The Winter Olympics (2002)

The little band of corgis got off the Kallista RV and looked about in awe.  They were here! At the Olympics! Why, it had only been a couple of years since they attended the Summer Olympics in Australia and the time had flown by. So many things in the corgi world had changed since then.

The corgis gazed at the beautiful site and were proud to be there, representing Flufftopia and the Corgis of America.

Justin, the newest member of the pack, shifted around nervously. He really had to pee but didn't want to embarrass the others by lifting his leg in the wrong spot. Justin was a very sweet and very beautiful male and he tried hard to follow the rules of etiquette that the Princess insisted that they always follow. Mercifully, the Lady Hayley Boo noticed his distress and came to his aid.

"Let's just go over here on the grass for a few moments, children," she called out to the newest brood of Royal Baybees. All the baybees trouped over to the grass and did what they needed to do, receiving praise from all the adults present. Hayley followed along, holding tightly onto Barney Anne's little paw. Justin followed all of them, counting each little puppy to be sure that all were accounted for. Nine baybees was a lot to keep track of. The Princess had insisted that all of them come along, she claimed it would be educational for them as well as fun.

Now, Barney Anne was the littlest one. She was a very special little puppy that was all white with brown spots, like a pinto horse. Sometimes she was a baby and cried and the other baybees would make fun of her, but that made her mad and then she would try to bite them. She would still lie on her back and suck on her paws and even though all the baybees had done that, they had stopped and it was one more thing to tease her about. Hayley had to warn them constantly about teasing Barney Anne and sometimes had to grab an ear or a leg and give a little pinch to get her point across. Barney Anne had been named in honor of President Barney Hisself.

"I'll go and see where we need to go," volunteered Tierre, and her sister, Topaz accompanied her towards the offices of the Olympic Committee.

The corgis had arrived early, hoping to do a little sightseeing and hoping to scope out the arenas that they were competing in. The Princess had rented a lovely townhouse for them to stay in for a few days before and after the events and ceremonies.

They continued to stretch their legs and here and there, they saw other humans and dogs from other countries, wandering about. It looked like they were not the only ones here early.

Soon, the girls were back with brochures and file folders and envelopes for each corgi, with maps and information. They all climbed back on the RV and the Royal Footman drove them to the townhouse.

2

The next day dawned clear and bright. The little group of corgis was up at first light, they had so many things to do and were very excited about everything.

The Princess was in the kitchenette, pouring out bowls of cereal and putting them into rows so that each corgi could come in and take a bowl of cereal, a carton of milk and a spoon and napkin into the front room to eat. The TV was on the Today show and the corgis never missed the Today show unless something very important was going on.

"Barney Anne! Barney Anne! Where are you?" called the Princess, who had counted out 8 Royal Baybees eating breakfast, but knew she was missing one.

"She's coming, sister," said the Lady Hayley Boo as she came into the kitchenette. The two girls nuzzled each other's ears in greeting. They were indeed half sisters, the Honorable Lady Panda Bear was their mother, but she had been married twice before taking her Vow of Celibacy some years before.

"How is she doing this morning?" inquired the Princess.

"You know, I think her little foot is getting stronger. The doctor seemed to think it would with exercise. Her eyes are bright and she never stops asking questions. She's very curious, you know and wants to know about everything. I hardly have time to answer one question before she is asking about something else entirely differently. I don't even know if she hears the answers!"

Princess Cheveu laughed as she took a pile of dirty bowls to the sink to begin to wash. The Princess tried hard to be just like a regular corgi, yet maintain her Royal Dignity as well as good manners and exemplary breeding.

"She is a little pistol, all right. I was watching her practice her judo the other day. She's getting quite good at it! Perhaps in two years at the Summer Olympics? What do you think?"

Hayley shrugged. "You know, Cheveu, I always tell my children that they can be anything they want to be if they can dream it and work hard, I will help them any way I can. She is a puzzle, though. I've never had a child like her before. She is strong and kind, yet will pitch a temper tantrum over the tiniest thing. She will cry at seeing a beggar in the street and beg me for change to give him. Then she will get angry if she sees someone being rude. Her emotions are very high. And she is high spirited. I am not looking forward to when she is an adolescent. I fear she may be wild."

The Princess was silent for a bit, then shook her head. "Hayley, you know as well as I do that this is not going to happen. She may assert her independence a bit, but she is a good child at heart. She is, after all, your youngest and smallest one. Perhaps you are being a bit clingy to her?  Because she is the smallest one?"

Hayley thought about this for a minute. "Perhaps you are correct. It's hard to think that I will not have any more baybees." She hung her head a little bit. "I will miss that so much."

The Princess put down the bowl she was washing and dried her paws on a towel, then came over and put her neck over Hayley's in a sign of great affection between the sisters. She gently cleaned her eyes and ears and Hayley relaxed a bit.

"Hayley, have you thought about the grandchildren, though?"

Hayley sat up and looked at her sister. "Grandchildren? Why, no.....I hadn't."

"There will always be Royal Baybees to spoil and to teach and to love. Topaz is of a good age to begin seeking a mate and Isabelle and Delphine will be next. And who knows with these little ones? It looks like a good crop of possible champions to me!"

Hayley looked thoughtful and then smiled. "Oh, Cheveu! You always know the right thing to say! Of course, you are right! Thank you for helping me to see that."

"And the neat thing about grandchildren," continued the Princess, "is that someone else has to be the mother. That means no clean up duties or discipline unless they are really out of hand. And you won't lose your coat after they are born, either," she winked at Hayley, who did look a little motheaten. However, Hayley was very good at the creative use of pretty bandanas from Heavenly Fashions direct from Paris. Hayley laughed at the thought of new baybees that would not be so much hard work.

"You are absolutely right," agreed Hayley. Then she called, "Barney Anne! Come to breakfast! We have to get going!"

Shortly, through the door, the little spotted corgi dashed to her mother.  She was wearing her polka dotted 101 Dalmatians denim jacket and she had on white socks with purple dots on it that her Aunt Paris had sent to her from TennySea. She had on a polka dotted hair bow over one ear (placed there carefully with a piece of scotch tape by Hayley) and she was wearing a polka dotted bandana.

"That child!" laughed the Princess. "She surely loves her polka dots!"

"Yes, she says it matches her fur," agreed Hayley and together they helped the little spotted corgi pour the milk over her cereal and watched her while she ate a good breakfast for the day ahead.

3

The adults were busy, gathering up the children, making sure each had lunch in their backpack, and a toy to play with if they got bored. Corgis, of course, are great family dogs and even the eldest of the pack will help a puppy if it needs it. The older corgis had decided to stay at the townhouse and rest for the morning, the younger corgis and the ones competing at the Olympics were setting out to see the arenas and locker room areas. Of course, the puppies would not be left behind so there was a general scramble to get them all ready.

There was a knock at the door and the Honorable Lady Panda Bear answered it. No one paid much attention until Sfscruffy walked into the room! The adults stopped talking for a moment, the puppies picked up on the silence and turned to see, their little black berry eyes wide with surprise. The Princess had been busy convincing Barney Anne that she really should only take one toy, either My Little Pony or her Barbie, because to take both would mean she would get tired of carrying them all day. She noted the quiet, then everyone began to talk and she turned to see what the commotion was all about. When she saw, she didn't notice that she dropped My Little Pony on the floor, causing Barney Anne to pitch one of her famous fits.

"Drop Pony! Poor Pony!" Barney Anne shrieked, and the Princess scrambled to scoop up Barney Anne and My Little Pony in one motion. Kissing Barney Anne, she promised to make Pony better with a colorful band aid and sent off Isabelle to find one. Smoothing her bandana, she turned to greet Sfscruffy.

His smile was as warm as ever. He bowed his head and gently said,"Princess..." and the Princess' eyes sparkled and she smiled back at him.

"Sfscruffy, it has been much too long!" the Princess murmured, and the other corgis turned politely away to finish getting ready.

Sfscruffy took her paw and gently kissed it. "Yes," he agreed. "But I couldn't resist your invitation to come and help guard you and the children and other corgis. I have brought all the Border Collies with me. You can never be too careful, you know."

The Princess nodded and some of the older corgis smiled to themselves, feeling the intense electricity that flowed between the Princess and the little ranch corgi mix, who had always been there for "his Princess". It hadn't taken any of them long to figure out that the little shell necklace that she always wore under her bandana had come from him, although the Princess still hadn't figured out who had given it to her. The other corgis thought that the Princess took her duties much too seriously and were hoping that Sfscruffy would soon make her laugh and take her mind off of all the responsibilities and the competition. There was much more to life and she needed to learn this.

Sfscruffy was introduced to each of the new Royal Baybees and he laid down so he could get a good look at each one of them. He had a nice remark to make about each one of them and in no time at all, the little ones considered him their friend. The Princess and Hayley warned the little ones again about talking to strangers or wandering off unattended. You never knew what could happen in a crowded situation and Hayley did not want any of her baybees to be stepped on.

The corgis left the townhouse and climbed back into the RV, which seemed so much roomier now that most of the luggage had been removed, along with the sporting equipment and it had been throughly cleaned for them. Soon, they were driving through Salt Lake City and along the perimeter of the Great Salt Lake. The little ones had never seen such a big body of water and the adults promised a swim sometime during the visit.

"Thirsty" was Barney Anne's comment on the whole matter, so while Hayley got her a drink, Sfscruffy explained that the water in the lake was not good to drink, it was very salty, like what humans tasted like on a very hot day. Barney Anne took three laps of water, then sat back in the seat and began to sing a little song.

They drove through the city and the adults noted that there were many places to shop and to visit and also noted some wonderful looking restaurants.

And then they were at the Village, where most of the events were to take place. Pulling out a long piece of thin rope, Sfscruffy explained to the puppies that they should each take it into their mouths and to hold on tight so that none of the nine would be lost while they walked to where they needed to go. He made it into a game, telling them they could pretend they were horses, being led along. So, with much stomping of feet and baybee corgis whinnying, they set off along the sidewalk. Barney Anne had her little paw held firmly in Hayley's paw. Sfscruffy asked the Princess why she wouldn't hold onto the rope. The Princess explained that Barney Anne had a mind of her own and was very likely to let go and wander off.

"She has made us very nervous a few times and Hayley is very protective of her. So we all keep a sharp lookout on her." Sfscruffy nodded, he had known a few pups like this in his time, too.

They entered the arena without fanfare and were soon issued badges to put around their necks. The Princess spotted some other dog teams, the Australian Cattle Dogs and the German Shepherds were there, and they all waved and shouted greetings, with many wagging tails. Then they consulted their maps and the corgi athletes set off to find the locker rooms and the others entered the arena and sat in some low seats along the edge so that they could watch the athletes try out equipment and check out the arena.

It would prove to be a very interesting morning.

4

The Lady Hayley Boo and the Honorable Lady Panda Bear and her sister, the Lady Micah, settled into the place where they could see everything that was going on. The Border collie who had accompanied them on Security Detail sniffed carefully about to be sure everything was safe. They spread their blankets, settled in the puppies and gave each puppy its toy to play with.

Hayley finally released the death grip she had on Barney Anne's paw and Barney Anne and the other little girls in the litter began to play Veterinarian with Pony, as he was sporting a brightly colored band-aid on his "boo boo".

The two elderly sisters pulled out their knitting and began to chat, and Hayley watched the puppies for a while. They were so entertaining and since they had had a good romp that morning and a big breakfast, she expected them to go to sleep just any time. Over the next half hour, they began to collapse into a big pile and she gathered up their toys into another pile so that one would not be kicked under an arena seat and lost. Her eyes were growing heavy, too, and she asked the Border collie if she would mind watching the puppies for a few minutes so she could close her eyes, too.

After a while, the Royal corgis began to come out onto the playing field. The Princess was participating in Curling, and Isabelle and Delphine were competing in Snow Dancing, which is sort of like Pairs in Ice Skating only they do it in snow. Roo was going to be in the Luge competition and Topaz and Tierre were in the two man Bobtail Sled event. All the corgis had worked very hard to get in shape for their sports. Almost anyone could be on the Flufftopian team as the nation wasn't very big and so it was easy to be good in some kind of corgi sport.

Isabelle and Delphine did their warm ups on the sidelines and then ran around the edge of the arena a couple of times to loosen up. They were very fast and sleek in spite of the grubby sweatshirts and sweatpants they were wearing. It was a wonder to all that they so proudly wore their uniforms for competition but insisted on warming up in the grubbies. The Princess and Lady Paris Lynn had put their little white feet down firmly on this point, though. The girls were to wear the lovely warm up suits when the actual day came for them to compete. In the meantime, they put up with the pretty girls and their bizarre costumes.

On the third time round the arena, some silent signal was given between the girls. Panda had nudged Hayley awake and she proudly watched her daughters dive into the snow and porpoise along, up and down. Then a quick turn and back down into the snow. Four feet later, they leapt into the air together and each executed a perfect flip. Back down into the snow and evidently they parted because the next move was made separately but in nearly perfect synchronization. The corgis and even the Border collie watched in fascination.

"M'ams," said the Border Collie, "that is the most beautiful routine for Snow Dancing Pairs I have ever seen!" The corgis thanked her for the compliment and all continued to watch the routine. Panda proudly told the Border collie that the last move was coming up and to watch carefully. The girls had executed a perfectly timed Snow Angel together. They moved as one. They separated again, then gathered as much speed as possible, porpoising towards each other and leapt into the air. The idea was for them to pass each other by a mere inch or two but that wasn't what happened. One of them misjudged the slipperiness of the snow and the two girls crashed into each other in mid air and dropped out of sight into the soft snow. Everyone gasped and watched for a moment and then everyone was in motion.

The corgis had to take the stairs down but the Border Collie leapt over the railing and down ten feet to the floor. As she ran, she spoke into the microphone that was attached to her collar.

"Sfscruffy! Alert! Lady Isabelle and Lady Delphine have been involved in an accident. On the main floor. They were practicing and fell. I don't know their status, yet, I'm still in route. Please send the paramedics!"

By the time the Border Collie got to the girls, one was sitting up and rubbing her head and asking "What happened?" It was Delphine and she had a dazed look to her eyes. The Border Collie told her to lie down, that help was on the way. Then she sniffed around in the snow and found Isabelle, who was out cold and had a cut on her head that, although bleeding profusely, did not look serious. Very quickly, the corgi family arrived and in just a few minutes after that, the paramedics and Sfscruffy. The Border Collie and Sfscruffy knew first aid and had not moved the girls and a paw was placed on Isabelle's head to slow the bleeding. Hayley was stunned. Panda and Micah moved to either side of her to comfort her. Some minutes passed and then Isabelle began to come around. The paramedics did not think the girls were seriously hurt, although Delphine complained she had twisted her paw somehow. Just to be sure, they were going to transport them to the hospital for some x-rays and observation. Sfscruffy called for another Border Collie to come and accompany the girls to the hospital, and soon, they were all loaded up and on their way in the ambulance. Micah went to the side of the arena to gather the girls' things together and the Princess had already composed a press release for the reporters that she knew would soon be on the scene with their never ending photos and questions.

The corgis trotted up the stairs and Panda and Micah were tsk tsking about the probability of dropped stitches when they threw their knitting needles down. It made Hayley feel better to hear that, Panda and Micah had both had puppies and were experienced in cuts and bruises of various types. The girls' injuries must not be serious if they were discussing their knitting. Then Hayley nearly missed a step. She just remembered that they had left the sleeping puppies unattended. With her heart in her throat, she put on a burst of speed, leaving the two old corgis behind. Tearing around the corner, she saw with relief that the puppies were still sleeping soundly. Just to be sure, she began to count onetwothreefourfivesixseveneight....who was missing? She counted quickly again. Only eight. Which one was missing? Oh, no, it was Barney Anne again. She supposed that the little pup had awoken and had to go to the bathroom. She looked about, running quickly up and down the aisle. Nothing. She called. No answer. At this, she began to panic. Her mother and her aunt were only half way up the stairs. She needed fast help and she needed it now!

Leaping onto one of the seats, she called out SSFFFSSCCCRRRUUUUUFFFFFYYYYY!" as loudly as she could.

Sfscruffy was gathering up the girls' belongings when he heard the paniked sound that came down to him. He dropped what he was doing and signalled the Border Collie who beat him up the stairs. The Border collie was already casting up and down the aisles, looking for scent when Sfscuffy made it up the stairs to see what had happened. Quickly, Hayley, explained and the little farm corgi and the elderly corgis and Hayley spread out to search.

It wasn't long before they had their first clue. A small polka dotted sock was found on the floor. Sfscruffy immediately shouted into his microphone for help.

"Close the entrances. Check all bags out. One of the Royal Baybees is missing, perhaps kidnapped. We will be up as soon as we can gather the other baybees up. Please send an escort to section 15 A."

As the corgis and Border Collie woke and prepared the puppies to be moved, it was noted that Barney Anne's Pony was missing and her backpack had been left behind.

5

Before Sfscruffy called Security to seal the building, the little spotted corgi was already outside.

She had awakened and called for her Momma, but her Momma hadn't answered. So Barney Anne decided to go for a walk. It was so nice to go all on her own.   She got tired of all the adults telling her to put her sweater on, to stand up straight, to not suck on her paws. She had managed to get up and down the steps, in spite of bringing Pony with her. He was her dearest friend, she slept with him and told him all her little puppy secrets. He played with her when everyone else was busy.

They had marched right out the front door of the arena and no one had even noticed, as she was so close to the ground. The day was still sunny and not too cold. Barney Anne went down the sidewalk and looked around. Which direction? She thought about it for a while and decided that way, and off she went, working hard at avoiding people's feet. She knew that someone could accidentally step on her or kick her and she would be hurt. As she walked along, she made up a little song and sang it to Pony. He liked it a lot.

After about an hour, they came to a large park, with trees and bushes and benches all around. Now, Barney Anne was getting hungry and she asked Pony if he would like something to eat and he said yes. There was no one around to give Barney Anne her bowl of food with yogurt or even some puppy cookies. So she told Pony to stay under the park bench and she set off to find them some lunch. It didn't take long at all to find a puddle where she had a long drink and most amazing of all, she found half of a hot dog that someone had tossed away just a few minutes before. She carried it back to Pony and shared it with him. Then it was time for a nap, so they cuddled together and snoozed for a while.

When she awoke, she was getting a little bit chilled. The day had clouded over and it looked as though it might snow, although Barney Anne was unaware of this. She stretched, yawned and woke up Pony who told her he was cold, too.

"Then we will go home, now," she said to him and set off in the direction she thought they had come from. But the little spotted corgi had gotten turned around and set off in the wrong direction.

Back at the arena, a full scale search was on. Lockers were being searched and sniffer dogs were assigned different seating areas to check under each seat. Everyone was calling "Barney Anne! Barney Anne!" The Royal Corgis were beside themselves. Sfscruffy had assured them that baybees sometimes wandered and that they were always found. Hayley tried to remember when Peekaboo had been "lost" but had only been off on an adventure with King Jordan and Queen Clover. Hayley had been terribly worried but that had been at home, at the Castle, not in a huge city filled with strangers. She tried hard to think positively and take good care of the other eight baybees, but her mind was filled with torment. Sfscruffy finally ordered them to all go home and to begin to contact the media and print posters with the little spotted corgi's likeness on them.

"And put a picture of Pony on there, too," he suggested, "just in case she leaves him behind."

Barney Anne was cheerful, although cold. She walked this way and that, carefully holding Pony's tail in her mouth. But soon, she was getting worried. And worry was not something she had ever had to deal with before.

"Maybe down this road," she said to herself as she turned into a dark alley.

6

Now, Barney Anne was too young and Pony was not bright enough to know that a dark alley was probably not a good place to go. But Barney Anne had turned down the alley, thinking it was a shortcut to where she wanted to go. It was a very long alley, and very dark, but her little eyes adjusted rapidly. She was getting tired again and there were many things lying in the alley. Partway down, she put Pony down for a moment and had to wipe her little drippy nose. Like her namesake, President Barney, Barney Anne had a problem with her sinuses and was just waiting until she was a little older to get it fixed. The Royal Doctor had assured the Princess and Lady Hayley that it was easy to do and would make it more comfortable for Barney Anne to breathe. Unfortunately, she had no hanky, so she used her bandana and blew her nose, loudly, then giggled, as it wasn't lady like and no one had been around to correct her. This freedom thing was kind of fun. She looked around. There was nobody else there. She sat down and had a good scratch, another thing her mother and the Princess were always after her about. She laughed and Pony laughed with her. The little corgi was very carefree.

But she was also still tired. She looked around and found a large cardboard box. Now, one of Barney Anne's favorite things in the world to do was to play in a cardboard box. This looked like a good one and she yipped in pleasure. Dragging Pony with her, she put him inside and inspected it. It looked like a great place to take a nap. Placing Pony just so, she propped her head up on him. She stuffed a paw into her mouth and sucked on it and in no time at all, the tiny corgi and her best friend, the stuffed Pony, were sound asleep.

The search had intensified. Most everyone was out looking for the small baby corgi. The athletes from the other countries had paused in their practices to scour the city. The Media had picked up on the story and it seemed that everyone was looking for the tiny Royal Baybee. Some people had mentioned they had seen something they thought was a kitten at the park, and the athletes from Great Britain were all over the park. One of them had found a tiny sock with dots all over it under a park bench and after sniffing it carefully, Sfscruffy had declared that it did belong to Barney Anne. But where was she?

While Barney Anne rested, there were two creatures who entered the alley, each from the opposite direction. They were unaware of her presence, but would soon find her and meet up.

7


The search had been stepped up to a high degree. Not only were the security people and the Salt Lake police department looking for the little spotted corgi, but so were most of the athletes, and the spectators. The scheduled events were still going on and some of the corgis had competed, but with a half heartedness that showed their worry.

"We have to find her," the Princess said, "Or the Olympics will be ruined!"

Sfcruffy looked up from his map, which he had divided into sections. "She can't have gotten far, unless she was picked up. And that is always a possibility." Silence followed this statement as the implications were realized. If someone did indeed pick up the small spotted corgi, then they might not have recognized her as a purebred. She was not microchipped, yet. She was quite tiny and looked like a pinto horse. There had been thousands of posters distributed about the city and surrounding areas.

The little spotted corgi slept hard, as did Pony. Both of them were very tired. She began to snore because of her little cleft lip that had not been fixed yet. She had been scheduled for surgery as soon as the corgis returned from the Olympics; Hayley had wanted to wait so she would not be in pain during the games. In her sleep, she alternately wiped at her runny nose with one paw and sucked on the other one. Every now and then she shivered and her trusty stuffed Pony cuddled up closer to her to keep her warm.

At one end of the alley, there was an outline of a soft shadow. It was hungry and it was looking for something to eat. Not the usual garbage that it found but something fresh, something tasty. Perhaps a squirrel or a rat? It licked its lips in anticipation. It was a huge black cat and it sniffed the air as it crept down the alley. What was this? An enticing air of something unaware, something not on guard wafted towards the huge cat's nose. Ah. This would be easy to catch. He went into his jungle cat routine, lowering himself, enjoying the anticipation of the hunt, easy though it should be. He flicked his tail a time or two. There. In one of those boxes. He strained to listen and heard a soft slurping as the prey breathed.

Inside the box, Pony awoke and froze. There was Danger outside. He didn't know what to do. Well, he couldn't do much of anything. He was, after all, just a stuffed Pony. But because he was loved and cherished, he was Real when he was with Barney Anne. What could he do? He took every ounce of his being and he moved slightly. It was difficult since he had no muscles and bones. There. He did it again. The little spotted corgi shifted and began to snore louder. Oh, no! This would never do! He put all of his thought and being into this action, it was all he had to move with. He gave a sudden jerk and the small puppy woke up.

"Momma?" she inquired in her little voice.

At the other end of the alleyway, another being had entered. It pushed a grocery cart, piled high with many things, many of them useless to the average person or corgi. The cat had not noticed this creature; he was used to seeing these things all the time in this area of the city. The grocery cart had a wheel that wobbled and banged along.

The person pushing the cart suddenly stopped and stepped to one side as they spotted the cat. She had heard the little one call out for her Momma.

"What are you doing?" called a voice. "Stop!"

8

The large black cat poised. He had been foiled before. He didn't intend to run from this person. He switched his tail and his yellow eyes flicked back towards the box. There was a slight sound of movement from the box, then suddenly, BAM! Something hit him and he didn't turn to see what it was. He made his way through the alley way like greased lightning and in a flash, he was gone.

The woman chuckled to herself as she picked up the folded up umbrella she had pitched at the cat. Her aim was still pretty good for an old broad, she reckoned. Then she looked down at the box and saw a bright little pair of eyes peeping out at her. It was hard to see what it was, exactly, it was so grimy, but it appeared friendly and she had saved it from the cat. She eached down and picked the little creature up. Of course, it was Barney Anne.

"Here! Here!" the woman exclaimed. "Are you a kitten or are you a puppy?" She examined the little creature carefully and saw that it appeared to be all right. She wiped the little one's snotty nose with a hanky and the little one squeaked her pleasure at having help with that chore. Barney Anne then began to babble away in her baby talk, and of course, the lady, being human, could not follow. But it did appear that the puppy was happy. She hugged it to her neck.

"You are sure a sweet little thing," she said. "Let's get you out into the light and take a look at you." She wheeled her shopping cart around back out of the alley while murmuring sweet nothings to the little puppy. Something was picking at her memory. Something....she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Getting old was tough, there was more than ever to remember and she couldn't remember any of it, so she really didn't try to remember much, anymore.

Once out onto the street, she paused and looked at the baby puppy. More than ever, the thought flitted in and out of her mind, and she tried to grasp it. Suddenly, she had it! Holding tightly onto the puppy with one hand, she began to dig through her possessions with the other. She wasn't too neat about it. She was quite excited. Finally, she found it. She had saved it because it was cute and because she could write a letter sometime on the back of it. She didn't mind that she had no one to write a letter to, just you never mind, the point was that she had to be prepared to write a letter in case the opportunity ever arose. Shaking out the paper, she looked at it and then at the filthy baby puppy in her other hand.

"Oh, my. You are Barney Anne!" she exclaimed. Barney Anne wiggled with pleasure. She had tried to tell this nice lady what her name was in her very best polite manners, but the lady had been too busy talking to her to take note of this. In any case, Barney Anne was happy that someone knew her name. She hopefully peeped about something to eat, but the lady seemed preoccupied. The lady was trying to remember where the Olympic arena was. Down this street about a mile, she reckoned, and she turned her cart in that direction.

But another problem had arisen. Pony had been left behind. He had been relieved that Barney Anne had been found and that she was safe. He listened to the old lady and the cart bang down the alleyway and was glad in his stuffing that she had been found. Then the silence fell. It was very, very quiet. He had a moment of panic when he realized what was happening! He could only be Real if someone loved him and believed in him. And now that someone was going further and further away from him. Pony felt weak. He could not even move because he had used up so much of his will to wake the little spotted puppy. He lay there on his side, miserable for a time, not knowing what to do, not being able to do anything at all. Then he began to get very tired. It was a different tired and he could feel himself slipping away to where ever it was that stuffed animals went when they were not Real anymore. His eyes got very heavy and he felt as if he was on a cloud.

"Good bye, Barney Anne. I love you," were his last words to her.

9

But Barney Anne had heard him.

At first, she politely wiggled and asked to be put down. But the bag lady who found her didn't want to let her out of her hands, she was scared Barney Anne would run away from her. So Barney Anne cajoled and begged in her best widdo peeps, that she had to get down NOW. This usually worked when humans held her; they always thought she had to go pee. It didn't work.

By now, they were very close to the Olympic stadium and people had seen the lady and the small spotted baby corgi and were whispering and pointing. Barney Anne decided that it was time to make her move. She began to yell and pitch one of her famous Barney Anne Temper Tantrums. She yelled and cried and flung herself about.

"Ponnneeeee! Pooonnnnnneeeee! I want my Pooonnnneeeee!" she shrieked. "I love you, Ponnnneeee!"

Now, as you all might know, Hayley Boo was very tuned into the thoughts and feelings of all of her children. She was in the stadium, preparing more posters to be carried out and hung about the city. She sat up suddenly and listened. Yes! It was her smallest daughter! With a happy bark, she flew out of the office with Sfscruffy and the Border collie protectors in hot pursuit.

Coming down the long stairway, Hayley spotted her daughter right away. She flew over to her as fast as she could and by this time, the old lady had decided she had had quite enough of this busy dirty little puppy. She put Barney Anne down, who had spotted her Momma and ran towards her. Pausing only to wipe her nose with the back of her paw, she babbled to her Momma about Pony. Hayley Boo could not make out most of it but she did hear Pony's name and she was also most impressed by Barney Anne's display of temper. Why, she did not realize the child had it in her! And Barney Anne was pointing down the steps and babbling something about a box.

After a few minutes, Sfscruffy had it all sorted out. It had been hard, with Hayley Boo translating Barney Anne's baybee puppy talk and the excited old lady telling him where she had found the baybee corgi. Sfscruffy turned to the two Border Collies. He told them what to do and in a flash they were off and searching. The scent was fresh and they had a general idea of where to search. The crowd parted in front of them as they ran.

Back in the alley, Pony was becoming stiller. His fuzzy body did not send out the warmth that it once had, to keep his little corgi puppy warm. He lay listlessly on his side, where he had ended up when he woke up Barney Anne. Everything was foggy. He was not in pain, why, stuffed animals cannot be in pain; however, there was still a deep hurt deep inside his stuffing where his heart would have been, had he been a real Pony. For a while, he had been Real. He supposed that this was the highest calling of any stuffed animal or toy. Not every toy was so very lucky to experience Realness. You had to have a child or a puppy who believed in you, and loved you, and somehow, you became Real. But when the belief stopped, when the child or the puppy grew up and thought of other things in life, when the toy was casually tossed in the corner, and forgotten, they lost their Realness and became just a stuffed toy again. He lacked the energy to sigh. He knew that it was going to happen one day; it was one of those things that stuffed toys just somehow know. However, he was grateful that he had the love of a tiny spotted corgi baybee to let him become Real and experience love. He knew that had he not experienced it, he would never have missed it; he would not be able to think or be a companion to Barney Anne. He would exist but would not be able to think or to feel joy or happiness. He was glad he had been her special toy. And he hoped that she would think of him now and then.

Pony noticed that he was losing his sense of being. The box was getting very dark and he couldn't hear the street traffic anymore. He was thinking that there was a breeze but he wasn't sure. He was almost gone.

10

"Quick, quick. Thee must look harder!" the Border Collies panted to each other, as they turned down the alley and began to sniff. They were actually looking for Barney Anne's scent, since they did not remember what the little stuffed pony smelled like. And there were so many enticing smells to distract them. But Border Collies are bred to work. They often say it is The Boss's Highest Calling for a dog. Sometimes they can be a bit smug about it, but they have good hearts and mean nothing bad by this. It's just how they are made.

One took one side of the alley and the other checked the other side. Carefully examining every trash can, every box, every dumpster. To their great dismay, they heard a garbage truck turn into the alley at the other end!

They looked at each other, then sprang ahead. Racing down the alley, barking furiously, they managed to make the trashmen drop the cans they had picked up and run for the safety of the truck. They heard them say something about "...dang alley dogs. We'll get the trash next week. Forget this week!" and the Border Collies breathed a quick sigh of relief and began to search again.

About halfway down, they found him.

Back at the Olympics, the corgis had been hustled back inside the building. A blanket and some kibble had been found for Barney Anne, who was now curled up, wrapped securely, and warm, and was snoring and snuffling gently. She was placed into Hayley's back pack for safety. Sfscruffy gruffly muttered something about cutting a hole for her head to stick out of and making her stay in there for safety's sake, but Hayley paid him no mind at all. She knew he only wanted the small spotted corgi to be safe, as he did all of the Royal Corgis. It was just his way of dealing with his fear and frustration about the whole situation.

Hayley asked if he thought the Border Collie Patrol would find Pony.

"If anyone can, they can," he replied. He sat down and looked at Hayley. They have had much training and are very quick, quicker than any corgi. I expect they will find her Pony very soon, if he is to be found."

Sfscruffy and Hayley thought about their beloved toys that they had each had as puppies, and wondered where they were. Puppyhood passed so quickly and as they wondered, two little essences experienced a moment of happiness, then faded away again. It was, of course, their favorite puppy toys and ust thinking about them would stir the essences a little bit and slightly evive them.

"Is it? Is it?" one of the Border Collies, asked, and then answered herself, "Yes, it is! Here is the beloved toy!"

"Let us run," said the other Border collie. "I am faster than thee," he said, as a challenge.

The female Border collie laughed as she held tightly onto Pony. "I can run like the wind. I challenge thee!" she said with a twinkle in her eye, whirled and ran down the alley, disappearing around the corner before the male could respond. Giving a cry, he ran after her.

Faster and faster they ran down the boulevard, making a game out of dodging people, who wondered at the crazy two black and white dogs, one holding something small and brown in her mouth. This was the wind that Pony felt on his face.

In no time at all, they arrived at the arena, and without breaking stride, they leapt over the restraining wall. The guards saw and started to give chase, until they realized that these were the Border Collies personally attached to the Royal Corgis. They called ahead so that everyone would know they were coming.

In just a couple of minutes, they were in the prescence of the Royal Corgis. Hayley still looked rather tense and Sfscruffy had been pacing up and down. Bowing, they presented the small brown pony to Hayley.


"We are here to serve the child," one of them graciously offered, as they bowed and retreated.

Hayley quickly picked up Pony and put him under the blanket with Barney Anne. But was it too late?

11

Deep in her sleep, something in Barney Anne stirred. She shifted, stretched slightly, and rolled over, coming into close contact with Pony. Taking a deep sigh, she smelled him. His smell went way inside her brain and instantly, the little stuffed Pony felt something deep within him. After a few minutes, he felt warmth coming gently from Barney Anne's small body, then he became aware of little things, Barney Anne's heartbeat, her regular breathing and the little thread that connected them together forever, was growing thicker and thicker. He experienced some light flashes and wondered at them, then suddenly realized he was able to think again. He waited patiently. Was it to be so? He thought it was but didn't want to be disappointed if he came to and found another puppy or child who had found him and had decided to love him. He would, of course, love the puppy or child back unconditionally, it was in his nature as a stuffed toy to do so, embedded in his very essence. But in his deepest parts, he only wanted to be with Barney Anne.

After a time, he noticed his glass eye was able to see. He only had one eye, the other having been lost in an accident a few weeks before. One of Barney Anne's siblings had decided to play with him and it had escalated into a game of Keep Away From Barney Anne amongst the larger and stronger uppies. His eye had come off and gone down one of the Siblings' gullets to who knew what depths. He didn't miss it, he could still see and sense with his essence, but it was handy to have at least one eye. Slowly his vision cleared and he saw her! His essence leapt with joy and  unconsciously, he began to put out heat and all the love he could gather within himself.

Barney Anne slept on, twitching and dreaming of a Tea Party with Pony as her guest. Pony knew this, as all stuffed animals know their charges' dreams, and smiled a little smile. She was his Barney Anne. He always wanted to be with her.

A few days later, the closing ceremonies were held. So much effort had been put into the search for Barney Anne and subsequently, Pony, that the corgis had not won any medals, their minds being elsewhere. Some had actually pulled out of their events in order to search for them. The ones who had performed had done very well, and Isabelle and Delphine, the Royal Nieces who had participated in Snow Dancing had garnered very good scores for the first time this event was ever held at the Olympics. And there would be another Olympics in two years and the Princess hoped to have Blanco, her white burro, trained even better. Owain, a friend of the family, was still practicing his gymnast routines and this time, he had a real coach to help him. Blanco had also been talking to Hopi the mule about letting his corgi compete in two years in some equestrian event.

The little delegation of corgis entered the Olympic arena and waved until they thought their little legs would drop off their bodies. The crowd was on its feet and Barney Anne rode in a red wagon with her siblings. She clutched Pony with one paw and stuck the other one in her mouth and sucked it. Her little eyes were round and filled with wonder as she gazed about at all the humans who were cheering Flufftopia on, and congratulating them! She didn't quite know what to think about all of this fanfare. The other siblings had their tiny flags and waved them as hard as they could.

Finally, after being seated, the ceremonies began. At one point, the resident of the Olympics asked the Princess to bring down Barney Anne. A hush fell upon the audience as they waited to see what would happen next. Barney Anne, of course, insisted on bringing Pony with her and the Princess carried her quickly to the podium. The President of the Olympic Games made a short speech about bravery and fortitude and congratulated the corgis on fine performances. Then he said he had a special presentation and from his pocket, he took the tiniest little gold medal that anyone had ever seen!

"For Barney Anne," he said, and the Princess lifted her up high so she could have it put around her little neck. The baybee spotted corgi squealed in delight and everyone laughed. Finally it was quiet enough and the Princess made a very gracious speech, thanking all who helped and prayed to help find Barney Anne, especially the homeless woman who now had a home, thanks to some generous people who had heard the story. She held Barney Anne up to the microphone to see if she wanted to say anything. There were a few titters as they heard her snuffling and snorting.

Now Barney Anne didn't know much about ceremonies, but she did know one thing. She had better not wipe her nose on the fresh bandana that she was wearing. She looked out at the expectant crowd.

"Pretty!" she crowed, and removed the medal and put it on Pony's neck.

The crowd went wild and it seemed that everyone was taking photos. The Princess smiled and waved her way back to their seats. It had been a long two weeks and lots of fun, but the best thing was that Barney Anne and Pony were safe again with their family.

The End

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