Fluffy & Billy Bob Story

Chapter 5

Fluffy & Billy Bob Story

By Rhonda Adamson, copyright 2005

 

Fluffy, a thirteen year old 3/4 terrier mixed breed dog, lived with Billy Bob the fire bellied toad in the Drew home.  When Liddy and Tammy's cousin Ana visited Illinois, Anna helped her Aunt Rhonda write this story.

 

     Fluffy and Billy Bob wanted to go to the forest together.  So Fluffy stretched out her tong so that it hung, panting from her mouth.  Billy Bob hopped from his plastic cage in Liddy's room onto Fluffy's pink, slobbery tongue.  (We all know that Billy Bob, a bombina orientalis, can't stretch out his tongue.) But Fluffy can!

 

     "Where should we go?" asked Fluffy.  Fluffy is one of those adorable dogs that never barks unless her chain is twisted around chairs.  Then she can't get to the sliding glass doors to scratch on them.

"We'll find a way to get off my chain the next time Mom lets me outside.  Just watch.  I'll start pacing and panting in from of Mom.  She'll know that I have to go outside."

 

     Mom, wrapped up in her computer, began to hear panting.  "Fluffy, let me save this story. ... Ok, let's go outside. I'll water the flowers."

 

      They all went out the sliding glass doors; then Mom tried to use that tiny hook that fits on Fluffy's collar.  "Fluffy! Come back right now!"  Then she sighed, and leaned down to turn on the faucet.   "Maybe she'll return by the time I get done watering my hostas."

 

     Fluffy and Billy bob decided to go to a forest.  As you know, Central Illinios doesn't have many forests.  "Why don't we go to Starved Rock?" asked Billy Bob.  Billy Bob came from China, so he's very familiar with geography.  "There's lots of trees at Starved Rock," continued Billy Bob.

 

     When Fluffy got to the I-80 ramp, a lady from IVAR (Illinois Valley Animal Rescue) found Fluffy and stopped.  "Are you lost?" asked the lady.

 

     Billy Bob jumped up and down on Fluffy's tongue and said, "No, we're not lost.  We escaped! We want adventure."

 

    "Why don't you tell me who your owners are?" asked the lady.

 

     Billy Bob, being very excitable and much more vocal that Fluffy, said, "No.  That's for us to know and you to never find out.  We're tired of leashes and cages.  We want adventure."

 

     This lady loved pets very much.  She said, "Hop in my car.  I'll take you wherever you want."

 

     Billy Bob croaked, and Fluffy wagged her tail.  Fluffy was getting thirsty from keeping her tongue in constant panting mode.  Fluffy jumped into the car, after trying to jump in about four times.  She snorted in disgust, and thought, I'm getting too old for this nonsense.

 

     The IVAR lady drove them for awhile; and then said, "Here's Utica.  This is the town where the tornado came through last year.  See, over there is the memorial."  She wiped a tear from her eyes, and kept driving toward Starved Rock.

 

     Fluffy began wagging her tail and panting even louder than usual.  "We're here! I can tell, because I see lots of trees and the beginnnings of mountains."

 

     The lady stopped, and opened the door for Fluffy and Billy Bob.  "Goodbye! Have a great adventure," she said.

 

     Fluffy wagged her tail and walked away.  The lady drove off.  "Let's go on one of those hiking trails," Fluffy said, in between her panting.  "It's pretty hard to talk and juggle a jumping fire bellied toad at the same time."

 

     "Well, I want to thank you for letting me take this adventure.  One good thing about Straved Rock is, there's plenty of water.  We can swim in the Illinois River.  I hope you don't mind if I do most of the talking to humans.  That will keep you from accidentally swallowing me."

 

     "I sure don't want to swallow you," Fluffy said.   "Why don't you hop for yourself?  My tongue is tired."

 

     Billy Bob said, "Okay," and jumped from Fluffy's very dry tongue.

 

     As they walked, Billy Bob pounced quickly toward an insect.  He caught it.  He inhaled, and then crunched the bug.  When Fluffy looked at Billy Bob eating the insect, Fluffy could see part of the head and some antennas.  After finishing the meal, Fluffy and Billy Bob walke a little further on the trail.  Then they noticed an oak tree with something big hanging from it.

 

     "What is this? I've never seen anything like this in my cage in Liddy's room," said Billy Bob.

 

     Fluffy put her nose very close to the oddly shaped hanging ball.  Soon somethin, a lot of things, came out of the ball and began flying toward Fluffy's tongue.

 

     "Yikes," shouted Billy Bob, "let's get out of here before I get stung."

 

      "I'm the one who's more likely to get anaphylactic shock.  I'm an old dog whose tongue hung out most of today.  So I'm very thirsty.  I often have breathing spells.  I'm a very old, tired dog.  I wonder if germs from your belly could infect my system with some foreign disease?" yelped Fluffy.

 

     "Quit your pity party and start running," said Billy Bob.  "Remember, I'm depending on you."

 

     "Those things that are chasing us are bees.  Maybe we should leave Starved Rock and go to Chicago.  I'll bet there are no bees at Brookfield Zoo," said Fluffy.

 

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      When they got to the zoo, Billy Bob said, "I want to see a lion."

      Fluffy asked, "What do they sound like?"

      "They have big mouths and they roar loudly."

 

      They spotted a lion, licking his paws.  "Hello, friends, what are you doing?" the lion roared.

      "We're exploring the zoo," Billy Bob croaked.

      "Doggy, what is your name?  Your tongue is beginning to have red streaks on it.  Are you ok?  Maybe you should come a little closer.  I studied jungle medicine in Africa, you know," purred the lion softly.

 

     Fluffy, not wishing to become a snack, did not move any closer to the lion.  Instead, she asked Billy Bob, "Where to next?"

 

     Billy Bob said, "To the snake section!  That's where we should go."

     "If it's ok with you, we can go to the snake section tomorrow," replied Fluffy.

     "That's fine with me.  Let's go see the giraffes," replied the toad.

 

     Fluffy said, "I'd rather go home now.  We've already seen a lion, bees and a lady.  Liddy and her big sister Tammy and her cousin Ana will be very upset if we're not home by dark."

     "Why would they be upset?" asked Billy Bob.

     "Some years ago, they had a nasty ketten named Reedy.  Reedy only cared about himself.  He was rude and impatient.  ONe day he decided to take a month long trip with a penguin named Richey Rich.  I know for a fact that Richey Rich returned to his home at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  However, Reedy never came home to Tammy and Liddy.  Those girls cried until their eyes were swollen.  I don't want them to feel that way ever again," explained Fluffy.

 

Questions: 

1) Have you ever had a pet that never came back home?

2) Do you think the lion was telling the truth about Fluffy's tongue?

3) Do bees live in a zoo?

4) Is it safe to ride in a car with a stranger?
 

 

 

Reviews

[Nancy Lee Shrader]

That was a cute little story. And yes I had a dog that left and never came back. The lion was hoping for a snack. I don't think bees living caged. They live in Zoos by choice. Of course not, unless its a cabbie.