Making Friends

     Once upon a time there was a little dog who lived all alone, deep in the forest. The little dog was very lonely. He would watching flocks of birds fly by or see fish swimming together in the stream and wonder what it was like to have a friend. 

    The little dog didn't actually know the word "friend." He just knew that he wanted to play with someone and bark at someone and lick someone and have them play and bark and lick back. When he saw the birds and fish in flocks and schools, he knew there must be someone else out there for him so he decided to find that someone. 

    The little dog didn't know which way to go so he decided to spin himself in a circle until he was dizzy then start walking. This took a rather long time as dogs are excellent at spinning in circles. Finally he got dizzy enough he lost all sense of direction and started making his way forward.

    He hadn't walked for more than a few hours when he saw a rabbit. The rabbit ran from the little dog at first, but the dog seemed so friendly, the rabbit listened to him explain how lonely he was and how he wanted someone to be around. The rabbit said, "you mean a friend?" After a little explanation, the little dog finally understood that yes, that's exactly what he meant. He wanted a friend. 

    "We can be friends," the rabbit said. The little dog was so excited. But he was also getting hungry. So he ate the rabbit. 

    Now that the little dog knew he was looking for a friend, he set out with a new determination (and a full stomach). He hadn't walked very far when he spotted a squirrel burying some acorns. The dog was in such a good mood and feeling extra playful so he decided to introduce himself in a grand way. He hunched low to the ground and snuck up behind the squirrel. With a great leap, he pounced on the squirrel, pinning it to the ground. The squirrel promptly died of a heart attack. The little dog knew better than to let a good meal go to waste...

    When he was done, he set off again. As he walked, he realized he was lonely again and regretted eating the rabbit and surprising the squirrel. He resolved to be much more careful next time. He did have concerns about what he would do when he got hungry, but he decided having a friend was more important. 

    In due course, he came upon another animal. This time it was a cat. The dog went for a gentler approach. "Hello, will you be my friend?" The dog asked in his kindest voice. The cat stared at him for a minute. "Yeah, alright," the cat responded. 

    The two friends started hanging out and doing everything together, and by "everything" I mean that the dog was so eager to keep his new friend that he did whatever the cat told him to do. But the dog was also starting to get very hungry. Eventually the dog died of starvation. So the cat ate the dog.

Moral: friends are the people you haven't eaten yet