The Adventures of Button Broken Tail

The Story of Delph
Buttons and Sally moved through the forest at their steady ground-eating pace, their legs a blur of movement. Buttons’s broken tail was carried tight against her round rump, unlike other Scotties whose tails were always held high. Her tail was broken very early in her young life by rats who had ventured into the Great Forest undetected. Buttons would never be able to hold it aloft like a bold, black flag constantly advancing on the enemy. Sally, however, snapped her brown-and-white beagle’s tail high and low in a constant game of crack-the-whip. As different as they were, they had one thing in common—they were best of buddies.
In their usual haste to explore anything and everything about them, they stopped now and again to sniff about the tracks of raccoons or the short and long leaps of the weasel. Buttons stopped abruptly. “Look,” she said, “the scats of an otter.”
Sally looked sideways at her friend, and then approaching the small black droppings, she smelled them. Smells like . . . .”
“Ah, ah,” Buttons broke in. “None of that. We’ve got work to do, remember.”
Sally grinned in anticipation. “Boy, I bet that trapper was surprised when he found his traps already sprung and there were no animals in them.”
Buttons would have smiled, too, but it was not a fun time. It was dangerous, and great harm had already been done by the trapper. She reminded Sally of it as they moved toward the forest.
“Just keep in mind what has happened already. The trapper is as mean as his traps are unforgiving. They take rabbit, weasel, wolves, and otters alike. He particularly likes to trap and kill beavers.”
Sally sighed. “Yes, I know,” she said. “Does take some of the fun out of it, doesn’t it. I spoke to Dodger the otter and he’ll let us know if and when he shows along the waterways.”
Buttons grunted her assent. Both had passed the word around both the forest and field, but many small animals remained forgetful and careless, too busy with simply finding food to worry about something most had never heard about in the first place. Still, it had helped some, like the otters and the coyotes who were normally careful. They could understand the trapper taking some for food, but just for the skins. It made no sense to most.
So, today, they were going trap-hunting again. The trapper had gone, the birds having seen him return to his large truck, taking some time to beat his dog who was tied to the truck in order to protect it and warn him of any passersby. He had found the gaunt dog asleep and had taken his usual meanness out on the helpless dog. Both Sally and Buttons had bridled in anger when they had been told. Well, they would fix matters. Sooner or later, they would set the matter right so that the many and varied creatures of the forest, swamp, field, and river could live their lives in freedom.
As they moved forward, the maples gave way slowly to towering fir. Moss hung from the other taller trees in great garlands. The air, which had been quiet and nearly motionless, became increasingly damp. A small, musty breeze broke out, moving the dangling moss slowly to and fro. They were approaching the swamp, and like the air, the ground became soggy also. Small puddles of water appeared on either side of the trail. The bounding tracks of the playful and nosy weasel appeared first at one side and then the other, clearly showing the dogs the weasel’s forward and careless rush.
The two dogs suddenly halted. Sally started to move to one side, her keen nose to the ground.
“Do you smell a trap?”
Buttons in turn moved to the right, away from Sally. Their keen sense of smell was focused on the ground immediately in front of them as they moved forward warily, each step carefully placed.
Sally froze in motion, one forepaw still held above the ground. Buttons stopped also. This was the critical time. No movement forward until they were absolutely sure.
Sally sang out, “Ha! I’ve got one. Over here, Buttons.”
Buttons turned across the trail which was now broken by tufts of grass and the debris of dead and fallen leaves. She carefully stepped through the littered path over to where Sally pawed the moist ground. Both dogs gingerly nosed the ground, turning up small rows of fresh dirt. They stopped a short distance from the main trail. Checking with one another, they began to dig furiously. Because of her strong forelegs and broad paws, Buttons did most of the work, the ground flying backwards from her in a brown spray of dirt and leaves.
It was but a moment before a solid, round, wooden stake was uncovered.
Sally shouldered her way in front of Buttons. “Move over, Buttons. I’ve got it now.”
From past experience, they both knew that what they sought would lie toward the path. With measured strokes, Sally dug inches from the stake, until a link of metal chain appeared. Both sat back to admire their handy work.
“Not bad,” Sally piped in. “Didn’t take too long this time.”
“Nope,” Buttons agreed as she uncovered more of the chain.
Then, the two dogs grasped it and pulled together, hunching their shoulders as they tugged at the metal links. Slowly more and more of the chain appeared as it was torn up from its shallow cover of dirt. It snaked around a hillock of grass and stopped in the middle of the trail.
“Now, altogether.”
With one yank, the gaping jaws of a black and evil-appearing trap burst into view. It lay precisely in the middle of the trail, its wicked teeth waiting for the unwary. Weasel’s track lay but scant inches away.
“Wow, that was a close one,” Sally muttered. “Come on, Buttons. Now, for the worst part.”
The two took a few deep breaths then broke from the trail and moved off into the trees. Buttons reappeared first, dragging a stout limb. She puffed out small clouds of dirt as she moved forward. Stopping, she dropped the limb as she yelled for Sally who shortly appeared.
They sat as they looked from branch to trap. Sally heaved a sigh. “Let’s not hurry this one. That thing smells all wrong.”
Together, the two picked up the thick limb and moved toward the trap. They laid the solid branch along the lethal jaws and sat again while they surveyed the scene. Sally moved forward and peered closely at the metal contraption lying at her feet. Simple in design, it was easily tripped by an unwary step, the jaws snapping suddenly closed about a leg, or even the muzzle, of an unknowing inspector. Sally was worried more than usual as Buttons could sense. They knew one another very well-moods, likes, and dislikes. Something was wrong, that much was clear. Buttons moved slowly forward.
She stopped short of the jaws. “Move back, Sally. Give me a better view of it. Please. I’m worried, too.”
Sally glanced at her friend and nodded in agreement. The danger was ever-present and anything could go wrong in a very brief second.
Buttons moved up, and then very slowly moved around the trap, carefully eyeing it from every possible angle.
“Sally, you’re right.” Buttons’s eyes glittered as she motioned to the beagle. “Take a look from here.”
Buttons stepped backwards, giving Sally an opportunity to look at the trap. Sally stood for a moment as she carefully contemplated the metal enemy. It was only a contraption, but nonetheless, it could kill in an instant at the least bit of carelessness.
“Ah, I see. Yes, that’s the problem. It’s been set so the lightest touch will release the jaws.” Sally nudged Buttons. “Either one of us could have bought it today.”
Buttons nodded in agreement. It was now a matter of tripping it without placing themselves in jeopardy. For the two dogs, it was not a simple procedure. Although they had solved the problem sometime in the past, this one was going to be trickier than usual.
Each grasped an end of the limb. It was heavy for the two, but some weight was necessary if it was to do the necessary job. They slowly maneuvered it over the trap and then began to lower it lengthwise between the jaws.
Buttons hissed between her teeth, “Slowly, slowly.”
Sally glanced at her friend. Both were worried and both knew it.
Buttons stepped back, letting her taller compatriot take one end in her strong teeth. Sally was nervous, for if the trap was sprung a second too soon, the limp would and could do serious damage to her as it snapped upward or in some other unpredictable direction. The trapper had been clever, more clever this time, obviously having taken painstaking care in setting the trap.
Sally slowly backed up, dragging the limb across the trap. When the opposite end had reached the edge of the gaping jaws, Buttons gave a short yip of warning. This was the critical moment. Sally had to move the limb a scant fraction of an inch, letting the end fall on the center of the trap, just as she let go of it. The timing would be critical.
Sally then began to raise her end as high as she could and took another step backward. This was the moment. The tip fell off the edge of the trap to drop into the center of the jaws, which suddenly snapped about the limb. Sally had let go as she felt the end come off the edge of the jaws. And well that she had done so, for the limb snapped upward as it was snared by the jaws. Both dogs involuntarily jumped.
“Wow, no matter how often we do it, it still scares me,” Buttons murmured.
Sally quietly agreed as both looked at their success. She thought of the terrible damage the end of the limb might have done to her mouth as it had jerked upward. She would have to be more careful in the future or they would have to come up with another approach. Neither one seemed desirable in any case.
Still, they continued with their rounds, carefully making their way along the many tortuous paths that led through the forest toward the swamp. The trails were relatively easy for the two to follow because the trapper stink was very characteristic. While he could make their task more difficult, they were up to the challenge and the danger. Only afterwards would they celebrate. For now, it was good enough to survive without injury.
However, it was a close thing. On one occasion, they had found the stake very easily. They should have stopped and reconsidered their situation, but being young, they didn’t. Buttons almost paid with her life. As Sally grabbed hold of the stake, her jerk caused another trap to go off. Fortunately for Buttons, she was shorter than even the trapper could have guessed, and the trap had snapped shut scant inches from her tail.
Both had whirled to confront the new danger, and their inspection quickly showed that the second trap had been carefully laid for anyone monkeying with the stake to a larger trap which was to be found in the middle of the nearest path.
Buttons had cocked an eyebrow as she surveyed her black rump. She giggled nervously as she said, “Wow, it’s short enough as it is. I don’t need that.”
Sally had giggled in response, then she simply collapsed as the grim humor of the situation got to her. “First broken, then chomped. You really don’t need it.”
“So tell me!” Buttons had shot back grimly, and then she, too, caught the infectious humor in it all and had joined Sally in laughter.
However, they were more cautious than ever as they dismantled one trap after another. During a break, as they laid in the shade of a large bush, they heard words of a quiet discussion. Their ears immediately perked up and they carefully made their way toward the speakers.
As they broke into the open, they could see a small and pert sparrow sitting on a branch which hung close to the ground. Sally turned to Buttons, “Yep, you were right. It’s Ms. Lucie. And if she’s here, then . . .”
Before Sally could complete her statement, there was a loud crooooak immediately behind them. Both leaped upward and forward as they whirled to confront a large frog whom they immediately recognized.
Ms. Lucie chuckled, “Will you two never learn?”
Buttons frowned at first, not pleased at being taken by surprise. But then both she and Sally joined in laughter with Ms. Lucie for, of course, it was Rarebit, the frog. He and Ms. Lucie were often to be found in discussion of some arcane bit of knowledge, usually about the swamp. And, of course, Rarebit liked nothing better than to surprise the two dogs by suddenly appearing behind them as he croaked as loudly as possible.
Ms. Lucie smiled at the two dogs who were always to be found in one another’s company. “And what mischief are we up to now?” She cocked her head as she waited for an answer.
Sally then described what they had done, much to the approval of both Ms. Lucie and Rarebit. Their praise was most gratifying to Buttons and Sally because Ms. Lucie was far quicker with her warnings and faultfindings.
As the two nodded their gratitude and were about to leave, Rarebit spoke up. “Buttons, Sally, be careful around the swamp. Strange things have been happening there.”
Buttons had laughed. “Not to worry, Ms. Lucie. We can take care of ourselves.”
Ms. Lucie now truly frowned. She jabbed the air with her beak. “Take heed, my sassy young lady. Rarebit is rarely wrong on such matters. Do be careful.”
Sally nodded reassuringly. But both wanted to get away from the small sparrow as quickly as possible. “Don’t worry. We’ll be very careful. Truly,” they both said as they moved quickly into the deeper parts of the forest, heading unerringly for the swamp.
Frog and sparrow were soon lost to sight, and as quickly forgotten. The day was getting on. They moved off toward a sandy shore, and refreshing themselves in a particularly clean pool, they relaxed in the warm afternoon heat. The buzzing of mosquitoes and chirruping of other bugs came distantly to them, but nothing disturbed the calm breathlessness of the great body of water which lay at their side. The heat and their earlier efforts worked on both of them, and slowly they sank into a peaceful torpor, only the occasional twitching of their ears showing some degree of alertness.
It was some time later when Buttons opened her eyes ever so slightly because an odd odor was assailing her nostrils. It was dank and wet, but not altogether bad. It was quite familiar.
It was also different. A croaking “Hiridit, hiridit” sounded in her ear and she leaped alert, sending Sally tumbling to her feet also.
Buttons gasped and then said, “Oh, it’s you again, Rarebit. Boy, were you quiet.”
Suddenly, he leaped, sailing effortlessly over their head to splash in the shallow waters of the swamp. He surfaced, but only his goggling large eyes showed. They watched unblinking. Then he leaped again, this time landing directly in front of them.
“As I should be when strange creatures invade my wet and lovely domain.” He hummed to himself as his large eyes stared fixedly at them. Lean for a frog, he was smooth-skinned with varying shades of green. He seldom smiled, but Sally and Buttons knew his odd sense of humor. Both dogs loved him for his knowledge of the swamp and his inquiring mind.
“First,” Buttons said, “we are not strange, as you well know, and secondly, you might have announced yourself.”
Of course, he never did. Rarebit’s throat puffed in and out as he surveyed them, his eyes occasionally closing in their slow fashion. “You just saw me. In the swamp.” He stared even harder at them.
Sally frowned, her eyebrows coming together as she tried to keep up with Rarebit’s thinking. “Of course, we saw you. What’s the matter?”
Rarebit puffed and huffed some more, his eyes remaining fixed on them. “All of me?”
Buttons answered. “Of course not. Only your eyes.”
“Then you have the answer. There are other eyes just like that in the swamp, but much further apart.”
Both dogs laughed. “You’re repeating yourself again. You and Ms. Lucie just told us about something strange in the swamp. You’re both daft, you know.”
Rarebit suddenly leaped straight up, twisted in the air, and landed behind Sally, who in turn leaped sideways at the unexpected maneuver.
Rarebit watched Sally momentarily from his new position. “Gotcha!” With that he leaped into the swamp and sat there watching the two, who sat on the beach. “Remember.” He turned and disappeared, leaving hardly a ripple on the water’s surface.
Sally’s sides heaved with frustration. “So, help me. The next time he does that, I’m going to have frog legs for dinner.”
Buttons giggled. Rarebit was something of the area’s map maker and he knew the swamp like the back of his foot. He often discussed it with Ms. Lucie, but rarely disclosed much to the two dogs. In the past, both of them had suffered from Rarebit’s unpredictable antics. As they would walk along the water’s edge, he would appear seemingly out of the air—in front of them, behind them, or from behind a clump of reeds. At other times, they would find him busily sketching lines in the sand, stepping back to survey his handy work, dropping forward to erase some errant line, and then carefully redoing his previous effort, all the time humming to himself. As preoccupied as he appeared, he was never to be caught by surprise, try as they might.
On more than one occasion, they had crept up to the swamp, carefully maneuvering so that they approached from downwind. Circling with caution after they had located him, they would rush forward, barking furiously, only to find his expected location empty. Then, a sudden “Gotcha” would sound behind them and he would disappear into the swamp, chuckling in his throat.
At such times, Buttons and Sally would look sideways at one another and burst out laughing at their ridiculous failure.
Slowly shaking her head side to side in disgust, Sally glanced at Buttons. “Well, wonder where he’s off to now,” she queried. “And just what did he mean by his crazy actions?”
“Undoubtedly off to survey another cove in the swamp,” a small voice sounded above them.
Both looked up, startled by the clear, crisp speech. Bouncing gently in the breeze, an elegant but small bird perched on the overhanging branch of an oak tree. Very prim in appearance, she cocked her head and went on with scant interruption. “You well know that Rarebit must measure everything within reach.”
Buttons sat up and greeted the bird with a nod. “Good morning, again, Ms. Lucie. And how are you today?”
The sparrow appreciated decorous behavior almost as much as she insisted on perfection and a precise mind. Her speech was always well-modulated, though her discussions with Rarebit were famous for their biting comments.
She looked down. “Ah, Sally. And of course, Buttons.” She cocked her head to survey them the better, as though she hadn’t just seen them a bit earlier. This type of inspection always discomfited the two dogs, but they were getting used to it.
Buttons bristled, but only grunted again, “Morning, Ma’am.”
The genteel Ms. Lucie clearly preferred the slim and tidier beagle to the Scottish terrier who all too often looked quite ratty after a morning rambling about in the woods.
“And a good morning to you,” she replied. “Both.”
Sally bumped Buttons ever so slightly. Sitting very carefully, she said, “Rarebit was just here.”
“Yes, I know. I sent him. Leaping hither and yon, I imagine.”
Buttons couldn’t help it. She groaned. Not another warning. She slumped onto her hip and took a deep breath.
Ms. Lucie would have corrected Buttons’s posture, but she had other matters that needed immediate attention. She simply reaffirmed Rarebit’s message.
“Just remember, there is something strange and mysterious going on in the swamp. You, both of you, will pay attention. Do you understand?” She was frowning quite hard by now as she too stared at the two below her.
“Yes, ma’am,” they replied, “we’ll be very careful. Thank you.”
“Hmmmm,” Ms. Lucie was not so certain, but she must be off. With one last warning, she took flight and was almost immediately out of sight.
Sally sighed. “Wow, she’s really odd today.”
Buttons just snorted. “Probably mislaid an egg.”
That broke Sally up and their peals of laughter could be heard with ease at a great distance. And, it was at a distance that something decided to investigate the sounds further. Sounded good enough to eat was the only thought as it quietly submerged into the dark depths of the swamp.
Buttons rushed to Sally who easily evaded the attempt at her tail. Off they raced, splashing down the muddy margin of the marsh. They finally slowed. The heat was building and they sought the shade of tree where they collapsed, panting at their sudden exercise. But shortly, Buttons was up and exploring the area, her nose to the ground. Sally watched as she lay on her side, then she, too, rose and moved to the swamp’s edge for a drink. She then began to sniff.
Metal, rusty metal, could be faintly detected in the water. That meant only one thing—another trap. But where? Buttons looked at her friend who was standing quite still as she sampled the air. It might be anywhere along the shore, but typically the stake had to be in good, solid earth. Without hesitation, both moved toward the edge of the sand and began to slowly move along it, being very careful with each step.
Buttons suddenly grunted, and then pawed the soil very carefully. Sally moved alongside, casting about for any evidence of the chain. Then, she, too, began to dig. Very slowly, gently sweeping dirt and sand aside. In a moment, they had uncovered a length of chain, very rusty and obviously very old.





Sally and Buttons both sat, momentarily just looking at one another. Then Sally spoke up, “Boy, just how many times have we come this way? Gives me the shivers.”
“Me, too,” added Buttons. “We could have run right over it, must have. Come on, let’s get it out.”
Both set to work, working in opposite directions. The chain was indeed fastened to a stake, now sunk quite deep in the dirt and very near the shade of the tree where they had dozed on more than one occasion. Buttons found the trap and they both set to work, digging the sand away from it. As they had thought, it was deeper than usual, and soon both had their heads down in the hole as they busily dug the sand away.
As they worked, the surface of the water offshore roiled to an unseen disturbance within the dark depths. Then, with no sound whatsoever, two round and bulbous eyes appeared. Small droplets of water ran down their brows, but there was no other movement. Nearby, several turtles dozing in the sun on a partially rotten limb that protruded above the surface paid no attention. So quietly had the eyes appeared. Two nostrils as quietly appeared above the water. Only the four protuberances gave evidence that more, much more, lay below. The eyes slowly turned their attention toward the two small dogs digging in the soft sand on the shore.





“Hmmmm,” thought their owner, “a very nice morsel indeed.”
Nostrils and eyes smoothly glided forward, the water barely disturbed by their passage. As land was touched, the creature burst out of the water, sand churned and was tossed in all directions, and a huge spray of water covered the shore. The creature bellowed as he rushed across the narrow strip of sand that lay between him and his prey. He was upon them in a fraction of a second.
Young they might be, and small, even for their ages. But slow? Never! With the yawning gap of the jaws rushing toward her, Sally leaped up and away. Buttons spun on her tail as the jaws clashed together in a thunderous chomp.
The alligator, for that was what their attacker was, in turn spun after Sally. As he turned toward Sally, he swiped at Buttons with his tail. He missed, but not by much. His teeth clashed just behind Sally as his tail missed by a scant inch of battering Buttons. Sally raced in twisting circles. The great creature kept himself between her and the sheltering trees. Buttons could do nothing but bark furiously. Her attempt to distract their attacker failed. His eyes were fixed on Sally. Buttons was ignored. For the moment. One quick chomp and he would be after the black one next.
“Sally,” Buttons yelled, “The trap . . . remember?” Her words came in broken fragments as mud and water flew. Sally was panting with great effort. Her lungs burned with the effort of evading the alligator. Buttons raced to and fro. Nothing distracted their adversary.
Buttons frantically rushed forward. She must do something. Sally could not hold out much longer. With all of her strength, Buttons grabbed the tail of the alligator. Her answer was a bellow from the creature who snapped his tail, sending her flying. She landed with a splash of muck and mud. She hurtled herself once again upon the creature, yapping furiously as she did so. The reptile ignored Buttons’s frantic efforts. She was too fast for him, but the other was tiring rapidly. He assailed the beagle once more.
Bellowing lustily, he charged at Sally, his large eyes gleaming with hunger and anger.
However, Buttons’s brief attack had given Sally the breath she needed. This time, instead of running in circles, Sally raced in ever-widening spirals, twisting and turning so that her tail was ever before the gator, but just out of reach, leading him to the trap.
Buttons’s voice came to her over the heated attack. “More to the right. Almost. A little more. Now, be careful. Jump. Jump, give it all you got!”
Sally did as she as ordered, leaping blindly into the air with the last gasp of air in her throbbing lungs. She hit the dirt with a thud, and rolling over, came to her feet just as the alligator once again snapped at her.
There was a loud grating sound as the jaws of the trap closed. Rusty with age, the trap’s teeth still could bite. And hard. They snapped together, holding the gator’s foreleg in their unrelenting grasp.
He flopped forward on his nose, short of Sally by a hair’s breadth. Sand flew in all directions, covering both dogs and alligator. The alligator began bawling in pain and fright. He thrashed to and fro in a frenzy of fear. Dirt, sand, and leaves flew with each thrashing movement. He hurtled himself side to side. When that was to no avail, he rolled back and forth. But each time, he was firmly held to the one spot by his right forepaw which was firmly grasped in the jaws of the old, rusted trap.


The alligator was stretched out to his limit. His wide, dark eyes glared with hurt and confusion. Sally stood just in front of his snout, crouched and snarling, the hair on her back raised in a stiff ridge of anger. Buttons, too, stood at the opposite side, her large fangs bared. Both dogs were frozen, waiting to see which way the saurian would move. Sally was about to say something nasty, when she noted his evident pain. Suddenly, she sat, totally mystified by what she was seeing.
The great, limpid eyes of the alligator were wet and tears could be seen welling in their suffering depths. He whimpered. Sally blinked and motioned Buttons, who cautiously worked her way around his tail which lay curled to his side. The alligator moaned. Buttons and Sally blinked together as the reptile curled up around his forepaw and begin to cry, broken by loud, shuddering moans.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” Sally said.
Buttons sat down with a plop. “Good gosh,” was all she could manage.
Sally took a deep breath and approached the sobbing creature. “I’ll be damned. I’ve heard of weeping willows, cri-de-coeur, and a weeping vagabond. That’s you. That’s you. Would you stop it? Sounds pretty silly for a creature of your size to be sniveling like that.”
One large, lucent eye opened slowly and gazed at her with hurt. Between sobs, he answered, all the while gurgling deeply in his throat, “It hurts, it hurts soooo bad.” He tugged at the large chain which securely fastened his leg to the stake sunk firmly in the ground. “Oh,” he groaned, “it hurts my leg soooo bad.”
Buttons stepped forward, until her nose touched his very much larger snout. She was still angry at the sudden attack. “Go ahead, brown eyes, snivel. It’s not going to do you any good.”
Then, she suddenly remembered Rarebit’s and Ms. Lucie’s warning. Not once, but three times. She turned to Sally and then back to the alligator’s large, round eyes. Sally sighed, “Blew it again, didn’t we?”
“Big time, I think. Just look at those eyes. Just like Rarebit said when he left us.”
Buttons’s voice was softer and her tone somewhat kinder when she addressed him again. “Look, buddy, who are you. Why’d you try to bite me?”
“Gee, I’d never really meant to do that. Really, I mean, you know,” he finished lamely, looking away as he did so.
Sally joined her friend and both faced him, squarely looking him in the eyes. “That’s not a truly friendly answer, you know.”
Buttons insisted on knowing more. “What’s your name, dummy?” She began to bounce up and down a bit, a sure sign she was becoming impatient.
Sally broke in, “Look, friends don’t go about trying to eat one another, you know.”
The reptile’s stomach ominously growled in disagreement, but its owner saw the wisdom in ignoring it. “I hurt,” he repeated. “Besides, I’d never hurt you. Really.” Both of his large opulent eyes stared innocently into those opposite him.
Sally coughed as she looked heavenward. “As I recall, your friendship was rather toothy a moment ago.”
The alligator sighed, “Well, you see, sometimes my stomach sort of . . . well . . .” He stopped. Obviously neither really believed him. “I’m always hungry,” he wailed. “I don’t have any friends. I’ve never really been in such a place before, you know.”
“Look,” Buttons said, “if you really don’t have any friends, maybe it’s because they’re not around long enough to be friends. Ever think of that.” She glared at him, making the alligator wince inwardly. She did have a point.
“Well, maybe, you could be . . .” He looked expectantly at the two who stood defiantly before him.
Sally relented, somewhat, as she approached nearer. “Look, friend, I’ll be a friend, if you’re a friend. Get it?”
The alligator slumped against the stake, which only poked him in the ribs, making his decision even more difficult. The pain in his side made his teeth glimmer as his lips rippled in response.
Both dogs immediately backed off, not knowing if they could really trust this very large creature. However, the sound of rustling in the bush behind them froze them momentarily. Their ears went up and they turned toward the sound, ignoring, for the time being, the large alligator in the grasp of the trap.
Buttons smiled as she immediately recognized the sound as it approached. Sally started wagging her tail as a huge rattlesnake slithered into view. At the snake’s appearance, the alligator’s mouth dropped open, for he had never seen a snake so large. The alligator looked in shocked amazement as the dogs were rushing toward the snake with tails wagging.
Buttons leaped against the snake’s broad breast as she addressed him, “Morning, Ssserek. Boy, is it good to see you.”
Ssserek’s pupils expanded slightly as his tongue flitted about her, taking in the many details of the morning’s events. Then he touched Sally’s nose gently, sending ripples of surprise down the alligator’s back.
Ssserek nodded briefly to the two, and looked fixedly at the alligator who tried very hard to become invisible by shrinking himself into the most compact position possible. All to no avail.
Buttons nudged Sally as she watched the great snake, who was both friend and mentor. Of all the creatures in the forest and field, Ssserek was the grandest and the best in their opinion, which they shared with many of their disbelieving friends. Sally looked to heaven again as she recalled the warnings given earlier in the morning.
Ssserek had missed none of the interplay, smiling to himself. Nonetheless, he hissed in their ears as he lowered his head to their level, “Well, Ms. Lucie was correct again, was she not? Hmmm?”
Both Buttons and Sally squirmed beneath his stern visage. “Well, yes, we did sort of forget.” Both sat up, placing a small paw on his chest. Embarrassment, yes, that was there, but so too humor. He couldn’t help it. Ssserek smiled, albeit a bit grimly.
Saying nothing more to the two young scamps at his side, he moved so he could clearly view the alligator’s predicament. The stake was indeed large and deeply sunk. The chain might be rusty with age, but it, too, was large and would hold such a creature for a long time. The trap itself was of an old, but simple, design and had great strength. It presented a unique problem, which even the cunning of his two friends and their lack of strength could not hope to cope. He turned to them as they sat watching him with keen anticipation.
“Well, my young friends, I see you’ve caught yourself a very large fish, indeed.”
A loud groan came from the alligator. “I’m not a fish,” he wailed.
Sally looked to one side as she answered for both Buttons and herself. “Well, it did take some doing, but it wasn’t all that difficult. We simply led him into the trap as he tried to catch us.” She shrugged contemptuously as the alligator groaned once again.
Ssserek’s head snapped down, and before the alligator could move, he found himself staring eye to eye with the father of reptiles. “Not surprising, but then, our Prometheus here obviously has not met you two before. Else he would have known better, I vow.”
When his lungs could once again fill themselves, however little, the alligator could only blink slowly as Ssserek asked, “And, fellow reptile, what do you have to say? What did you say your name was? From which land do you hail? AND, how dare you assault my friends.” This last was hissed at the cringing alligator like a maddened steam pipe.
The alligator began to jitter, “I, I, I . . .” but then catching himself, rose as tall as his short legs allowed. He had spunk.
“My name,” his nose rose as he said it, “is Delphinus. And, I am an alligator, the largest of reptiles.”
His nose dipped toward Ssserek. “I came by way of Murphy’s Marvelous Moving Van of Exotic Creatures.”
Sally broke in, “You mean you escaped from some jerk water sideshow?”
She started to continue when Buttons came to his rescue. “That’s OK, Delph, you’re sort of cute.”
Delph, which became an instant nickname, started to smile, when Buttons added, “But then, I’ve never seen one of you before. Do you all have so many teeth?”
Delph gasped as Buttons stood against him, trying to peer into his mouth, made easier by his actions.
Delph couldn’t help but smile.
“Boy, they are big,” Buttons said.
“But, I am not very old.” He couldn’t help himself. “They are grand, though, aren’t they?” His grin was the largest either Buttons or Sally had ever seen.
“So, do we free you?” Ssserek asked.
Thoroughly deflated, Delph sank once again to the ground. He groaned and eyes filled with tears once again.
“Easy, little one,” Buttons said as she surveyed the trap. “There must be something we can do.”
Her tail wiggled enticingly before Delph’s eyes, and he clamped them shut for fear his thoughts would be apparent to the snake.
“Now, hold on a sec, Buttons,” Sally broke in. She placed herself directly in front of Delph’s nose, making him him cross his eyes as he tried to keep her in focus. “Why should we be friends with you? Tell me that.”
Delph moaned. His leg was beginning to hurt more and more. He really did like these two. They were so different.
He tried to explain. “You see, I was caged all the time. And only got fed on occasion. I sometimes eat things I shouldn’t because I was hungry all the time.” He didn’t add that the swamp more than adequately provided for him. That was obvious.
“Besides,” Delph continued, “I am the world’s most ferocious alligator.” He finished lamely. “Well, that’s what the sign said, but golly gee whiz, oh nuts.” He stopped. He wasn’t getting anywhere.
Sally decided to champion Delph. She had taken a liking to the young alligator, although she would never admit it. She glanced at Buttons. “Good cop, bad cop?”
Buttons didn’t bother to nod. The gleam in her eye clearly said, “Go for it.”
“Well, Delph, we would really like to help, but . . .” Sally left her thought hanging as Delph raised up, pulling at the chain in the sudden hope of being released.
“Yeah, but, no more trying to eat us.” Buttons stood on stiff legs, her voice hard and demanding.
Delph wilted. “Look, I wouldn’t ever, ever eat you. You know that.” He began again. Obviously, it hadn’t gone over particularly well.
“Gosh, I’ve never had a friend, anywhere. In my cage, I couldn’t even see who was next to me. And I had to fight for what I got to eat. Hunger has few friends, you know.”
Sally saw the immediate opening. “But, here in the swamp, you need never be hungry again.
Even Buttons had to admit the truth of his last statement, even though she did so grudgingly and slowly.
Buttons glared at Delph. “Look, maybe we can be friends. But how do we know you’ll keep your word?”
Ssserek broke in. It was time to finish the matter. He calmly gazed at the young alligator and his two friends. “I don’t believe he would ever forget his word if he gives it to all three of us. True, my young alligator?”
Delph stared at the great snake. He won’t dare not to keep his word. It would be hard, but he wanted friends. He wanted to be free, free to be able to talk with someone, anyone, yes, even these two, these two who had so neatly trapped him. Yes, he would keep his word.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Delph shouted with glee. “Yes, I will keep my word. And, be your friend.” He hesitated slightly as he said the last, looking squarely at Buttons. Clearly, it was her call with Ssserek to back her up.
Buttons couldn’t hold anger very long, particularly when trying to feign it. She smiled. “Yes, we’re friends. OK?” She licked Delph on the nose and Sally sealed the deal by climbing onto his snout and licking his eyebrow. It was just as well she couldn’t see his huge grin for at the best of times, only Ssserek’s smile could be more alarming.
Ssserek grinned to himself as Buttons was joined by Sally. Their simple and transparent joy in life always filled him with a warm feeling. They began a minute inspection of the chain and trap, Sally’s tail slapping Delph’s nose again and again as the two went about their business.
Delph simply clamped his mouth shut and closed his eyes. Temptation had never been greater.
It took several moments before they reached the same conclusion.”Nuts! Take all day to dig up that stake.”
While the dirt flew furiously from Buttons’s paws, Sally sought a limb with which they might lever-open the jaws of the trap. In a very short time, it became apparent they would fail. However deep, Buttons dug. The soft silt-like dirt fell back in, and however they tried to wedge the jaws open, either the branch broke or the angle was wrong. Buttons dropped disconsolately next to Delph.
Why did he have to mix it up with these two? Bad enough with them running back and forth before his very nose, but to have Ssserek watching every move. No. No. No. It was his own fault. Here, he had friends, no longer lost or hungry. No. He would see it through. He groaned, but hung in there, waiting for his new friends to solve the impossible.
“He sounds like a sick moose,” Sally said.
Buttons jerked erect. “Ha! That’s it!” She said it very emphatically.
“It’s what,” Sally asked as Ssserek grinned to himself.
Leave it to them. They’d come through. He moved forward. “The moose, my little one. He has a hoof that no trap can resist.” Ssserek stopped and swayed as he looked at the sky. “Yes, I think we can do it. Sally?”
She jumped at the singular urgency in his voice. “Yes, sir, what can I do?”
Ssserek swayed back and forth as he considered all possibilities. “You can bugle. Bugle loud, dear. That’s what you can do. That’s precisely what you must do.”
Sally nodded. Then she wasted no more time in questions. She knew what had to be done. She raced off to the east, and in a short time reached a small knoll amidst a clearing of trees. Quickly reaching the top, she raised her voice in the clarion call of her kind.
Her bell-like voice reached higher and higher into the air as only beagles can when very excited. Into the afternoon air her call rose, reaching far to the south and east.
At first, nothing happened. A few birds stopped to ponder the racket, but then went back to their feeding. But her voice carried until it touched a receptive mind. Rummaging in deep and wet foliage, two very large ears snapped erect. Their owner was large, very large indeed, and his head came up from the water that encircled him. He listened carefully, taking in the nuances and urgency of the message. He listened as large green leaves and other foliage hung from his large blubbery mouth.
Then the young moose surged toward the shore, leaving his feeding for later. He was large even in his relative youth, for moose are the largest of all deer. He was lank and very tall, his shoulders being higher than the rest of his back. His head was awkward-looking to those not familiar with a moose, long in the snout, with large nostrils which he could close and open rapidly, and drooping blubbery lips which could suck large amounts of water foliage into his gaping maw. He liked to eat, and he would often leave the large zoo’s grazing field for the nearby swamp when he was really hungry. Of course, he wasn’t supposed to leave the field, but he had solved that problem some time ago. Now, he came and returned as he pleased, knowing when the time was right.
But now was the time for action. He moved. He moved with speed and strength. He moved with ground-eating strides, his bulk seemingly blotting out sun as he made his way, first to the forest and then through it. He traveled along hidden trails. Where there was none, he made them. Bushes he ignored. Saplings he simply tore from the earth in his passage. The large trees he nimbly avoided. At last, he burst on the beach, shaking leaf, mud and water in all directions.
Ssserek waited patiently until the great creature approached and dipped his long snout.
“I’m here, Ssserek, as you called.”
Buttons stood on her hind legs for a better view of the very large animal before her. Ssserek was large, Delph even larger, but this one was huge. “Holy cow,” she blurted out. “What are you?”
His head swung down and around to take in the small dog in front of him. As he did so, he sprayed her with particles of aquatic plants, gobs of mud, and drops of water.
“Yuk. My, but you’re messy,” Buttons spluttered.
“I was in a hurry, and I don’t appreciate your humor,” rumbled the deep voice.
Buttons took a few dainty steps around the messy moose. “You what?” she asked him.
Before the conversation could tail off, Ssserek stopped them both with a flick of his tail. “Your opening exclamatory comment, Buttons. He is definitely not a cow. Nor the least bit holy,” he chuckled.
“Sure, OK. But that’s not what I meant. And besides, you know very well.”
A plaintive voice came from behind them. “Could we perhaps get on with this? My foot! It hurts!” Delph whined.
All three turned their attention to the unhappy alligator who drooped disconsolately before them. They were gathering around him when Sally appeared from the trees, having made her way back more slowly from the knoll.
She took one glance at the creature and started to say something, but just shook her head in wonderment. She raced up to them, taking her position between Buttons and Ssserek.
Ignoring the poor alligator’s plight, the great creature took a deep breath, raised one eyebrow, and then lowered his head so that his nostrils puffed directly into their faces with each breath. “I am Milo, the moose, famous for his strength and . . .”
Sally interrupted by muttering beneath her breath, “Good gosh. Another Greek scholar.”
The creature’s head swayed ever so slightly, his large upper lip gently contacting Sally’s shoulder. She went tumbling, fetching up in surprise against the alligator’s snout, a smile rippling down his face so that all glowing fangs passed in review.
They looked at one another in surprise but said nothing as Milo continued, “Famous for my strength and cunning sense of humor.” His “Ho, ho, ho” boomed out over the swamp, sending egrets and cranes flapping into the air.
Sally looked more disgruntled than chagrined, but closed her mouth.
She took the tumbling in good humor.
Ssserek moved past the moose and scanned the chain, stake, and trap binding Delph securely to the ground. Motioning to Buttons, he said, “You will have to guide our rather large friend here, as I will instruct you. Please note the lever at this end. It must be pressed very firmly and not too fast.”
Buttons’s short legs and keen eyes allowed her the best possible view, and it took only a moment for her to fathom the mechanism. Moving about, she stood pressed against the head of Delph, who turned his large, luminous eyes on her as she rested against the corner of his mouth. His upper lip rippled ever so slightly, causing Buttons to look up.
She met his gaze squarely. “Easy shoe-leather, you’d make tough but enjoyable chew bones.”
Delph slowly winked as his lips began to ripple once again. Buttons was about to say more when Ssserek broke in, “Easy, both of you. We must work together. And, very carefully if the matter is to be concluded successfully.”
Delph’s breath came a bit quicker, but he refrained from saying more. Ssserek was right. And, after all, he did have a point.
Buttons turned to Ssserek and Milo, “Do you think we’ll need to have something under the trap so that it’s not simply buried?”
Ssserek measured Milo’s hoof and the soft ground. “You’re probably right. Though just how we’re going to manage it will take some thought.”
Sally stepped forward. “Perhaps we could just have Delph roll over and hold the trap on his chest.”
Delph started to follow through on the suggestion before he noticed the bland stares the two dogs were giving him. He stopped. He surveyed Milo, carefully took in his splayed hoof and the weight they bore, then said, “Thanks, morsel, but no thanks. He’d squish me flat.”
Buttons giggled, “Well, Delph, it was only a suggestion.”
Turning to Sally, she said, “Come on. It’s up to us to find something. Let’s go.” Off the two raced, leaving small prints in the soft dirt.
Sally was back in minutes with a shout. Skidding up to Delph, Sally announced, “We’ve got a big flat rock, but we can’t move it. Come on, Milo. Back in a sec, Delph.”
As an afterthought, she turned to Delph and said, “Don’t go away.”
Milo bellowed and moved after the fleet four-legged figure of Sally. She was right. Only a scant seventy yards down the edge of the swamp and slightly inland lay a flat stone. Buttons was digging furiously. She looked up, with mud encasing her face from snout to ears. “It doesn’t go very deep,” she announced, “but Sally and I can’t move it together. That’s for sure.”
The two friends moved about it, measuring the rock from all angles. Milo smiled at their serious demeanor. Moving up to the stone, he nudged it with one great hoof. It moved slightly.