Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti by Tom Watson Page A

the only one of us who eats rope, Mutt,” Stick Dog said, and smiled. “We wouldn’t have wanted any.”
    â€œYou guys don’t eat rope?” Mutt asked.
    They all shook their heads.
    â€œBoy, you don’t know what you’re missing,” Mutt said. He felt better already. “Well, I’m still sorry I ate it. I wanted to bring it back so we could play tug-of-war.”
    â€œTug-of-war! I love tug-of-war!” Karen exclaimed immediately. “It gives me a chance to show off my mighty dachshund power! Do you still have it? Can we play now? Can we?!”

    Poo-Poo and Stripes thought a game of tug-of-war sounded like a fun idea too. Even Stick Dog seemed intrigued by the prospect. It would be, he suspected, a terrific distraction from their hunger.
    Mutt shook his head as he answered and explained. “No, we can’t play now. I ate the whole thing. I was going to bring it back, but while I carried it in my mouth, I tasted some of those loose strings on the end. You know, the frayed threads at the end of a piece of rope? I love those things. I just had to stop and chew on them. And before I knew it, the rope was gone.”
    â€œThe whole thing?” Stripes asked. “There’s nothing left to play with?”
    â€œI’m sorry,” Mutt said. He seemed truly sadabout the entire thing. “Sometimes, I just can’t help chewing and swallowing things. It wasn’t very nice of me. I could try to find another piece of rope. Maybe I have some stuck in my fur that I forgot about.”
    Mutt immediately began to shake, and several things—including a bottle cap, two pencils, an empty potato chip bag, and a red mitten—shot quickly out from his fur.
    But there was no rope.

    The disappointment on Mutt’s face was clear. He felt like he had let down his friends. Poo-Poo, Stripes, and Karen were discouraged too. They wanted to play tug-of-war.
    Stick Dog knew he had to do something to lift their spirits. They were all hungry. There was no rope to play with. Mutt felt terrible about eating the rope—and now consoled himself by chewing on the mitten.
    â€œYou know what?” Stick Dog declared to the group. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to play tug-of-war so badly in my life. All this talk about it has made me remember just how fun it is.”
    He smiled and looked at his friends. He focused on Karen last.
    â€œI bet I could beat you in tug-of-war,” he said, and pointed at her.
    â€œNO WAY!” she screamed. She hopped up and down at the challenge.
    â€œLet’s try to get another piece of rope and find out,” Stick Dog suggested.
    â€œGreat idea!” Mutt declared after dropping the mitten from his mouth. “And I promise not to eat this one!”
    Karen, Poo-Poo, and Stripes thought it was an excellent idea too. They followed Stick Dog, hurrying off to the hardware store, where Mutt had found that first length of rope.
    Stick Dog knew his friends’ attention hadalready turned away from their lack of food. What he didn’t know was this: their search for rope would lead them to something utterly delicious.

CHAPTER 2
PERFECTLY PROPORTIONED
    â€œOkay, Mutt,” Stick Dog said as they skid to a stop behind the hardware store. The sun had set. Stick Dog noted that the lights were off in the store, and he scanned the area for humans. It looked plenty safe. “Where did you find that piece of rope yesterday?”
    â€œRight over there,” Mutt answered, and pointed. “By the corner of that Dumpster. On the ground.”

    They trotted over to the Dumpster and looked all around. They found two bottle caps, a dented soda can, and a dried-up marker—but no rope.
    Mutt tucked the bottle caps, soda can, and marker into his fur for safekeeping.
    â€œKaren?”
    â€œYes, Stick Dog? What can I do for you?”
    â€œCan you take a look under the Dumpster for another piece of