Jeb!
Out!
Shoo!
by Mabel Kaplan (c)2009
For Ryan
(aka Couper)
Happy
Birthday
Jeb! Out! Shoo!
by Mabel Kaplan 2009(c)
"Jeb! Out! Shoo!"
Jeb skidded across the floor as Mum shooed him out of the kitchen and into the next room.
He jumped into Gran's chair, snuggled into the soft cushions and closed his eyes.
His ears began to twitch. As his teeth bit down on the corner of a cushion, Jeb made a low growl and was about to start chewing on a dreamland bone -
"Jeb! OUT! Shoo!"
Gran clipped the edge of the chair with the newspaper and chased Jeb outside.
Jeb hid under a bush in the garden. The ground felt warm and damp - a good place to dig for a bone - a real one! The dirt flew up behind him. He put his nose into the hole and sniffed.
Dad swung the hose on him and Jeb scrambled out of his hole and away.
Jeb found a new hiding place in Ben and Lindell's play house. Ben's kite was on the shelf.
Jeb grabbed it in his teeth and pulled and chewed until a piece of the tail came loose.
He saw Lindell's big bright beach ball. He gave it a knock with his paw. It rolled under the table, Jeb after it.
His head tangled in the tablecloth and EVERYTHING came tumbling down.
Jeb began to lap at the spilled milk
He looked at Lindell. He looked to Ben.
Jeb felt BAD. Nobody wanted him.
Down the path and out the gate he ran. He sniffed the fence as he passed Ben's school.
He crept by the warehouse where the big black guard dog lived.
Jeb ran until the shadows told him it was night time. He found a hollow log, curled up inside it and went to sleep.
Crickets chirped, mosquitoes buzzed and somewhere close by an owl hooted.
The sounds of night woke Jeb.
Grrr ...grrrr! Could it be a lion?
Hoop-hoop, hoop! Hoop-hoop, hoop! That sounded like ... like a ... monkey.
Jeb stood up and shook himself.
Streamers of coloured lights showered across the sky. Jeb heard music and clapping.
He ran toward the lights and sounds.
A huge tent blocked his way.
He crawled under a flap.
A clown stepped into the ring,
did three cartwheels and
began to juggle hoops
and balls.
Jeb jumped into the ring and followed the clown. He ran a little, then he crouched. He ran
a little more.
The people cheered and clapped.
Jeb watched the balls - sometimes high, sometimes low.
The clown threw and caught every ball. Again, Jeb watched the balls - sometimes high, sometimes low.
He pounced! He caught a ball in his mouth and ran with it around the ring. The crowd cheered and cheered.
The clown looked puzzled. Then he spotted Jeb.
"Hey you, come here!"
The clown chased Jeb around the ring.
Jeb sat in a little red car. An acrobat stood on his hands and drove the car up over a bridge and down the other side.
No-one said, "Jeb! OUT! Shoo!"
Jeb wagged his tail and held out his paw.
Then, the clapping stopped.
A mother
picked up a coat and
blanket.
A father lifted a sleeping boy.
All the people
trailed to the entrance flap
and
disappeared
into the night.
The ringmaster turned out the lights in the big tent. The clowns and acrobats left.
Jeb looked for a dish of nibbles by the door.
Nothing! ... No bowl of water ... no blanket in a basket ... and no Ben for Jeb to slip into his bed and lick his face.
Jeb crept around the sleeping tents - "You! OUT! Shoo!"
Jeb knew it was time to go home.
It was still dark as he set off.
The big black guard dog that lived at the warehouse barked as he passed by.
Jeb stopped to sniff the school fence.
Orange light was spreading across the sky as Jeb crept into the house. He found his dish of nibbles by the door and his bowl of water near the tap.
He sniffed at the blanket in his basket.
Then he sneaked into Ben's room, hopped up on the bed and licked Ben's sleeping face.
Ben rolled over and put his arm around Jeb, and said in a sleepy kind of voice:
"Oh, Jeb! You're home."
