Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Once upon a time, there was a juvenile boy living on a cozy little family farm in a faraway village out in the countryside. While no one in that quaint hamlet could have been called rich, there was no one there left wanting either, and the all humble village folk worked together to make sure that every mouth was fed and that everybody had a roof over their head. But that all changed one day when a nobleman laid claim to the land and decided to set up a grand estate amongst the village's much more modest abodes. He proclaimed that his opulent manor was a symbol of hope in the hinterlands, but nobody else seemed to see it as such.

As it so happened, the newly established baron had a son who was the same age as the aforementioned village boy, and shortly after the construction was complete, he invited the village boy over for an afternoon of conversation and play. While in the luxurious manor, the village boy was introduced to all the wonders of civilization that he had neither seen nor heard of before; there were a plethora of intricate and ornate baubles lining the tables and shelves of the parlor and myriads of halls, gorgeous paintings that divinely danced and sang to his passing fascination, and, most marvelously of all, arcane puzzle boxes which entertained his and the noble boy's fancy throughout the evening as the baron's golden retriever chewed upon a silvery bone at their feet. After enjoying the most lavish meal of his life, adorned with fine veal and exotic fruits, it was with great reluctance that the village boy bid his gracious host adieu and returned to his family's farm.

As dusk fell, the boy lamented that now the village appeared to him to be such a dreary place full of mundane people leading weary lives. He craved so much more from life, and the only place that he knew where to find its finer delicacies was at the extravagant manor in the distance that he looked upon with eyes of envy. Rashly, he concocted a scheme to climb up the manor's creeping vines and ivy so that he might sneak through one of the crystal glass windows in order to snatch away one of the noble boy's puzzle boxes to keep as his own; he figured that the noble could not possibly notice if just one of so many had gone missing. Fancying his plan to be fool-proof, at midnight he set forth on his misadventure.

Up the vines he climbed and quietly through the window he entered. Sneakily, he crept his way through the manor's long corridors, elated that so far everything had been going to plan. But as he smiled so smugly, he did not watch his steps, and as he entered into the foyer, he felt a sudden pain blast up his big toe, followed by the sound of something skidding across the marble floor. Though it was dark, with the full moon's light shining through the windows the boy could see that the object on the floor in front of him was a bone, and to his side was the baron's golden retriever whom he must have kicked said bone away from. The dog stretched and yawned before resting its head once more atop its forepaws, still thoroughly within the clutches of deepest of sleeps.

While the dog showed no more signs of stirring, the boy could feel a deep dread nagging from the back of his head. He feared that if the dog awoke to find its bone so far from its resting place, it would rouse itself to go fetch it, and then once awake it would catch his scent in an instant, track him down, begin to bark, and then he would be caught and his whole plan would go awry. In his vexation, he decided that the best course of action would be to retrieve the bone for the retriever, placing it back as carefully as he could. And so the boy did, but as he positioned the bone back before the retriever's snout, the dog gave in one swift whiff and then placed one of its paws down on both the bone and the hapless boy's hand. A fidgeting fear gently crept its way up the boy's spine, but he was sure not to panic too much or make any large sudden movements. He resolved that he would stay as still as possible, and as soon as the dog repositioned itself in its sleep again, he would release the bone and immediately make a silent retreat; however, the next movements the dog made were to rest his second paw over the first and then bring his snoozing head down upon them. A quiet terror overcame the boy as the dog now bore its weight upon his hand.

The boy, feeling the golden retriever's warm breath upon his skin, decided that he must act fast lest the dog register his unfamiliar scent and rouse itself to discover the source. He gently tried to nudge his hand away, but the dog then lunged its whole body forward, engulfing the entirety of his forearm beneath its warm fluffy chest. The boy now could feel soft golden fur puff in and out with the retriever's every breath. While the boy may have welcomed such a soothing sensation just about any other time in his life, at this moment it caused his anxiety to grow until the point that he could contain himself no longer. Overwhelmed by fear, he attempted to jerk back his arm away from the sleeping dog's grasp, but he was no match for the well-fed pet's incredibly pudgy mass. Furthermore, his violent motions seemed to have disturbed the chubby beast's slumber, and the boy could see the silvery gleam of its sharpened teeth in the moonlight as it pursed its lips and began to let out a low growl.

The boy did not know what kind of nightmares his actions had caused to befall upon the dog, but he could immediately discern that now as the dog was opening its jaws it was in preparation to unleash a snarling storm of thunderous barks. Instinctively, the boy moved his hand to the base of the dog's ear and began to scratch; the retriever tentatively closed its jaws. Seeing his success, the boy redoubled his efforts and began to stroke the beast's fur from the top of its golden crown, down its plump neck, and to its back. The sleeping dog seemed to be quite satisfied with this turn of events, as was evident in the long wags of its tail and the fact that it has let loose its tongue to droop lackadaisically outside its mouth. After some time, the boy attempted to stop stroking so that he could formulate his plan for escape, but the moment his movement ceased, the dog began to snarl once more, forcing the boy to continue petting. Tears of fear welled in the boy's eyes as he realized that he may well have been at the end of his line. Again and again, he desperately tried for his opportunity to stop stroking, but again and again, a low growl informed him that was impossible. Ultimately, the boy was forced to remain there petting the dog until he eventually passed out from exhaustion.

In the morning, the Baron discovered the boy sleeping and snuggling his golden retriever in the foyer and let out a sigh in exasperation. While he appreciated the peaceful sight, the Baron nonetheless gently shook the boy's shoulder to rouse him and then shooed him off as he groggily rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The boy was fortunate to escape unpunished, but even so, his scheme was ultimately a failure. Perhaps he would have had greater success had he simply let sleeping dogs lie.