Tilley was a very happy dog. She was a Whippet who lived in a big yellow house with her Humans. Tilley’s She-Human fed her chicken and broth. Her He-Human rubbed her belly and it felt good. Tilley would lie next to him while he sat on the sofa and stared at the box with all the other little humans in it. She loved her Humans very much.
But there was one thing about living in the big yellow house that Tilley did not like. Once a week a big blue monster came down the street. It was loud, noisy and growled, screeched and banged. Tilley was very frightened of it. The monster had eight big round feet, four yellow and white eyes and two mouths. One mouth had big, long silver teeth and was at the front of the monster’s face. The other mouth was at the top of its back.
Tilley was certain that all of the humans in the neighborhood were afraid of the monster too. They all fed it when it came around for its weekly visit. They would each roll a big can out to the street that they had filled during the week with food and things. Tilley was convinced it was to keep the monster from eating up their houses.
When the monster came into the neighborhood, it would stop at each house. Its long arm would come out of the right side of its body and pick up the can of food. It would then lift it high into the air, turn it upside down, shake it and empty it into its mouth on top of its back. The monster would then set the empty can down and let go of it. It would then pull its arm back in, roar to the next house and do the same thing again.
When the monster had eaten everything in all of the cans it would growl, roar, hiss and screech out of the neighborhood. Tilley would hide in her bed when it came around each week, quivering in fear until she heard it turn the corner and its growl fade away.
One day her She-Human let Tilley out into the back yard. As she pranced around the side of the deck, Tilley saw a squirrel on the pole that held a bird feeder in the middle of the yard. She barked and took off after the squirrel. It jumped from the pole and ran across the yard with Tilley in hot pursuit. The squirrel circled the rose bush and ran toward the fence. Tilley was right on its heels because she could run very fast. The squirrel jumped up and over the top of the fence and Tilley jumped over right behind it.
The little creature darted left and right, but Tilley stayed right on its tail. They jumped fence after fence in the neighborhood. The squirrel finally scurried up a tree. It peered down at Tilley and she peered back up. Tilley then looked around and suddenly realized that she did not know where she was.
The yard she was in was not her back yard at all. Tilley saw a gate and started toward it. Just as she got to the gate, the back door of the house opened and out came a he-human that did not have kind eyes like her He-Human. “Hey!” he yelled at her, “Get on out of here!” She tucked her tail, jumped over the gate and ran as fast as she could.
Tilley was hopelessly lost. She ran from yard to yard and crossed street after street. Tilley heard her She-Human calling her name very far away but had no idea of the direction from which it was coming. She wandered into a street, turned a corner, looked up and stopped dead in her tracks.
Straight ahead was the monster, growling and picking up a can of food! Tilley was so upset and confused running from yard to yard that she hadn’t even heard it growling and hissing. She ran wide to the right of the monster just as it put the can of food down. All of a sudden its left ear opened up and out crawled a he-human! The hair on Tilley’s back stood straight up in terror. She ran as fast as she could into a back yard with a high wooden fence and an open gate.
The he-human followed her into the back yard and closed the gate. Tilley ran around and around the edge of the fence as the he-human edged closer. “There, there,” he said, “it’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you.” She backed into a corner of the fence and lay down. The he-human came very close to her. She tried to jump up and run, but her legs would not move. They were very tired from all of the running that she had done.
The he-human held out his hand. “What’s the matter, girl, are you lost?” he asked. “You’re a pretty lady.” The he-human had very kind eyes and a big smile. “Let’s see the tag on your collar,” he said. “Does it tell where you live?” He reached out very carefully and took the tag in his hand. “Why, yes it does! And it says your name is Tilley. You live in the big yellow house that is on my route. Come on Tilley, I’ll take you home,” said the he-human.
The he-human put his arms around Tilley’s chest and picked her up. She squirmed and kicked but could not get away. Her heart was pounding. “You’re shaking like a leaf, girl. Calm down, it’ll be okay,” said the he-human with a smile. He walked toward the gate and an older she-human came out from the back porch of the house. “I saw the poor thing run into the yard,” she said. “I’m glad you happened along. She looks terrified.” The he-human said, “She is, but she’ll be okay soon. She lives on my route. I’m taking her home now.” The she-human opened the gate and the he-human started walking straight toward the monster!
Tilley squirmed and kicked again but to no avail. Her legs were simply too tired. The he-human held her fast and talked soothingly to her. They walked straight up to the monster. Tilley continued to squirm, but the he-human put her under his left arm and climbed right up onto the monster!
He pushed her into the monster’s open left ear, climbed in quickly and shut the ear behind him. Tilley cowered on a big leather chair in the monster’s head. The he-human sat on another one beside her. Tilley was sure that the monster had swallowed the chairs whole. The monster then growled and screeched. The he-human moved a stick in the middle of its head and the monster started moving. It moved left and right and the he-human kept rotating something that he was sitting behind. It was round, just like the monster’s feet, only much thinner.
Tilley was panting with fear. Suddenly the monster stopped. “Are you thirsty, girl?” asked the he-human. He pulled a big bottle out from under the chair he was sitting in and poured some water into a plastic cup. “Here you go, sweetie,” he said and held the cup under her nose. Tilley took a few small licks at first and then began lapping thirstily. “Wow, you are thirsty!” exclaimed the he-human. He poured another cup for her and as she drank she began to realize that she was safe with the he-human. He smiled at her and said, “Come on, Tilley, let’s get you home. I know your mom’s probably worried sick.” He moved the stick in the middle of the monster’s head again. The monster growled and hissed before it started to move. It didn’t seem to like the he-human moving the stick inside its head.
The monster wound through the neighborhood and Tilley sat up and looked out of the two big openings in the front of its forehead. The he-human turned the round thing he was sitting behind and Tilley sat up and barked. “Oh, you know where you are now, don’t you?” laughed the he-human. Tilley barked again. The big yellow house was just up ahead.
The monster stopped moving in front of the big yellow house, let out a loud hiss and became quiet. The he-human moved the stick in the middle of its head again and pressed something twice that was in the middle of the thing he had been turning. The monster called out two loud toots. Tilley looked out of the monster’s ear, jumped up in the chair that she had been sitting in and began barking and wagging her tail. Her She-Human had come through the gate to the back yard. She spotted Tilley and ran toward the monster. Water was coming out of her eyes and down her face.
The he-human climbed out of the ear and walked around in front of the monster. “I found her four or five streets over,” he said to her She-Human, smiling. “She was pretty scared, but she’s calmed down now.” Her She-Human put her arms around the he-human the way she put them around Tilley’s he-human. “Oh, thank you, thank you!” she said. “I’ve been calling and looking all over for her!” The he-human reached up and opened the monster’s ear that was next to the chair in which she was sitting. He put his arms around Tilley, took her out of the chair and handed her to her She-Human. Her She-Human held her fast and laughed, even though water was still coming out of her eyes and down her face. She put her mouth against Tilley’s face and said, “Oh, girl, I was so scared you were gone. I love you so much!”
Her She-Human looked at the he-human and said, “I can never thank you enough. You can be certain that I will call your company and tell them what a fine young man you are.” “Oh, you don’t have to do that, ma’am,” he said. “All I did was something that I would hope someone would do if one of my dogs got lost. It’s a good thing she has that tag on her collar. I knew right where to bring her.” “How can I ever repay you?” asked her She-Human. “The only thing I would like is a kiss from Tilley. She was pretty scared of me at first.” Tilley’s She-Human slipped the circle of the leash she used when they went for their daily walk around her neck. She put Tilley’s feet on the ground and the he-human knelt down beside her. Tilley jumped up, put her feet on his leg and licked him right in the ear! The humans both laughed and the he-human said, “Thanks, girl, I can hear a lot better now!”
Her She-Human thanked the he-human again and he climbed back into the monster’s left ear. The monster growled, hissed and moved slowly up to the end of the street where it turned around. It came slowly back by them and then something wonderful happened. The monster winked all of its eyes at them three times and called out three toots. It seemed to be smiling at them with the mouth on the front of its face. The he-human waved his hand out of the monster’s ear and her She-Human waved her hand back. She then took Tilley inside the big yellow house and made chicken and broth for her.
The next week, Tilley was laying in her chair by the big window when she heard the monster coming down the street. But this time she did not go and hide in her bed. She ran to her She-Human, barked excitedly and ran to the back door. Her She-Human let her out and Tilley ran to the back gate. A squirrel spotted her. It ran across the yard and jumped over the fence, but Tilley ignored it. She had learned her lesson about chasing squirrels and jumping over fences.
The monster stopped in front of the big yellow house. It picked up the can of food that Tilley’s he-human had moved out to the street that morning and shook it into its mouth on top of its back. She barked and barked excitedly. Then the monster set the can of food down. It called out three toots and waved its arm up and down at her three times before pulling it back in. It then growled and hissed and moved slowly up the street toward the next can of food. It did the same thing the next week, the week after that and every week from then on. Tilley was not afraid of the monster anymore. The two of them had become friends.