February 28th, The End of the Month, so say

RABBIT, RABBIT.


I have a little story to tell you about something lots of people say on the very last day of the month, and it is the VERY last thing they say before they go to sleep. I found out about it one day when Girlie and I were getting some dinner ready in the kitchen. I was sitting at her feet hoping she would drop me a carrot or some treat, and as usual, the radio was on. On this day, I was very glad I had the special gift of understanding what every person or creature says, otherwise I would not have

known why Girlie was laughing and crying. The man on the radio had asked people to phone him and tell what they remembered most about their first years at school.

People called in and said things like they remembered when they got spanked, when they learned to read, when they had a big Celebration for B.C.’s birthday and so on they went. All of a sudden, Girlie stopped fussing and stayed very still and listened.

This is what a man phoned in and said over the radio:

When he was in grade 1 in Victoria, many years ago, his teacher always told the class on the last day of the month, just before they went to sleep, they had to say Rabbit, Rabbit. She said if they always remembered to do this, something wonderful would happen for them in the new month coming up. He said she did this at every month end, and he always tried to do it, and many times a good thing did happen in the new month.

He went on to say that at the end of the year he asked his teacher why this worked, why people who forgot still seemed to have some good surprises, and why she did it. She said it was simple.

She told him it made us notice when something good did happen, and the real reason she thought of it was because every time there was a new month, lots of children forgot, and put the old date on the papers they did and she had to remind them all the time.

Have you guessed why Girlie laughed and cried? She was his grade 1 teacher, and he had grown up and lived far away on the other side of the country.

I tell you this story because you might try saying Rabbit, Rabbit and see if the magic works for you.

At my home I have tried to tell Mister Tucker about this, but he has not got the idea yet!

Love, Charlie Rose.

P.S.Do you remember I told you I was born to be a “show dog”, but I was the runt of the litter and became a family pet.

This week one of my “worldwide family” of Scottish Terriers won the Westminster Dog Show being the best dog of 2500 others.

Her name is Sadie, and do you know what she has to do every day to be so perfect? She has to be brushed every day, go for two long walks and exercise on her OWN treadmill. I’m sure glad I was too small, and silly, but I would like the hot dog treats she gets lots of times!


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CH. 5 picture"Even dogs try to steal from each other.

I bet you have seen dogs do this. The big Golden dog, Farley,

has a bone his owner gave him.

Mister Tucker, Charlie Rose's pal, tried for a long, long time to

see if he could steal it. He barked and danced around, but he

never did trick Farley.

Me, I just watched, because if you read my story, you know

I have learned Stealing isn't much fun.

You know children and grown-ups do just about the same

thing sometimes. Have you ever had someone reach over your

meal and grab a chip or a spoonful of food and forget to ask if it

is okay? I have seen this happen to Mrs Thistle and she never

says anything. If it happened to me I'd be yip-yapping!

Love, Charlie Rose

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CONTEST and Tricky Dogs.update Feb.27,2010

These are the "Original Tricky Dogs" you could win in my drawing contest.

You can make them dance and twirl and your friends might think you are

performing magic. I hope you are reading and drawing, and then entering

your work.

We have some entries already. The oldest person so far, is an 88yr. old

Grandpa who put in an entry with his Grandson. The youngest person is a

little girl who is only 4 yrs. old.

I am getting help from Mrs Thistle to collect my mail, and I hope I get some

from you soon.

Remember, Box 181, Nanoose Bay, B.C., Canada V9P 9J9

Love, Charlie Rose xx

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CH.5 SHOPLIFTING and STEALING with

Charlie Rose and Ethan.

On Thursday, two days before it was time to leave my farm home, the family decided we were going to town. Going to town meant we got to ride on the big bench in the back of the old blue van. The trip would take a long time, even as long maybe, as one whole hour. This is what I was told, because I had never, ever been in a car or van. It sounded exciting.

All day I was full of questions. Who was going? Why were we going? Were we all going? Mum answered all my questions that she simply did not know the answers, but there were some little things she learned on one ride she went on with her brothers, Mac Duff, Mac Doodle, and Mac Ginty. She learned to behave when riding in the van, or else you may not be asked to go again. Her brothers only got to go once and they were never, ever asked to go again. She said it was a naughty family secret and I must not tell, but she would tell me so I did not try some of the tricks they did. This is what she told me:

All four of them sat on the back bench in the van. She just sat and watched the people in front and looked out the window. This is not what her brothers did. Mac Duff lay on the bench for the whole trip and chewed the seat belt until he made a big hole. Mac Doodle stood up on his back feet looking out the window with his front paws on the leather below the window and scratched it. Dear Mac Ginty peed all over the floor. When they got to town and the family opened the slider door of the van, they were very upset at all the mischief that had been done. The seat belt was ruined, the leather was scratched and shredded, and the floor was smelly and wet.

Mum thought only she and I would go as we would be easier to watch and she told me I must be very, very good.

The big day came. Mum’s leash and collar were put on so she could trot over the gravel path to the van. I was carried. When the door was opened I could see the long bench I was told about, and it was covered with a bright pink furry comforter. Mum jumped up over the door sill and onto the bench. Not me, I was gently put down on the furry space. I snuggled down and promised myself to be very very good. The van started, there was a humming sound and we began to move. For a moment my tummy felt a little wobbly so I leaned against Mum who was sitting up ever so straight. As I leaned, I listened to the sound of the van, felt the breeze come in the window, and felt Mum’s paw resting on my back. I was sooooo comfy. Next I knew, I heard the sliding door as it opened. I shook my head, blinked my eyes, and thought to myself ‘what a gerflunkin silly thing I have done. I have missed the whole trip’. (In case you don’t know, the funny word gerflunkin, is a word only naughty grown ups use, but I say it in my head sometimes when I am a little cross,) While I was waking up and doing my thinking, the door was opened wide, Momsy hopped down, and quickly her leash and collar were checked. I was scooped up in someone’s arms. I looked about. We were in front of a store that had windows full of toys and things just for dogs and puppies. I wished to myself, ‘please take me in’ and before I knew it, my wish came true.

Inside, it smelled delicious. I sniffed dog crumbles somewhere nearby, but we did not stop. As I listened, I heard : “Puppy Collars and Leashes Please.” We walked to the back of the store, and soon I was being fitted for a lovely pink polk-a-dot collar. I wiggled and squirmed, but in no time the thing was fastened and I was plopped down on the floor. I shook my head and scratched at the collar, but it just wouldn’t come off.

Everyone was looking at leashes, discarding some as too heavy and others as not strong enough. I watched for a moment, a little bored, so began to sniff the air. Ahha! Sniff sniff, CRUMBLES. I started to snoop around and began to run as the smell got stronger. In no time, I found them. They were in a red bin just my height, so I poked my long nose in and took one. One became two, two became four, and I just sat happily munching.

All too soon I heard my name being called and Mum skidded to my side with her brows furrowed and a not too happy look on her face. She was almost shouting when she said:

“What are you doing?” “Those are NOT for you.”

I hung my head down and gave her a sad look as I didn’t like to be in trouble, but she did not stop her ranting:

“The crumbles you were eating are not for puppies, they are for large grown-up dogs. You may have a tummy ache tonight. The bin has a sign on it---

CRUMBLES FOR SALE for large dogs, one bag full for $5.00.

The people who own this store sell things for dogs to make money to buy things and food for their family. Taking something from a store is called shop lifting or stealing because you have taken something which does not belong to you.”

Soon a crowd had gathered around us because of all the noise Mum was making---“Arf Arf, Yip Yap, Arf Arf Arf” and so on. I think they figured out what happened because Mum was so noisy, and tears were pouring out of my eyes. When the store owner came he looked very cross at first, so cross I thought he might slap my bottom, but I think he changed his mind when he saw how cranky Mum was. Not soon enough for me, our family came by and swooped us up and out to the van. I slept all the way home and have never, ever thought about shop lifting or stealing again. I learned it could be dangerous for me and it was not a kind and loving thing to do.

I thought I had forgotten all about this horrible time until I heard something tonight. Mrs Thistle, the lady who loves and takes care of me, had a Mom named Lisa, and her boys come to visit. Garrett, the oldest boy was mowing the lawn perfectly, and he even cleaned up my “messes”. Ethan, his younger brother, came for conversation. I listened, and I tell you he was interesting, he told good stories, and he was curious about everything. He even asked Mrs Thistle what she was writing on her computer. When she told him it was my story about stealing, he had a whopper story of his own. It went something like this:

Not long ago he was shopping with his Mom for important things for their house. He passed the gum and candy rack in the store and began to whine---

“Mom, I need some bubble gum. Mom, please, I do, I do and so on”, but Mom was really busy getting the “important things” so she did not really listen to him. In a flash, he ran back to the bubble gum and stuffed a pack into his pocket. He didn’t say anything, but when he got home he took it to his room and hid it in his sock drawer. He thought it would not be a good idea to chew it that night.

The next day, while he was at school, his Mom was putting his clean socks away in the drawer and you can guess what she found. I bet, you can imagine what happened when he came home that day. I could tell you more of what he said, but I shall just tell you the end of his adventure. That night his Mom took him back to the store to give the gum to the Security Guard and say he was sorry. He said the HUGE man shouted and yelled, wore an black uniform with mean looking things hanging from it which scared him a bit, and was just “big and horrid.” I think Ethan learned the same thing I did; shop lifting and stealing was just NOT FUN.

Have you ever tried to have an adventure like Ethan or me? I hope not, because it sure was not fun for us, and I hope the things you do are FUN FOR YOU.

Love, Charlie Rose

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In the story about being careful with the world, you will meet Leroy the cat, a mother goose and maybe even you will hear about Matilda the otter. I am sorry you will have to hear about a bad day I had, not being very careful.

CH:4 DON'T BE A BULLY

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This little story is really a talk that Mum had with all of us, my brothers, my sister, and me.

It stared one morning when we were all nestled into Mum to get some milk. As I bet you know, I was the smallest of the family. This particular time as I tried to feed my brothers were pushing me out of the way. I tried to sneak back into my place, but I just couldn’t. They pushed me away. They nipped at me. They seemed to pretend I was not there, like I did not matter. This went on and on until Mum quickly stood up and said,

“STOP right now. All of you, STOP!”

As you can imagine we were all surprised and inched back so we could look at her.

When she was sure we were all listening she began to talk, mostly to the boys. She told them they were being mean, and there was a name for what they were doing. It was called BULLYING. They watched her and seemed to be listening. She told them she was sure all of us needed some milk, she was not sure the boys needed the most, and asked why they had been bumbling, shoving, and nipping me out of the way. They hung their heads and stopped looking at Mum. After we all sat for a while she said to us,

“Try again everyone, and NO bullying.”

Even though it was a little crowded we all got our milk feeds very well after that.

I didn’t think much more about bullying until I moved to my island home with Hap, Girlie, and the “boys,” Haggis and McTavish. We were a fine little family and I thought my doggie pals were just perfect, at first. Of course, at first, I did not see very much of them as I was treated as a little puppy.

In time I became included in all family things, like day trips, walks in the woods, car rides, and so on. On one of our first walks, Haggis did something that really surprised me, and I’ll tell you in a moment. McTavish wandered along sniffing every bush and I bet peed on all of them. I was not yet sure of leash walking, so skipped and danced from one side of the path to the other. Now I bet you wonder what Haggis did. Well I will tell you. He was a good leash walker. He walked straight ahead always leading the way. When a family came toward us on the path, Haggis really surprised me. He went up close to them barking as loud as I ever heard him. It was not a --

‘Hello, how are you?’ kind of bark, but quite angry and he made a grrrr sound and showed his teeth. He didn’t do this just once. He did it every time we met someone on the path. Sometimes the families got cross and told Hap to take such a bullying dog home. Sometimes the families just ran off into the bushes.

When we were at home Haggis was always very nice to me. He looked stern, but with me he helped out all the time, sort of like a Grandpa. One afternoon I thought I would just curl up on the couch beside him and ask him why he behaved like a bully when we were out.

The story he told me was quite odd. Like me he had been born to be a show dog, but he was too big. To tell you the truth he was BIG. His head was a big as that of a German Shepherd, his ears were huge, his body was long, but his legs were almost as short as mine. Because he had been the biggest puppy in his family he bossed all the others around. He was used to being the BOSS. When he went out walking, he would hear comments about his huge ears, his big head and so on which was not nice.. He thought if he acted fierce no one would dare talk about him.

I told him I thought he was very handsome. I asked if he ever thought how much he scared others on our walks. He didn’t think he did, but said he would think about it. You know he never changed a lot on the paths, but he did change a little bit. He was a lot older than me so maybe it was hard to teach him a new idea. His way had worked for him for years and he scared others sometimes, but he did not bite or hurt them.

One day my friend Bob the Poodle, met a real mean bully at the beach. His family took him to this special place where dogs could run and play without being on a leash. They could run in the ocean, jump waves and roll in the sand. Bob said it was super until he met a real bully. He was having a grand time when a huge dog came after him. He grabbed Bob by the neck and began shaking him. He said it was AWFUL. His family had to smack the big bully to get Bob away. He had to go to the Vet and get stitches and he and his family were sad for a long time. They did at last go back to the special beach and the bully was not there. Bob told me sometimes the SPCA takes bully dogs away for a while to teach them better manners and not to be mean. I thought about Haggis. What if he got mean one day. I decided to teach him a little song I learned long ago-

“I am who I am, I am. I will be the best I can be.”

This might help him not to be a bully. What do you think?

May be he would not think about his big ears.

I hope you never meet a bully, but if you do, tell someone. You can always get help staying away from bullies, and it is not

tattling.

Love Charlie Rose.

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Next you can read about a little boy named Ethan and I who both get in trouble for the same thing. I bet you never thought I could do such a naughty thing.

CONTEST and Tricky Dogs

I would like to tell you a little story about the box of Tricky Dogs in the picture. The box

looks worn and tattered doesn't it? I will tell you why.

Mrs Thistle was given this as a present when she was a very little girl, and I can tell you,

that was a long, long time ago. She was given the toy because it was a toy she could

play with all by herself, it was a toy nobody would notice if she was supposed to be

sitting quietly somewhere, and it was a way she could make her friends laugh when she

showed them the magic Tricky Dogs could do. Sometimes I see her today playing with

the dogs when she is sitting listening to someone on the phone, so she still plays with

them. Tricky Dogs are one of the oldest toys made and still sold to children and adults.

Mrs Thistle bought some last week over the phone to the United States, and the big box

of all of them came to our door yesterday.

Isn't it great that I can understand what all people and creatures say. Because I can, I

know the plans for this box of toys that are hiding under Mrs T.'s desk.

There is going to be a CONTEST YOU CAN ENTER and you could win your own set

of the fun dogs.

THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:

1. Draw a picture of Charlie Rose as you saw her in your mind when you read one of

her stories. It could be her tugging her blanket away, or maybe when she eats crumbles

with her mouth open, or her shoplifting adventure, or any part of a story you liked.

2. Put your name, address, age (5 to 95 yrs), and phone number on the back of the

picture with a name you would choose for your art work. Any age can enter.

3. Put your picture in an envelope with a postage stamp on it.

4. Print on the envelope this address:

Charlie Rose,

P.O. Box 181,Nanoose Bay,

B.C. Canada, V9P 9J9

This is all you have to do, but you must do it before MARCH 31,2010. The contest ends

on March 31,2010 so please make sure you get your work to my mail box.

I am excited, and can't wait to see my mail and help to choose who wins some Tricky

Dogs. You can even send more than one drawing if you want to.

Let's have fun, Love Charlie Rose.

.A Snacking Picture.

Charlie Rose and Mister Tucker's meals are cooked in a big black pot. They usually have a small snack when it is finished by cleaning the pot.

On this day, their pal Farley came over to help out.

Why is Charlie Rose looking and standing away?

When you read the next story about manners and eating you will see Charlie Rose is a bit of a

fussy girl.

CH.3.HAVE MANNERS WHEN EATING

One of the most special times I remember is from when I was a tiny puppy, was feeding time. Mum would lie quietly in our nest. We would all snuggle side by side so our mouths could suck the milk from Mum’s teats on her tummy. If you were listening you would have heard SLURP, squish, SLURP,SLURP. All nestled together, it felt very cozy to me. Mum’s tail wagged and she murmured softly to us ---

“You are beautiful puppies, I love you all so much,” and so on it would go. It was a precious, comfortable, time.

As we got older, things changed. The others got a lot, lot bigger. I got a little bit bigger. They began pushing and bumbling me about. I was able to take it for a while, but I shall tell you more in another story.

A funny change that happened was when I began to talk. You may say that was good, but I will tell you, Mum was not always pleased with me. I was doing a very silly thing when I was feeding. I would suck my milk and talk at the very same time saying things like;

“Oh Mum, this is good, mmmmmm, so good”

One evening Mum gently kicked me away with her back leg. Of course, I wondered what I had done. I sat shaking my head and frowning at her as she said;

“Please listen to me little one.”

She told me my eating manners could be a lot better. Each time I talked while sucking my milk from her, my sharp little teeth bit her. That hurt! It was bad enough, but when I was talking and eating, eating and talking, milk dribbled out of my mouth all over my chin whiskers so I was a mess. I tried to learn these new manners, but when it came time for me to have “good for your teeth” crumbles I really showed I had not quite learned about talking and eating. I finally did when I was munching away and talking and out of the corner of my eye, I saw crumbles flying out of my mouth into my clean cozy nest. Best not to eat and talk.

When I left my dog family and moved to my island family, I thought it was fun to watch the other house pets, Haggis and MacTavish so I could be like them. They were older than me. What manners did they have? I was curious.

I soon found out, I couldn’t stop watching Haggis, the boy Scottie. He ate very fast. He gobbled in a big mouthful, put his head back, and chewed with his mouth wide open. He really did. It was not pretty to watch. As he ate food dribbled down his chin whiskers. (Remember how milk used to dribble down mine.) After a meal he often should have had a real scrub down, but he didn’t. He cleaned his chin whiskers with his paws, then licked them, and I guess sometimes he almost got a second meal. Do you know MacTavish even helped him sometimes. It was funny to watch. Can you see them in your imagination?

As Haggis got older, he would lie on the couch after his evening meal. You could hear his tummy rumbling. Mum used to tell me that some tummy upsets came when you had air or gas in the tummy. Anyway, Haggis would lie stretched out and rumbling on the couch. There would be a funny noise, and then do you know, there would be a horrid smell. Mum had a funny Scottish name for when this happened. She called it “blowing a raspberry”. You probably have your own name for this because almost every creature in the world does it once in a while. Poor Haggis did this almost every night and I used to wonder if it was because he gobbled so much with his mouth wide open. And do you know his manners were never too good about this; he could have whispered “oops, sorry, or excuse me.” MacTavish and I never made fun of Haggis, because he was such a kind fellow. I thought to myself, these were just some manners his Mom forgot to teach him.

MacTavish ate so s-l-o-w-l-y, he must have chewed every mouthful at least 50 times. His mouth was always closed unless he stopped part way through his meal to say something about how much he liked the carrots, or whatever. He always kept us waiting because we all wanted to leave our eating place at the same time. Can you guess why? I will tell you. After we ate, we checked each other’s bowls and placemats to make sure nothing was left behind. We cleared up after our meals.

What do you think about manners and eating? Do you chew and talk at the same time so food flies out of your mouth or dribbles down your chin? Are you curious like me and watch how other people eat? Do you sometimes have a HUGE meal, then get a tummy upset, and “blow a raspberry?” I hope you remember some Charlie Rose manners. I think when we have manners, whether they are dog ones or people ones we are thinking kindly about others. Do you?

Most of all, I hope all your meal times are FUN.

Love, Charlie Rose.

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My next chapter is about a character I hope you NEVER, EVER meet, who does something I hope you NEVER EVER do because it can be very, very mean.

VALENTINE'S DAY

February 14th is Valentine's Day and I would like to send you warm wishes for a very happy day, and that many loving things happen for you.

Love, Charlie Rose.

Did you ever wonder how Valentine's Day started?

Girlie or Mrs Thistle, the lady who is my family, was working at the table the other day with two little girls. They were drawing red hearts, cutting things out, and printing names on envelopes. I bet you know what they were doing. One of the girls asked Mrs Thistle if she knew how Valentine's Day was started. I can tell you what Mrs. T. said, because you remember I told you, I have a special gift; I can understand what all people and creatures say.

This is the story she told:

"Once there was a young priest whose name was Valentine. He was put in prison because he had broken a law. He wanted his friends and family to know he was safe and well, so he came up with an idea. Outside his window there were some violets growing in a box. The green leaves of the violets were heart shaped. Each day he picked some leaves. He printed a note on a leaf every day, and every day a white dove who lived on his window sill, took his "leaf messages" to one of his friends or family. He wanted all these people to know he loved them and was thinking about them.

The people were happy to get his messages. When he got out of prison, he kept doing this every year on February 14th, so it was decided to name the day after him."

Mrs T. said this story came from her Aunt named Emma Smiley, and the girls giggled because they thought Smiley was a perfect last name for a favourite Auntie. She also said the story is very old, but people still like to have a special day to say how much they love their family and friends , so for many, many years lots of people continue to do this on.....

VALENTINE'S DAY.

Dr. Smiley is well known in Victoria, B.C., for her phrase, "Live Life Lovingly".

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CH.2.TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR THINGS

On one of our barn time days, Mum and my family were off to a show dog training session up near the big house. I was all by myself in the nest snuggled near my furry, pink blanket. But, do you know what? I was bored. I watched bugs in the straw. I licked my paws, I listened to the noises coming from outside. I was still bored, when a wonderful idea came to me. I could drag my blanket to the barn door, tuck myself in, and have a good close look at outside and sniff all the wonderful smells. I started.

I tugged. I pulled. I had to stop for a rest. I did this over and over three times until I reached a spot where the sun was shinning and I could see everything. I quickly scratched my blanket into a good shape and sprawled out to lie and watch. It was perfect, lots to see and warm in the sun. I thought myself very clever to have made such a place. As I watched I mumbled things to myself----

“That boy is a good horse rider.”

“Wow, Elsie the cow has a baby with her.”

And so on, until I was just about to say here comes my family. Yikes! I’m not supposed to be here. I shouted to myself----

“Oh no, here comes my family.”

I jumped up, ran as fast as my short legs would take me back to the nest.

After I caught my breath, and told myself how clever I was, I had a sad thought. Where was my soft, furry blanket? I peeked out to the barn door and couldn’t see it. Oh no, what to do? What to do? It was MY very own blanket. I scrunched down and big tears began to run over my nose, into the nest. That’s how Mum found me. I was just crying and crying. She said---

“What is the matter little one?”

I told her the whole story. I was bored. I dragged and dragged my pink blanket. I sat in the sun and saw many wonderful things.

I ran back to my nest as fast as I could because I did not want to get caught doing mischief.

“It’s okay, it’s okay” Mum said as she licked up my tears.

I almost shouted when I said to her---

“No it’s not. I’ve lost MY blanket.”

She jumped up, ran to the doorway and came back sadly saying to me---

“I’m very sorry, your blanket is gone. You were very brave and curious to try something new, but you must always remember to take good care of your things.”

I don’t know why but that lesson stayed in my memory. If something is very special to me, I have to look after it. I never did find out where my blanket went, but I hope it went to keep some other creature nice and warm.

At my island home I hear children telling stories like mine.

“I forget where I left my bike”.

“I’m sure I shut the door of the Gooly bird cage so it couldn’t get out”.

“The cat took my homework off the floor.”

Sometimes they are sort of funny stories, but they are all like mine. The children really didn’t take good care of their things.

Maybe you could give yourself a small job one day. Look at, and think about your things. There will be some things you really must have. Those are the things you must take care of. Some other things you may not even care about and you could give them away.

I had a give away day just a while ago, My new friend Poco came to play. He found tennis balls all over my house that I didn’t even remember. I gave them to him because he loved to play run and catch.

If a thing, a person, or a creature is important to you maybe you could make sure you look after it. Mrs Thistle takes good care of me. She makes my food, gets me groomed, makes sure I get lots of play and walks, and EVERY day she tells me how much she loves me. I keep trying to do my best to look after my things, but do you know, somedays, I get so busy, I just forget, but I do always remember to give Mrs Thistle a lick and a cuddle so she knows I love her.

Love, Charlie Rose.

I like the chapter about manners when eating because it has a funny part. One of the dogs “blows a raspberry”. You sometimes do that too. Can you guess what it means, or maybe you will have to find out when you read.

CH.1.BE GRATEFUL FOR GIFTS AND KINDNESS

When my brothers and sister and I were very, very tiny, probably just about new-born, the people at the barn would bring friends just to look at us. They couldn’t touch us – just look. Many of them said they had never seen a puppy family.

“They are so cute, oh look at blah, blah, blah.”

As we grew a little bit, some of these people came back to see us again and again. Still they did not touch us, but one lady seemed to like me especially. She would sit on the straw near my family nest and talk just to me.

“You are such a pretty girl. You have lovely ears” and so on. She made me very special. I would just stare at her.

After her last visit, Mum pulled me out of the nest, away from the others. She said to me,

“My dear little puppy, if the lady comes to see us again and she is especially nice to you, I want you to do something for me. Can you show her it pleases you that she talks to you?”

“Whatever should I do? I said, ”I stare at her.”

Mum told me,

“Why not try wagging your little tail or moving your head? She will know you like what she is doing.”

I told her I would give it a try and so I did on the lady’s next visit.

When she came the next time she seemed to run into the barn with a white bag dangling from her arm. She called out,

“Hello, my pretty little one.”

I did as I was told, and wagged my tail at her, not just stare. Do you know, I felt quite happy inside, and the lady got a big smile on her face. She bent down in the straw and said all the same nice things to me, while she fumbled about with the white bag. Out of it came a long rope with a ball tied to it. She placed it beside me and said,

“This is just for you little one.”

I moved toward it and sniffed. It didn’t smell like Mum, nor like the little treats we got every day to help our teeth. I moved a little closer. Nothing to sniff or smell. I just stared at the thing. Soon I got tired of it and crawled back to Mum all nice and warm, to peek out at the lady and her strange thing from the white bag. To tell you the truth, I was more curious about the white bag. The lady looked a little sad and soon left the barn.

I looked at Mum, and can you believe it, her bushy eyebrows were frowning at me.

“Come with me my dear, I would like to have a talk with you”.

These little talks usually meant trouble. I skulked down and slowly followed behind her and said to myself,

“What did I do? I wagged my tail.”

She began by telling me how proud she was of me, I had wagged my tail and looked at the lady. Too soon I thought,

“Whew, I’m not in trouble.”

But Mum continued talking,

“The lady brought you a present, little one. You’ve seen when I’ve been given a present. Stop and use your memory,”

I remembered. Just the other day someone brought Mum a neck scarf (it was all kinds of pink, my favorite color) and put it around her collar. She wagged her tail and even licked the person’s hand. I told Mum what I remembered, and asked her if she liked the scarf. She told me she liked the scarf, it made her happy inside to be given a present. It wasn’t a thing she could wear all the time because it got in the way when she fed all us puppies.

I remembered what I had done when the lady gave me the THING. I sniffed and moved away. It did not interest me. I could have been more curious and see if maybe I did like it. I could have tried.

I liked that lesson, because after it, I became more curious. If I am, sometimes I discover many wonderful things I would have passed by. Think to yourself, do you ever look at things and turn away from them? You may miss many wonderful treasures and joys.

Do you remember to say thank you for gifts and nice things that are said to you, or done for you? I would like to see if you could try. Maybe take an ordinary day and see how many times someone does something just for you. I hope you say thank you. I bet on an ordinary day you may say “THANKS” at least five times.

Love, Charlie Rose

When you read about how I take care of things, you will hear about a gooly bird, which if you do not know, it is not like a red breasted robin, nor a black raven and it does not sit in a tree. It is a gooly bird!

LESSONS and MANNERS FROM MUM

To

CHARLIE ROSE.

A an adorable, “runt of the litter”

Scottish Terrier learns life lessons from

her Mum and through many adventures.

WELCOME !

Hello, and welcome to our web site of children’s stories.

The first story I would like to share with you is about me,

Charlie Rose. I am a little black, Scottish Terrier girl. This

story has 12 chapters.

There are 2 chapters ready for you to read now, and each

week we will put another one on and you can read a story

every Sunday for 10 weeks.

If you are enjoying my stories, you can let us know.

In another few weeks we will ask you to draw pictures of

Me, and about the stories and send them to us. It will be

a little contest. What do you think of that idea?

I have a West Highland Terrier pal named Mister Tucker.

He is new to our family and quite a rascal. Pretty soon,

we will have stories about him too.

Love, Charlie Rose.

Chapters List

INTRODUCTION—Lessons and Manners from Mum to Charlie Rose.

1. Be Grateful for Gifts and Kindness.

When a lady brings Charlie Rose a gift, she learns how to say thank you her way.

2.Take Good Care of your Things.

As a small puppy, Charlie Rose loses her blanket when out on an adventure.

3.Have Manners when Eating.

When Charlie Rose is very young, she learns about eating from her Mum carefully. In later years, she lives with Haggis and McTavish who have different dog manners.

4. Don’t be a Bully.

Haggis, the dog Charlie Rose lives with, is a bit of a bully. She tries to help him.

5.Shoplifting and Stealing.

Charlie Rose goes shopping and gets caught stealing. She then meets a little boy

who tells her he did too.

6. Be Careful with the World.

Charlie Rose learns how to take care in the world, and of things around her.

7. On Sharing.

Charlie Rose has a visitor named Poco and learns about sharing toys.

8. I Can’t Always Have It.

Charlie Rose sees things other dogs have and she learns she cannot always have

everything she wants.

9. Choose Your Friends Carefully.

Charlie Rose has an adventure with Dweeb, the badly behaved neighborhood dog

10. Telling Secrets.

A friend tells Charlie Rose a secret, but she tells even though she said she would

not.

11. Pay attention to the world around you

Charlie Rose learns whatappens when more attention is given to cell phones and Walkmans, than the world around her

12. Stranger Dangers. Everyone must read this doggie adventure !

LESSONS from MUM to CHARLIE ROSE

“That which we learn with delight we will never forget”. Aristotle.

When I was a very young puppy,I lived on a farm with my Mum, my brothers, and my sister. We were together as a Scottish Terrier family named the Mac Ewens.

My Mum thought it was a good time to teach us how to be in life whether it would be the life of a show dog or as a family pet. It was her idea these simple lessons should be taught to us when we would learn easily and remember them for ever and ever.

I got more lessons than my brothers and sister because I was leaving the family when I was only ten weeks old. I bet you wonder why I was leaving the family so soon. I will tell you. It was simple. I was the runt of the litter so I was just too small to be a show dog and because of my smallness, my brothers played a little too roughly and tumbly with me. At first I was sad to think about leaving, in fact I cried when I had to go. When I got to be a family pet with Hap, Girlie, and the dogs Haggis and MacTavish, I was very happy, and glad she had taught me manners and lessons of life.

You might also think it was a bad thing to be so small, or the “runt of the litter”, but I tell you it was NOT and you will see why.

I was given a special gift that only a handful of dogs have. I can understand what boys and girls like you are saying when they talk. I can not talk back their way, but I can “yip, yap” if I am happy, “arf arf grr grr” if I am scared, and sing along with music I like, going “howee, howee”. Most dogs know words like sit, shake a paw, and so on, in fact many dogs can understand over one hundred words. I know way, way more as you will see. Nobody keeps secrets or ideas from me, not even other creatures because I can understand them too. I may be small, with quite big ears, but I am very SPECIAL.

I would like to share with you some of the things Mum told me. You might think they are silly dog ideas. I hope you are curious. I love to be curious about ideas.

One more thing I want you to know, okay? When Hap and Girlie read stories to children, it was just after supper, at the table. Sometimes they are funny stories, mystery stories, or lesson stories. Everyone takes turns reading a bit. It looks like fun to me. Girlie says it gives time for tummies to settle, and families to be together for a short time every day.

As I get older, and you read more of my stories, you will see that Girlie’s name changes to Mrs. Thistle. My family changed. My Hap who walked me everywhere and loved me a lot, died, but that is family business so I will not tell you more. Girlie took in house guests or roomers, and everyone called her Mrs T. or Mrs Thistle, so, so do I.

You can think about her by that name too, as you continue to follow the adventures of Charlie Rose.

Have fun when you read, Love Charlie Rose.

As you read my chapter about gifts and being grateful, you will soon see I think the silliest thing might be a great toy.