“Hey, Andy,” said Terry one day when we were out walking in the forest. “Look at this cool stick I found—it’s got a little star on the end!”
“That’s not a stick,” I said. “That’s a magic wand! You should be careful with it. Whatever you do, don’t point it at anyone and say, ‘Abracadabra.’”
“Why not?” said Terry.
“Because it’s magic!” I said. “Anything could happen.”
“Okay,” said Terry. “I’ll be careful.”
“Promise?” I said.
“Yes,” said Terry.
“Good,” I said.
“Hey, Andy!” said Terry, pointing the magic wand at me.
Suddenly I felt very strange.
The next thing I knew I had four legs, a tail, and was covered in fur. Just like a dog.
And that’s because I was a dog!
“Now look what you’ve done!” I said. (Although it didn’t come out like that. It just came out as, “BARK! BARK! BARK!”)
That’s when Jill came along. “Oh, what a nice little doggy,” she said, patting me on the head. “What’s his name?”
“Andy,” said Terry.
“Andy?” said Jill.
“Yes,” said Terry. “I accidentally turned Andy into a dog with this magic wand I found.”
“Are you going to turn him back?” said Jill.
“I’m not sure,” said Terry. “I’ve always wanted a dog.”
“And he is a cute dog,” said Jill, patting me on the head again.
“Yes,” said Terry. “Actually, I think I like him better this way. Don’t you?”
Jill nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think I do,” she said, ruffling my ears.
I was about to get mad, but then I realized I couldn’t get mad because I was happy. I loved being a dog. I loved my fur coat. And I loved having a tail—it was so much fun to wag. I wagged it and wagged it and wagged it.
Terry and Jill both patted me and told me I was a good boy. I rolled over and they scratched my stomach. It felt nice.
“Here, boy,” said Terry. “Let’s play fetch.” And then he threw the magic wand into the forest.
I couldn’t help what happened next. I just had to chase that magic wand. Thanks to my two extra legs, I found I could run faster than I’d ever run before. I could smell every single smell there was to smell … including the magic wand smell, which led me straight to the magic wand. I picked it up with my mouth, ran back to Terry and Jill, and dropped it at their feet. Jill picked it up and threw it again, and I chased it down and brought it back.
Jill and Terry took turns throwing the wand, and every time they threw it I ran after it, until one time, after Terry threw it, I couldn’t find it.
I sniffed and sniffed, searching for it until I finally found it, but it was lying next to something that smelled even better.
A big, muddy mud puddle, which I threw myself into. I rolled around on my back with my legs in the air like I just didn’t care … and that’s because I didn’t. I was too happy to care about anything!
(I don’t know if you’ve ever rolled around in a big, muddy mud puddle, but if you haven’t, I recommend doing it as soon as you possibly can.)
I rolled around for quite a long time—so long that Terry and Jill came over to see why I hadn’t brought the magic wand back.
“Andy!” said Terry. “Get out of that puddle!”
I got out and began to shake the mud off my fur.
Jill and Terry jumped back.
“Stop it, Andy!” said Terry. “You’re getting mud all over us!”
The thing is, though, when you’re a dog and you start shaking, it’s hard to stop.
So even though I wanted to stop, I couldn’t stop, and the more I tried not to shake, the more I shook.
“QUIT IT, ANDY!” said Terry, who was now as muddy as I was before I started shaking.
“I don’t think he can help it,” said Jill, who was almost as muddy as Terry.
“Well, I’ll turn him into something else, then!” said Terry.
He reached down, picked up the magic wand, and pointed it at me.
But before he could say the magic word, I leaped through the air, grabbed it with my teeth, and started to run away.
Terry chased after me and grabbed the other end of the magic wand.
“Let go, Andy!” he said. “We’re not playing tug-of-war!”
Yes, we are! I thought. This is fun! I pulled and pulled and Terry pulled and pulled, but he was stronger than me and he pulled the magic wand out of my mouth so hard that he fell backward and ended up sprawled on the ground.
I leaped on top of him, trying to get the magic wand back. I’m not sure exactly what happened next, but at some point Terry yelled,
What Terry didn’t realize, however, was that in all the confusion, he was pointing the wand at himself!
The next thing we knew, Terry had four legs, a tail, and was covered in fur. Just like a dog.
And that’s because he was a dog.
An ANGRY dog.
“GRRRRR!” said Terry, baring his teeth at me.
There was only one thing to do.
I dropped down on my front paws and barked a friendly LET’S PLAY! bark.
Being a dog, Terry couldn’t help but accept my invitation … and then it was ON!
We chased each other around and around the mud puddle, and then dived right into the middle.
“Hey, save some mud for me!” said Jill, picking up the wand, pointing it at herself and shouting,
The next thing we knew, Jill had four legs, a tail, and was covered in fur. Just like us!
“Bark!” she barked, throwing herself into the mud puddle as well.
We all rolled around in the mud puddle for a long time, and then we all had a good long shake and chased one another around for the rest of the afternoon until we all got tired and lay down, panting, and fell asleep on the ground.
Later when we woke up, we found the magic had worn off—we weren’t dogs anymore.
“That was fun,” I said.
“It sure was!” said Jill. “I love dogs, but I never thought I’d actually get to be one!”
“Woof!” said Terry.
The End
Text copyright © 2022 by Backyard Stories Pty Ltd.
Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Scarlett Lake Pty Ltd.
