I asked Emma what she wanted to give to her grandma for Christmas this year. Emma wrote, “I will give to Granma a story about dogs who go to work instead of playing.”
Here is her story, reprinted here with both Emma’s and her granma’s permission.
A Folk Story For Granma ~ By Emma
“Once there were many dogs who went to work. They worked part of the year in the fields, yet their masters wished they would work all the time. So one day they organized a strike and their owners got very angry. They told their owners they would not involve them in their decisions about how they spend their time. Their owners said they had to work or they would not be fed.
“One day everyone went to work. Sounds were too loud. Every dog began to whimper. The noise was so dreadful, the owners told their dogs to take the day off. Noise is everyone’s enemy, but it is everyone’s friend too.
“Today, dogs do not have to work in fields. They are free to play.
“The End”
Emma chose this image to accompany her story.
Emma's Hope Book 
I know I had to do a little arm-twisting for a post on Christmas, but what a gift to me and all of Emma’s fans! Merry Christmas love of my life.
My blogging has been remiss… no doubt about it, so a little arm twisting helped! 🙂
quite the animals’ rights activist and a writer. love that story. the only dogs that should work are sight dogs. god bless them.
Right?!!
A dear friend of mine has a dog who helps her navigate the world from her wheel chair and another friend has a dog who keeps him calm… but I think those are different kinds of “work”, you know? “Service dogs” is a good way to describe what they do and are.
thank God for service dogs, all of them. my cats kept me calm by just sittig on my lap when they were alive. of course it’s not the same thing at all. it’s just the most common and known ones are sight dogs.
When I lived in places where pets were not allowed, I had rats. They are the best of friends, very intuitive and even come when you call them. They were clean and fastidious about their potty corner. I used to go everywhere with them in my jacket. LOL
I am loving your stories!
❄ Merry Christmas, Emma and Family
(((Leah))) Me too!!
Oh thank you Emma such a beautiful and kind story. You are right that noise can be good when you sing or play. But noise like supermarkets and PA systems can be bad for some people. Hope you all had a wonderful day like we did. G
We did have a wonderful day! Thanks so much for commenting!!
I love this story! It is interesting how noise can both be our friend and enemy. I can totally relate to that! Emma, I hope you and your family have had a fabulous holiday!! Keep writing, you have a lot of fans that are very interested in your stories!
Thanks so much Kristen. We did have a wonderful day and Em’s observation about noise is something I have repeated to myself many times since she wrote it.
Great story–love the cadence. I too have heard those overwhelming noises, when no one else around me could hear them at all…20 years ago I named it the sound of one hand clapping and became glad for it.
Have you read the Zen koan “what is the sound of one hand clapping?”
It’s learning to be glad for it that is the trickiest part of all, I think…
I am keeping a special journal with Emma’s stories pasted in, as I can no longer write. What a gift to have a granddaughter who can write such profound stories!
Granma
Aw… so pleased to know that you are!
What a special, unique gift for Christmas.
It really was Alex. I hope yours was lovely.
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