Puppy Dog Eyes

You are upset. You are very disappointed with your little one because he has been really naughty and he needs to be punished. You “steel” your heart and get ready to pronounce the penalty and then he goes and does it! He looks at you with those large, beady eyes that melt the very core of that heart that you have just hardened. The eye balls grow larger, pleading their innocence and imploring you to forgive him. You try and think of the last time he did that but your thoughts seem to be fading fast in front of those big, black, “puppy-dog”(I know it’s the same but that’s how my son refers to them) eyes. You weaken and you give way.

Ever wondered where those “puppy- dog” eyes come from? Well, here’s the story.

Andy was a 3 year old little boy who lived in an apartment. In the same block of flats there lived an old lady as well. The old lady had no one else but a big dog called Jessie, for a companion. Andy loved teasing Jessie and called him names like Messy Jessie. Jessie was always raring to have a go at him!

One day things went too far. Andy tugged Jessie’s tail and Jessie urinated on him in anger. The two got into a scuffle. The skies started darkening outside, heralding the approach of a storm. A large bolt of lightning struck the top of the tower of flats.

As the rain hammered against the glass panes of Andy’s dad’s office, his phone rang. It was his wife. She sounded frantic; she said something strange had happened to Andy and that he should get home as soon as possible. When he reached home he saw an ambulance parked in front. He grew worried and rushed in to see the old lady being taken away on a stretcher. He found out that the old lady had suffered a stroke because her dog had started speaking in a human voice! That was absurd, he thought! Then he remembered his wife and rushed up the elevator to his apartment.

The day seemed to be growing weirder. His wife was crying and his little boy sat quietly, looking rather confused. He asked his wife what the matter was to which she said that Andy was no longer able to talk. He went over to his son and asked him what was wrong but Andy only barked like a dog in reply.

Thinking that this was some kind of joke, he shook his son and asked him to speak properly but the little boy would only bark, “Woof! Woof!” His father kept asking him what happened. The boy just could not speak but kept barking!

Dumbfounded Andy’s father sat trying to figure out how this had come to be. And then he remembered the old lady and a crazy possibility started occurring to him. He went up to his son and asked him whether he had done something to Jessie, the dog. The little boy’s eyes lit up and he nodded, “WOOF!”

His father held him by the hand and took him to the old lady’s apartment. The dog took one look at him and thundered, “YOU!” Before anyone could do anything the two got into a mad tussle! They moved so fast that only a blur was visible. Andy’s father separated the two with great difficulty after which the boy regained his voice and the dog started barking.

Andy's father then took him home to his mother who was relieved to hear her son speaking again. She hugged him tight and kissed him on the forehead, glad that he was normal like before. That was when she noticed that his eye balls seemed unusually large and black, almost dog like. She looked at her husband inquiringly. He merely shrugged saying that he had done the best he could; besides, one had to admit it made him look especially endearing!

Magnum Opus III: Soccer’s Soothsaying Star

The sun was setting over the Mediterranean Sea and as Octopus watched he felt very sad. He was sad that he and his cousins had not been able to wear shoes. He was sad
for his cousin Hundopus, who had been converted into a station at Amsterdam. He had heard that his other cousin Milopus was devouring ships and planes in the Caribbean Sea, giving rise to stories of an unseen monster in the Bermuda Triangle. Octopus sighed; all he had wanted was to wear shoes.

A baby dolphin was playing with a ball, near the coast. Ocotpus loved the way it was carefree and was having such a great time.

He kept looking at the dolphin calf playing with his mother – they seemed so happy! Octopus felt a sudden urge to go talk to the dolphins. He approached them, a little unsure of how to begin. To his surprise and relief, the dolphins waved to him, inviting him to play. Octopus joined in and before long he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Octopus loved playing with the ball and started playing with the dolphins every day. He learned that the dolphins performed at a nearby aquarium, where hundreds of kids and their parents came to see them. There were other marine animals at the aquarium as well, that performed other tricks for the visitors. All this made Octopus very curious and he wanted to visit the Aquarium. His wish was granted when one day one of the keepers from the Aquarium, saw him playing with the dolphins and took him in.

He showed him to the others and everyone thought it would be a good idea to have Octopus performing at the Aquarium. In fact it would be fantastic if they could get the dolphins to play soccer with Octopus as the goalkeeper. With eight tentacles, he did make a lot of saves and a super goalie!

At first it seemed like a crazy idea but it worked. The number of visitors to the aquarium doubled. People from around the world came to see Octopus perform. Octopus’s keeper named him Paul and installed a TV near his aquarium for him to watch soccer matches on. Octopus loved watching the Football World Cup on TV and seemed to have a knack for predicting the result.

The keepers started putting food in two boxes with the flag of the participating teams on them. Paul would then pick food from the box that he thought would win and most of the times he was correct! Paul, the Octopus became famous the world over. The aquarium was so pleased with his success that they got boots made for him…....eight of them for each of his tentacles.

Octopus was beside himself with joy! His long cherished dream of wearing shoes had finally come true!