Chapter 21

A sunny day, a picnic basket,
and a bear named Peppermint;
eating candy grown on trees,
their afternoon was spent.

Four new friends, a hopping box,
together, they had fun
playing Leap Frog, Hide and Seek,
and Hot Dog On The Run.

What’s that? You say you’ve never heard of Hot Dog On The Run? Wow, I’m surprised you never played that game. It’s one of my favorites as it’s really lots of fun. What’s that? You want me to tell you how to play Hot Dog On The Run?

Okay, I guess I could do that. Yes, it’s very unusual to stop in the middle of a story to play a game, but hey, it’s my story and if I want to call a time out then I guess that’s what I’ll do.

Time out!

First off, you’re going to need some hot dogs. You probably won’t be able to find the same kind of hot dogs that Sally sells but you can make do with whatever kind of hot dogs you usually eat.

Now the object of playing Hot Dog On The Run is not to win like in most games. When playing Hot Dog On The Run your goal is to loose-- just not too soon. How soon is too soon is strictly up to you and whoever you enjoy playing with. The way you play the game is the leader runs around a big field holding a hot dog in the air and whenever someone catches the leader, that person, duck, or bear gets to eat the hot dog. Then you just repeat the game until all the players get to eat. You might think it a bit strange playing Hot Dog On The Run but it’s a great way to work up an appetite.

A word of caution: You should probably ask your parents before playing Hot Dog On The Run as some parents are fuddie-duddies who might not think Hot Dog On The Run to be a good game for children to play. If that happens to be the case with your parents then wait until you’ve got children of your own before you play Hot Dog On The Run.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, back to the story.

It was just as they were finishing their game of Hot Dog On The Run when Merlin happened to look off in the distance where he saw a blue snapping turtle riding a red unicycle. “Quack,” Merlin said.

“That’s what it looks like to me,” Sally said.

“Me too,” Peppermint agreed.

“I’ve never before seen a turtle riding a unicycle, “Scottie asked, “have you?”

“I can’t say as I have,” Sally mumbled.

“I knew a turtle who rode a tricycle once,” Peppermint said, “but Oscar was polka-spotted, not blue. Besides, as much as Oscar fell off his trike I seriously doubt he could ever learn to ride a unicycle.”

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