The Poky Little Puppy Returns: An Original Story For Kids

With our kid well on his way to being here, I've been thinking a lot about books I loved as a kid. My absolute favorite book when I was young was the Little Golden Book classic, The Poky Little Puppy. Back when I was in high school, for an English class journal entry, I wrote a sequel to the original story. I've never done anything with it until now. But here it is. If you like it, feel free to read it to your kids. If you don't like it, that's okay too...

"THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY RETURNS"

Once upon a time the poky little puppy made his fantastic voyage over the hills, under the fence, and beyond. No matter what dangers he faced, the poky little puppy was fearless. He had courage when all his other brothers cowered in fear.

Over the next few years, the poky little puppy's brothers grew to be fine, strapping dogs and were all adopted out to caring, loving families. But the poky little puppy was still poky and still little.

Just recently, the poky little puppy had been abandoned, and the dogcatcher had come and put him in a dirty old cage in an animal shelter and left him there. Indeed, it seemed that nobody loved the poky little puppy anymore.

The other dogs in the animal shelter were big and strong and could run fast. The poky little puppy was small, weak, and very slow. The other dogs barked loud, but the poky little puppy's bark sounded more like a squeak.

Then one day, the kind old people who ran the animal shelter decided that there was no more room for the poky little puppy, and that he was going to have to be put to sleep. The poky little puppy didn't understand what the humans were planning to do, but he knew that it was scary and that it was not good.

So the poky little puppy decided to run away. But how would he break through the wire bars? He tried to gnaw at them, but it made his teeth hurt and the wire still wouldn't break anyway. He tried to dig a hole underneath his cage, but the floor was cement and it hurt his claws to scratch at it.

Exhausted, the poky little puppy lay his head down on the cold cement. It was no use, he decided. Then he had an idea!

Maybe he could climb out the top of the cage. Only a thin cardboard layer stapled to the wood frame of the cage separated him from freedom. But how could he ever climb up the side of the cage and claw himself free?

He tried several times, unsuccessfully, to climb the cage. But he was already tired, and it was a very hard task. Then with the last bit of strength he could muster, he scaled the wall of the cage and began butting the cardboard with his head over and over again till it finally came loose.

The poky little puppy looked back at the filthy cage that had been his miserable home these past few days and knew he would not miss it. 

With hope in his heart, the poky little puppy squeezed his way out the top of the cage. All that was left now was to escape from the shelter itself, which was easier said than done.

Just then, the old man who ran the shelter saw that the poky little puppy was loose and began running after him. The poky little puppy turned on all the speed he could manage, and raced down the hallway toward the screened-in front door.

The old man was gaining on him, but the poky little puppy was not going to be stopped this time. The man ran toward the screen door and tried to block the doorway. But when he did the door opened behind him, and the poky little puppy slipped right through it.

At last, the poky little puppy was free! But where would he go now? What would he do? He thought about it for a minute and decided that he didn't care. Anywhere he went was better than where he had been.

As the sun set on the western sky, the poky little puppy waddled away, over the hills, under the fence, and on his way to a new life.

THE END