It had been several weeks since Hitchens had come to live with his new family. He was settling in to the routine of his new home . He loved having a big sister named Bjork and a big brother named Mark. Plus his new Mommy and Daddy were the best in the world.
One day, Bjork walked up to Hitchens carrying something in her mouth. Hitchens couldn’t quite tell what it was. She sat down in front of him and set the thing on the ground. Turning his head from side to side, Hitchens looked the thing over trying to figure out what it was. It was light brown, furry, plump and the shape of a small bear. Hitchens found himself really wanting to pick it up in his mouth and hold it. For some reason, just looking at it made him feel happy. He stared at it longingly but wasn’t sure if he was allowed to have it. This was some thing new and he hadn’t learned the rules around it yet.
“We call these ‘baby’ or ‘babies’ “ Bjork started to explain. “ We have quite a few . Mommy makes sure we always have at least one for each of us. They come in all shapes and sizes and are quite lovely.”
“What are they for? “ asked Hitchens
“Lots of things. You can play with them, snuggle with them, hold them ,use them as pillows or whatever you want. I sometimes bring them as gifts to others who come to visit. They might need to hold something too or want to play with them.” answered Bjork.
Bjork’s mouth opened in a big smile. “I brought this one over for you. Today mommy went and bought three new ones . Now there are enough for each one of us to have one .”
Hitchens’ eyes got big with surprise and then small with disbelief. “ I can have it? Really ?”
Bjork laughed “Of course. C’mon I will show you where we keep them. We share them.”
Hitchens grabbed the baby, flung it up in the air and caught it in his mouth. Throwing it back up in the air, he let it land on the ground this time . He pounced on it, snatched it up in his mouth and playfully shook it from side to side. It fit perfectly in his mouth and was so lightweight to carry and throw. Somehow he felt comforted by it. He was in love.
“I can’t believe I never had a baby before. I love him. I am glad that I never have to live without a baby again!“ said Hitchens. Only he forgot that he was still holding the baby so all Bjork heard was “mmm hmmmmm..mm. hmmmm mmmmmm mm hmmmm.”
Bjork giggled. “I can’t understand you with the baby in your mouth.”
Hitchens wagged his tail and laughed as he put the baby down. I said “I can’t believe I never had a baby before. I love him. I am glad that I never have to live without a baby again.”
“I know” Bjork sighed with a happy smile. “They really are wonderful.”
Leading him into the dining room, Bjork showed him the basket full of “babies”. Mommy and Daddy had put the basket away for a few days until Hitchens was settled in. The basket was a large rectangle and dark brown in color. Sitting against the wall, it was full of babies and chew toys and all sorts of toys for dogs.
“This whole basket is ours. We can play with anything that is in it. Sometimes, Mommy surprises us and puts new toys in here. We just have to remember to put things away when we are done. Mommy and Daddy already have enough to do”. Having explained the rule to Hitchens, Bjork walked away to go nap on the couch.” Oh !“ Bjork stopped and tuned her head back to look at Hitchens “and we have to share.”
Hitchens was really trying to listen to Bjork but there were just so many things to look at in the basket. He didn’t know what he wanted to play with first. For the rest of the day, he got things out and put things back. He chewed on bones and tugged on ropes and rolled balls across the floor, but mostly he played with the “babies”. He took out ones that looked like bears and ones that looked like puppies. There was one that was a moose and one shaped like a wolf. He found a deer and a cat. Another one that was a hawk and one that was a squirrel. So many different sizes, shapes and textures and he loved them all. He still couldn’t believe that they were all his.
It got to be bed time and everyone went to their place to sleep. Bjork in her cave created between the wall , the sofa and the old trunk made into a table under the window. Mark to the sofa and Hitchens preferred the big chair and ottoman. Mom and Dad went upstairs to their bed. Hitchens grabbed a “baby” to use as his pillow. As he climbed into the chair and laid there, he drowsily thought about the day and babies and all he learned. Suddenly he remembered something Bjork had said. It was a word he hadn’t heard before. What was it again? oh yeah. “Share.” No one had ever said it to him before. He remembered that it seemed to have to do with the babies and toys. He yawned and his eyelids seemed to close on their own. He told himself to remember to ask Bjork about that word the next day.
In the morning Hitchens woke up , stretched , grabbed his baby and forgot all about what he wanted to ask Bjork. They took their morning walk with Daddy. They ate their breakfast and drank their water. After they were done with their morning activities, they all went into the living room. Mark picked up the “baby” that Hitchens had been sleeping with the night before and started to lie down with it .
“Hey wait!“ Hitchens yelled at Mark.”That one is mine.“ He ran to Mark and grabbed the baby right out of his mouth. Mark stood there not sure about what had just happened. Finally, he turned to look for another baby. He spotted one lying by the book shelf. He was going to go get it when Bjork walked into the room heading for her cave. She walked right by the baby and picked it up. Crawling into her cave, she lay down with a contented sigh.
“Hey ! That’s the baby I was going go take!” Mark yelled at Bjork. He was confused which made him nervous. He had never had someone just take a baby right out of his mouth. In fact, he didn’t remember ever having to think about which baby to take before. He ran over to Bjork and the baby she was holding.
“Oh Mark. If you want this baby, you can have it. I don’t care which one I have.” said Bjork as she pushed the baby towards him.
“Thank you Bjork. I don’t know why it matters but Hitchens took the one I had and then you took the one I was going to take and now I feel like maybe some babies are better than others. “ said Mark.
Bjork yawned and sleepily said “You’re welcome. I don’t mind sharing at all.”
Hitchens ears perked up. There was that word again. Share. “Bjork what does that…” he started to ask but Bjork had fallen asleep. He didn’t want to wake her up just to ask her about a word that he was probably supposed to already know. He had to remember to ask her later or maybe Mark knew what it meant. He turned to ask Mark when he noticed the baby Mark was holding. He stared at the baby and looked it up and down. “I think that baby looks fluffier” he thought to himself. Dropping the baby he was carrying, Hitchens turned it over with his paw . He looked at it. Then he looked at the one Mark had. Then back to the one he had. “I definitely think that one is fluffier. I kind of want that one. After all, I have never had babies before so I should get to take whichever one is best .“
Nervously and out of the corner of his eyes Mark glanced back at Hitchens. His gaze fell on the baby Hitchens had dropped. “Hmmmmmm. That baby looks softer” Mark thought to himself. He dropped the one he had and looked at it and then looked back at the one Hitchens had. “I think Hitchens got the softest baby. His definitely looks softer than mine.I really should get to take whichever one I want as I have lived here longer and am older.”
They were so focused on the other one’s baby that they almost forgot about each other. While Bjork was softly snoring, they remained frozen and staring at babies. Suddenly, Hitchens lunged forward to grab Mark’s baby. At the same time, Mark also leapt forward to grab Hitchen’s baby. Hitchens scooped the baby up in his mouth. “AHA!” he shouted as he threw the baby in the air. “I got the best baby!” . He smiled as he caught it.
Mark snatched up the baby Hitchens had dropped. He smiled and mumbled to himself, “Hitchens doesn’t know which babies are the best ones yet. I got the best one.”
They stood holding their “best” babies while staring at each other. Hitchens tossed his baby into the air and caught it. “Hmmmm.” He tossed it again and caught it on the other side. “ It doesn’t really feel fluffier. It looked much fluffier when Mark had it . Now it kind of feels just like the other baby.” thought Hitchens as he squeezed it in his mouth testing its fluffiness.
Mark dropped the baby he had and turned it over with his paw. He picked it up again. “ Huh! It doesn’t feel softer.” He put it back down and turned it over again. He looked at it intensely and then picked it up. “It looked so much softer when Hitchens had it.” Mark mumbled to himself. He looked over at Hitchens who was busy shaking his baby to see if it would get fluffier. “I kind of like that one better.”
Just then Daddy walked through the room. “Make sure you share” he said as he passed by Mark and Hitchens and out through the other door. Hitchens perked up his ears. “There is that word again.” he thought to himself. He looked to see if Bjork was awake from her nap yet so he could ask her. She wasn’t . He looked back at Mark . He was going to ask him but when he looked at Mark the only thing he saw was the baby Mark had. Forgetting everything else, he knew that was the best baby and he wanted it.
Mark had heard Daddy too. “I am sharing “ he thought to himself “ I don’t want all the babies. I just want the one that Hitchens has .” Mark stood there pondering what to do. It’s just not fair that he shouldn’t get the exact baby he wanted. Holding the baby by the head with its legs sticking out, Mark looked sulkingly over at Hitchens. He thought about asking him or going to Mommy or tricking him into giving it to him or just taking the baby or…When without warning, Hitchens dropped his baby and lunged at Mark.
Hitchens grabbed the baby’s legs and pulled. Startled, Mark clenched his teeth around the baby’s head and pulled back. Hitchens pulled harder. Mark dug his paws into the carpet, his teeth into the baby and pulled as hard as he could. Not to be out done, Hitchens also dug in his paws and pulled. Back and forth they went, each pulling on their end of the baby. Mark shook his head hoping to free the baby from Hitchens. Hitchens hung on and pulled back even harder.
RRRRR——-IIIIII——PPPPPPP
With a loud thump, Mark and Hitchens landed on their butts. A look of shock crossed their faces as they sat there each holding half a baby. Bjork woke up with a gasp at the loud noise. Like a gentle snowfall on a winter’s night, white stuffing was falling on everything. She looked at Mark and Hitchens each holding half a baby. Shaking her head, stuffing fell all around her like a pile of snow. Mark and Hitchens looked over at her and tried not to laugh. She was even fluffier and whiter than normal. She jumped from the couch and shook her body from head to tail. Stuffing flew off her landing on the chair, the sofa, the rug , the table , the books , the t.v and Hitchens nose.. ACHOOO!! Hitchens sneezed.
“What did you two do?! “ she questioned. Before they could answer, Daddy came into the room. He had heard the loud thump too. He looked around at the room and the dogs and the stuffing covering everything. He walked over to the three of them. Leaning down, he picked some stuffing off of Bjork’s head. Looking at Mark and Hitchens , he said “I thought i just told you two to share?”
“There’s that word again” thought Hitchens. “I hope someone tells me what it means . I am starting to think it’s an important word.” He was staring intently at Daddy in case Daddy was going to explain it.
Noticing Hitchens looking at him, Daddy said,“You probably don’t know what that word means now do ya big fella?” . Hitchens wagged his tail. Mark hung his head as Daddy turned to look at him. “And Mark, You’ve never really learned about sharing as Bjork lets you have everything.“
“It’s okay . I never mind.” Bjork smiled at Mark. “I know that if I really needed something Mark would give it to me.“
“I really would “ sighed Mark with a shame filled glance at Bjork
“But it would be good for you two to learn how to share” said Bjork.
Not able to keep quiet any longer, Hitchens blurted out “ Would someone please tell me what that word means?”
Looking at Daddy, Bjork raised her eyebrows and wagged her tail. Daddy knew exactly what she was saying.
“I agree Pretty Girl. Sharing is something everyone needs to learn. Seems like as good a time as any to teach Mark and Hitches about it.“ Bjork wagged her tail even harder and smiled. Patting her on the head, Daddy walked to the closet.
“Well?” Hitchens barked. “Is someone going to tell me?” It was driving him crazy that everyone but him seemed to know this word.
Smiling and with a wink, Bjork answered “You will know soon enough.“.
Daddy told them all to sit. Opening up the closet door, he made sure his back was turned to them and blocking their view. Bjork, Mark and Hitchens all stretched their necks hoping to see what he was doing. Reaching up to the top shelf, he took something down and put it in the inside pocket of the coat he was wearing. He turned around only to see all three of them staring at him and his coat.
“ It is none of your business what I have in my coat. “ He laughed. “Now go get your leashes.”
Leashes was one word they all knew well. Leashes meant walks. Walks meant going to the park and park meant play time. This time, though, it wasn’t their normal time. They always went once before breakfast and once before dinner. Hitchens knew it was long after breakfast and long before dinner. He wondered why they would be going now.
One by one, they brought their leashes to Daddy so he could clip them to their collars. Once everyone had theirs on, Daddy opened the door. They walked outside and started down the big hill that they lived on.
Bjork was prancing along with her tail up and a big grin on her face. “What a beautiful day for an extra walk!”
Mark was walking next to her. He kept his head and tail up as he looked around nervously. “ I don’t know if it is exciting. I think it is rather strange. Makes me nervous”
Bjork giggled and gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek.
Busy smelling everything along the way, Hitchens had already forgotten about what they were doing.
“Hey guys, how come we walk by here all the time but things still smell different?”
Even if they had known the answer, Bjork and Mark never really heard the question. Hitchens had his head buried in a clump of grass and had already started to chew on a big mouthful of it. It sounded more like “mmmm hmmm mmmmmm mmmm?” Daddy gently reminded Hitchens to keep walking.
Finally they made it to the park where Daddy took off their leashes. Mark ran from tree to tree checking for squirrels to chase. Bjork ran along the bank of the river, smelling the tall grass and looking to see if there were any ducks in the river. Hitchens ran over to Mark to look for squirrels and then over to Bjork to look for ducks and then noticed a butterfly to chase which led to a stick to chew.
Daddy walked out to the middle of the big field. “Bjork! Hitchens! Mark! “ He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Come here!”
Bjork heard Daddy. She picked her head up to see where he was calling from. Seeing him out in the middle of the field she took off running.
“C’mon”, she yelled at Mark and Hitchens.
Mark had heard Daddy too. With a quick push of his back legs, he was off and running. He flew past Bjork.
Hitchens followed up last. He had been on his way but noticed a flower he hadn’t smelled before. He just had to stop and check it out. Daddy patiently called to him again.
“Oh that’s right. I was on my way to Daddy” Hitchens thought. Running again, he headed to Daddy without stopping this time.
With tongues hanging out, they reached Daddy and stopped to catch their breathe. Flopping to the ground, Bjork kept her eyes on Daddy. Mark and Hitchens stood panting. They watched Daddy reach into the coat pocket that had whatever he took from the closet in it. Hitchens stared at it but it didn’t look like anything he had seen before. It was a round and green with white stripes. It looked kind of fuzzy.
Bjork leapt up. “Oh Yeah! A tennis ball!” She squealed while turning around in happy circles
Even Mark had a big happy smile and was wagging his tail excitedly. His front legs alternated up and down. He looked like he was dancing which is why Mommy and Daddy called this his “happy dance”.
“I love Tennis Balls. We get to play fetch with them. It’s a lot of running but it is so much fun” Mark blurted at Hitchens. It was the most excited Hitchens had seen Mark.
Hitchens looked at Mark and Bjork who were looking at the tennis ball. He had no idea what was going on but everyone else sure seemed excited. He couldn’t help but wag his tail and feel excited.
Daddy stood in front of them . In one hand he held the tennis ball and with the other hand he pointed to the ground. Hitchens had just learned that this meant sit. Sometimes, he felt dumb having to learn all these things that Bjork and Mark already knew. Everyone was so patient with him. They reassured him that he wasn’t dumb. He had to learn things just like Bjork and Mark had to learn things. Bjork, Mark and Hitchens sat down. Mark kept waiting for Daddy to pull out more tennis balls so they each would have one . He waited but no more tennis balls came out of Daddy’s pockets.
Mark leapt to his feet. “OH NO! Daddy only brought one tennis ball. He forgot to bring three tennis balls!”
Daddy smiled at Mark and told him to sit down again. “Now I only have one ball and there are three of you. How are we all going to play fetch?” Daddy paused to wink at Mark. Mark had stopped his happy dance and was as still as a statue.
“We are going to SHARE this tennis ball. You three are going to take turns. Bjork? Do you want to go first and show them?”
“Yes please “ She barked back at Daddy as she jumped up. She focused on the ball in Daddy’s hand so she would be prepared when he threw it. Daddy turned to Mark and Hitchens. In a firm voice , he said “ Stay!”
Daddy raised the hand with the tennis ball in it and held it parallel to his head. Bjork’s eyes followed every move the ball made.
Looking down at her, Daddy said “Fetch it up Bjork”.
As he looked across the field, his arm came swinging forward and his hand released the tennis ball. They all watched as the tennis ball sailed across the field and landed in a patch of grass on the other side. As soon as it hit the ground, Bjork launched herself into a run. She had watched the ball the whole time it sailed across the field. From so far away, it was hard to know exactly where the ball had landed but she knew she could get close.
Hitchens could feel everyone’s excitement. Running after the ball seemed like the only thing in the world that he had every really wanted to do .He sat down but not quite all the way. All his attention was focused on the ball. When Daddy threw the ball and Bjork started to run, he also leapt to his feet. This confused Mark who wasn’t going to be left out of playing fetch. He jumped up too. They were both getting ready to run after Bjork and the tennis ball. Stepping right in front of them, Daddy looked at them both and and sternly said “Sit down and stay”. They both quickly sat down. Mark and Hitchens knew that tone in Daddy’s voice and it meant to do what he said. They knew it was important to listen to Mommy and Daddy. The rules always turned out to teach them something or protect them from something.
Sitting down, they watched Bjork run across the field. She got close to where the ball landed and put her nose to the ground. She sniffed around searching for the tennis ball.
“I don’t think I like fetch,” said Hitchens. “It doesn’t seem very fair that we have to sit here and watch.“ His upper lip curled up on one side full of pouting.
“I don’t know if I like this either. “ Mark squished his eyebrows together as he tried to figure out what was going on. “We usually have a ball for each one of us to fetch. Daddy throws one for Bjork and one for me and we chase them. Sometimes, I would get mine and then run to get Bjork’s too because I was faster. Mommy and Daddy always told me not to do that and to …”
Bjork came lumbering back to Daddy . She dropped the tennis ball at his feet and looked up at him with a big smile.
“Good girl” Daddy repeatedly told her. Daddy picked up the tennis ball and patted her on the head. “Good girl”, he said
“Whew.That was fun “ Bjork said with a grin as she plopped down in the grass to catch her breath.
Daddy turned to Mark,”Okay Mark. It’s your turn.”
‘My turn? Oh yeah. I get to fetch the ball too” Mark jumped up. He ran to Daddy’s side and was so excited that he couldn’t keep his front legs still. He kept lifting one and then the other in his happy dance. Daddy raised the ball up and launched it across the field again.
“Fetch it up Mark.”Daddy said. Mark had watched the direction Daddy’s hand with the ball was pointing and started running before Daddy even threw it. Mark watched the ball fly over his head and land next to a tree.
Hitchens didn’t see any reason why Mark should chase the ball and he shouldn’t. It wasn’t fair. Besides they did almost everything together so maybe Daddy assumed Hitchens would run with Mark. He leapt to his feet as Mark took off. Daddy let the ball go and stepped in front of Hitchens. Stopping Hitchens, he patted him on the head and said ‘You have sit and stay”. Hitchens did what Daddy said but with a scowl on his face..
In despair he flopped down on the grass. “I don’t like this at all “.
Bjork giggled as she looked at his furrowed eyebrows and pouting lips. “Just wait. You will get your turn silly.”
Hitchens didn’t have much time to pout though. Mark was quickly back with the tennis ball. Panting, he dropped it at Daddy’s feet. “Good boy Mark” Daddy patted him on the head.
Everyone now turned and looked at Hitchens. “ Okay, Hitchens.” Daddy looked right at him. “It’s your turn.“ Daddy stood next to Hitchens and raised his arm again. He looked down at Hitchens and then looked back out to the field.
“ Fetch it up Hitchens” . Daddy once again raised the ball and threw it across the field. Only this time, he didn’t throw it quite as far. Hitchens was almost bursting at the seams with excitement. He bolted forward without even noticing which way the tennis ball was going.
“Hitchens! Hitchens!” Daddy yelled. Hitchens screeched to a stop. He turned around and looked at Daddy.
“That way “ Daddy pointed in the opposite direction from the direction Hitchens was running. “It’s that way!”
“OH! Got it!” yelled Hitchens as he took off in the direction Daddy pointed towards. He galloped past Mark and Bjork. Bjork cheered him on and Mark had his paw over his face shaking his head.
He ran to where he thought it might be but didn’t see it. Turning in circles, he looked everywhere. He put his nose to the ground hoping he could smell it. Looking up, he saw something green and white. He ran to it but it was just a bunch of leaves with the sun shining on them. He was sure he had missed the ball. With everyone watching, he wasn’t about to give up. He walked a few inches to the left and then a few to the right. He turned slowly around in a circle. He was looking so hard, he was sure his eyes were going to break. Turning to the right one more time, he looked down and to his surprise there it was. “I found it ! I found it! “ he shouted. He was so excited that he pounced on it afraid it would get away. He picked it up and tossed in the air and pounced on it again
“Yahoo… I found the ball!” he yelled.
“Hitchens! You have to bring it back now!” Daddy yelled but Hitchens didn’t hear him over his own yelling. He stopped to catch his breath and hear Daddy’s voice carried to him across the field.
Hitchens had picked up the ball and was standing there looking back at Daddy , Bjork and Mark.
“What?”
“You have to bring it back” Daddy, Bjork and Mark yelled at the same time .
“Oh right! “ Hitchens picked it up and half ran, half skipped all the way back to them.
“Good boy! “ said Daddy petting him all over. “Okay. Now you have to drop the ball. “ Hitchens hesitated cause he loved carrying the ball and holding it in his mouth. Finally, he set it down at Daddy’s feet. “ You are a quick learner after all . Not bad for your first time. Okay. Now go sit down”
Hitchens went and sat down next to Bjork and Mark. “Good Job Hitchens! I am so proud of you “ said Bjork she gave him a big kiss on his cheek.
“I guess it wasn’t too bad for your first time . “ Mark mumbled. Bjork nudged him. “ Um I mean . .. good job”
“Thanks “ said Hitchens a little out of breath. “ I like fetch after all. I like the part where we get to run and find the ball. It’s fun. But now that I know how it works, i think it is fun to watch and cheer each other on too”
They spent some more time with Daddy throwing the ball while they took turns fetching it. Whoever’s turn it was , would take off running while the other two cheered them on . They would yell directions to help with finding the ball.
“Go Right “ one would yell
“Not so far” the other one would yell
“More left by the tree”
“Not that tree”
This often ended in confusing the one trying to find the ball while they nearly fell over trying to follow the shouted directions . This brought on squeals of laughter and more yelling. Bjork, Mark and Hitchens found cheering for each other was as much fun as fetching the ball.
After awhile, Daddy had them all come and sit in front of him again. He reached into his coat pocket. Grinning, he pulled out two more tennis balls. Mark’s eyes got big .
“You mean you had one for each of us the whole time?”
Daddy nodded his head and dropped all three tennis balls on the ground. “Now that we have practiced sharing with one tennis ball, you can each have one of your own.”
“Oh how fun “ Bjork squealed.
She hopped over to where the tennis balls laid on the ground and picked one up. She dropped it and went to pick up the first one they were playing with.
“Hey wait! I just brought that one back” Hitchens pounced on the ball just as Bjork was going to pick it up. She jumped back and wagged her tail
“You can have it” Bjork said with a smile. “They are all the same so I don’t mind” .
She went to pick another one up. Mark was still sitting not sure what to do . He noticed Bjork had dropped the one ball and then was heading for a different one now.
” Bjork was older so she must know more about tennis balls.” thought Mark. “The one she wants must be the best one”. He jumped up and grabbed it before she could get it.
Noticing what was happening, Daddy decided it was time to say something. He called them all over and made them drop the balls they had.
“Now sit down and stay”.
He picked up the tennis balls and walked over to them. He placed one tennis ball in front of Bjork, one in front of Mark and one in front of Hitchens.
“They are all the same and you each have one. I don’t want any fighting. We are going to SHARE just like we did with one tennis ball” .
Bjork, Mark and Hitchens all looked at each other. Then they looked at the balls. No one wanted to make the first move.
“You go first Bjork” said Mark.
“I can wait . You can both go first “ said Bjork with a smile on her face like always.
“I should probably go last “ Hitchens said. Since he was the youngest, he didn’t feel right getting to go first.
“I have an idea” said Bjork. “What if the one that goes first this time goes last next time. “
“So you mean, if you went first this time and I went second and Hitchens third, then the next time I go first, Hitchens goes second and you go last ?” Mark had his head turned to the side lightly and was looking up as he thought through the idea.
“I love it. Let’s do it “ agreed Hitchens thumping his tail on the ground and grinning from ear to ear.
The afternoon was quickly spent playing and sharing tennis balls. They soon forgot that they had ever cared which actual ball they had. It didn’t matter because it was the same amount of fun fetching or cheering each other on no matter which tennis ball it was. It was starting to get darker out and Daddy said they needed to get home. They each picked up a tennis ball to carry home. They were happy and tired each one thinking about the day. As they walked back, Hitchens kept thinking about the ripped baby and the one tennis ball and then the three tennis balls and that word “share’. He knew it just all went together somehow. Suddenly he understood. He looked at Mark and Bjork . He started to tell them when he realized they wouldn’t be able to understand him with the tennis ball in his mouth.
Hitchens shifted his tennis ball to the side of his mouth and said “Now I get it. I get what sharing is. It means taking turns or being happy playing with the ball or toy or baby that you have. We can all play together as long as we share. There is enough for all of us and it isn’t okay to just grab a toy from someone.“
Bjork smiled at him. She too shifted the tennis ball in her mouth. “Good job Hitchens. You really did learn what share means.”
“It took forever for someone to explain it but now I will never forget what the word share means.“
“I get it too.“ said Mark , “I mean I knew what it meant before but now i really understand it.“
Bjork playfully pushed Mark a little, “ I knew you knew.” Mark half smile and playfully pushed her back.
When they got back home they could see Mommy had been busy cleaning up the living room . She had picked up all the stuffing and you couldn’t even tell that there had once been stuffing all over everything. Knowing they would be hungry, she also had dinner ready for them. Mommy and Daddy seems to always know what they needed. Bjork, Mark and Hitchens ran into the dining room to their eating spots. Mommy walked in carrying their bowls of food.
“Before you eat, I need you to all promise not to rip up stuffed animals. I cleaned it up this time but if it happens again you three or two “ she said looking longer and harder at Mark and Hitchens “will have to do the cleaning up yourselves”.’
Daddy kissed her on the cheek. With his arms around Mommy, he looked at the three of them “I don’t think you have to worry about that happening again. Right everyone?”
Bjork , Mark and Hitchens wagged their tails and barked in agreement. Mommy smiled and gave them all their supper. “ We are lucky to have such smart kids”
Soon it was time for bed. Bjork , Mark and Hitchens went into the living room to get a baby and find their spot to sleep for the night. Without even thinking, each one of them went to pick up the same baby. Stopping, they stood in a circle looking at each other and the baby. No one quite knew what to do. When all of the sudden Hitchens yelled “I know! We can share! “
He ran over to the basket of toys and grabbed another baby. “I can take this one”. It was shaped like a duck and plump with stuffing.
“Good Idea Hitchens “ said Bjork
“You take this one Bjork “ said Mark. “ You always let me have everything.There are lots to chose from. I will go get another one.“
He walked over to the basket. He picked up and dropped a few of them until he settled on a grey teddy bear that was extra soft.
“Thank you Mark “ Bjork grabbed the baby on the floor in her mouth and settled into her cave. She liked this baby. It was shaped like a running wolf and longer than the others. It made a great pillow. Lying down, she snuggled her baby under her head and let out a yawn and happy sigh.
Mark climbed up onto the sofa . He curled up with his baby snuggled between his front legs. Hitchens picked up his baby, stepped up into the big chair and lay down with a sigh. He curled around his baby and looked over at Mark and Bjork with their babies. It made him smile that everyone had a baby to sleep with. He laid his head back down and with a big yawn said “ I.. like …sharing” . Bjork and Mark sleepily wagged their tails.
