The Wink

Deb:

Scrambles had turned away from Freckles and appeared to be stalling for time to plan his next action. When he turned back to Freckles, he opened his mouth wide. I’m not completely sure whether he was laughing or yawning!

I said, “Scrambles, what in the world are you doing?”

Scrambles turned toward me and winked.

You Won't Believe What He Did!

Freckles:

I waited in my fully alert position, ears forward and chest out, ready to lunge once again if I needed to when the alien creature finally turned around. He bit at his back as though something was attacking it.

“I’m over here,” I shouted. Boy, this alien is stupider than I thought, if he believes that I was attacking his back when I was standing in front of him. I mean, I’m good – but not that good!

When he finished with his distraction, he turned back around and did something so frightful I couldn’t believe it. The dumb little creature laughed at me!

A Nervous Doggy

Deb:

Scrambles stopped and stared at Freckles. Then, in the middle of the confrontation he discovered an itchy part of his back and took a moment to bite at it. (We’ve noticed he does one of two things when he is nervous – either he runs to his food and chews loudly or he scratches his back.) In doing so he had to turn his head away from Freckles. She remained in an alert position, looking slightly confused yet ready to jump at him if he came any closer.

I wondered if I should get involved, but Freckles seemed to have the situation well in hand. This was her fight to claim her territory. I’d let her handle it (unless it got out of hand.)

Freckles' Battle Face

Freckles:

I got him! My impressive grunt so startled the alien creature that he stopped right where he was. He stared at me for a moment, and then so terrified was he that he turned his face away. The sight of my battle face can still strike fear into my enemies. I had momentarily wondered if I still had the knack. I now see that I am as powerful as ever.

Pouncing and Grunting

Deb:

Freckles had hidden herself beside the recliner. The poor little thing seemed to be afraid of Scrambles. They were close to the same size so I had hoped that they would eventually be friends. But, territory is everything with animals and I guess Scrambles wasn’t too careful about invading Freckles’ territory.

After his exploration of her box, Scrambles ran straight for the recliner and for what I knew would be a confrontation with the little bunny. With a loud grunt Freckles pounced into the open directly in front of Scrambles. He stopped, sat, and stared.

Impressing Thor

Freckles:

The alien creature took its sweet time figuring out that I had exited my cave through the back door. It sniffed and searched all around the cave. It even went inside! I questioned its intelligence. Maybe, I thought, it wasn’t fair to jump out at a dumb animal. Maybe I should just remain hidden until it went away. Maybe I could even try to make friends with the weird little thing.

But, there wasn’t time for maybes…I peeked out and saw the alien creature approaching at a high rate of speed. It was now or never. I lunged from my hiding place and issued the loudest grunt I could manage. Even Thor the Norse god of thunder would have been impressed!

A Safe Spot

A short intermission --




We got this great award from The Fluffies!

This is what they said:

“This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

So, we're supposed to choose 8 blogs to pass it on to. But, we had to choose and are not sure who has already received it. If your blog is listed on our Blogroll and you haven't already received this award, please award it to yourself!! We love you all and think you do a terrific job!

And now back to our story...

Deb:

Freckles ran out the back door of her box and headed for the recliner. One of her favorite places to rest in the liviing room is in the space between the recliner and the side table. It’s a protected location where she feels safe. Scrambles must have startled her enough to feel she needed the safety of her favorite spot.

The Plan

Freckles:

I needed to lead that alien away from my cave. I shot out the back door and ran across the clearing to the giant rock. My plan was to hide beside the rock. Then, when the alien rushed over, I’d jump out at him and scare him away.

Well, the first part of the plan worked. I made it to the rock and hid as quickly as I could.

Has Freckles Mellowed?

Deb:

Scrambles poked his head into Freckles’ box. His tail almost wagged off with excitement, so thrilled was he to see Freckles again. Hmmmm, I thought. Maybe Freckles will have mellowed and gotten used to the idea of Scrambles being here. I decided to sit back and wait to see what happened. It didn’t take long to realize that things hadn’t really changed.

Invading Freckles' Personal Space

Freckles:

I heard the high-voiced one open the portal, and I hunkered down against the wall of my cave. Maybe the annoying little pest wouldn’t find me inside, because I was pretty sure that my cave wasn’t here the last time he visited. No such luck. The sound of little feet stampeding toward my cave dashed my hopes of a peaceful afternoon. I would just have to make sure that the Alien knew from the get-go that this was MY cave and he had to stay out. NO ALIENS ALLOWED! I was figuring out how I was going to accomplish that when he suddenly stuck his head into the doorway, sniffing and snorting as though he were a bull.

The Visit

Deb:

A young girl lived at the home where Scrambles resided. It seemed that she has been having some allergic reactions to something, and they thought that the “something” might be Scrambles. They needed him to go stay elsewhere so that they could give the house a good cleaning and see if she got better. My son lived in an apartment where he could not keep a dog, so he wondered if we could take Scrambles for a week or so.

Scrambles had been to visit us a few times. An adorable little Chihuahua mix, he LOVED Freckles! He followed her everywhere and played with her toys. The problem was that Freckles didn’t love Scrambles. No matter how many times she lunged and grunted at him, he always came back for more. I’m pretty sure he thought she was playing with him. We all managed to survive the visits because they were short. But what would Freckles think if Scrambles stayed and didn’t leave as he always had before.

As I pondered and dusted, a little nervous about what was to come, a knock came at the front door and I heard the barking of a small dog. I opened the front door and welcomed my son and Scrambles to the house. Scrambles made a beeline for Freckles’ box.

IT'S BACK!!!

Freckles:

The sound of the knock on the portal brought me to my feet with my ears pointed forward and alert. It wasn’t the knock that had upset me so. Oh, no, a knock would not bother me in the least – it was sometimes interesting to see who followed the knock into the Other World. No, it was the noise that accompanied the knock that I found disturbing. It was a high-pitched yap –annoying and grating. I knew that sound from its owner’s last visit.

The Alien Creature had returned!

The Favor

Deb:

I spent the morning cleaning house -- the kitchen first, the bathrooms next, and finally the living room. I try to run the vacuum cleaner when Freckles isn’t in the room, because I know it upsets her. She doesn’t always run down the hall to her room anymore when I turn it on, but I know the noise bothers her ears. How could it not? But, she had remained entrenched in her box all morning, so I hadn’t had a chance to catch a time when she was gone. Therefore, I vacuumed as quickly as I could.

I was dusting the furniture in the living room with my Swiffer Duster (one of the top 10 greatest inventions ever!), when my youngest son called and asked a favor. I thought long and hard about his request, because I knew it would not make Freckles happy. However, a young child’s health was involved, so how could I say no?

A Knock on the Portal

Freckles:

It all started, as these things sometimes do, with a nap. I rested inside my giant cave in the Other World with visions of grassy fields piled high with bowls of carrots. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the high-voiced one bustling around waving a silly-looking fuzzy thing. She had already awoken me once with the roar of that huge monster she chases around the Other World on occasion. I have learned to ignore her and it, pretending I don’t notice the ear-grinding noise or intrusion they churn up.

I’d found that I could ignore most regular-occurring noises with the exception of Nice Guy’s arrivals and the rustling sound of food pouches. Those sounds have always brought my ears to attention and my heart leaping for joy. However, the sound that I suddenly heard on this afternoon was one that sent chills down my spine. I remembered that sound from a previous time and I also remembered the misery that accompanied it through the portal.

A New Adventure!

Join us tomorrow as we share the first episode of a brand new adventure!

Be prepared to take a ride on the Freckles and Deb story roller coaster! This tale will amaze you with cunning, treachery, betrayal, and love. You will laugh, cry, bite your nails, scream, and sometimes sigh. A new character will be introduced and a former character will return.

Are you ready? Get a good night’s sleep tonight – you may have nightmares tomorrow!

(Hee, hee, hee)
Freckles and Deb