JACK'S PLACE

The dog kept chewing on the rope. He knew he wasn’t supposed to chew anything except his own toys, but there were no toys now and he was hungry and thirsty, so he kept chewing on the rope, trying to get free so he could go find food and water. The rope was made of something tough and slippery, and it resisted his efforts, sometimes cutting painfully into his gums, but he didn’t give up. He kept chewing on the rope. . He was down to skin and bones after eight days. The dry food was gone by the end of the second day, and he’d had nothing since. On shaking legs he made his way to the water dish and drank. All around him he could hear the sounds of life in the forest, small animals and birds, and he thought of hunting them, but he was tied to the tree. So, he chewed the rope, but even that seemed pointless after awhile. Finally, he lay down on his side, put his head on the ground and drifted off…