Penny Chihuahua's Morning Routine Penny Chihuahua woke to an icy nip in the air.
Good morning,
Good morning,
She whispered,
Her words puffing out like little white fog balloons.
She tugged the blanket to her chin,
Then squeaked,
Three,
Freezing,
Two,
I can do this,
One,
And leapt straight into the first exercise of her morning routine.
Crouch and pounce,
Pretending maple cricket might be caught in her paws.
Sit and stay squats,
Holding at the bottom like a champion pup.
Frenzy dig on the speedball her mama gave her last Christmas to save the furniture legs.
Ballet ball,
Tumbling over the great swiss ball like a pup-turned-gymnast.
Zoomy spins,
Paws whirring so fast the rug nearly lifts.
And finally,
Fast feet.
Yep,
All four of them.
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter,
Pitter-patter.
Her little pups drumming until they tingled.
Oh,
Whatcha doing?
Maple cricket appeared in the doorway,
Ears flopping,
Wings quivering in delight.
Zipped snug into a puffy jacket that made him look twice as round.
My morning routine,
Penny puffed.
Maple's eyes sparkled.
A routine,
Huh?
Sounds very energetic.
But if it were me,
I'd skip the jumps and start the adventure early.
He waddled forward in his jacket,
Legs sticking out at odd angles.
Part cricket,
Part spaniel,
Part snowman.
I've just got one exercise left,
Penny grinned,
Lowering her stance.
Wait,
Maple clapped his cheeks in horror.
No,
You don't mean.
.
.
The burpee!
She hopped,
Dropped,
Shot back up,
Then burped the most glorious burp and dashed out the door for her morning wee-wee.
Maple giggled,
Wings aflutter and scampered after her.
By the time he caught up,
Penny was already nose to the ground,
Sniffing the frosty part of the head.
Come on,
Maple,
She barked.
Today feels like an adventure day.
Oh,
Every day's an adventure day,
Penny,
Maple chirped,
Clicking his camera at the sun-sparkled frost.
And together they set off,
Paw prints and cricket prints,
Stitching the silver grass behind them.
Hold still,
Just a little closer,
It's a perfect shot.
A low branch stretched out across the rushing stream.
Maple edged along it,
Ears flopping,
Wings trembling with the effort of balance.
Careful,
Maple,
Penny barked,
Zooming back and forth along the bank.
But Maple was fixed on the glittering water below.
He clicked,
Then gasped as the camera slipped,
Tumbling from his grip toward the stream.
Maple,
Penny yelled.
The world shifted into slow motion.
The camera spun weightless in the air.
Once,
Twice,
A duck froze mid-quack.
A droplet hung mid-fall.
Even Maple's antennae paused mid-wiggle.
And Penny,
Well,
She moved before the world could restart.
She crouched and she pounced.
Across the gap she flew,
A blurred chocolate streak,
Snatching the camera mid-air and sticking the landing like the star of a circus act.
Whoa,
Penny,
That was,
That was amazing.
Penny gave a playful giggle and bounded back across,
Landing with a little flourish.
Thank you,
Penny,
He managed,
Clutching the rescued camera to his chest.
That would have been one soggy selfie.
They both burst into giggles,
The sound bouncing across the water,
Just as a desperate quacking echoed from deeper down the path.
The quacking grew louder as they hurried along,
Until they found a mother duck circling in distress.
One tiny duckling paddled nearby,
But the other was trapped on the bank,
Its little foot wedged tight beneath a fallen log.
Penny bounded forward,
Heart racing.
She braced her paws,
Dropped low,
And pressed her body into the deepest sit-and-stay squat she had ever done.
With a grunt and a push,
The log shifted.
Now,
Mapesy,
She barked.
Maple darted in,
Tugging the duckling free with gentle paws,
His little wings whirring like wind-up toys.
The free duckling scampered back to its mum,
Who quacked her thanks over and over and over.
Penny panted,
Legs trembling,
But her eyes shone.
Maple snapped a quick photo,
Then slung the camera back around his neck.
He reached out his little paw,
And Penny met it with hers.
Good teamwork,
Penn,
He grinned.
Best team ever,
Penny wagged,
Her tongue lolling in delight.
The path sloped upward,
Trees thinning until the sky spread wide above them.
The sinking sun poured molten gold through the branches,
Painting everything in amber.
Maple stopped,
Breath catching.
Look at that view.
His wings fluttered,
Eager,
As he craned his neck toward a branch high above.
If only I could get up there,
I'd have the shot of the day,
I'd have the shot of every day.
Take my little legs a week to climb up that high,
Penny.
Penny's ears twitched,
Her eyes gleaming with mischief.
Don't you worry,
Mapesy,
I've got you covered.
She planted her paws and began to whirl in wild zoomy spins around him.
Faster and faster she circled,
Her paws drumming,
Her body a furry cyclone.
Maple stood at the center,
Wings spread wide,
Until the spiral gust caught and lifted up his little body.
Awee!
Maple whooped,
Flopping and flapping,
Until one last push of Penny's stormy spins,
He landed on the branch.
From up high,
The world rolled out before him,
River flashing silver,
Ducks nestled safe,
And a trail of cheeky prints threading the pale grass.
Maple raised his camera,
Heart thudding,
And clicked.
The shutter sang like applause.
Got it,
Maple crowed,
Spaniel tail wagging.
Penny slowed to a panting halt,
Spinning herself into the grass with a dizzy giggle.
Best routine ever,
She puffed,
Rolling belly up to the sky.
Maple fluttered down beside her,
Clutching his camera,
Eyes glowing,
Paw resting on hers,
He said.
Penny,
Those moves,
They saved the moment.
I hereby salute your morning madness.
And I might even start up one of my own.
And with a sudden burst of energy,
Maple darted sideways through the grass,
Legs splaying.
The cricket scuttle,
He called.
Penny burst into laughter.
Then Maple shot,
Upright,
Spindly legs,
Stiff.
The four-paw plank.
Penny howled,
Rolling back into giggles.
Wait,
No.
And Maple pressed his hands to his face.
They gasped together,
Then shouted in perfect unison.
The trophy!
They laughed so hard,
They clutched their little tummies,
Rolling through the grass.
Their laughter tumbled into the fading light,
Until even the trees seemed to giggle along.
Maple's puffer crackled as he laughed.
Penny's tail wagged against the earth in happy thumps.
And for a moment,
The whole world seemed to join them.
Then,
As the last rays stretched thin across the meadow,
Their laughter softened into breath.
They lay side by side,
Paws and wings brushing,
Gazing at the first evening star.
Best day ever,
Penny,
Maple murmured.
Best day ever,
Mapesie,
She whispered back.
Three,
Two.
.
.
Laughed so hard,
They clutched their little tummies.
Wings brushing,
Gazing at the first evening star.
