A New Pet

Rose had her young novice in training that morning.
“Ok, Puck,” she said, “you get a cracker. But you have to do something first. Jump up and down! Jump!”
Puck grinned, and stomped his feet.
“Yay! Now, spin around!”
Puck gladly obliged.
“Good! Now clap your hands! Clap your hands, Puck!”
With two quick claps, Puck was happily given his cracker.
Puck was learning new things. The previous afternoon, when he had watched a few minutes of “Friendly Persuasion” with his grandma, he carefully watched the Quakers sitting inside their meeting house.
“Church!” he said.
Then, watching them sit solemnly, heads bowed in silence together, in prayer, he thought again, and said:
“Sleeping!”
Meanwhile, Rose was busy browsing Google Earth, where she found some strange formation of rock in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert, while talking about the Muslim virgins of the Koran actually being “raisins” when read in Arabic (as Carrie had also mentioned earlier), etc.
Later, Francis brought out his gift from Rose — a rainbow Beta fish in a small, clear container. Rose had also given him a small sign for this Beta which read:
“I PREFER TO LIVE ALONE”.
Puck observed this strange creature from a distance in wariness, as he munched on a large wedge of cantaloupe and drew a masterpiece on his newest gift from Linnea, a miniature Magnadoodle.
Later, Mom and Collette took “the little monster” (a.k.a. Francis) to Wal-Mart, where he purchased his scope, and Costco (where he hungrily ordered a chicken bake from the cafeteria, and Collette picked up Greek kiwi). Mom was stocking up on groceries before she and Dad left for Atlanta for five days.
For part of the afternoon, Francis was busy filling up Valentine’s water balloons with water and smashing them on the back patio.
Then Collette double French-braided Linnea’s hair before she was picked up to go to AWANA with Eleda for the evening.
While they waited to be picked up by OLeif, Puck ran around with an oven mitt on his hand pretending that it was a scary puppet. He giggled hysterically at himself.
“Woooo!! Woooo!!” he cried.
“Ahhhhhh!” Rose cried in response, on cue, having just returned from work and fixing her co-worker’s computer for a steak and egg omelotte.
“Waaaaaa!!” Carrie cried. “Oh, you scared me!”
And Izzy was pretty sick again, the poor kid.

“Norfolk…
at Venice… gave
His body to that pleasant country’s earth
And his pure soul unto his captain, Christ,
Under whose colors he had fought so long.”
— Richard II