The Fifth Puppy

Once upon a time, there was a mama dog. She was a good mama dog, and she raised very nice puppies. She played with them and taught them how to be good boys and girls. When the puppies grew up, they would go to be with little children and make them happy.

But one year, the mama dog had a different litter. There were only five puppies. The first four were just what she expected puppies to be. They played and yipped, they chased sticks and swam in the pond. But the fifth puppy was different. He would sit for hours just sniffing the air.

“I think that might be a possum, Mama,” he would say one day.

“I think that might be a rabbit, Mama,” he would say the next with his nose high.

With his nose wiggling on the ground, the fifth puppy started to follow all the smells he could. He would chase them through the field and the woods. He would chase them to trees and under rocks. He could follow any smell, anywhere.

The mama dog didn’t know why the fifth puppy was so different from all of the others. Her other puppies would tease him. “What do you smell, big nose?” They would call. Mama would shush them and send them along to play. But still, her fifth puppy sniffed away.

One day, children came to pick out puppies. It always made Mama sad to see her puppies go, but she loved how happy it made the children. One boy stood out a little, and suddenly the fifth puppy made sense to Mama.

The little boy had on dark glasses and held a long stick to help him tell where he was walking. The boy’s mom held his other hand, too. He couldn’t see at all. But the fifth puppy stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. He let out a happy bark and ran right to the little boy.

The boy and the puppy were barking and giggling, cuddling and smiling. And Mama knew the fifth puppy was just right.