The Dry Bones
One day Courage the Cowardly Dog was digging in the yard to bury a bone which he had found lying in the road days prior. He finished patting the dirt onto his bone and looked it over with a smile and a satisfied hum. Then he heard Muriel calling for dinner and ran off to their cosy little house in the middle of nowhere.
Muriel set down plates as her crotchety husband Eustace the farmer sat grumbling us usual while holding the Nowhere News paper in front of his face. Courage wagged his tail happily as Muriel set down his dog bowl in front of him full of chicken and mashed potatoes with just a hint of vinegar.
"Here you are Courage. Eat up!" said Muriel.
"Needs salt!" grumbled Eustace. Courage rubbed his paws together as the sound of a chair screeching across the floor came. Courage was ready to dig in but before he could there was a yell from Eustace and Courage looked to see what was the matter.
"Stupid dog! Didn't I tell you not to bring dirty garbage into the house?" yelled Eustace while hopping around on one foot and holding and waving something in the other. "Now get rid of it!" He threw the object at Courage and it hit him in the head causing him to somersault and land with a thump.
"Ow!" muttered Courage as he rubbed his head. He looked down to see the bone he had buried lying at his feet. It still had dirt on it. He picked it up and stared in confusion. "Huh? I could have sword I just buried this." he muttered to himself. But he took the bone and went back outside to bury it again and make it back to his dinner before it got cold. He dug through the loose soil and tossed the bone back into the hole he was sure he had tossed it into before and patted it back down neatly once again. Then he went back into the house.
Courage got back inside and sat back at his bowl, this time taking a bite of food. Eustace had his salt and was seated once more as well as Muriel. There was a whistle of a tea pot and Murial got up this time. "Oh! Tea is done. I'll get it." And she pushed out her chair and walked to the stove. "Oh! Courage, dear. You really shouldn't be leaving your little chew toys out here in the open. Please take this out of the house." said Muriel and turned to Courage as Courage looked at her. He gasped. She was holding the dirty bone. Courage took it as she handed it down to him and he stood there looking at it.
"Okay, this is getting weird. I know I buried this." he said and went back outside with the bone once more. Courage stopped and stared at the ground and the loose soil where he remembered burying the bone. "Maybe I should bury it in a different spot this time." So Courage went to a different spot in the dirt. Once more he dug through the dirt making a hole and then he tossed the bone into it, then covered it back up and patted the soil tightly and neatly again. "There. Hopefully that should do it." Then he went back into the house to his dinner which was getting colder.
This time he got to eat his dinner with no further interruptions.
Later that evening, Courage was sitting in Murial's lap as she was sitting in her rocking chair and Eustace was sitting in his old chair still reading the paper before bed. It was almost 9 o clock pm. "Okay Courage. Time for bed." said Murial as she set Courage down on the floor. Eustace grumbled and got up to go get ready for bed as well. Muriel was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when she gasped and came back out looking annoyed and tapping her foot. "Oh Courage. Now I did tell you to not leave your things in the house didn't I? And this thing is so very dirty. Please take it back out Courage!" she scolded as she held the dirty bone once again.
Courage gulped. He took the bone from her. "Okay, this is definitely getting weird now." Courage went back outside in the dark and this time he tossed the bone into the garbage cans. "That's enough of that!" Then he wiped off his hands and went back inside. Everything was fine and he snuggled into bed with Muriel and Eustace, down at the foot of the bed where he always was. "Good night." he said to himself.
After fifteen minutes Eustace grumbled and got up. "Need a drink of water. Stupid dog." he mumbled as he shuffled off to the door. He fell over something and yelled waking up Muriel and causing Courage to gasp and stare.
Eustace growled and turned to Courage. "You stupid dog! I told you not to leave your dirty garbage in the house! You never listen." He waved his fist in the air.
Courage looked down at the floor and his eyes went wide and he gasped and his fur frizzed out in all directions. There were three dirty bones lying there on the floor.