CONTEST: You finish the story!
Since some of you are getting bored with the same old Bayou Woman absence of fishing and fun stuff like that, I’ve decided to let YOU entertain the readers!
I am going to set the scene for something that really did happen here recently. I haven’t shared it with you, so that I can do so now and have you all finish the story.
Your responses will be read and judged by a panel of 3 folks who are excellent writers, themselves.
The author of the best story chosen will be highlighted as a “guest writer” here on Bayou Woman AND will receive an autographed, personalized copy of Before the Saltwater Came.
Here’s the story:
The Adventures of Butch and Ti Du
Because of the heat and the biting sand flies, Bayou Woman allowed Termite to move the running line for his dog, Butch, to the front yard where there were less biting insects.
One day, Bayou Woman and Termite came home from a boat trip and noticed that Butch was not on his running line. Not only was he gone, but the line to which he had been attached was gone, too. Next they noticed that the front door was standing wide open.
“How in the world did that dog open that door?” wondered Bayou Woman aloud.
While she walked around the yard wondering, Termite ran inside looking all over for his beloved Butch, who was nowhere to be found.
Outside, Bayou Woman scanned the yard for signs of the Chesapeake Bay retriever. There was no sign of him anywhere. Dreading what she might find, she let her eyes reluctantly scan the highway behind her for signs of the pet. Thankfully, there was no sign of him there.
Termite called loudly for his dog, “Butch! Butch! Come here boy!”
Off in the distance, they heard a pleading yip and then an answering, “Woof! WOOF!”
The mother and son looked in the direction of the barks, and there he was, up the road a ways, with his chain tangled in something on the bayou side.
Once inside the house, Bayou Woman discovered that her good little dog, Ti Du, was innocently sitting inside, waiting for her master to come home. Trash was strewn from one end of the kitchen to the other, dirty cat paws on the counter tops.
Bayou Woman cleaned up the trash, trying to figure out who opened the front door and let in those wild cats.
Several nights later, Bayou Woman awoke with a start. Drugged by sleep, she stumbled into the living room. Waking slowly, she looked toward the foyer, where Butch should have been sleeping, his leash attached.
He was not there, and again the front door was standing wide open Butch was gone–leash and all. Termite had gone to sleep at a friend’s house and would be crushed if his dog ran away. Panicked, she ran outside in her night clothes, with no thought of her bare feet, looking for the dog.
Her eyes scanned the dark road for lifeless signs of the pet. Seeing none, she heaved a slight sigh of relief. Remembering he had answered their calls once before, she called out to him,
“Butch! Butch! Where are you boy?”
And from the bayou came the faint answer, “Woof! Woof! Over here!”
Bayou Woman raced down the steps, through the dew-drenched grass, across the black-top highway, following the anxious barks.
As she jumped from the bayou bank down onto the wooden wharf, she spied his bulky frame out over the water. She could not believe her eyes.
There he was, standing in Termite’s boat, six feet away from the dock, his leash dangling. He seemed to be smiling, his tail wagging vigorously.
She called out to him to jump in and swim . . .
Now you finish the story in 300 words or less!
Good luck and I’ll be checking back for your oh so creative endings!
Ok, start typing!
BW
First vinyl covered stainless aircraft cable and aluminum ferules from garage parts aisle and snap clip and ring and no more loose doggie…
Thanks for the solution, Blu!
She called out to him to jump in and swim . . .
…. but Butch with pride was not moving anything more than his excited tail, while enjoying the moment. Seems his chest was even puffed out a little bit more than normal. He looked back toward the bow from the aft-end of the dirty little camo mud-boat and there sat his evil arch-nemesis, “Le chat noire”!
No, not in her normal serene, nonchalant, devil in disguise, fur-washing self, no this was a cat at the end of her rope. She looked anxiously from the dock to the shore and back again, hoping for a last minute reprieve from any corner. But she knew that Butch had won this round, as she had nowhere left to go unless she grew wings and could fly. He had cleverly moved her out upon the water. Water always was such a wet blanket on any good time.
Butch would savor this moment till the end of his days. Today the day that he had freed himself from the bonds of human restraint and reaped sweet revenge upon the object of his constant torture and torment.
Butch noticed a smile had appeared upon The Swamp Lady’s face, and tried in vain to shake his bootie even faster. He heard the crowds roar (abet in his head), “Butch le grand, Butch le héros, Butch le champion!”
This is going to take some thought. I’m tapped out for the night. The creative part of me has been wiped out today trying to decide paint colors for the interior of the house.
‘I did it again!’ he seemed to be panting. ‘This is the second time I’ve undone ropes and leashes and latches and led you a merry chase…’ He knew that he always had a fun time with Termite when they were out on the boat.
But Butch had forgotten one thing. He did not know how to row. Suddenly, he noticed that the shore was getting further and further away, and he whimpered. His tail wagged no more.
Bayou Woman was taking off her shoes and pulling off her t-shirt and jeans. She dived into the icy water, coming up a few inches away from the boat. Butch ran to and fro, excited that Bayou Woman was going to join him. But… she was shivering and crying. Why?
She climbed onto the boat, and hugged him. “Don’t ever, ever, do tat again, you silly dog!” she admonished him. Butch licked her face. He thought it odd that Termite was not there.
Bayou woman grabbed the oars and rowed hell for leather to the shore. She did not even bother to put her jeans back on again, once they were on dry land – she just dried her feet on her t-shirt and shrugged it on, put on her flip-flops, and ordered him to follow her.
The woman and the dog made it home in three minutes flat. She put the kettle on the stove, dried her hair, and put on clean dry clothes.
Seconds later, Termite and his friend walked in. ‘Hey, mum!’ the boy said as he kissed her on the cheek. ‘Anything interesting happened while I wasn’t here to watch over you?’
‘Nothing much son – now how about a nice cup of hot tea?’
On vacation, so my entry will have to wait. Love these two entries!
I’m back from a quick trip to Grand Isle, and so far I’m loving the entries!!! I’m going to let this ride a couple more days. I’d like to see a little more competition!
BW
I am going to just sit back and watch this one. I lost my beloved pet last month after 13 yrs. So this one is a bit hard for me.
But hey everyone, I am enjoying reading the entries too!
I need to read this to my 8 yr old grandson. He has an imagination that won’t quit! Bet he could come up with something good. He is good enough at story telling that he had his teacher believing his dad ran out of gas bringing him to school, went after gas and made him walk on to school alone and he had to stop to get some food someplace because he hadn’t had breakfast yet. Found $20 dollars hidden in his pocket that he had forgotten about and stopped at the store for donuts and chocolate! The teacher called my daughter and asked what was going on. LOL I think he had to go tell the teacher it was his made up story and he got grounded from his Wii.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your loved one. But, hey, that grandson sure can spin a yarn!!!! Get him to make up the ending over the phone and you type it up and sign his name to it!!
Ok, now I’m taking it on faith that the ten words of your lead-in are not going to be counted as part of our entries. Limiting us poor fools to 300 words isn’t real generous on your part, but I enjoy a challenge, so here goes my stab at this tale without a word to spare…
She called out to him to jump in and swim, but Butch was having none of that. Staring in to her eyes as if pleading with her to comprehend the gravity of their situation, Butch continued his wild protests. She again called out to the stubborn dog, commanding him to swim for shore, but Butch stood firm.
Just as she was preparing to lower herself in to the shallows to coax the poor oaf out of his predicament, she spied the object of the pup’s frenzy, instantly snapped to attention and stood frozen in place. Heart pounding, brain racing for a way out of this mess, she surveyed her options.
As she stared in to the beady red eyes of the biggest, baddest, orneriest beast she’d ever seen in this part of the bayou, she instinctively knew that trying to return the way she’d come would be nothing short of suicide. Seconds felt as hours as she frantically scanned her surroundings for anything that could become a makeshift weapon. While never letting the mammoth creature out of her field of vision, she spotted the object of her salvation resting innocently in the back of the little skiff.
As she surveyed the quickest route to the Cajun anchor, the beast seized upon her indecision and began his stealthy descent from his decidedly superior perch on the bank. Fearing she’d lingered a moment too long, she prepared for the worst.
All of a sudden, seemingly from nowhere, she heard it. The beast leapt in the air, falling just short of her position, let out a thunderous roar and thrashed about before crashing lifelessly in the dark waters. As her eyes struggled to make out the silhouette of the arrow protruding from its’ massive skull, she heard a familiar voice. “Dat beast will look real pretty next ta my gar. You alright Cher?”
And with that, the competition stiffens!
Who dat?
Bayou Fabio, to the rescue!
Oh wow, these are all great endings. I think I’m going to leave this one alone and just read along for a while. Good Luck!
Geez, BW, ya got some very talented people reading this blog. All the stories are wonderful! I don’t envy your job of picking one.
OK, grandson Little Bit, said:
Those wild little cats are the ones who made the dog do it! They started meowing outside and made the poor doggie start to jump up at the door handle and he caught it and opened it all up and out he went! He wanted to play chase with them and they ran up and down the yard and then out to the place the boat was and they jumped in and laughed at the doggie.
He didn’t like being laughed at and backed WAAAAYYYYY up and…took off running really hard and BOOM!! He jumped into that boat and it started to slide off of the side of the river into the water. And those crazy cats jumped back out and left him out there all by himself! They were why he got loose the last time too and he had to chase them away from your kitchen or they would have eaten all of your food up.
If his mommy (I think he means you BW) hadn’t come out to see what all the noise was, he would have sailed off and a big old alligator would have eaten him up for dinner. That’s all it was. Just give those crazy cats some time out!!
I told you he had an imagination!!
That sure sounds like one winner of an ending if I’ve ever heard one! Nice work Little Bit!
Oh my goodness! Somehow this comment from Cammy’s grandson did NOT come through on my Dashboard. I am just now reading this! What a great job! Now, we have four stories. The judging will take place in the next day or so and we will be giving the prize soon! Tell Little Bit that I’m very glad he gave it a shot. BW