. He pulled Tubby's tail, poked him with a stick and said he was fat. That was enough for Tubby. He whirled around and nipped the boy in the finger. The boy began to cry loudly. His mother ran into the room. "Tubby!" she said. "You bad dog! What have you done to my poor baby?"

"Poor baby, indeed," thought Tubby.

When father got home that evening, he said, "Poor kid! What a terrible thing! I'll take care of that dog. Meanwhile, if you get ready, I'll take you and Mom to the movies to see that new film you've been wanting to see."

"You mean 'It's a Rotten World'?" the little boy asked. "Oh, boy!"

Father put Tubby out in the front yard on a short rope. Then, he put a sign up that read, "Free dog."

Tubby did not like this. Mother, Father and the Boy left to go to the movie. No one said anything to poor Tubby. It grew dark and cold outside, and Tubby began to pull on the rope. He pulled and wriggled and finally the rope came off his neck.

He ran back into the house through the doggy door. Suddenly, he felt very different. He had always walked on all fours, but when he came through the doggy door, he stood up on his hind legs. It wasn't as hard as it looked to walk on his back feet. He ran to the attic and rooted through the boxes. There he found a set of clothing for the big gentleman doll he had seen Mother show the Boy.

Tubby found an old backpack and stuffed it with the clothes. He ran to the basement and pulled out a hammer, a small bag of nails and a little hatchet. There was also a pup tent, and he rolled it up and put it through a loop in the backpack. He picked up two insulated bottles from the shelf, and the boy's old fishing pole. He went back upstairs to the kitchen and filled the rest of the backpack with food. He took dog biscuits and his favorite new bone, and filled the insulated bottles with milk. He picked up his old food and water bowls, his soft blue sleepy mat, and closed the pack. It was heavy, but he didn't mind. He strapped it on and tried to go through the doggy door. But the pack was too big. He had to take it off, slide it through the doggy door and then come through the door himself.

He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but he knew he would never come back to this terrible house. He ran on all fours as fast as he could into the dark woods, following the creek.