Shale And The Park

A Short Story by HrryNrmn

Shale was bored. Sure, the sun was shining and the air held the promise of warm summer in its zephyrs and breezes, but Shale was stuck without anything meaningful to do. He walked down the sidewalk, as he was wont to do, looking for someone, anyone to talk to. He stopped at a gray house with a gabled roof. Out in front of the house was a Pomeranian, tied to a lead that was attached to a hook in the ground. Having not met this particular dog before, Shale decided that it was time to make friends. He walked up, his face a broad doggy grin. Shale loved making new friends.

“Hi!” he said happily. “My name’s Shale! You want to go run with me?”

The Pomeranian rolled his eyes. “Oh yes,” he said, gesturing at the lead with one paw, “because I’m so good at that. Especially because of how I’m not tied up or anything.”

Shale dropped his eyes slightly, feeling vaguely downcast. “Well…”he rallied, “you could run to the end of the lead and back.” He wagged his tail and prepared to bounce happily across the lawn. However, the Pomeranian only snorted rudely, lay down, and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. Shale, his feelings hurt, walked dejectedly back toward the road. As he went, he half expected the Pomeranian to invite him to come back, however, the small dog ignored him totally. He got to the sidewalk and walked nearly half a block down the road before a small voice from the yard next to him caught his attention.

“Hey!” the voice said, in a friendly tone. “What’s the matter? You look sad.” Shale turned his head and saw a large fox squirrel standing in the center of the lawn. Her front paws were curled up at her chest and her tail was curved over her back. She looked rather like a small prairie dog.

“Well…” said Shale, rather sadly. “Nothing, I guess.” He sighed, and then continued. “I…I don’t have anyone who wants to run with me.” With that sad pronouncement, he plopped down on his haunches and stared sadly at his own front paws, his wedge-shaped head hanging.

The squirrel crept closer to the large dog. “Well…I’m pretty good at running. Would you like to run with me?” She climbed between Shale’s front paws and looked hopefully up into his face. At this offer, Shale looked happier than a child opening Christmas presents. He leapt to his feet, almost toppling the squirrel beneath him over, and he barked excitedly.

“I’d love to run!” he exclaimed excitedly. “Where do you want to run to?” The

squirrel pondered this question momentarily.

“Hmm…” she thought out loud. “How about the park? It’s right down the street.” She took a couple of bounding steps in the direction of the city park.

“Um…I don’t know.” Shale sounded doubtful. “I don’t really think I’m supposed to go in there.” He remembered a sign next to the park entrance, and while he naturally couldn’t read, he knew a picture of a dog when he saw one. There was a bright red line through the dog. Shale was pretty sure that that meant that he had better give the park a wide berth. Furthermore, he remembered a truck and a couple of men in uniforms. They had grabbed a dog and put that dog in the back of the truck. Shale hadn’t seen the dog again. He didn’t care to find out exactly where that dog had gone.

“Well, we can’t run around out here,” the squirrel said, sounding slightly impatient. “Come on, we only have to do it for a little while if you want to.” She shook her tail briskly, in a way that seemed to say, ‘Hurry up, will you? I don’t have all day!’

Shale deliberated for a few more seconds. Then he grinned. “Well…I guess a little while in the park can’t hurt me.”

“Great!” the squirrel squeaked. “Let’s go!” With that, she turned and raced like the wind down the sidewalk. The great chase was on!

They entered the park, which was bordered on all four sides by a high stone wall. The entrance was wide enough for two or three people to walk in side by side, and there was an ornate, wrought iron arch above it that spelled out ‘Havenwood City Park’. Next to the entrance was the sign that Shale had been worried about. It made it very clear that dogs were not welcome in the park. It also added that unattended dogs would be taken as strays. It furthermore stated that the ordinance was strictly enforced by the local animal control. However, Shale, now completely caught up in chasing the friendly squirrel, completely ignored this sign.

Shale, since he was a greyhound, naturally had the edge in speed. However, the squirrel was smaller and more agile than Shale. They tore around the park like lightning. Just as Shale would get the squirrel to a point where he figured he’d finally be able to catch her, she would jig to one side and send Shale on an elliptical orbit to the side, slowing him down and buying herself more space. Her size also gave her an advantage; she was able to run underneath park benches and picnic tables, while Shale was forced to leap on and over them. Presently, both Shale and his new friend stopped to catch their breath. Shale’s big doggy grin was back. There was scarcely anything he liked better than running or chasing. Just as they were about to resume their chase, Shale happened to look toward the park entrance, which was near to where they were sitting. When he did, his heart sank.

There at the entrance to the park was the truck he had seen before. And coming in through the entrance, like malevolent angels of doom, were two uniformed men. Shale’s mouth dropped open and he whined helplessly.

“Oh no!” he cried. “Those men are here to get me!” His new friend took one look at the men and scampered up a nearby tree. “Hey!” called Shale. “What am I supposed to do now?”

The squirrel descended the trunk of the tree, and looking down at Shale, said, “Why don’t you climb a tree?”

Shale looked slightly dumbfounded. “I can’t climb a tree! I’m not a squirrel!”

The squirrel looked at him and seemed to shrug, or at least, as close to a shrug as a squirrel could achieve. “Huh,” she said. “I guess you’re not.” She trailed off. “Well, good-bye!” With that, she whirled like the wind and was up into the branches and out of site almost before Shale could tell what had happened.

Shale was frightened. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He certainly could keep the men from catching him if he wanted to, however, there was no way out of the park other than the main entrance. He was trapped! One of the men was about to advance on Shale, and Shale figured he’d just have to try and leap past both men, when he felt a hand on the scruff of his neck. His heart leapt into his throat.

“Why, Snookums, I’ve been looking for you all day!” a squeaky voice rasped. Shale jerked his head around, wondering if he was going to have to bite whoever was behind him. He didn’t know how he felt about that precisely. He’d never even nipped a human before. However, he didn’t have to, as the human behind him was an elderly lady with white hair and thick spectacles. Her face was small and very wrinkled. In one bony hand she held a heavy cane, although she used it more for pointing at and sometimes hitting things than for walking. Her clothes screamed ‘no nonsense’ and her demeanor conveyed exactly the same idea. Even though Shale had no idea what a ‘Snookums’ was, and wasn’t even precisely sure that the name didn’t apply to him, he held still while the woman continued talking. “Now you come home with me right this instant and I’ll get you a snack.”

Shale could have kissed the woman, and in fact, he licked her hand right then and there. The idea of ‘going home’ appealed to him greatly. If nothing else, this woman was going to be able to get him away from the dogcatchers, who were currently discussing him and the elderly woman. The prospect of a ‘snack’ and by extension, dinner later, was simply the icing on the cake. Shale permitted himself to be led toward the exit, although when they got there, a burly dogcatcher waylaid them.

“Here now!” he said loudly. “You know those dogs aren’t allowed in here.”

“Well he just got away from me this morning and he must have ran in here,” the old woman said. “He didn’t do any harm and now we’re on our way.”

“Be sure that you keep him tied up,” said the dogcatcher. “We’ve got our jobs to do, you know.” The old woman turned a keen eye on the man towering over her.

“You’re Brian O’Malley, aren’t you!” she said in a shrill voice, pointing one withered finger at him like a weapon. “Didn’t I have you in my third grade class? Unless I disremember, you were often causing trouble.” She turned a withering glare on him, the same she’d used to silence unruly third graders for nearly forty years. The glare had never failed to have its effect, and it did not fail now. The dogcatcher, now recognizing his old teacher, became abashed, looked down at the ground and kicked at a pebble self-consciously. His partner snickered aloud.

“Oh…um…yes, Miss Harris,” he said, blushing from his chin to the roots of his crew cut. “You…er…have a nice day now.” Miss Harris swished past him, Shale trailing behind in her wake. The man’s partner was now laughing aloud. With that, Shale was free once more. Naturally, he could have simply run away from the old woman and she would have never been able to catch him. However, as before, the prospect of dinner was tantalizing, and he was content to be called ‘Snookums’ for at least a while longer. The woman continued along the sidewalk at a slow but steady pace, and Shale was content to walk along beside her, her old hand resting comfortably on his upper back.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at the old woman’s house, which was a dark and rather forbidding structure, set back from the road. It wasn’t particularly large, however it seemed to loom over the yard and the various small trees and plants that made up the landscaping. Shale was slightly nervous about the house, although he had no concrete reason why.

“Well come on, Snookums,” the old lady shrilled. “Come in and we’ll get you that snack!” This was enough for Shale to recover from his initial fright, and he ambled gratefully inside. The door opened into a long hallway, which was done in hardwood flooring. Shale’s toenails clicked with every step he took. He was careful of his tail, especially, because the hallway contained a variety of end tables and knickknacks that he was afraid of knocking over. The old woman led him into an adjoining room, which turned out to be a cozy and well-kept kitchen. The lighting in this kitchen was much better than in the hallway. The woman swept over to the refrigerator and retrieved a small, but delicious looking piece of meat. Shale’s ears perked up at the thought of the treat he was about to receive. The woman was bending over to put the meat on a dish on the floor, when she seemed to take her first close look at the dog standing near her.

“Why…why…you’re not Snookums!” she shouted. Shale, who had known all along that he was not, figured the woman must only be frightened. She seemed nice enough, so he thought that perhaps she only needed some reassurance and then she’d continue with the serving of the meat. He trotted up to her and jumped up, putting his paws on her shoulders. He made as though to kiss her on the face. “Ahh!” she shouted, which was not the response Shale had expected. She put both hands on his chest and shoved him backwards with all the force her five-foot frame could muster. As it turned out, this was quite a great deal of force. Shale toppled over on his back, landing with a thud on the floor. “Get out of my house, you…you…imposter!” she yelled. Shale, never one to overstay his welcome, snatched the piece of meat off the dish on the floor and raced out into the hallway. However, he misjudged his ability to run on hardwood, and he careened off course, slamming into an end table and knocking a lamp to the ground with a crash.

At this, the woman’s voice became a piercing, fire engine shriek. “My lamp!” she cried. “Get out of this house, you monster! How dare you pretend to be my Snookums?” She came after him, swinging her cane as though it were a hockey stick and Shale were a puck, lined up for a slap shot. Shale, sensing that bodily harm was imminent, recovered his balance and took off down the hall. He simply leaped through the door, crashing through the screen. Luckily for him, the old woman hadn’t closed the heavy oak door on the outside. A bound took him down the front steps and two more took him all the way to the sidewalk. With the old woman behind him, still howling about monsters and Shale’s audacity at pretending to be Snookums, he button hooked to the right and was off down the street.

After a block or so, he slowed so that he could enjoy some of the meat he’d grabbed. He gulped down the meat and licked his lips happily. Despite its problems, the day had turned out all right after all.