Wooffer's Birthday

Tomorrow, Wooffer and his brother Pogo will be 15 years old. What a good friend he has been to his mom, (that would be me) and to all the animals on the farm these many years.

Here is the story of his first birthday party.

October meant winter was coming. It was a time of getting ready for cold nights, and a time for storing up food for the hard times in the winter when food was scarce. Every animal does this in their own way. The squirrels, including Mr. A.A. Corn, Mr. Hoy T. Toity and Sir Right (Dickey) Doodah, were storing acorns and nuts.

The rabbits were getting as fat as possible to be ready for the cold nights and dry grasses. Old Agnes and her Thousands were lining the walls of the house with straw and grass to be ready for the cold times of winter.

Camille and the Bully Frogs were preparing places to stay indoors all winter long. They would not come out again until spring. Everyone was very busy.

October also meant Wooffer’s birthday was coming. He was going to be three years old. All the animals on the farm knew it. And even though they were very busy, they were all planning something special for Wooffer’s special day. Wooffer knew nothing of any plans. He never, ever, remembered his own birthday. Every day, Wooffer went to visit all his friends and watched as they prepared for the cold time of winter. He helped them when he could, but there was little he could do to help. He brought dried grass to Old Agnes and helped the squirrels bury acorns and showed the rabbits where a very nice stand of wild lettuce was growing but, mostly, he just watched all the goings on.

Whenever Wooffer was not around, all the animals stopped getting ready for the winter and got ready for Wooffer’s special day. Everyone was making something very special for Wooffer to show how much they loved him. It was going to be the best Special Day that Wooffer ever had! The party was to be held under the Old Oak Tree and it was to be a big surprise!

Finally, the big day came. It was a perfect day! The sun was shining, a breeze was blowing gently from the south, and everyone was ready. They gathered around the Old Oak Tree and hid. No one made a sound. At last, Wooffer came out of the house and wandered around the yard. Not one soul seemed to be out. He went over to lie under the Old Oak Tree and wait for someone to come around. All of a sudden, everyone leaped out at once and shouted, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WOOFFER!”

Old Agnes and all of the Thousands, Mr. A.A. Corn, Mr. Hoy T. Toity, Sir Doodah, Basil and his family, Silverthorn and his family, Camille and all her lizard family, Bully Frog and all the little green frogs, Cho Lee Yen and Margaret, Claudie and Mildred, Larry, Curly and Moe, you name them, and they were there.

Everyone was wishing him many happy days and patting him on the head and shaking his paws. Wooffer was smiling and all he could say was, “Gosh! Thank you all very much!”

Mr. Hoy T. Toity told Wooffer he must sit in the middle and “receive his honors.” First, there was a speech made by Cho Lee Yen about what a wonderful friend Wooffer was to all, and another by Basil about the same thing. Then they all got down to giving Wooffer the presents they had made.

Sir Right (Dickey) Doodah presented Wooffer with a plaque made from the oak tree he had climbed, that said, “HE’S A FREE DOG, HE’S A TREE DOG, HE’S ONE OF A KIND,” on behalf of the squirrels. Basil, on behalf of the rabbits, gave Wooffer the stuffed cat toy that he had let them practice the kicking and screaming with, all sewn up and repaired as good as new. Cho Lee Yen gave Wooffer one of his beautiful tail feathers; Margaret promised not to jump in his face for at least a month; Claudie and Mildred invited him to dinner next Friday, and Larry, Curly, and Moe gave him a new marker so that he could mark his territory every day. As for Old Agnes and the Thousands — each one of the Thousands had drawn a picture of Wooffer showing the day of the Flood, and written their name under each one with a little heart drawn by it to tell him how much they loved him.

After all the presents had been given, they all wanted Wooffer to make a speech. Well, Wooffer had never given a speech before. But he gave one that day! Here is his speech:

“All my dear friends! You have all made me so very happy! We are all different in our ways, and yet we are all of one family. We each have our different problems, yet we all have one goal. That is to help each other and live happy lives together. I thank you each one, for the kindness and love you have shown me this day.”

They all cheered Wooffer’s speech and said what a lovely speech it was.

The party went on for a good long time, with everyone having a very good time, especially Wooffer. But it was October, and soon everyone had to get back to getting ready for the winter. Wooffer went home to tell his mom all about the Birthday Party. It had been such a nice surprise!



Love,

Betty

9/27/2010

Betty:
That was a beautiful story.

" HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOOFFER AND POGO "

Love Joe

Dear Joe,
You are always so kind and thoughtful, beautiful in spirit and words.

Thank you for your good wishes to Wooffer. He sends his best to Dusty.

What our lives would have lacked by not knowing them!

All on the farm send their best to you and Miss Dusty.

Love,
Betty

9/28/2010

Dear Betty..

I send my love back to them and the farm animals.
Life would be strange without them, I've always wanted a dog
and a cat together but that can't be because the Queen Bee
Miss Dusty knows she's number one and she's 10. If only people
who don't like animals can understand the great love and joy they
bring into your life, it makes my heart sing, I love all animals,
always wanted a horse but I don't think it could live on my patio.

Love Joe

Betty,
you know how to make animals talk. They say or do things that emulate human nature. Expressing ideas through the mouths of fictional characters is clever and you do a good job of it.

Happy birthday Wooffer.

Thank you all on behalf of Wooffer.

Wooffer is frail these days. I am glad when he has a good appetite and sleeps well. If the idea of each year for a dog is seven human years, Wooffer is 105 this night.

My Wooffer has afforded me vision past my human self and into the universal existing of all creatures. He has, he has, he has. What a simple spirit he seems, but what a profundity.

Love,
Betty

Betty Fasig wrote:

What a simple spirit he seems, but what a profundity.

Love,
Betty

What appear to be the simplest things are often the most profound. Your wonderfully "simple" stories are a profound example.

Ann

When I come to this message board and read the posts, I am overwhelmed.

What I think is that we each come here with our honest to God self, put down what our minds really do think about and connect one to each with the best we have to offer.

I am reminded of the old telephone operators panel where each call was plugged in with a wire that connected the caller to the person that they wished to speak.

One ringy dingy kind of thing.

To me this is a wonderful thing. People lie, I know, but mostly they just want to connect thought to thought with another person.

That may seem a little simple, but I do not think so. People in conversations seldom listen to the other person. Putting the conversation on paper gives the listener/reader the time to consider what was said, how to respond without the knee jerk of face to face emotions.

Love,
Betty

Betty, you said: People in conversations seldom listen to the other person. Putting the conversation on paper gives the listener/reader the time to consider what was said, how to respond without the knee jerk of face to face emotions.

You are right. In normal conversations, the person supposedly doing the listening is thinking of what he/she will say next. In business, however, it is a bit different. Listening carefully and observing body language is very important in giving a response.
As in the case of personal relationships one is more relaxed in conversation,yet there is a tendancy to top what is being said. Getting the last word.

I prefer written communication. Verbally, one can deny what was said. When it's in writing, although there's still room for misinterpretation, as least there is a recorded basis.