Brandie Sings the Blues
by Gennet Paauwe

Brandie, although a big, strong dog, did not have a lot of stamina. She spied a house on her journey that looked like a good enough place to stop for the night. No one was home, so she figured she would let herself in since there was no harm in finding shelter in an empty house.

After dropping her red pack on the floor, she wanted to have something to eat. After finding the kitchen, she decided to first try some kibble. It was pretty dry and unappealing, so she looked for something else. Next she found some cookies on the counter. They were better, but she wanted something more after her long journey. At last, in the refrigerator, Brandie found a whole dish of lasagne. Now, that hit the spot!

After polishing off the entire dish, she started to feel sleepy. She explored the house and found herself a big long couch to snooze on. After only a few minutes, she decided the couch wasn’t working on her tired bones. So she decided to climb into the rocking recliner in the corner of the room. That was better, but she wasn’t completely satisfied. Brandie then wandered into the bedroom and spied a king sized waterbed. Now this was the ticket! She hopped onto the warm bed and much to her surprise, someone let out a scream!

“Agh!!!!!!!!! A big black beast is in my bed!” a girl screamed, pulling the sheets over her head in defense.

“Oh no!” Brandie thought. “I didn’t think anyone was home!”

Brandie jumped from the bed, onto the floor while the girl peeked from beneath the sheets.

Deciding she’d better do something, Brandie relied on the only skill she possessed: Singing the Blues.

First Brandie started out a little subdued, but once seeing that the girl was enjoying the show, she stepped up the singing. Full howls could be heard and the girl sat up in bed and smiled.

Soon Brandie sang her way into the girl’s heart. The girl liked her so much that Brandie was invited to sleep on the bed for the night before resuming her journey to the Blues Festival.

After a good night’s rest, Brandie and the girl said goodbye so the dog could continue on to the Blues Festival.

“Good luck!” the girl said. “On your way back home, please feel welcome to stay again.”

Brandie sang one last song to the girl and was on her way, feeling happy inside about making a new friend.

The moral of the story: If you jump into bed with a girl, be sure you can sing the blues!