It was early morning at the Browns’ mansion at Snob Hill. The sun had only just started to rise above the horizon, but most of the citizens were still sleeping, bar one animal:

Tramp had only just started to wake up. He opened his eyes and noticed the early morning light through the open window. He now decided to wake up instead of sleeping for longer because he had a plan for the day. He looked around as he got up on all four paws and saw that all other dogs were still asleep. As he did so, he stretched both his front and back legs as quietly as possible and walked over to his son’s bed. Scamp, now as big as his father, was also fast asleep; but that would be cut short when Tramp nudged him lightly to wake him up.

“Scamp. Whirlwind, wake up.” He said softly.

“Mmmm…mmhhhhh,” Scamp groaned and sighed sleepily as he half opened his eyes. “Dad?”

“That’s your old man, son.” Tramp replied charmfully.

“Ohhh, what is it? Why are you waking me up so early? The sun isn’t even up yet.”

“Oh, it will be my boy. I just thought that you and I should spend the day together; get an early start.”

“Why?”

“Scamp,” Tramp sighed as he continued. “There are a lot of things that I think you should know. I should have told you when you were younger about my life on the streets, but I was too wrapped up in the family living. But I realize now that you might be interested in knowing about the Old Tramp. There are some places around town that I would like to show you.”

Scamp got up as he heard his father say this. Instead of looking up at him like he used to, he was now looking straight at him. Scamp had grown very fast since his puppy days.

Scamp looked both surprised and happy at his father’s idea.

“Really? A little father-son adventure?”

“I would love to relive some good memories…” Tramp replied with a light pause. “…with my son.”

“Hey, slick move!” Scamp responded in excitement. “Let’s go!”

“Sshhhhh! Not so loud.” Tramp shushed as he looked at his beautiful cocker spaniel mate, Lady; Angel, who was sleeping in a bed near Scamp’s; and his three daughters who were sleeping next to Lady. “We don’t want to wake them up.”

“Sorry, dad. Do they know?”

“Your mom does, and she’ll tell your sisters and Angel as well. Don’t worry about them for now; let’s do our business.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

So they both slipped out through the pet flap and then the gap under the gate around the house that Scamp had once escaped through; which had now been temporarily extended so that Tramp could also squeeze under. When they were both through, they walked away from Snob Hill and towards the southern districts of the town, where the history of Tramp’s street life was ready to be interpreted.  

*

Tramp took Scamp downtown, and after about ten minutes of walking though the town they eventually came to a small station near the railroad tracks. Opposite the station lay a large steel pipe underneath a water tower that was constantly dripping. This pipe was large enough for a dog to sleep in; and this was the sight where Tramp made his shelter when he was living collar-free.

“This is where I always used to sleep.” Tramp was saying to his son. “I would also take shelter here in the rain; and every morning the train would blow its whistle as it would be leaving the station; so it was a good wake up call for me?”

“Train whistle?” Scamp asked, slightly confused. “Didn’t it ever disturb you when you needed to sleep at night, or limit your sleeping times?”

“No, the train never ran late at night. It would always finish running just after the humans would be sound asleep, so there were no disturbing noises in the night. Plus I never liked sleeping in because there was always so much to do every day, and I feel that you never really live if you are not active enough, so it is important to keep the body moving.”

“I know that I like to keep my body moving.”

“Good to see that you are still active, whirlwind.”

They both chuckled lightly.

“This is what I did every morning right after waking up.” Tramp walked over to the small pool that had been created by the leaking water from the water tower, and took a drink from it. He then let himself under the dripping water and let himself get wet all over, before shaking it all off.

“Ahh, so that’s how you wake up every morning.” Scamp remarked with a smile.

“Splashing water on yourself just takes the sleep right out of you.” Tramp replied. “It kinda gives you the “kickstart of energy” that you need for the start of the day.”

“That also doesn’t seem like a bad way to take a bath, considering I used to think that there wasn’t.”

“It actually feels pretty good. Try it out for yourself.”

So Scamp did the same thing that his father did a moment ago: The drink, shower, then shake. Scamp seemed to like it, much better than a normal bath, so he was already reconsidering the better wash options.

“Boy, that is good. Slick move, dad!”

“Slick move, indeed.” Tramp replied, seemingly admiring his son’s favourite quote. “Come on, let’s continue.”

So they left the train station and headed through the town, eventually coming to one of the alleyways. This one in particular seemed both a fond and dangerous memory for Tramp.

“Ahhh,” Tramp began, thinking of that wonderful time in this alley. “This is the place where I first got to know your mother.”

“Here?” Scamp asked curiously. “How did you both end up in the same alleyway?”

“I was out eating my lunch near the town, when all of a sudden I heard some fierce barking from a gang of strays. They came into my sight and I spotted this small cocker spaniel being chased by a group of three mutts. I ran after them until they eventually cornered her in this very dead end. It looked like she was done for, but using my street wisdom I found a way around and jumped over the back of this fence to get in front of her in defense. The fight with the three mutts seemed tough, but I was stronger than any of them and was able to defend their attacks and hit them in the weak parts to slow their momentum. Knowing that they were too beaten up to fight back and that I had all the advantage, they retreated. I got scratched and a little banged up, but it was nothing serious.”

At this time Scamp was in both awe and shock, thinking about how his father could have taken on three vicious mutts by himself and not only survived, but won. My father really is the best there ever was! How was I supposed to know that I carried these genes all along?

“After they left,” Tramp continued. “I then turned to the cocker spaniel and noticed that she had had an awful muzzle put on her, which she didn’t have before when I met her for the first time.”

“How on earth did she get that?”

“She told me that Aunt Sarah had mistaken her for wrecking the house when it was those rascal Siamese cats of hers who had set Pigeon up; and therefore punished her by strapping that muzzle on her. It was a very selfish and cowardly thing to do.” Tramp scowled as he said this; because he despised Si and Am just as much as the whole family did. “Anyway, we took a trip to the zoo and somehow got a beaver to bite the strap and remove it from her face. He then used the muzzle as a sort of ‘log-puller’ to shift his wood. I suggested the idea to him to convince him to remove it.”

“Probably because he was so busy building his beaver dam that he couldn’t stop to chat.” Scamp responded with a seeming knowledge of certain animals. “That seems like a typical beaver to me.”

“Oh, you know it, whirlwind.” Tramp replied with a slight chuckle.

“But I had a feeling that there was something about Aunt Sarah that I didn’t like.” Scamp scowled. He always despised pretty much everything about Aunt Sarah from the moment he laid eyes on her from his birth, as well as her conceited attitude. “She seems just a typical cat-lover with some serious issues over us canines. She needs an attitude adjustment.”

“Maybe. But she has gotten better over time and learned to be more polite, so don’t go saying the wrong things with reference to earlier impressions, Scamp. Some humans just need time to learn.”

“Yeah, I suppose. I will try. You know that I will.”

Tramp just smiled lightly and then got onto the next topic of the tour.

“Come on, let’s continue.”

Tramp led Scamp to the street of high-class houses where he used to visit during each week. He explained that he saw each one of them one day a week and they would comfort and feed him.

“These people have very soft spots for all types of dogs; both house and stray; and I made friends with all of them.” Tramp explained. “Whenever I needed to eat or receive some human company, they would always take me in.”

“Sounds like everyone loved you around this town.” Scamp replied. “You must have been pretty popular.”

“Well…” Tramp began with a light chuckle. “You could say that they kind of fell for my charm and affection. I was pretty good at making all the dames sigh for me, so that must have been realized through human eyes also. The thing is that you really have to work for their affection to get them to give you attention. So once I earned their respect, I knew that it would be harder for the dogcatchers to get to me because I would have friends watching out for me.”

“Smart thinking.” Scamp responded.

They then went to the street where most of the foreign restaurants of the town were, and Tramp spotted a familiar alleyway next to an Italian restaurant called “Tony’s”.

“This is where I used to dig up my breakfast and lunch.” Tramp began. “This was definitely my favourite place to eat, because these boys…”

“I know this place!” Scamp interrupted. “This is where Angel and I had our first official date; the day after I ran away.”

“You and Angel had your first date here?!” Tramp exclaimed, knowing that this was very coincidental as he and Lady had their first date here as well.

“Yeah. We took a stroll out that night and played around and had some fun together. We then smelled this beautiful food from the streets and came here. Out of nothing the two Italian men saw the both of us as we walked in from behind and offered us a table. They then cooked us some pasta with meatballs, and Angel and I had our very romantic dinner together. That was the most wonderful night of my life.” Scamp started to drift off with dreamy eyes as he remembered Angel kissing him after their dinner. From that moment he knew that it was true love in his eyes; and to him it was the best thing that he had ever felt.

Scamp then remembered his father’s sudden surprise reaction when he began telling him about his and Angel’s first date: “You seemed a bit surprised about this, dad.” He therefore remarked curiously.

“Yes I am.” Tramp replied in an amazed tone. “This is an amazing coincidence, but this is also where your mother and I had our first date here.”

“You have got to be kidding?!” Scamp replied in both surprise and amusement.

“I’m not. On the eve when we got that muzzle off of her, I took her around and showed her the ropes of the streets. Soon we came across here and I offered to take her out for dinner. The boys developed a very soft spot for her when I brought her to their attention; and for such a beautiful breed and looks to match, who couldn’t be, really? They then set up a table for us and also served us pasta with meatballs, while playing some beautiful music at the same time. And then…-” Tramp then went inside his memories and remembered when both he and Lady were slowly eating up the same pasta noodle when they got closer to each other and finally ended it with a kiss. “…then came the kiss when we were both eating the same noodle. That was probably the most romantic moment of my life. That was the moment when I finally found true love.” He then went all dreamy at this thought.

Scamp just stared in amazement at the same experience he had with Angel. This must be the place where love becomes true: the birth of love. He thought.

“Come.” Tramp continued. “Let me show you where we went to after the dinner.” And Scamp followed after his old man as they headed to another familiar place.

Soon they were both traveling though Veterans Park; coming across some of the war memorial statues that listed the names of the soldiers lost in World Wars I and II; crossing the Japanese-style arch bridge over the river; and finally stopping at a love heart that had been drawn into the concrete while the cement was still wet. Within the heart, two paw prints had been imprinted next to each other, and Tramp pointed out to Scamp that this was his and Lady’s paw prints.

“This meant a sign of true love for the both of us.” Tramp was explaining. “There was no way that I was ever going to do it if it was just pure desire. Your mother was different from others that I have seen on the streets. She is probably the sweetest, most gentle and beautiful diva that I have ever dated, and that is when I realized the true meaning of love.”

“You already had dates before?” Scamp asked.

“Yes…” Tramp remarked with a slight chuckle of guilt and embarrassment. “I dated five different dames before I met your mother. I could not help falling for their beauty, but some of them even tried seducing me; and I kept giving in. In a way you could say that I had a weak Achilles heel, or no willpower. I just didn’t know about principles or when to be strong on the inside. Anyway, none of that was serious and each one of them never lasted more than under two weeks.”

“I can see why they loved you:” Scamp replied in a fun and cheeky tone. “You have both charm and the looks to match, right?”

“Ha ha. That’s what I would have thought back then. But anyway, that is all in the past and your mother’s love means everything to me. I don’t know how I could have continued my life on the streets if she walked away from me. If I couldn’t have your mother, I would have lost everything that ever made me feel alive.”

“Did she ever find out about these dames?”

The mention of this took Tramp back to when Lady went mad at him for not mentioning his girlfriends or his “Achilles heel” to her. “Yes she did.” Tramp responded with a slight twinge of pain as he cringed at the thought of it. “But it wasn’t from me: She accidentally got picked up by the dogcatchers when we were chasing chickens and was taken to the pound. Once there she met some old friends of mine and received the unspoken information about me from them. They told her about my old girlfriends; but also my abilities and attitudes out on the streets. Then once she confronted me, she told me to go away and never come near her again. I was hurt at first, but we made up in the end when she told me that she only said those things to protect me; and also because she had a tough time through being captured, chained up and treated badly by Aunt Sarah; and she just had to snap at someone or something. The dames she didn’t worry about because she understood that they were in the past and she was the sign of true love to me.”

Scamp didn’t say anything because he was deep in thought at all of this. He never even had an idea that his own father lacked willpower. He only hoped that he wasn’t as weak in his own mind either.

“Come.” Tramp said, ready to move on to the next memorable place in his mind. “Let me show you this.” And with that they both moved on to another location in the park.

Tramp took Scamp to a ridge at the edge of the park that looked over the entire town of New Haven with the beautiful mountain ranges seen behind the town stretching out over the horizon. The sun had risen far enough above the horizon line to signal mid morning, and it was a beautiful sight to see.

“This is where your mother and I slept that night.” Tramp spoke dreamingly. “I couldn’t think of anything better than to wake up to the beautiful sight of the sun rising on the horizon and the early morning light hitting the landscape.”

“Yeah, this view is incredible!” Scamp exclaimed in amazement, seeing a sight that he had never seen before and loving it. “We can see just about everything from up here.”

“I know; beautiful isn’t it?” Tramp replied, then continued on; “I actually offered to take your mother through the hills and go traveling far away from the town to get, what I described it at the time, a vibe of what a dog’s life can really be like. I encouraged her to try something new by getting out and living away for a bit from the ‘collar and leash’ life, as I used to put it. She really did appreciate the offer, but she politely turned it down as she said that someone needed to be around to take care of the baby.”

“Junior?”

“Yes. He had only just been born at that time, and he needed to be looked after as he was growing up. Plus her owners really did love her and I understood that they could not stand losing her; so I let it be and took her home.”

“I see.” Scamp replied in thought, thinking that his father had thought the same idea of bringing out the ‘real dog’ in a dog as Scamp did when he was dreaming of running free and making a real living. But if she had family to take care of and love, then that was probably the best decision to make. Scamp thought. I admire that sense of wisdom in her.

Tramp and Scamp then descended from the ridge and though Veterans Park once again, before exiting it and continuing on through to the old and more historic locations of the town. They came across a very old wooden house that had probably stood there for around 50 years. It had been abandoned and it was in a very quiet and fairly remote location from the main suburban areas.  

“This used to be my home when I got adopted.” Tramp said.

“You had a home before going to the streets?” Scamp asked in surprise.

“Yes. When I was only six weeks old; my mum and dad put my brothers, sisters and I up for adoption. I got picked up by this very sweet old lady called Judith and taken back here. I lived a very happy house life with her for just over a year before she finally passed away from old age at 72. The truth is that she was ageing and feeling lonely after her husband passed away several years ago; and so she wanted some pleasurable company to keep her happy until it was her time to go. She just didn’t want to go out depressed.” He paused for a second before continuing. “Anyway, it was sad losing her since our bond never lasted long, so I was missing her; but I had to quickly get over it as the next part of my life came: The collar free life. I knew that I was now old enough to start taking care of myself and face up to some new challenges. So then I escaped to the streets.”

“Did she ever give you another name?”

“She named me Butch; and so the name tag hung on my collar after it became official. The boys at Tony’s noticed it after I fled to the streets and they always called me by my first name. I never officially became THE Tramp until I proved that I could stand on my own four paws and tackle the streets without fail.”

Scamp became confused. “What do you mean?”

“The same that Buster put you through to qualify as a street dog: I was put through several tests by a teacher to prove that I could become a worthy stray. So I kind of became a student of one of the more experienced street dogs; Rocky: A German Shepard/Sheepdog hybrid. We both met in an alleyway in the middle of the town several days after I fled this house; and I told him that I desperately wanted to become a street dog, but he seemed untrustworthy at first because I was a house dog. Even then he saw how desperate I was and he was willing to give me a chance by setting me up with several tests. They involved stealing or begging for food at restaurants, fighting vicious street mutts, and learning the moves and stunts performed in the alleyways. All this training that I did with Rocky was tough, intense, and often very physical; and so it was hard to keep up with him, but all I needed was time and practice; including improvement on my fitness levels. The thing is that if you want to survive out here, your heath and fitness must be in top shape, otherwise you will not last as long as the others.”

“That makes me wonder how much longer Scratchy would have lasted out here.” Scamp briefly added, thinking about one of the former Junkyard Dogs, who was very scruffy and was losing his hair due to constant scratching from fleas.

“Yeah; looking at him, he probably wouldn’t have lived for more than 6 to 7 years at the least.” Tramp affirmed. “I hope that he is in better health now.” He then got back on point. “Anyway, the training went on for a month, and I succeeded in every test that he put me through. In that time I had survived every risk taken: I never lost a fight, always got a feed when needed, and outsmarted every single dogcatcher that targeted me. Not even Rocky got caught, no surprise, because he was very experienced. So then Rocky officially declared me a street dog and removed my collar. There were not many words that I could describe how I felt after finally making it to this stage; it felt so great.” Tramp then went from smiling in sweet memory to slight sadness.

Scamp noticed his father’s sudden change of facial expression. “Did something bad happen after that?”

Tramp sighed sadly just before speaking: “Shortly after it all happened, Rocky got struck down by a deadly paralysis tick that got him when he was walking through long grass, and the toxin spread to his bloodstream and slowed his respiratory system; which then killed him.”

Scamp looked both shocked and fearful at the thought of ticks.

“Just before he passed away…” Tramp continued sadly. “…he told me that I was the best student he had ever trained and that I am a natural born leader; so he called me The Tramp, and the name stuck ever since. He added that I will have the other street dogs look up to me when I train them to survive. Those words were very flattering, and to me he felt like the father that I never had; so it was quite heartbreaking for me to see him go. He was about 11 years old when he passed, so he seemed to be growing older, but it was still sad, considering that he was not the first loved one that left me.” Tramp’s voice was lowered in a sad and soft tone as he was saying this, but it then rose up slightly again when he got to the next topic.  

“Anyway,” He continued. “I was left alone to run my own gauntlet; and not long after then, this is when I found the Junkyard. Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

“The Junkyard?!” Scamp asked in shock, thinking that going back there would be too risky. “Won’t Buster be there? He could rip us to shreds.”

“Sparky told me that Buster had left the Junkyard and a new breed is currently roaming there; so it will be safe. Trust me.”

“If you say so, Pop.” Scamp replied in slight hesitance.

Regardless, they both headed away from the house and headed in the direction of the railroad tracks, which would lead to the Junkyard. After about 10 minutes of travel, they arrived at the pipe that led through a brown fence to the Junkyard, which was still piled up like a pyramid, so it could clearly be visible from outside the fence.

Tramp and his son walked through the pipe and stopped at the other end where the entire Junkyard was visible. But they stayed where they were at a safe distance where the new junkyard dogs could not see them easily.

“The Junkyard was where my stray career began.” Tramp said quietly. “I found this place and knew that this was where the real dog was brought out of every stray. There was so much that you could do in this place. Here you could have as much recreational fun as you wanted and cause as much trouble as you desired, and whatever you did was your business. So then I immediately invited fellow strays into the group, provided that they all got what it took to survive on the streets. They wanted to play around and have some fun in this place, but as leader of the Junkyard it was my duty to make sure they could handle the pressure of the streets. Most of them succeeded, but unfortunately several got picked up by the dogcatchers; and if they did not escape the pound within a week, they were not allowed back in; plus impoundment was a warning for them: If they escaped once but got picked up once again, they were out of the Junkyard and left only to defend for themselves. If you wanted to earn the respect of the leaders and retain your place, you had to be very good.”

“So how did Buster come by you, if you don’t mind me asking?” Scamp asked, eager to get this matter off of his chest.

Tramp then thought that Scamp really should know the whole story about him and Buster since Scamp already knew part of it.

“Not at all.” Tramp began. “After only 3 weeks as leader of the Junkyard, I found this little Doberman/Rottweiler hybrid all alone in an alleyway. He had been abandoned by his family and was left to defend himself. Knowing that he was too young to, my heart kind of fell his way and I took him in. I introduced him to the Junkyard and promised to take care of him until he was older. He also insisted on becoming a street dog, so I taught him all the tricks that I knew. He also worked on his strength as well as speed, so he ended up becoming slightly more muscular than me when he grew to an adult in almost a year. He was very good at what he did, and several of the Junkyard Dogs who wrestled with him got beaten by the advantage of his amazing strength. So because he was probably the fittest member out of the group, he became my number-two dog and we formed a duo, but we also became best friends because he also looked up to me as a father figure.”

“Was it always this way before you met mom?” Scamp asked.

“Not always. After leading the Junkyard for more than a year, I knew now that I was experienced and old enough to take care of myself; so I decided to move on and start a new career as a lone stray. I gave up my leadership and let Buster take over; mainly because he was my second-in-command and was the strongest and fittest member of the pack. He was even stronger than me, but I was also faster than him. Regardless, I left him in charge and promised that we would still be friends because I would come and visit every now and then; but I just wanted to go solo. He seemed flattered but also disappointed that I was leaving him, but he still accepted, and we left it from there.”

Just as Tramp was finishing this, Scamp remembered Buster’s Junkyard Dog Motto: “In the Junkyard, it’s every dog for himself/herself.” He then thought: Did dad make up this rule or Buster? Eager to find out, he spoke up: “Buster told me that in the Junkyard it’s every dog for himself or herself; so each dog’s trouble is their own and no one else’s. But Mooch and Ruby told me that your trouble was Buster’s trouble and vice versa. I’m a just a little confused: Was it you or Buster who made up that rule?”

“No, it wasn’t me.” Tramp replied in an expression that was obviously in complete denial. “There were many friends that I made when I was both here in the Junkyard and out alone, and they became very important to me. The thing is that there were times when we relied on each other to survive; and when you are facing tough challenges and taking risks every single day out on the streets, even the most experienced dogs can only risk so much before they finally get captured and then put down; and you would only have yourself to blame in the end. So of all the friends that I made, we built a very friendly bond and there was no way that I was going to let it slip away with just that slight act of negligence. Even after I went solo, every street dog looked up to me as a mentor and savior, so I had to lead by example and give them all something back in return. I would never let my friends down. So Buster got jealous after, as he put it, I “ditched” him and left the streets for your mother and the house life. He then learned that from being ditched, no Junkyard Dog looks out for anyone but themselves; and any violation to this will eliminate you from the Junkyard.”

Scamp could not believe what he was hearing. He knew that even when he joined the Junkyard Dogs, he never wanted to turn his back on anyone because in his own eyes he was always considerate; and even after learning the Junkyard motto, he wasn’t going to let it change who he was.

“So Buster just made up this rule because you were just trying to do what was best for you and he was too twisted up in his own mind to see reason?” Scamp asked in a stern tone.

“Pretty much.” Tramp replied, also speaking sternly.

“But you never wanted to hurt him, did you?”

“Never. I didn’t ever wanted Buster to think that I thought less of him just because I fell in love. I looked after him as he was growing up and trained him to be at the level that he is today. I just don’t think that he understood about my care.”

“So instead of turning his back on you, he should at least be thankful for what you did for him.” Scamp said, catching on to his father’s story. “And you left him the honour of leading the Junkyard Dogs because you knew that he was very good and you believed in him. He should have at least looked at that before jumping to conclusions.”

“I know. But that time is past. He and I are different now and we both have our own lives to live. He let me go and live my life, and so I am going to let him live his life. Whatever happens to him now is his business.”

“I just hope that he will leave us alone.” Scamp thought in slight fear of meeting up with Buster again. What could happen to us if he does come back?

“Don’t worry, I am sure that he will. But if we do meet up again I will have a few words with him. He needs to understand a few more things that I should have taught him; then maybe he might settle down after that. But let’s just wait and see what happens.”

“Sure, Pop.” Scamp replied. He then looked back at the Junkyard and to the new breed of dogs and noticed how much fun they were having. He was missing the Junkyard a bit; even though he knew that coming back here was no longer safe; and wondered whether his father felt the same way.

“Do you ever miss this place?” Scamp asked.

Tramp took a couple of minutes to respond as he kept thinking about the fun times that he had here, and he really did feel like he could turn back time and relive it one more time.

“I suppose I do sometimes. This place felt like an amusement park, so every day was like a thrill ride that you could never get enough of. Plus all the strays that roamed here at my command made it even more fun. The group sessions made all the difference to the fun life here. The bottom line is that those great memories will be very hard to forget because they were some of the best days of my life, and I will cherish them forever. But sometimes you have to make your own fun when an important change comes into your life. Whatever that change or those changes may be, you have to work with it, but remember to always find your recreational activities in between it all so that you never get bored.”

Scamp agreed with his father’s words as he just nodded away while looking into his eyes. “Too true, pop. Too true.”

After a little spectating at the new Junkyard dogs, who didn’t seem to notice them as they were too busy in recreational action; and some reflection on the fun memories that they both had in this place; Tramp and Scamp headed back through the pipe and outside the fence of the Junkyard once again. By this time the sun was nearing being straight overhead, signaling midday.

“Oh! I just forgot.” Tramp jumped in realization. “We missed breakfast and its nearly lunchtime!”

“Jeez!” Scamp snapped at the mention of food. “I forgot as well. Come on, let’s get back to the house and eat. The others are probably wondering where we are by now.”

“Yeah.” Tramp replied in slight guilt at having run away from the family. “Hopefully there is no trouble when we get back. Come on.”

So they both bolted fast from the Junkyard and followed the path that would lead them back to the house.

*

Out in front of the Browns’ mansion, the gate had been left open. Jim Dear and Darling had noticed that two of their dogs were missing, but they knew Tramp very well and so he would come home for sure; so they both allowed him and Scamp to make their own way in when they returned.

Lady was also out on the front porch, waiting patiently for her mate and son to return from their adventure. She was aware of Tramp’s idea to take Scamp out and show him the life of the “Old Tramp”, because he had suggested this to her the previous night. I just hope that everything will be alright when they are out there. She thought. They have been gone for quite some time.

But she didn’t have to think long when Tramp and Scamp came running from around the corner at almost top speed and slowed down to walk up the front steps to the house. She smiled as they came up and walked over to them.

“Hey, you two.” She remarked in delight.

“Afternoon, Pidge.” Tramp replied as he came up to embrace his mate. “Sorry if we took so long.”

“It’s fine. Did you two enjoy your morning?”

“It was incredible!” Scamp responded cheerfully. “Dad told me everything about his life on the streets: His first home, his street home, the humans he bonded with, the park, your first date with him, the Junkyard; it was a lot of fun to experience.” Scamp left out the mention of his father’s “previous dames” because it was a memory worth forgetting about as Lady had scolded Tramp for that and almost left him alone for good. He didn’t want something nasty to break out of it. “He even mentioned your first date together.”

As Scamp mentioned this, Lady and Tramp looked at each other lovingly and reflected for a moment on that wonderful evening that they had together; including the kiss that came from eating the same string of spaghetti.

“I will just say, dad;” Scamp continued. “You are a survivor and a true streetwise master, and I am very proud of you. Whatever happens from now on, I always will be; and I am glad to be your son.”

Tramp was very flattered by his son’s remark, and he smiled at him as he replied:

“Thank you, my son. And I am also very proud of you. I always will be.”

That said, they both nuzzled each other lovingly. Lady smiled at the both of them as she also came up to embrace them in a family “group hug”.

“Now come on in.” Lady said as the embrace finished. “You two are right on time for lunch. You must be starving.”

“You go on ahead, Pidge; we will be right in.” Tramp remarked, holding Scamp back. “There is just one more thing that I need to speak to Whirlwind about; alone.”

“Of course, see you in there.” Lady said as she turned around and headed for the back door. As soon as she was out of sight, Tramp lay down and pulled his son closer to him.

“Always remember this, my son: You will reach a time in your life when you realize what is truly important; Love, friendship and family legacy; and you will have to put your loved ones before you in between your passions. By all means go and do what you want to do because life is a real choice, but never forget about your family; because they will always be there for you when you need help; and you will have to return the favor because they need your help as well. All families must help each other to survive. Plus fulfilling legacy is not about taking after them, but doing what is right for them. If you remain loyal and generous, you will cement your name in the family legacy for generations to come, and you will always be honored and loved.”

“Got it.” Scamp replied, who then put his paw on his heart. “I promise to honor our family legacy until I go.” 

“And also,” Tramp continued. “know your limits and choose wisely when following your hearts desires. If you think that you can handle it, go ahead with it; but if you can’t, leave it. All I ask is for you to stay safe. Can you promise me this?”

“On my heart and honour, I swear that I will, dad.” Scamp replied with his paw still on his heart.

 They both smiled at each other and came up again for one last embrace. Tramp then remembered lunch.

“Let’s go and eat now, son. Are you very hungry?”
 

“After no breakfast, who wouldn’t be?” Scamp responded in an excited tone.

“Yeah, let’s go and regain some energy.” Tramp added as the three of them walked around to the back of the house and through the pet flap to the awaiting lunch for them all.

*

The whole canine family was eating through their bones that Jim Dear and Darling had given them in the kitchen; but Scamp and Angel had taken their bones outside onto the back porch near the back door with the pet flap. They both wanted a bit of alone time together.

Scamp was now larger than Angel by almost twice her size. Being the Schnauzer breed that he was, he was always going to grow larger; and Angel’s Pomeranian breed was naturally small, and she wasn’t going to grow any bigger than the size that she was now. She would have to now get used to looking up at her mate for most of the time; but that would not stop their lovable bond.

“So…” Angel began in between eating. “…how was your morning?”

Scamp didn’t answer straight away as he was eating and thinking at the same time. He was reflecting on the old life of his father and how admirable he felt about him. He also could still not figure out how he endured the hard collar free life when there were so many obstacles to overcome.

“Scamp?” Angel forced in confusion at Scamp’s response failure.

Scamp then snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to his mate. “Oh! Yeah, great.” Scamp responded quickly. “Actually it was amazing. Dad told me just about everything about his life on the streets. He showed me some wonderful places where he used to live and roam and told me about his streetwise trainer and Junkyard friends. But I was also trying to figure out how you spend two years living in a dangerous environment and not only survive; but also get away without any counts of impoundment.”

“Your father had a very good teacher, and he listened very well to every instruction that was given to him.” Angel replied, remembering the stories of Tramp that she had tuned in to when she was on the streets. “He also practiced all the moves each and every day out there, while improving his fitness at the same time. He seemed overcommitted at times, but it was worth it for the sake of his life in the end.”

“Wow, what an iconic figure.” Scamp remarked, still amazed.

“Oh, you know it. To all the strays out there he is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And because of that we all look up to him as a role model. No matter what your dad does from now on, he will always be a legendary canine.”

“Yes.” Scamp responded looking up into the sky in thought. “The spirit of The Tramp will live in us all forevermore.”

END

© January 2012.

Rocky and Judith © BlackJack16.

I do not own any of the other characters as they belong to Walt Disney and I respect the laws against copyright violations.

BlackJack16.