A story for Summer Reading!

Sienna Scared of the Moon: The story of a dog with an over-active imagination
 By Denise Gard, my upright!
 
          I am a Border Collie, which is a dog, but not just any dog, a smart dog.  My name is Sienna because my coat is a beautiful reddish-brown.   
          One crisp evening, my child named Gina, decided to walk me.  I love walking with Gina.  She doesn’t hold the leash tightly and allows me to sniff the grass and roam into our neighbor’s flower beds.
          As we strolled, Gina explained that we were hunting monsters.  My ears perked.  Monsters?  Are monsters food, perhaps, or giant hamburgers? 
          Gina yelled, “I’m not afraid of any monsters!” 
          As I watched her make a terrifying face, I noticed a strange light illuminate the ground.  Shadows danced in the wind.  I looked into the sky and saw a huge round cake!  Cake? It seemed to hang in the dark sky.  The wind moaned.  I decided it wasn’t a birthday cake.  Maybe it was one of those monsters that Gina was hunting.  A deadly glow-in-the-dark monster!  And this was her eye watching me from above. 
          I whimpered.  Gina didn’t even look up.  I pawed at her and then barked.  She told me, “Sienna, No Bark.  Shush.”  I whined until Gina said, “Sienna, we’ll be going soon.” 
          Why, oh why can’t humans understand dog speech?  The huge monster hovered over us as the wind tore at my fur. 
          Finally, Gina saw it.  She pointed at the monster.  She smiled and said, “OOOOOHHHH, pretty.” 
          I felt like playing dead.  Pretty?  Where was her terrifying face to scare it away?  A glowing monster isn’t pretty!  I strained against the leash.  I had to escape from it.  I tried to warn Gina, but no one ever listens to dogs.  The wind whined, shadows waltzed across the grass, and I knew it was waiting to eat me.  The question was, did it want me grilled like a steak or raw? 
          I lunged against my leash with all my strength.  The leash spun out of Gina’s hand as I bolted down the path onto the road. 
          “Sienna come back!”  She cried.  I glanced back, but the monster was hanging over her.  I trembled, dreading that the round glowing monster would scoop her up and steal her away to its lair. 
          “Sienna, it’s just the moon.”  She yelled, as she ran after me.  “Sienna come back!”  She cried again.  But I jumped over curbs and bushes.
          “Sienna come back!” She cried. 
          I ran toward the park, and heard a hissing sound behind me.  I glimpsed a long black snake whipping its head in the wind! Not only was the monster after me, but also a twenty-foot snake!  I charged down the path faster then I’d ever run in my life.  And still, the monster floated in the sky over my head.  It was following me! 
          “Sienna come back!” Gina’s voice sounded far, far away. 
          I slowed for a moment, then ran on.  I charged past the playground.  I trotted past the pond where ducks and salamanders lived. 
          “Sienna come back!” echoed faintly in my ears as I jumped over a fence. 
          I ran farther then I’d ever been before.  I thought about stopping, but out of the boogying shadows, I saw a dragon.  Now I had three monsters chasing me.  I crawled under another fence.  But, I glimpsed that huge glowing monster, the hissing snake, and the fire-breathing dragon. 
I heard faintly in the wind, “Sienna come back!”
          I entered a huge tunnel and tried to hide.  I popped out of the other end because another monster was living in there.  My legs burned.  My tongue lolled out of my mouth. 
          I ran until I was completely exhausted.  I played dead and waited for the huge monster to devour me.  When nothing happened, I opened my eyes and noticed the black snake coiled next to me.  I sniffed it, and then realized that it was just my leash.  I gnawed through the cord until I was free from its cumbersome weight. 
The glowing monster was hidden.  I searched the sky. No monster sailed into view.  I had outrun it. But what about the other monsters.  I saw the dragon, but it just sat there.  Carefully, I sniffed it, and discovered that it was just a tumbleweed.  I glanced about for the other monsters, but they seemed to have disappeared.
          I turned my attention to my surroundings.  Where was I? I sniffed the wind, hoping to pick up Gina’s scent.  
          Was she still looking for me? She often smells like peanut-butter and French-Fries.  I love French Fries and often dream of dipping them in peanut-butter.  I sighed.  No yummy scent drifted toward my nose.  I missed her.  Who would train me now?  Gina enjoys training me to do tricks.  Of course, I already knew how to shake, hi-five, roll-over, sit pretty, and play dead, but I like to let her think she’s teaching me new things. 
          I wandered away from the tree with my nose to the ground.  I had to find her.  The ground glowed again.  I peeked into the sky and saw the monster emerge from behind a cloud.  It seemed brighter, closer, and definitely bigger.  I knew I couldn’t outrun it.  I trembled with fear.  What could I do? 
          Then I had an idea.  I stuck my paw in the air to give it a high-five.  I would show that monster I wasn’t afraid.  I twirled then stood on my hind legs and danced.  I chased my shadow and let the wind ruffle my fur.  
          The monster hid from me!  We played a game of hide and seek.  She would hide (and not very well, I might add), and then pop out from behind a cloud. 
          I sniffed the ground to find my way home.  And the monster helped light the way.   
          I trotted toward the park where I often play with Gina.  A child’s sad sobs tore through my heart.  My ears pricked forward.  Gina?  Yes, it was definitely my Gina.  She was crying great big sobs.  Oh, my poor girl. 
          Gina saw me and cried, “Sienna, you came back!”
I knew I was in trouble, so I dove to the ground and rolled onto my back. I provided her with my tummy to rub. 
          She petted me and explained, “It’s just the moon, silly.” 
          I closed my eyes and sighed.  Humans will never understand!
                  
The End
 

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