Bobby's Stinky Adventure

Introduce These Words:

One day the Carter family piled into the car. They called Bobby to come too. Bobby did not like to ride in the car. But he liked to be with his family. He was willing to ride in the car if he was with them.

“We are going for a picnic,” said Tara. “Jump into the car! We want you to come with us.”

“You will like the picnic,” said Abby. “And we are bringing a bone for you.” She helped Bobby into the car. He was a little stiff, and he moved slowly. When Bobby was a puppy, he was hit by a car. He lost his tail and broke his leg. Since then he had always been a little stiff. Now Bobby was ten years old, and he didn’t move very fast most of the time.

Bobby lay on the floor of the car. He put his head on Tara’s foot. “Good old Bob,” said Tara. She petted his black and white head. The drive took a long time. Bobby went to sleep. He woke up when the car stopped at last.

“We’re here!” said Abby.

“Come on out, Bobby,” said Tara, as she helped him out of the car.

Bobby looked around. There was a lake. There were lots of trees. There were many good smells. He sniffed and wiggled his nose. If he’d had a tail, he would have wagged it. “I like the picnic,” thought Bobby as the family spread the lunch out on the picnic cloth.

“I am hungry,” said Dad. “Let’s eat lunch first. Then we can play ball and take a walk. We can swim in the lake when we get hot.”

There were many good things to eat. There were hard-boiled eggs, carrot sticks, and apples. There was cheese with crackers. There were cookies, too. But best of all, there was a big bone for Bobby.

After lunch it was time for a walk. Mom said, “Let’s walk in the woods.” So they set out.

Bobby liked walking in the woods. There were many new smells. He walked and sniffed, walked and sniffed. There were many new sounds. His ears perked up. He heard birds and bugs. He heard the breeze in the trees. He heard squirrels chattering. Bobby trotted along the path. He wandered away from the family. He chased a squirrel and it ran up a tree. He raced with a bird. “What a nice picnic!” he thought. “I wonder what other animals live in the woods?”

In the bushes, Bobby saw a black and white face peek out. “Are you a puppy?” asked Bobby. He sniffed. It didn’t smell like a puppy. Its face looked a little like a puppy’s face, but longer. “It is black and white, just like me,” Bobby thought to himself. “Maybe if I chase it, it will play with me.”

So Bobby chased the black and white animal. It ran a few feet and looked back at the old dog. Bobby ran closer. “Let’s play!” he barked. The animal lifted its big tail. It sprayed something all over Bobby. What a smell!

“I don’t want to play with this animal,” yelped Bobby. “This is not a puppy!” He ran away from the black and white animal.

“Bobby!” called Tara.

“Bobby, where are you?” yelled Abby.

“Come, Bob!” cried Mom and Dad.

Bobby was happy to hear his family calling him. He ran to find them. When he saw them, he ran up to say hello.

“Oh, no!” cried Tara.

“What an awful stink!” said Abby.

“Bobby met a skunk!” laughed Dad.

“Oh, Bobby, you smell terrible!” groaned Mom. “We’d better go back and have a swim in the lake.”

Everyone raced back to the lake. They were glad to jump in the cool water. They swam and played in the water for a long time. But when they got out, Bobby still smelled terrible.

On the way home from the picnic, Bob slept in the back seat of the car. The family kept all the windows open, for fresh air. When they got home, Mom gave Bob a special bath with tomato juice.

“You smell much better now,” she said, “but we will have to do this again every day for a few days. Poor stinky Bob! Next time we go on a picnic, we will have to watch out for skunks!”

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