Roly Makes A Straight Path
Children's Story
Roly lay down with his head on his paws and felt lonely. But he wasn't lonely for long, for lots of people came to the entrance to the maze and petted him and patted him and stroked him and spoke to him. Roly perked up, and wondered for the hundredth time what went on in a maze. Still, the family had told him very firmly to stay at the entrance in case he got lost in the maze, or worse, because he was so small, tripped people up by darting between their legs.
But suddenly, Roly pricked up his ears. He had heard a faint sob, and he knew immediately it was Alice. Before he had time to think he was off, racing into the maze, squeezing through small gaps at the bottom of the maze hedges and following Alice's scent. He found her very quickly and snuggled up to her, licking her hand to tell her how much he loved her.
Her brothers had run off laughing, leaving Alice somewhere in the maze all by herself. Alice had no idea which way to turn. At first she had tried to find her way to the centre of the maze, but she kept coming back to the same place and could neither find her way to the centre nor out again. Hence the tears, for it's very frightening when all you can see are tall hedges on either side and you can't find your way when you're all alone.
But it wasn't frightening for Roly. Dachshunds used to be hunting dogs, and although Roly had never hunted in his entire life, he had been born with the right instincts. He set off at a dash, wriggling under hedges and scraping through tiny spaces, with Alice close behind. As the smallest and youngest of the three children, Alice was still small enough to wriggle through any holes in the maze hedges.
They didn't follow the conventional route of the pathways to the centre of the maze, but they reached the centre by a much more direct route, and were waiting when the boys eventually managed to find their way there.
The boys were stunned. They had expected to pick up their little sister on the return journey, for they had been quite sure she would never find her way by herself. Unnoticed, Roly slipped quietly back to the entrance. And Alice never did tell her brothers how she had found her way to the centre of the maze.
But suddenly, Roly pricked up his ears. He had heard a faint sob, and he knew immediately it was Alice. Before he had time to think he was off, racing into the maze, squeezing through small gaps at the bottom of the maze hedges and following Alice's scent. He found her very quickly and snuggled up to her, licking her hand to tell her how much he loved her.
Her brothers had run off laughing, leaving Alice somewhere in the maze all by herself. Alice had no idea which way to turn. At first she had tried to find her way to the centre of the maze, but she kept coming back to the same place and could neither find her way to the centre nor out again. Hence the tears, for it's very frightening when all you can see are tall hedges on either side and you can't find your way when you're all alone.
But it wasn't frightening for Roly. Dachshunds used to be hunting dogs, and although Roly had never hunted in his entire life, he had been born with the right instincts. He set off at a dash, wriggling under hedges and scraping through tiny spaces, with Alice close behind. As the smallest and youngest of the three children, Alice was still small enough to wriggle through any holes in the maze hedges.
They didn't follow the conventional route of the pathways to the centre of the maze, but they reached the centre by a much more direct route, and were waiting when the boys eventually managed to find their way there.
The boys were stunned. They had expected to pick up their little sister on the return journey, for they had been quite sure she would never find her way by herself. Unnoticed, Roly slipped quietly back to the entrance. And Alice never did tell her brothers how she had found her way to the centre of the maze.
