Chapter 3 - The Mother of all Pugs
Continued …
“Well I guess there is no doubt what this little fellow’s puppy name will be,” said Pugnacious, “He’ll have his great-uncle Chester’s puppy name. Welcome to the family, Pugnuts!”
It had been three months since the puppies were born, and the initial excitement had settled down into a comfortable routine. Puppies are very cute and fun to look at and play with at first, but there generally isn’t a lot that can be written about them that is adventurous or interesting, other than they get into everything and generally make everyone who sees them smile.
Pugwiggly, Pugwaddly and Pugnuts were growing fast on their mother’s rich milk. Their mother Pugnella was back in her workshop inventing marvelous devices for home and factory, and Pugnacious was back digging holes in Surry and the surrounding villages in Hancock County.
On this cold late winter’s day it was snowing heavily and Pugnacious decided to stay home by the warm wood stove. He had just settled into his chair with his pipe and the latest copy of the Ellsworth American when the puppies came racing in from the workshop. Round and round his chair they went. When they finally caught up with each other they tumbled into a big ball of paws and wagging tails on the braided rug. “Come over here, kids,” Nash rumbled, “before you break something. Let me tell you a story!”
The puppies raced to his feet. Pug puppies grow up very quickly, so it wasn’t unusual for them to be speaking and listening to stories, even at three months old. Their father and mother had already told them many interesting things about the goings-on outside the house and the town. They were too young to venture outside, but were intensely curious about what was beyond the front door.
Pugnacious took a sip of his tea while the puppies settled in. Pugwaddly (who had lost enough of his puppy fat to be able to run around the house) waddled over first and flopped onto the floor, his nose resting on their father’s slipper. Pugnuts ran over, turning around and around before he lay down next to his brother. Pugwiggly waited until they were both settled in, and then dove between her two brothers, wiggled her head and popped up with a squeak, resting her chin on her father’s other slipper. Then they all gave a big shiver and sigh, and looked up at their daddy with big brown eyes, pink tongues curling as they panted.
“Today, children,” Pugnacious said with great seriousness, “I’m going to tell you about your family history.”
“The first thing to know,” said their father, “is that our family was not always from Surry, and didn’t always live in this house, with its cozy woodstove. In fact, your ancestors came from a land far, far away, over an ocean, a very long time ago.
The little pug puppies’ ears were standing straight up and their heads went to and fro as they listened to their father.
“2500 years ago, in a land called China, there was a cruel Prince. At the time of this story it was springtime, a time when the gardens were in bloom and people should have been happy. Winter was over and the days were getting bright and sunny. But in the kingdom, all was gloomy. You see, the Prince was sad and so were his subjects.
In fact, the Prince was so unhappy he wanted everyone around him to be as sad as he was. He punished his farmers when it didn't rain, even though they couldn't do anything about it. He punished his cooks if his food was served too hot, and he punished his tailor if his clothes were too tight. He was despised by his people but nobody dared to tell him so. Even the trees and flowers seemed to droop in the gloomy rains and mists.
One day the Prince was stomping around in his garden. Just as he was reaching a towering rage, he heard a tiny yip and snuffling noise from the other side of the courtyard wall.. He then heard a "shh" sound.
”What is this and this noise and who dares to infringe upon my meditation!” he cried, but the tiny yip and snuffling continued.
"Call the guard!" the Prince cried, "My rest has been disturbed, and I WILL HAVE JUSTICE!"
The guards came immediately and the Prince ordered them to bring the people responsible before him so he could think up an appropriate punishment for them.
“Maybe that will make my day a little happier,” the prince thought gloomily.
The guards rushed out to the village, to the courtyard of the house next to the Prince's garden wall, and soon returned with a family of pot-makers.
The Prince thundered, "Who are these people who would dare to interrupt the Prince's peace?"
"I am but your humble servant," said the potter, "and this is my wife and my three children. We hope only to live our lives in peace and to serve you faithfully."
"Well," snarled the Prince, "you have certainly not served me faithfully this day, and you and your family shall be punished soundly for disturbing my peace!”
The prince rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he thought of the many ways he could make the peasants miserable.
Just then the the same yip and snorting sound that the Prince heard earlier came from a bundle held by the youngest potter's daughter Ping.
"What is that noise," cried the Prince. ”Come forward and explain yourselves!"
The little girl, trembling, came forward and held out the bundle to show the Prince.
Her eyes downcast, she folded away the cloth. "She was on our doorstep this morning. I don't know where she came from, but she is about to have her puppies,” said the little girl.
When she drew back the cloth, the most marvelous face appeared. This was the first time the world had seen a pug.
Staring up at the Prince was a fawn colored face with enormous and watery brown eyes. It was a dog with a funny pushed in nose. Her entire mouth was a bright shiny black. She was fawn colored, and she had short, stubby legs, a round belly, and a tail that curled so much on her back it looked like a pork bun. Her mouth was turned down a little and made her look a little sad. Her eyes captivated the Prince. She looked at him soulfully and snuffled a little. Then she rolled her eyes and curled her tongue and sighed, and looked at him again as if the entire weight of the world was on her shoulders.
"What happened next?" cried the children. "What happened to the potter's family? What was the pug's name?”
"The pug’s name was Ming Sue, and she is the Mother of All Pugs. We don’t know where she came from – but until that moment the world didn’t know about Pugs. It was Ming Sue who established the standard for all of us. Now of course we are all known for our big eyes, doleful expressions, flat faces, and curly tongues and tails.” Pugnacious said, blinking over his reading glasses. He continued with the story.
The Prince looked into those big brown eyes and was immediately under their spell. He had never seen such a face, and he had never felt that anyone else could feel the way he felt, but here it was, written plainly on Ming Sue’s face for him to see.
Ming Sue looked into the Prince's eyes.
"Why are you so sad?" she seemed to say. "Why do you make your people so sad and treat them so badly?
Her eyes shifted to the family of potters. "Why are you making these good people so fearful?"
The Prince felt a deep, hollow in the pit of his stomach to see such sadness and commanded his guards to take the family back to their home.
But all the while the prince thought “I must see this dog again. Only she seems to understand the sadness in my soul.”
The next day the Prince sent his guards with gold to the family to purchase the pug, even though he could have taken her for his own. Ming Sue, heavy with her litter of puppies, waddled to the door and went with the guards as if she knew that this was where she was supposed to go in the first place when she came to the village.
Ming Sue was brought before the Prince, and before he could gesture her forward, she walked up the long hallway, up the steps to the throne, and lay down on the Prince’s slippers. It was hard to believe that any animal would choose to be near such a sour and evil Prince.
Ming Sue looked up at the Prince with her big brown watery eyes, and her doleful expression. She looked like a sad clown.
The Prince laughed with delight! From that moment on, as long has Ming Sue was at the Prince’s side he remembered that there was always someone in the world that was sadder than he was, and he only had to look at Ming Sue to know that even when you are unhappy you can sometimes smile. From that day onward, his kingdom was the happiest in China, and people came from far and wide to see Ming Sue. Soon Pugs were sitting at the feet of all the princes and even the emperor of China, and though the emperor wielded great power, his pugs wielded even greater power over him.
“And that is where we pugs come from”, the puppy’s father finished the tale, looking at his own little pups, now sleepily snuggling at his feet.
He looked over to the kitchen door and saw Pugnella standing there listening. She padded over to him and gave him a lick on his head. Pugnacious T Findlay, father and storyteller, settled back into his chair, snapped open his newspaper to the editorials, and sighed contentedly as the fire snapped in the stove and the wind blew fluffy snow against the windows.
“I guess I’m the Prince now!”, he thought contentedly, as he wiggled his toes into the warm puppy fat on the floor.
“Well I guess there is no doubt what this little fellow’s puppy name will be,” said Pugnacious, “He’ll have his great-uncle Chester’s puppy name. Welcome to the family, Pugnuts!”
It had been three months since the puppies were born, and the initial excitement had settled down into a comfortable routine. Puppies are very cute and fun to look at and play with at first, but there generally isn’t a lot that can be written about them that is adventurous or interesting, other than they get into everything and generally make everyone who sees them smile.
Pugwiggly, Pugwaddly and Pugnuts were growing fast on their mother’s rich milk. Their mother Pugnella was back in her workshop inventing marvelous devices for home and factory, and Pugnacious was back digging holes in Surry and the surrounding villages in Hancock County.
On this cold late winter’s day it was snowing heavily and Pugnacious decided to stay home by the warm wood stove. He had just settled into his chair with his pipe and the latest copy of the Ellsworth American when the puppies came racing in from the workshop. Round and round his chair they went. When they finally caught up with each other they tumbled into a big ball of paws and wagging tails on the braided rug. “Come over here, kids,” Nash rumbled, “before you break something. Let me tell you a story!”
The puppies raced to his feet. Pug puppies grow up very quickly, so it wasn’t unusual for them to be speaking and listening to stories, even at three months old. Their father and mother had already told them many interesting things about the goings-on outside the house and the town. They were too young to venture outside, but were intensely curious about what was beyond the front door.
Pugnacious took a sip of his tea while the puppies settled in. Pugwaddly (who had lost enough of his puppy fat to be able to run around the house) waddled over first and flopped onto the floor, his nose resting on their father’s slipper. Pugnuts ran over, turning around and around before he lay down next to his brother. Pugwiggly waited until they were both settled in, and then dove between her two brothers, wiggled her head and popped up with a squeak, resting her chin on her father’s other slipper. Then they all gave a big shiver and sigh, and looked up at their daddy with big brown eyes, pink tongues curling as they panted.
“Today, children,” Pugnacious said with great seriousness, “I’m going to tell you about your family history.”
“The first thing to know,” said their father, “is that our family was not always from Surry, and didn’t always live in this house, with its cozy woodstove. In fact, your ancestors came from a land far, far away, over an ocean, a very long time ago.
The little pug puppies’ ears were standing straight up and their heads went to and fro as they listened to their father.
“2500 years ago, in a land called China, there was a cruel Prince. At the time of this story it was springtime, a time when the gardens were in bloom and people should have been happy. Winter was over and the days were getting bright and sunny. But in the kingdom, all was gloomy. You see, the Prince was sad and so were his subjects.
In fact, the Prince was so unhappy he wanted everyone around him to be as sad as he was. He punished his farmers when it didn't rain, even though they couldn't do anything about it. He punished his cooks if his food was served too hot, and he punished his tailor if his clothes were too tight. He was despised by his people but nobody dared to tell him so. Even the trees and flowers seemed to droop in the gloomy rains and mists.
One day the Prince was stomping around in his garden. Just as he was reaching a towering rage, he heard a tiny yip and snuffling noise from the other side of the courtyard wall.. He then heard a "shh" sound.
”What is this and this noise and who dares to infringe upon my meditation!” he cried, but the tiny yip and snuffling continued.
"Call the guard!" the Prince cried, "My rest has been disturbed, and I WILL HAVE JUSTICE!"
The guards came immediately and the Prince ordered them to bring the people responsible before him so he could think up an appropriate punishment for them.
“Maybe that will make my day a little happier,” the prince thought gloomily.
The guards rushed out to the village, to the courtyard of the house next to the Prince's garden wall, and soon returned with a family of pot-makers.
The Prince thundered, "Who are these people who would dare to interrupt the Prince's peace?"
"I am but your humble servant," said the potter, "and this is my wife and my three children. We hope only to live our lives in peace and to serve you faithfully."
"Well," snarled the Prince, "you have certainly not served me faithfully this day, and you and your family shall be punished soundly for disturbing my peace!”
The prince rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he thought of the many ways he could make the peasants miserable.
Just then the the same yip and snorting sound that the Prince heard earlier came from a bundle held by the youngest potter's daughter Ping.
"What is that noise," cried the Prince. ”Come forward and explain yourselves!"
The little girl, trembling, came forward and held out the bundle to show the Prince.
Her eyes downcast, she folded away the cloth. "She was on our doorstep this morning. I don't know where she came from, but she is about to have her puppies,” said the little girl.
When she drew back the cloth, the most marvelous face appeared. This was the first time the world had seen a pug.
Staring up at the Prince was a fawn colored face with enormous and watery brown eyes. It was a dog with a funny pushed in nose. Her entire mouth was a bright shiny black. She was fawn colored, and she had short, stubby legs, a round belly, and a tail that curled so much on her back it looked like a pork bun. Her mouth was turned down a little and made her look a little sad. Her eyes captivated the Prince. She looked at him soulfully and snuffled a little. Then she rolled her eyes and curled her tongue and sighed, and looked at him again as if the entire weight of the world was on her shoulders.
"What happened next?" cried the children. "What happened to the potter's family? What was the pug's name?”
"The pug’s name was Ming Sue, and she is the Mother of All Pugs. We don’t know where she came from – but until that moment the world didn’t know about Pugs. It was Ming Sue who established the standard for all of us. Now of course we are all known for our big eyes, doleful expressions, flat faces, and curly tongues and tails.” Pugnacious said, blinking over his reading glasses. He continued with the story.
The Prince looked into those big brown eyes and was immediately under their spell. He had never seen such a face, and he had never felt that anyone else could feel the way he felt, but here it was, written plainly on Ming Sue’s face for him to see.
Ming Sue looked into the Prince's eyes.
"Why are you so sad?" she seemed to say. "Why do you make your people so sad and treat them so badly?
Her eyes shifted to the family of potters. "Why are you making these good people so fearful?"
The Prince felt a deep, hollow in the pit of his stomach to see such sadness and commanded his guards to take the family back to their home.
But all the while the prince thought “I must see this dog again. Only she seems to understand the sadness in my soul.”
The next day the Prince sent his guards with gold to the family to purchase the pug, even though he could have taken her for his own. Ming Sue, heavy with her litter of puppies, waddled to the door and went with the guards as if she knew that this was where she was supposed to go in the first place when she came to the village.
Ming Sue was brought before the Prince, and before he could gesture her forward, she walked up the long hallway, up the steps to the throne, and lay down on the Prince’s slippers. It was hard to believe that any animal would choose to be near such a sour and evil Prince.
Ming Sue looked up at the Prince with her big brown watery eyes, and her doleful expression. She looked like a sad clown.
The Prince laughed with delight! From that moment on, as long has Ming Sue was at the Prince’s side he remembered that there was always someone in the world that was sadder than he was, and he only had to look at Ming Sue to know that even when you are unhappy you can sometimes smile. From that day onward, his kingdom was the happiest in China, and people came from far and wide to see Ming Sue. Soon Pugs were sitting at the feet of all the princes and even the emperor of China, and though the emperor wielded great power, his pugs wielded even greater power over him.
“And that is where we pugs come from”, the puppy’s father finished the tale, looking at his own little pups, now sleepily snuggling at his feet.
He looked over to the kitchen door and saw Pugnella standing there listening. She padded over to him and gave him a lick on his head. Pugnacious T Findlay, father and storyteller, settled back into his chair, snapped open his newspaper to the editorials, and sighed contentedly as the fire snapped in the stove and the wind blew fluffy snow against the windows.
“I guess I’m the Prince now!”, he thought contentedly, as he wiggled his toes into the warm puppy fat on the floor.