Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Zaza. Zaza was a rambunctious six year old with blonde hair down to her shoulders and a gap toothed smile. She lived with her mom, dad and baby sister Cahalta. Zaza had a life of fun and friendship but the one thing she lacked was a pet. One day she pleaded, ”Please can we get a dog?”. She was a good child so mum and dad said, ”Yes!”

Zara’s favourite song was; ”How much is that doggy in the window?/ The one with the waggly tail./ How much is that doggy in the window? / I do hope that doggy’s for sale.”

Zaza would sing many lusty renditions of this and insist that her parents join in. They would sing so loud that the house shook.

Would you like to sing how much is that doggy in the window?

Many little girls like dogs that are pretty but pretty dogs tend to be haughty. Such dogs have fancy documents called pedigrees showing who their parents and grandparents are. This proves their ancestry all the way back to Queen Victoria. Some snooty little girls go for poodles that are crimped and shampooed till they smell like air stewardesses. These little girls are in a hurry to be stuck up grannies who lunch in restaurants daily and speak through their noses. Zaza was not like this. She was exploding with energy and adventure. She did not pretend to be a princess. She was the sort of girl who would go for day long rambles through the wild countryside with her boy cousins Birney and Denis – clambering over dry stone walls and squeezing past brambles and furze bushes to have a picnic in a cows’ field.

Not all dogs are lucky enough to have a loving home. In fact some are abandoned by their human families. Some live wild with their doggy parents but sadly some doggy dads and mums die while their puppies are yet young.

Most dogs are kind to humans. After all we all know a dog is man’s best friend. Just as there are a few nasty humans so too some dogs are mean. There can be vicious dogs who snarl and bite. That is why we do not let dogs roam around town. Dogs who are found wandering about town on their own are scooped up by the dog catcher. He will look for a collar. The collar will tell the dog catcher which family to return the pooch to. Those doggies with no home to go to are taken to the dogs’ home. The dogs are kept there for a week and fed. Adults have to pay money to the government called tax. Some of this tax money is used to pay for the dogs’ food in the dogs’ home. Grownups do not like paying tax so the government has to take as little of their grownups’ money as possible. This means that the dogs in the dogs’ home cannot be fed forever. After a week in the dogs’ home are sent to the great big dogs’ home in the sky.

Zaza’s parents thought that they should take a dog from the dogs’ home. These poor dogs have no human family and no doggy parents of their own.

Zaza and her parents arrived at the dogs’ home. They had left Zaza’s baby sister Cahalta with her grandparents. A slender cheery chap greeted them at the gate and ushered them in. The middle aged man’s name was Seamus and he had a head of dense black curls and a laugh that rolled like music. Seamus wore a blue uniform of a dog catcher. They could tell that Seamus really cared for the dogs and only took them off the streets to save them from being knocked down by cars.

Zaza’s dad told Seamus what they wanted. ”We would like nice dog with good character – one who will be good with my daughters.”

”Does the dog have to look like a model?”, asked Seamus chuckling amiably.

”Ah no,” breathed the dad pensively, ”the dog must just be well-behaved and playful.”

”Are you looking for a boy dog or a girl dog?”, inquired Seamus.

”We do not want a boy dog or a girl dog – just a nice one, either girl or boy.” said dad sincerely. ”It is just like having a baby.”

Seamus reacted with peals of laughter. ”Come with me”, he said, his eyes gleaming with hope. Zara held her mum’s hand. Zara was skipping with excitement as Seamus opened a door and led them down a corridor.

On either side of the corridor were several cages each holding a dozen or so dogs. They came in all shapes, sizes, colours and ages. The dogs behaved in all different ways. Some were sociable and some were loners. Some were angry and others were calm. A few scampered about and others lay down listlessly.

Zara ran up and down the corridor. She was overcome with exuberance. The dogs sensed her mood and they barked eagerly- their tails wagging frenetically.

Zara saw a small yappy yellow dog. ”I want that one, I want that one!”, she yelled avidly. Her parents were not so sure. Zara grabbed her dad’s hand and led him to look into the cage where this dog stood barking.

Dad looked at mum and mum looked at dad. They could read each others’ minds. They both shook their heads. This dog did not seem to have a good nature. It was barking aggressively but this dog was so small that the bark did not seem angry to Zaza who was too young to understand such a thing.

Seamus saw what the parents were thinking and counselled them, ”Um, maybe you should take a look at another dog.”

The parents nodded silently and exchanged a significant glance. Zaza began to lose interest in the yappy dog which was now growling. All three followed Seamus towards the far end of the corridor. They walked right to the end – there was a door with the words ”end of the line”. They could see Seamus’ beaming face fall when he set his eyes on ominous the words on the door. Then he looked to the left of the door. There was the last cage. In it was just one dog. This dog was a black and white border collie. The dog’s long coat shone with health and and he was bursting vitality. The dog barked a courteous and eager greeting to Zaza and her parents.

”This is the nicest dog you will ever meet”, said Seamus. ”I would love to have him for my own children. I have been working with dogs for 20 years and so I would know a good dog from a bad one. I would bring this fellow home but I already have five dogs and five children. I cannot afford any more. They do not pay us much in this job, you know. I do it for the love of the dogs, not for the money.”

The mum and dad nodded wisely. ”Yes, we can tell this one is best”, said mum.

”Well we said we would give Zaza the choice and she wanted the other one”, said dad. He was plainly unsure what to do. Should he let Zaza have her way even if she was making a big mistake?

”The thing is,” said Seamus shifting uncomfortably, ”this is this dog’s last day. If he is here tomorrow morning he is going through that door and never coming back.” A pained expression came over his thin face.

Mum’s face turned pale. Zaza somehow suddenly realised the seriousness of the situation. ”I want this one”, said Zara definitely – she pointed straight at the black and white border collie and she danced merrily.

”That’s done then. We’ll take this one please!”, the dad was as pleased as punch.

The adults had to sign some papers and pay some money to help the dogs’ home care for the dogs. They promised to take the dog to the vet for his injections and buy all the things the dog needed. ”Do you promise to take good care of the dog now Zaza?” asked Seamus. ”I do – I do promise!” she said loudly and nodded her head sagely.

”Now what’ll we call him?”, inquired mum.

”We’ll call him Happy!” squeaked Zara triumphantly. The name stuck.

The mum and dad agreed. They would take the border collie. Zaza had asked for the yappy little chihuahua but sometimes parents know best. They paid for the dog and took straight to the vet.

”Ok it’ll be Happy”, said mum.

”There was no dog born with a better name for him,” laughed Seamus, visibly relieved as well as ecstatic.

”By the way we have all been calling this dog ‘he’ – this is a boy isn’t it?” asked dad almost anxiously.

”Yes, he’s a boy all right”, answered Seamus chirpily.

Happy was a little nervous getting into the car. He had never been in one before. But because of his easy nature he did not bark much. Before long they were at granny’s house and Happy was sniffing at the baby Cahalta inquisitively. He barked to tell them that her nappy needed changing. The humanoids seemed to comprehend and did the needful. Happy had a couple of accidents on the carpet before he was house trained. But the family were very forgiving. Happy took the family and soon they were all deeply fond of him.

Happy had a bath every week. He did not like being soaked and shampooed overmuch but he submitted to it with good grace.

The family lived in a three bedroom house in the countryside. They were surrounded by fields of pasture. Black and white Frisian cows browsed on the abundant lush verdure of the well watered meads there all day long. Happy was allowed to roam free among the drumlins, dells and woods. But he never bothered the cattle. Soon he was friendly terms with all the other canines around the place.

Happy was a sweet natured and energetic dog. He also knew when to be quiet. He was patient and forgiving to the children. They played with him. Zaza sometimes forgot he was a dog and tried to hug him like a human. Cahalta was beginning to walk. She sensed she need not be afraid of Happy. Cahalta would feel Happy’s face. Once she put her finger in his eye. He just growled a little to her let know it hurt. He did not scare the baby but she learnt not to hurt him again.

Happy became more confident around the family. He was taken for daily walks and was always good to his human family. Zaza was clumsy occasionly accidentally hurt Happy. Happy was understanding and never snapped at her. The family and Happy grew to love each other ever more.

Soon mum and dad had big news. Mum was having another baby. Dad explained to the girls, ”There is a house inside your mummy.” Mum grew bigger and bigger. Cahalta called her ‘hippo’ because mum was so big at the end. Mum did not like that name overmuch.

After a few months a baby brother arrived name Liam. When Cahalta heard she had a baby brother she imagined him walking in fully grown and pushing her in on a swing. She was surprised when she went to the hospital to find mum there with a tiny baby. Liam was not much fun at first. All he did was wail and fill nappies. Some dogs are jealous of such babies but Happy was so kind hearted that he did not resent the baby or run away. Happy was not petted or played with so much because everyone was so busy with Mr Baby.

A year after that the family decided to move to a far distant land called Libya. They could not take Happy with them because Libya does not allow dogs from other countries to come in because some dogs have a disease called rabies. Dad tried telling the Libyans that Irish dogs do not have rabies but they would not trust him.

It was about a week till they were to move away. Zaza was upset at having to leave Happy behind. The parents told her they would give Happy to her cousins Birney and Denis. They would come back and visit Happy twice a year. Cahalta had grown up a lot and she too was a little down hearted that the world’s loveliest dog was to be left behind.

Happy was a brainy dog. He must have realised something was not quite right. A few days before the family were going to hand him over to Birney, Denis and their parents something happened. Happy was sitting happily in the garden when mum hung the washing out to dry. Then she went in to do more housework. She came back an hour later and Happy was gone.

”Happy, Happy where are you?”, shouted mum. She was getting a little distressed. Then she noticed by the garden gate a large hole had been dug under the gate. Happy had dug his way out. Mum was worried for Happy. How was she going to tell the children?

When Cahalta and Zaza got home from school they were very upset to hear about Happy going away. ”Um, well, he has probably gone to find his friends”, said mum, trying to make the situation seem not so bad. But Zaza soon realised that Happy had run away. She sat on the stairs and wailed a dirge to the tune of Silent Night;

Happy come home/ Happy come home/ Ha – a – a – a – py come home.

Bitter salt tears shivered off her angelic face. Cahalta would not speak but joined the lament with her own sounds. Tears scalded her chubby cheeks.

They continued their song:

Happy come home/ Happy come home/ Ha – a – a – a – py come home.

They sang this chorus several more times.

Soon even dad’s face was bedewed with tears.

If you sing the Happy come home song twice then he might come home. Sing!

In every free moment dad had he drove around the area looking for Happy. He went to the park where they used to take him for a walk but no sign of him. They were giving up hope.

Dad put up advertisements with Happy’s photo on it. ”Have you seen this dog? Large reward. Phone this number XXXXXXXXXXXX”

One evening on the way home from work dad saw a group of rough teenage boys walking by the road. The boys were wearing shellsuits and had skinheads and wore fake gold jewellery. The tattooed teenagers had a black and white dog with them. It was a border collie. Could it be? It was! They had Happy.

Dad’s car screeched to a halt and rolled his window down. The boys looked around when they heard the sharp noise. Happy looked around too. He barked gladly. The boys had Happy on a coarse rope around his neck instead of a lead. Happy strained at his rope and panted towards dad. ”Hello sir, what do ye want?”, said one of the boys suspiciously. The boy had bucked teeth that would enable him to eat corn on the cob through a tennis racket.

”Ah well lads the thing is that’s my dog you have”, said dad. ”He ran away from our house just north of the city a week ago.”

Happy recognised Dad instantly and was straining at the rope and trying to jump in the car window. He barked an ecstatic greeting.

”Ah no tis not sir. Tis our dog now. His name is Prince”, said the leading teenager darkly.

”Well when did you find him?”, Dad inquired. Happy was whining to go back to his master.

”About five days ago – down at the park just north of the city”, said the leader of the boys.

”That’s when he ran away from us”, said Dad.

”’Ah well his name is not Happy – tis Prince, like. Isn’t that right Prince?”, Happy barked a clear ”no’’ to that question.

”No, your name is Happy!” said Dad. When the dog heard the name ‘Happy’ he almost jumped in through the car window again. Happy barked keenly and panted with enthusiasm. He cried and implored the boys to let him go back to his family. But they held onto him, heedless of his plaintive pleading.

”We are travellers, like”, said the leader of the boys. ”We have a right to a dog the same as anybody else.”

”You do of course. I will tell you what. If I give you a thousand pounds could I have the dog and you can go and buy another?” said dad.

”Ok you can have him”, said the boy.

Dad got out of the car and opened his wallet. He handed over the a thousand pounds. The boys took the rope off Happy.

”Welcome back Happy!”, said Dad. Happy jumped up and gave dad a slobbery lick.

”His name’s Prince” said the boy angrily. ”All right, Prince”, replied dad with a roll of the eyes.

In a flash dad had put Happy into his car and waved the boys goodbye. Happy almost smothered dad with loving licks all over his face. Then dad called Happy by his real name all the way home. Happy sang with elation.

Happy bounded into the house and almost knocked Zaza over when he jumped into her arms. She cried for joy. Cahalta danced with delight, her cheeks aglow with glee. They all rejoiced long into the night. The family learnt their lesson and put a collar on Happy with his name and their phone number.

After some time it was decided that they were going to move to a faraway country called Libya. Dad would be paid a lot of money and they would have a house by the beach. It was hot and unsuitable for dogs. The family were going to have to leave Happy behind.

The day came when they had to give Happy to Birney, Denis and their parents. Zaza and her family all kissed Happy a tearful goodbye before they drove to the airport.

They came back to Ireland to visit Happy twice a year. Birney, Denis and their parents looked after Happy splendidly. He had a wonderful life on a farm. He rounded up cows and climbed hay bales. He had many play fights with other dogs and he had many doggy girlfriends. He became the father of a few puppies. He had a very full and fun life. After many, many magnificent years Happy was very, very old and very weary. It was finally time for Happy to go to the Great Big Dogs’ Home in the Sky. His spirit lives up there with all good dogs and he still has his shining black and white coat. Happy lies for eternity beneath a large rock in front of Birney and Denis’ house.

There never was a dog with a more suitable name than Happy.

Jonathan wore his tattered Welsh rugby shirt and scratched his brown stubble with one hand. The other paw was very consciously thrust into his pocket. Thin mousey brown hair covered his disproportionately large head. He tried to suck his big belly in but could not as he waddled gracelessly along along the street. He strove to thrust his chest out and swagger intimdatingly. Try as he might: he did not manage to be macho. His big bug eyes were watery and icy blue. He was below average height and his skin was unusually palid. He wore blue jeans that had seen better days and a cheap pair of market bought trainers.
The man was on leisure bent. He was on his way to a pub where beer would be his only companion. Jonathan muttered bitterly to himself in his baritone voice about all the slights and humiliations that had been inflicted on him.
Jonathan’s face was as round as the moon and totally lacking in sophistication – he had ruddy cheeks. At least his teeth were all straight but they could use brushing. He could not wait till he went fishing. Fishing on his own was his one hobby. At least then he did not have to interact with people who all seemed to treat him so unjustly.

CIRCUS
”The circus is in town!”, everyone shouted. The band struck up a fast and merry melody as we piled into our seats in a tizzy of anticipation. The red coated foxy whiskered ringmaster spoke with breathless panache, ”You are about to see the most death defying tricks – do not try this at home!”
Just then a high wire artist started to walk across the taut wire 10 metres above us. All eyes were fixed on him. But he was blindfold.
”Oh my God; there is no safety net!” cried mum.
”I can’t look!”, said Isabel with sweaty palms.
”We paid good money for this – you have to look”, said dad annoyedly.
”Don’t do it; you can fall and die!”, I shouted.
But the high wire artist took no notice. Once he wobbled and a hundred voices screeched in terror. But he recovered his balance. We breathed a sigh of relief.
After a minute of baby steps he got to the other side. The band played a triumphal tune. We spontaneously broke into raucous applause.
Then the high wire artist announced, ”Now I am going to walk across the wire backwards!”

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A BAD MAN

The man had almond shaped, black eyes, glinting maliciously like stars in the night sky. He had cropped hair, dyed ginger like a fox’s thick coat. His cracked lips contorted to reveal a mouth, full of loathing. His nose was hooked like a peg and he had coppery coloured skin. His tall stature radiated hatred and no warmth. He wore a musty grey cardigan, lined with black checks, a pair of torn, tattered denim jeans and dusty, unpolished black shoes. And by his side hung a sword, made of a material as black as a nightmare. The sword was dripping with a dark red substance. And it kept dripping.

We all went to the park one splendiferously sublime sunny Sunday. It was idyllic T shirt weather with not a cloud speck sailed the cerulean sky. It was a rare day when Mother Nature proclaimed her fullest glory. My dad always jokes that, ‘In England summer is the best week of the year.’ The plants were all the perfect shade of a rich but bright viridescence. All of nature was wild and free. I gazed all around me in wonderment. It was a visual feast.
We took a blanket to put on the soft, balmy grass and had a Lucullan picnic. We had all our favourite food but it was not hot because you cannot cook in a park. We had delectable strawberry jam sandwiches and every fresh fruit you can imagine. We took some time to digest this sumptupous feast on the greensward. Then we played an energetic game of cricket. The sun smiled on our sport. But big bottles of coke had to be the stumps! My brother Victor scored loads of runs. Every time my dad bowled he would shout ‘Howzat?’ with exhilaration. But there was no umpire. But when we got dad out we were exultant but he stroked his beard reflectively. We did not keep count of which side won because we did not care. We all had a whale of a time playing. At the end we held out caps aloft and gave each other three resounding cheers.
The horse chestnut trees boasted full canopies of verdant leaves complete with pink or yellow candles. A gust of wind made them shake their handsome leaves cheerily.
There were lots of people in the paradisical park. We got some other kids to join in. It is fantastic the way that you can make instant friends in the park. We also went to the playground. The playground was alive with joyful shouts. The odd thing is you ask another kid, ‘how old are you?’ and not, ‘what is your name?’ when you meet. The grownups were lying around sunbathing docilely.
Athletic youths strivings strained the sports field hundreds of meters from where I stood. Comely girls urged them on with strong cries. A brawny limb booted a ball skyward and a second later I heard the loud report of the dull thud. The greasy leather orb flew through the blazing light like a heavy bird.
There was a shady little greenwood grove there that was ringing with dulcet and jocund birdsong. There was a kaleidoscope of resplendent flowers that were all in brightest bloom with bees busily buzzing about and the air was heavy with the sharpest scents of summertime. It was an olfactory banquet. Beyond the bee loud glade, I espied an array wildflowers. It thrilled my heart to see a zephyr make the fragrant flowers do a sprightly dance. Harlequin butterflies fluttered carelessly from one plant to the next. Not being a lepidopterist, I could not tell which species they were. Lint floated blissfully down like cotton from the trees. Everyone was cheerful and even the dogs barked musically.
There was a little lake with snow white white swans blithely and effortlessly swimming the deep, dark water. Mother swan was followed by half a dozen downy, tawny cygents. Myriad reflections gamboled on the water’s silvery skin. We hired a pedal boat and had a tranquil cruise around the pleasant lake. I felt a deep calm as as we plied the waters. At the corner of the lake the water flowed over a slimy moss grown rocks into a burbling brook.
We had heavenly ice-cream before going home after that marvellous day.

A day at the beach

We went by bus to the seaside. I was with my mum , my dad and my sister Munira. It was a nice and sunny summer’s day. We got off the bus at a sandy beach. I went swimming in the sea. The waves were not too big. I saw people sailing out at the horizon. I built a really enormous sandcastle. We had hotdogs at the beach.

My sister caught a crab and brought it home in a plastic box with water in it.
It was a fun but tiring day. I slept very well.

=======================

A sports match

We were playing cricket against Crawford School. We were quite confident because we practise a lot and we have a great coach. They went into bat first. They scored a lot of runs against us. I overheard one of our dads say it was ‘demoralising.’ They had some fantastic players but they were very risky in their playing. Eventually we got them all out. I managed to catch one of them out.

Then we went into bat. We scored ok but maybe we were too cautious. We were not scoring that many runs. It was my turn to go in. I was quite nervous at first. But after hitting a few balls I became more sure of myself. I started to take bigger risks. I made some big hits and scored quite a few runs. But finally I was run out.
In the end we did not quite catch up with the other team’s score. We lost but we still enjoyed it and felt proud.

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A holiday

My parents announced that we were going to Mexico. It is a hot country so we had to take summer clothes even though it was wintertime. I was enthusiastic and I read up about Mexico and looked at it on the map and found out what its flag looks like. There is no such langauge as Mexican. They speak Spanish.

The flight was very long but there was a fabulous in flight entertainment system so the flight passed quickly. I was exhausted when we got there because Mexico is in a different time zone.
The hotel was lovely and it was overlooking what seemed like the longest beach in the world. I learnt a few Spanish phrases and tried them out on the hotel staff even though they spoke English.
We went to the beach every day and did water activities. We went on sailing boats and lilos. There was a kids’ club and I made from friends from America.
I tried Mexican food but I did not like it very much. It is too dry and too spicy.
We listened to a band at the hotel each night. I quite like Mexican music which is called mariachi.
In the airport we bought souvenirs on the way home. I purchased a massive Mexican hat called a sombrero. It means ‘shade.’

==========================

A day at the beach

We went by bus to the seaside. I was with my mum , my dad and my sister Munira. It was a nice and sunny summer’s day. We got off the bus at a sandy beach. I went swimming in the sea. The waves were not too big. I saw people sailing out at the horizon. I built a really enormous sandcastle. We had hotdogs at the beach.

My sister caught a crab and brought it home in a plastic box with water in it.
It was a fun but tiring day. I slept very well.

===============

A sports match

We were playing cricket against Crawford School. We were quite confident because we practise a lot and we have a great coach. They went into bat first. They scored a lot of runs against us. I overheard one of our dads say it was ‘demoralising.’ They had some fantastic players but they were very risky in their playing. Eventually we got them all out. I managed to catch one of them out.

Then we went into bat. We scored ok but maybe we were too cautious. We were not scoring that many runs. It was my turn to go in. I was quite nervous at first. But after hitting a few balls I became more sure of myself. I started to take bigger risks. I made some big hits and scored quite a few runs. But finally I was run out.
In the end we did not quite catch up with the other team’s score. We lost but we still enjoyed it and felt proud.

========================

A holiday

My parents announced that we were going to Mexico. It is a hot country so we had to take summer clothes even though it was wintertime. I was enthusiastic and I read up about Mexico and looked at it on the map and found out what its flag looks like. There is no such langauge as Mexican. They speak Spanish.

The flight was very long but there was a fabulous in flight entertainment system so the flight passed quickly. I was exhausted when we got there because Mexico is in a different time zone.
The hotel was lovely and it was overlooking what seemed like the longest beach in the world. I learnt a few Spanish phrases and tried them out on the hotel staff even though they spoke English.
We went to the beach every day and did water activities. We went on sailing boats and lilos. There was a kids’ club and I made from friends from America.
I tried Mexican food but I did not like it very much. It is too dry and too spicy.
We listened to a band at the hotel each night. I quite like Mexican music which is called mariachi.
In the airport we bought souvenirs on the way home. I purchased a massive Mexican hat called a sombrero. It means ‘shade.’