The Thnowdog!

 

India was enjoying a well-earned mid-morning nap.  She had been out with Mom, first thing, helping sort all of the farm animals out for the start of another busy day at TURN Education and now she felt it was time for a little rest and relaxation.  It had been pretty cold out there, on this winter’s day, so the warmth of the kitchen and the comfort of her crate was very much appreciated.  She might have known that the peace would not last!

“Ninja!”

India risked opening one eye.  The towering and solid frame of Rohan was blocking the entrance to the crate and, as a consequence, most of the light.

“Go away” She mumbled, snapping her eye shut again.

“Got thomething to thow you” Rohan grinned.

“Don’t care, go away!”

“You’ll like it, I promithe” More grinning.

There was an audible sigh from within the crate as another nap went by the wayside.

“Right, you’ve got two minutes and then I’m going back to sleep.  What is it?”  India hauled herself up to a sitting position and frowned at Rohan.

“The thky’th coming down in bitth!” Rohan announced, wagging his tail to show how pleased he was with himself.

“The sky’s coming down in bits?  What are you talking about?”

“Well, you know how, when you have a really good thcratch and bitth fly everywhere?”  Rohan asked, scratching enthusiastically at the same time to demonstrate.

“They do when you scratch because you’re such a mucky pup!”

“Anyway,” Rohan sighed, “do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I suppose so!  What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Well, it’th like that outthide!  It’th jutht like there’th thomething huge in the thky having a thcratch!  Come and thee!”  Rohan went bounding to the kitchen door, with India reluctantly following.  He came to a halt at the doorway and stared with wonder at the scene.  Snow was falling in that gentle, quiet way that snow does, and the yard and rooves of the outbuildings were already covered in a fine layer.

“Thee!” Rohan said, triumphantly.

“Ah yes” India chuckled, “it’s snowing”

“What’th thnowing?”  Rohan frowned.

“Well, it’s a bit like rain, only colder.  I think, when it gets really cold down here, it gets even colder up there, where the clouds are, and so the rain comes down frozen, a bit like in Mom’s freezer?”  India knitted her brow in concentration as she tried to come up with an explanation.

“It’th not thomething really big, up there, thcratching?” Rohan nodded in the general direction of the sky.

“I don’t think so” India said, a little uncertainly.

“Whoo!  It’th pretty!” Rohan said, admiringly.

“Yes, it’s quite something.” India agreed, “It’s lovely to look at but a bit of a nuisance if you’re trying to do your chores in it”

“Oh wow, you mean we can go out there, right in it?”  Rohan’s eyes were wide with astonishment and excitement.

“Yes, I don’t see why not” India nodded, “it’ll just make you wet, but you’ll probably like that.  You’ll need to watch out though because it’s…”

Rohan plunged out of the door into the snow and immediately skidded across the tiled yard.

“…rather slippy” India concluded.

“Wheeeee!” Rohan chuckled. “Thith ith jutht great!  It’th nearly ath good ath thlurry!”

“At least it doesn’t smell and anything you get on your coat will just melt away” India said, with relief.

“I’m going to catch thome!” Rohan announced, jumping up into the air to try and catch the large flakes as they fell. “Hey it goeth all thquidgy on your tongue, you try Ninja”

“I know all about it and I’m perfectly fine here in the doorway, thank you very much” India said, primly.

“Oh, g’wan!” Rohan pleaded, “it’th fun!”

“It’s wet and cold and I have a nap to return to” India sniffed.

Rohan buried his nose in the accumulating snow and walked forward, shovelling it into a small pile in front of him.  He looked at his accomplishment, grinned and then sneezed loudly.

“You see, next thing you’ll have a cold” India observed, mournfully.

“Don’t care!  It’th fun.  Doethn’t tathte of much though”

“That’s because it’s just water, really” India nodded.

“Hey, I wonder what the goatth make of it?” Rohan bounded away across the yard, with snow flying in all directions from his paws.

“Rohan!  Come back here at once!  You’ll get very wet” India shouted to the rapidly diminishing shape of her companion as he vanished into the snowy scene.  “Oh heck!  I suppose I’d better keep an eye on him” She grumbled, and started to make her way across the yard, following in his paw prints.

At the gate, Rohan was screwing his eyes up, trying to make out the shapes of the goats in the rapidly falling snow.  Suddenly, Seth appeared, apparently out of nowhere, swiftly followed by Snowy and Popcorn, making Rohan visibly jump.

“Nah then, Ro’an” Seth nodded.

“Hello Theth.  I didn’t thee you in the thnow”

“Aye, we blend in a bit tha knows.  Particularly Snowy” Seth chuckled, “and now we’re covered in’t stuff”

“Rohan thinks it’s fun” India commented, nodding toward her companion.

“Aye well, ‘appen it is to them what can go inside when they like” Seth observed, gloomily.

“Arr” Popcorn nodded.

“Bet they can get mince pies whenever they want them, an’ all” Snowy observed, shaking snow off her coat in disgust.

“Are you still binding on about mince ruddy pies*?” Seth snapped.

“Just sayin’” Snowy said, innocently.

“I think it’th great!” Rohan grinned.

“He’ll change his tune” Seth observed.

“Aye” Popcorn agreed.

“’Appen” Snowy concurred.

“Why?  Why thould I change my tune?  I don’t have a tune, do I?”  Rohan looked at India in puzzlement.

“It means, to change your mind” India explained, “I think what Seth’s getting at is that, although snow’s pretty to look at and to play in, it can be a bit…inconvenient” India looked a little embarrassed.

“Incon..what?” Rohan looked puzzled.

“Tell ‘im, India” Seth urged.

“Aye” agreed Popcorn.

“Tha’ knows” Snowy nodded.

“Tell me what?” Rohan frowned.

“Well, it’s just…”  India thought hard about how to put it, “you know we have to come out here for a wee and…so on”

“And poo, yeah” Rohan nodded, enthusiastically.

“Yes, well, that’s no problem normally but, when the ground is all covered in snow…” India looked all around, pointedly.

“Yeah, what?” Rohan shrugged.

“Tha’ll get frost on thy bits!” Seth cackled.

“It’ll be chilly on thy willy!” Popcorn sniggered.

“Tha’ll get icicles on thy tricycles” Snowy suggested.

“You what?  That don’t make no sense!” Seth snapped.

“Sounded good though, ‘appen?” Snowy said, with injured pride.

“Aye, it did that” Seth nodded.

“I hadn’t thought about that” Rohan said, looking serious.

“It’s ok, you just have to clear a bit of an area” India explained, scratching at the surface delicately with her paw, to clear a small circle.

“Oh, I can do that!” Rohan yelled, enthusiastically, and set about digging into the snow, with both front paws, at high speed.

“’Ere!” Seth shouted.

“’Old up!” Popcorn yelled.

“’Ang about!” Snowy screamed.

“Will you stop that!” India snapped.

Rohan stopped his digging and looked around, panting furiously.

“What’s up?”  He asked.

Three goats and a dog, all covered in a fine coating of snow, stared back at him, crossly.

“Oh, thorry!” Rohan said, sheepishly, but there was a hint of a giggle in his voice.

“I think you’d better come back with me!” India said, sternly.

“Awww, do we have to go back in?” Rohan whined.

“Yes, we most certainly do!  We’re both wet through and goodness knows what Mom will have to say.  Plus, we don’t want to upset any more of the farm animals now, do we?”  She asked, pointedly, nodding toward the very dischuffed group of goats.

“Thuppothe not” Rohan reluctantly agreed.

The two dogs said their goodbyes to the goats, in Rohan’s case from a suitably safe distance, and headed back across the yard toward the warmth of the kitchen.

“I love thnow!” Rohan chuckled as he bounded along, jumping up to catch the flakes.

“You would!” India shook her head.

“Hey, look at me!” Rohan rolled backward and forward on the yard floor, finally getting up totally covered in snow.

“Yes, just look at you!  You look like a snowdog!”

“What’th a thnowdog?”  Rohan frowned.

“Well, if it’s been snowing, Flynn will often come out here and pile the snow up in the shape of a person.  They call that a snowman.  You look like someone’s done the same but made a dog instead” India smiled.

“Oh wow, I’m a thnowdog!” Rohan said, proudly, sitting up straight and posing.

“Just mind where they put the carrot!” India sniggered, shook herself free of snow, and trotted into the kitchen.

“Carrot?  What carrot?  What do you mean, Ninja?”  Rohan questioned, plodding after her, carrying his coating of snow into the kitchen, regardless.

India decided to cock a deaf ear and settled herself down in her crate again. 

“What carrot, Ninja?”  Rohan persisted, flopping his decidedly cold fur down next to her.

India pretended to be asleep but couldn’t help giggling a little, under her breath.  Rohan sighed the deep sigh of the severely misunderstood and unanswered, and dozed off, dreaming of snowdogs, snowmen and, for some reason, giant carrots.

*Snowy's fixation with mince pies is explained in a brand new and previously unpublished story contained in the new collection - 'Waggy Dog Tales 2', now available in Kindle and Paperback versions from Amazon.  All profits go to support TURN Education.