Maggie Rose pointed under the fence again. I went over to her and sniffed where she was pointing. There was nothing there but the faint smell of me, where I’d crawled under the fence before.
“Play with the donkeys, Lily!”
I didn’t know what Maggie Rose wanted, so I decided it was best to do something fun—like play with the donkeys. I wiggled back into their yard and trotted up to the oldest one, doing a play bow. He eyed me suspiciously.
“Go on, Spud! Play with the dog!” Bobby said.
I spun in a circle. The donkey watched. I bowed again. No reaction. I kicked up grass as I did a short dash around him, and then he and the other old one chased me a short way. They stopped after a few steps, just like Burrito.
Now it was time for me to chase them back! But the two older donkeys were more interested in eating grass. The two younger ones got the idea, though, and they trotted ahead of me a little, while I ran behind their tails.
“Good dog, Lily!” Maggie Rose called.
There are times when “good dog” leads to treats, so I trotted straight to my girl’s side. The donkeys followed me as far as the fence.
No treat from my girl, but sometimes being called “good dog” is reward enough.
“Donkeys are watching,” Bobby told us.
The bigger donkeys were all gathered at the fence now. Mom picked up Burrito’s leash. “Back up, Maggie Rose,” Mom said softly. “I don’t want you near in case anybody starts kicking.”
My girl backed away several steps. She stood very still. Mom led Burrito right up to the fence.
A grasshopper jumped out of the dirt at my feet, so I chased it and tried to pounce on it with both front paws. It whirred away, and I jumped again, but I didn’t catch it. Where had it gone?
I looked around for the grasshopper and noticed what was happening at the fence.
The older donkeys were sniffing Burrito! They had their long necks stretched over the fence and their soft noses were nuzzling at Burrito’s face.
Nobody brayed. Nobody stared. Nobody stomped.
Burrito seemed to get a little braver and moved closer. The other donkeys could now sniff all along his neck and back.
Sniffing is the best way to make friends, of course. I’ve often wondered why people don’t sniff each other when they meet. It’s one of the many strange things about people. I’ve seen people shake Bryan’s hand up and down, but nobody has ever thought to grab his fingers and smell them and maybe lick the traces of peanut butter from his skin.
Certainly I’ve licked him. Even when there’s no actual peanut butter clinging to his hands, it’s a nice thing to do.
Maggie Rose was bouncing up and down on her toes the way she does when she’s really excited. “It’s working! It’s working!” she said. “They’re figuring out that he smells like a donkey now! They like him!”
“I think you’re right!” Mom said. She gently tugged on Burrito’s leash and led him over to the gate and into the donkey yard. “Come with me, Lily! Come!”
We were all going to get to play together at last?
I dashed through the open gate and up to Mom, who still held Burrito’s leash. The other donkeys slowly approached. A few put their big heads down where I could reach them, and there was more sniffing. It must have been nice for the donkeys, being sniffed by a dog.
I was proud to have taught the donkeys how to play Chase-Me and how to greet a stranger by sniffing. They’d learned very well. If I could get Maggie Rose to hand them some chicken treats, they’d probably give up eating grass forever.
The oldest donkey let out a long sigh that made his nostrils flap. He stretched out his neck and rested his chin on Burrito’s back.
Soon all the donkeys were pressed together, sort of like when I take a nap curled up with Brewster and Maggie Rose. Except we always lie down to nap, and the donkeys were still standing up.
“They do that when they’re really happy,” Bobby said.
Mom and I left the donkey yard, and I went to Maggie Rose.
“What a smart dog you have,” Kelly told her.
Eventually the grown-up donkeys wandered off, staying in pairs as they bit at the grass. Soon they were far out in the field. Every one of them.
Except Burrito.
11
Burrito stood without moving, watching the other donkeys. He put his head down to nose at the grass, but he didn’t take a bite.
“Burrito’s still sad!” Maggie Rose exclaimed.
“Why doesn’t he go out into the field with the other donkeys?” Kelly asked.
“He does seem sad. I have no idea why,” Mom agreed.
Burrito was standing and staring at nothing. He seemed really glum. I wondered if anyone had a squeaky toy we could use to liven things up.
“Here comes Dad,” Bobby said.
Dad? I knew who Dad was. I looked around, but I could not smell or see Dad. What I did see, though, were three of those ridiculously large horses trotting toward us. Kurt was still stuck on top of one and poor Bryan was on another, and there was a man with them, and he was stuck, too.
There were three dogs, their tongues all lolling out, running alongside this strange parade. They stopped when the horses did, and then the man figured out how to get off the horse’s back. I was very ready to make friends with the dogs, but they followed Kurt and Bryan and the third horse, who all went around the barn and disappeared.
“Afternoon,” the man called with a grin as he approached. “How are you, Kelly?”
“Hi, Matthew. This is my friend from the animal rescue, Chelsea, and her daughter, Maggie Rose.”
“And the dog is Lily,” Bobby added. “Hi, Dad.”
I glanced up at Bobby. He’d said “Dad” again. He sure was confused—Dad wasn’t here!
“Glad to meet all of you. Your son Bryan is a good worker, ma’am,” the man told Mom. “Helped me move my herd to fresh pasture.”
“Bryan?” Mom repeated, surprised. “He’s never ridden a horse before.”
“Well, he’s a natural,” the man replied. He smiled at Burrito, who was still standing by himself. “And look at this beauty! Kurt told me your problem with the llama, Kelly. I could have saved you some trouble—donkeys and llamas don’t usually get along unless they’re raised up together.”
“I just wanted him because he was so cute,” Kelly replied with a shake of her head.
“Well, I’ve been thinking I need to get a few young ones. Old Spud’s getting on in his years,” the man answered. “Be happy to give you what you paid for him.”
Bryan came running up, panting and looking excited. “I had so much fun!” he said, grinning. He certainly was happier than he’d been this morning.
The man grinned. “If hard work is your idea of fun, young man, I’d like to have you visit more often.”
Bryan nodded. “Kurt said to tell you he’s tending to the horses and then he’ll feed the dogs their dinner.”
I raised my head sharply. Dogs? Dinner?
“But Burrito’s sad!” Maggie Rose said impatiently.
The man blinked at her. “Sad, you say?”
“Look at him. Even Lily can’t cheer him up.”
I wagged at my name. If we were talking about dogs and dinner and Lily then things were definitely looking good.
The man and Mom went through the gate and up to Burrito, who didn’t wag or lick or greet them in any way.
The man ran his hands up and down the donkey’s back and front legs. “Don’t see anything wrong, here.”
“I’m a veterinarian,” Mom said with a nod. “I think he’s perfectly healthy. But he does seem depressed.”
The man and Mom came back to our side of the fence. I smelled their hands. His carried the odor of horses, some other animals I couldn’t identify, and Burrito the donkey. “You just pick him up this morning?” he asked Kelly.
“Yes, and he seemed fine to me then. Very lively when I first saw him,” Kelly replied.
The man took
off his big hat for a moment, scratching his head. “Then I got nothin’. Usually there’s some trouble introducing a new donkey, but if that were the issue, Spud and the others would be right here letting us know it, instead of off in the pasture.”
“Maybe he misses his friends,” Bryan blurted.
Everyone looked at Bryan, so I did, too.
“It’s like when you move to a new place. You go to school with the other kids, but you miss your old friends,” Bryan went on.
Mom reached out and patted Bryan’s shoulder gently.
The man raised his eyebrows. “Well, now, maybe you really are a born rancher. Everybody look out there at my donkeys. See anything?”
“They’re just eating like always,” Bobby replied.
I yawned and scratched my ear with my rear paw.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to see,” Mom confessed.
“They’re in pairs!” Maggie Rose exclaimed. “See? There’s two close together on one side and two close together on the other.”
I wagged because Maggie Rose seemed excited.
“That’s exactly right, young lady,” the man told her with a nod. “Donkeys form what we call bonded pairs. Not necessarily with a mate, and not always with a brother or a sister, but once they’ve bonded they do everything together.”
“When I met Burrito, he was standing with another one his age!” Kelly exclaimed.
“There you have it,” the man replied with a grin.
“Burrito misses his best friend,” Bryan said, nodding.
“Well … looks like I’m going to need to go get myself another little donkey,” the man observed cheerfully. “Let’s load Burrito into the trailer so he can pick out the right one for us.” He looked at Bryan. “If it’s okay with your mother, you can come along, too. I could use a hand.”
Bryan looked at Mom, who smiled. “That’s fine with me!” she said.
Soon I watched in utter bafflement as they led Burrito to a big car that was attached to another big car. When it trundled away, I was left with Bobby and my girl and Mom and Kelly. Bryan had gone with the man and Burrito.
Where were they taking the little donkey? And why did he get his own car?
12
Maggie Rose put my leash back on and we all went for another walk to smell the horse poop. What an amazing day!
Bobby remained behind. Maybe he was going to give the other donkeys their baths now. But Kelly walked with us.
We were soon back at the farm where Scamper and Dash lived. I ignored the ugly horse-thing, who glared at me but didn’t spit or moan. Mom and Maggie Rose talked with Kelly for a long time, and they all said “Lily” a lot, which made me sure they were talking about what a good dog I was and how I should be given some treats immediately.
I wiggled into the pen with Scamper and Dash. They were dozing in a heap with their mother, but they were very happy to wake up for a game of Chase-Me that led us through lots of mud puddles. The mud slipped and slid beneath my paws in a wonderful way, and once I flopped down and skidded on my belly right up to the nose of the mother pig.
Sadie opened her eyes and grunted at me, and I licked her nose and ran off to dig in a corner with Scamper and turned up two apple cores. Scamper ate one and I chewed a little on the other until Dash came and took it away, so of course we had to do Chase some more.
While the three of us were busy, the people stood and talked as people do. “Well, I’ve got to get back to my chores,” Kelly told them. “Thank you for everything, Chelsea. You, too, Maggie Rose.”
“And Lily!” my girl said. I glanced at her but then went back to rolling with pigs.
Eventually Maggie Rose called me and put a leash on me and I was taken on yet another walk! Truly this was the most astounding day of my life!
I noticed the horse poop as we passed it again, but I wasn’t as excited about it this time.
“You were right to suggest we bring Bryan with us,” Mom told Maggie Rose as we walked. “He’s really having a good time on the ranch.”
“And he figured out what was wrong with Burrito!” Maggie Rose reminded her mother.
“Yes, he did. Maggie Rose, you know that there’s not anything we can do about his friend Carter moving away. That’s how life is sometimes.”
Maggie Rose nodded. “I know. It’s like with the rescue, when we get in a kitten and we all love it, but then we find a home for it and it goes away.”
“Exactly. Smart girl.”
I saw a grasshopper. I didn’t know if it was the same one, but I pounced anyway and then it was gone. How do they do that?
Soon we were back up at the donkey yard. The old donkeys were still out searching in the grass for something good to eat, but Burrito was close to the fence, prancing and playing with another baby donkey! I wagged excitedly. A new friend!
The man and Bryan were watching the two little donkeys play. The man turned and smiled as we approached. “Welcome back, you two. I’d like you to meet the newest addition to the family. The lighter-colored one is named Taco.”
“Burrito and Taco!” Maggie Rose exclaimed happily.
The leash came off with a snick and I wriggled excitedly under the fence and ran up to greet the new donkey, who lowered his nose and sniffed. I knew that I must smell of pig a lot, which was a relief. It was much better than smelling of bath.
We played Chase-Me, which seemed pretty much the only game the donkeys knew. I decided that the next time I came, I would bring a ball.
“Lily!” Maggie Rose called. I went to her, wagging. She snicked the leash onto my collar.
“I mean it, Chelsea. I could use all the help I can get, and your son here is a natural on a horse and a good worker to boot,” the man was saying. “Plus, my daughter has piano lessons every Saturday morning right down in town. My wife could bring Bryan back with her, and he could spend the day here on the ranch helping out.”
“Would something like that interest you, Bryan?” Mom asked.
Bryan’s eyes were as wide as his smile. “Yes!”
Everyone seemed so happy, I just had to wag.
“Here she comes now, in fact,” the man observed.
I looked up because a car had stopped in the driveway. The doors opened. A woman carrying a paper bag waved and went into the house, and a girl ran over to us. She had long hair like Maggie Rose, but she was a little older, I thought. She came right to me and petted me, so I liked her immediately. Her pants smelled like peanut butter, and so did her hands.
“Audrey, meet Maggie Rose, and Mrs. Murphy, and Lily. Oh, and this is Bryan.”
“Hi,” the girl said. “What grade are you in?”
“Fifth grade,” Bryan answered.
“I’m in third,” Maggie Rose put in.
“I’m in fifth, too,” the girl said.
“Bryan’s going to come help out every Saturday for a few hours,” the man said mildly. “Maybe you could show him the ropes, Audrey.”
The girl, Audrey, nodded. “I’d like that,” she said simply.
“That’s wonderful,” said Mom. “Well, we’ve really got to head home. Maggie Rose, if you don’t mind…”
“You know what that means, Lily, you piggy-smelling dog,” Maggie Rose told me.
I wagged happily up at her. I was sure that whatever was going to happen next, I would really enjoy it.
I felt that way as Maggie Rose took my leash. I felt that way as she led me to the side of the house. I even felt that way when she tied my leash to the fence.
But when she turned on the hose, I no longer felt that way.
Baths are the worst.
MORE ABOUT DONKEYS
Male donkeys are known as jacks, and female donkeys are jennets or jennies.
In the wild, donkeys live in herds, usually with one male and several females.
Tame donkeys are used to carry loads or to provide milk. Sometimes they also protect other animals on a farm or ranch. They will fight off anything they see as a threat by stomping or k
icking.
In the United States, wild donkeys are known as burros.
Tame donkeys, like Burrito, usually weigh between four hundred and five hundred pounds when they are full grown. The largest breed of donkey, called the American Mammoth Jack, can weigh twice as much—between nine hundred and twelve hundred pounds.
Young donkeys are called foals.
If a male donkey and a female horse have a foal, it is called a mule. If a female donkey and a male horse have a foal, it is called a hinny.
If a donkey and a zebra have a foal, it is called a zonkey.
The “hee-haw” sound that donkeys make is called a bray. Donkeys breathe in on the “hee” and out on the “haw.”
Donkeys can be territorial, which means they will drive other animals away from a space they think of as theirs. On a farm, a donkey may drive smaller animals like goats, sheep, dogs, or cats out of its pasture.
READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT
LILY TO THE RESCUE:
FOXES IN A FIX,
COMING SOON FROM STARSCAPE
I was in a sort of yard. There were two big metal things like trucks parked here, with giant wheels much taller than I was. A hole had been dug in the earth. I like to dig holes, but this one was much bigger than anything I could dig on my own.
There were some piles of rocks, too, and long, thin pieces of wood stacked up in a corner. A small, white face with bright black eyes was peering at me from around that stack of wood.
A friend!
I hurried over to see what games this new friend liked to play, and a little doglike animal tumbled out into the snow. It was white all over, except for its black eyes and nose. And it had a smell that was very much like a dog, but not exactly.
The almost-dog rolled around in the snow. I liked rolling in the snow, too, so I did the same thing. When I rolled over onto my belly, I saw that two more of the almost-dogs had come out from behind the wood pile.
They all smelled like males, and young, too. And they were very good at playing. They knew Chase and Wrestle and Chew-on-Your-Ears and Bite-the-Snow. We raced in a circle and crouched and jumped on each other and ended up in a big wrestling pile, gently gnawing paws and faces and whatever else ended up in our mouths. One almost-dog got my tail and nibbled it gently, so I turned around and sampled his ear.
Lily to the Rescue: The Misfit Donkey Page 4
