Story 281 – Prairie Dog Day

January 23, 2010 admin No comments

PRAIRIE DOG DAY

written by Debbie Williamson

“Gee,” said Peter Prairie Dog, putting down his newspaper. “I see tomorrow is Groundhog Day.”

“Yes,” said Peter’s wife, Patty. “I don’t understand what all the commotion is all about with the groundhog’s. We prairie dogs can predict the weather just as good, if not better than they can.”

“You’ve just given me an idea,” said Peter. “Tomorrow is going to go down in history as Prairie Dog Day.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Patty.

“You’ll see,” said Peter. “You’ll see.”

Peter got very early the next morning and went over to see his cousin Gerald Groundhog.

“Hey Gerald,” said Peter. “I hear that today is Groundhog Day.”

“Yes,” said Gerald. “It is. I must go outside and get ready. The reporters are going to be here in any minute.”

“Gee Gerald,” said Peter. “How about you just sit right here and wait for the reporters to come to you? Why should you be bothered going outside? You are like a celebrity. Let them come to you instead.”

“You know something,” said Gerald. “You’ve got a point, Peter. If they want to know what the weather is going to be like then they can come down here and get me.”

“Good idea,” said Peter. “Now, I’ll go stand outside and wait for them and tell them that if they want to see you that they will have to come down here and get you.”

“Okay,” said Gerald.

Peter went outside and as soon as he poked his head out of the hole reporters started flashing camera lights in his face.

“Hey,” said a reporter, who got a good look at Peter’s face. “That isn’t the groundhog. It’s a prairie dog!”

“A prairie dog!” exclaimed another reporter, standing next to the first reporter. “But look, he obviously doesn’t see his shadow because he’s not going back inside his den.”

“True,” said the first reporter. “So that only means that spring is right around the corner.”

A minute later, Gerald Groundhog came out of his hole to see what all the commotion was about. He saw the crowd of reporters and scurried into his hole.

“Did you see that?” asked the second reporter.

“See what?” asked the first reporter.

“The groundhog poked his head out of his hole and then obviously saw his shadow and went back into his hole,” said the second reporter. “If we believe the groundhog we will have six more weeks of winter.”

“I say we stick with the prairie dog,” said the first reporter.

“Me too!” exclaimed the second one.

Peter Prairie Dog got what he wanted. His picture was plastered all over newspapers all over the country and for that one year anyway, Groundhog Day was changed to Prairie Dog Day.

PLASTIC CANVAS PATTERN GROUNDHOG DAY CENTERPIECE BOOK