The Trouble with Tootsie

Tootsie was a very very small honey-colored dog. She was the tiniest Shetland Sheepdog that her family had ever adopted. She was so small that her family often could not even find her. But the trouble with Tootsie wasn’t so much that she was so small. No, the trouble with Tootsie was that she liked to hide! And, when Tootsie was hiding, her family would have to search for her all through the house. They would look under newspapers, blankets, and towels. They would look behind the big green fern near the antique china cupboard and under the piano. They would look behind the big wing chair in the living room and under the bed. They would look under the dining room table and under each of the six chairs. And then they would look, one more time, under the bed.

But there was one place Tootsie’s family never bothered to look. And that was in her kennel. And do you know why they never bothered to look in her kennel? Well, they never bothered to look in her kennel because Tootsie never ever hid there. And do you know why she never ever hid there? Well, she never ever hid there because she didn’t like it. Tootsie didn’t like her kennel because that’s where she was supposed to stay at night and she didn’t want to sleep there. And do you know why she didn’t want to sleep there? The trouble with Tootsie was that she didn’t want to sleep in her kennel because she wanted to sleep with her family.

Even though she could plainly see that her two sister Shetland Sheepdogs, Jingle and Cricket, both enjoyed sleeping in their kennels, Tootsie was not accustomed to sleeping in hers. In fact, until she was adopted by the Johnson’s, she had hardly ever been inside a kennel. Especially at bedtime. You see, before she came to live in her new home, Tootsie was allowed to sleep wherever she wanted. And, the trouble with Tootsie was that she was used to having her way. And, having her way meant hiding. And hiding, well, you guessed it, almost always led to trouble.

One evening at bedtime, the Johnson’s, as usual, were searching for Tootsie, but she was not in any of her usual hiding places. She was not behind the piano, under the dining room table or chairs or behind the big green fern near the antique china cupboard. She was not under the newspapers, blankets, or towels. She was not under the bed or behind the wingback chair. Tootsie was nowhere to be found. They searched and they searched but they could not find her anywhere.

Jingle and Cricket joyfully jumped into their kennels and curled up for the night. They were not worried at all. But Tootsie’s family was very worried. Always, before, Tootsie had been found in time to go into her kennel at bedtime. But the trouble with Tootsie was that she was missing! And her family didn’t know what to do!

Then, suddenly, a very tiny scratching sound could be heard coming from somewhere in the house. Where was it coming from? The bedroom? No. The bathroom? No. The living room, dining room, kitchen? No. Was it coming from the basement? No. But it certainly was coming from somewhere. Where do you think it was coming from? From Tootsie? Yes! But where was Tootsie?

The scratching was getting louder and louder, along with some very small barks that were getting bigger and bigger. Tootsie’s family followed the sounds and, well, guess what they found! They found that the sounds were coming from a little door at the top of the stairs, a little door that led to the attic. Tootsie had somehow found her way up the stairs, through the door, and into the attic. But the trouble with Tootsie was that she couldn’t get back out again.

Tootsie’s family rushed up the stairs and the very second they opened the door, Tootsie escaped. She scrambled out of the attic, shot down the stairway, and—just like magic—disappeared. The trouble with Tootsie was that she was, once again, hiding. But where was she hiding this time? Her family searched in all the usual places—again—but Tootsie was not in a single one of them?

Her family was almost ready to give up, when they suddenly had a brilliant idea. Do you know what that idea was? They decided to look in the least possible likely place in which Tootsie might be hiding. Where do you suppose that was? Yes! They went directly to her kennel and looked inside. There was Tootsie, curled up in a corner. She looked back at them, wagged her tail, and stretched out for a good night’s sleep. Tootsie had found the very best hiding place of all and it seemed that, finally, the trouble with Tootsie was over. What do you think?

By Coralie Cederna Johnson