The Dog Who Knew Something

By the time Trip Three began, Mabel had a theory.

It was not a very scientific theory.

It was not written down in a notebook.

But she believed it with her whole heart anyway:

The soggy raccoon was following her.

Every time she returned to the woods, he appeared again, as if he were checking her progress or preparing to file an official complaint.

So when Mabel set off on another treasure hunt, she was ready for muddy boots, odd clues, and perhaps one judgmental raccoon.

What she was not ready for was her dog stopping so suddenly that she nearly bumped into him.

He froze in the middle of the trail.

His ears stood tall.

His tail went stiff.

He stared straight ahead as if he had just spotted the most important thing in the entire forest.

Mabel followed his gaze.

A man was walking down the trail.

That was not the surprising part.

The surprising part was what he was carrying.

It was not a backpack.

It was not a bundle of firewood.

It was a box.

A great big box strapped to his back.

He walked calmly through the woods as if carrying giant mystery boxes through the middle of nowhere was a perfectly ordinary thing to do.

Mabel’s thoughts split in two.

One side of her brain said, Be polite. Be normal.

The other side said, This is the beginning of a very strange story.

Her dog, however, had no interest in being polite or normal.

He puffed up, stepped sideways, and gave Mabel a look that clearly said, I do not trust this Box Person.

The man kept walking.

He didn’t say a word.

He simply passed by with his giant box and disappeared between the trees as quietly as he had arrived.

Mabel stared after him.

Her dog stared after him.

Even the woods seemed to pause for a moment, as if they, too, were wondering what on earth that had been about.

At last, Mabel’s dog turned and looked at her with an expression that needed no translation at all.

It said:

Absolutely not. We are not following the giant box into the forest.

Mabel nodded.

“Fair,” she whispered.

Later, when they stopped for a snack, her search partner asked, “What do you think he was doing out there?”

Mabel looked at her dog, who was still watching the trail with deep suspicion.

Then she said, “I think if my dog ever learns to draw maps, I’m letting him lead every adventure from now on.”

Her search partner laughed.

Mabel did too.

But privately, she made a note:

The woods were getting stranger.

The dog knew it.

And somewhere out there, she was quite sure, a soggy raccoon knew it too.

To be continued…