Morning rolled around. Cedric and Sophia looked a little tired, but that was only because it took them two hours to get Forest back to sleep. Cyril got the worst of it, only because of Snag. Snag had a habit of howling at the full moon, but he also howled when Forest started crying. They were a regular duet!
"Boy, the three of you look terrible!" Lloyd shouted as Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia came into the kitchen for breakfast.
"Shut up!" Cyril shouted. "And feed the dogs!"
"Yes sir!" Lloyd shouted. He began to dig around the cabinets looking for the dog food.
"What a night," Cedric groaned, digging the applesauce out of the refrigerator. He spooned some of it into a bowl, and put it on the tray of Forest's highchair.
Things started to get a little quiet around. Sophia was busy performing "surgery" on Forest's stuffed aardvark. Cyril was checking the stock market in the paper, and Cedric was feeding Forest. After awhile, Floyd and Boyd ran into the room.
"Sir," Floyd said. "There's a phone call for you."
"That had better not be Internal Revenue," Cyril grumbled. "I've got enough problems!"
Cyril got up and stormed out of the room. Sophia stood up as well.
"I need to get some more stuffing for this," she said.
"There should be some left on the floor of Forest's room," Cedric said. "I'll help you look for it."
Cedric stood up, and gave Forest a bottle to keep him occupied until he got back. Then he and Sophia left. The Pigs left the room as well, to see what the phone call Cyril got was about. Snag was about to leave as well, but stopped at the highchair. He thought he'd stick around and keep an eye on Forest. Forest looked down at Snag and giggled. He took a spoonful of applesauce and dropped it on the floor. Snag licked it up right away.
While Forest was giving Snag a free handout, Spot wandered over to Snag's dish. He had already finished his own breakfast, and was still hungry. Spot figured since Snag was eating applesauce for breakfast, then he wouldn't mind.
Apparently, Spot didn't know Snag too well. Snag happened to glance over, and he saw Spot eating out of his bowl. This got him mad. He began to growl, bark, and then chase Spot around the kitchen. Spot yipped in panic, and raced around the kitchen, with Snag hot on his tail. Spot dove underneath the highchair, and staid there, shaking. Snag ran for the puppy, and tried to get under the highchair himself, but he was too big. He ended up knocking it over, and Forest as well.
CRASH!
Forest let out an extremely loud wail once he hit the floor, louder than anyone had ever heard him before! Spot ran out the dog door as fast as he could. Snag growled after him, but didn't follow. Instead, he walked over to Forest, trying to see if he was okay.
The crash had attracted everyone's attention. Cyril, Cedric, Sophia, and the Pigs ran in to see what had happened. Sophia gasped, and ran directly to Forest.
"My baby!" she cried, as she gently pulled Forest out of the highchair. Forest's wails died down a little, and soon, they were reduced to hiccups.
"What in blazes!" Cyril shouted. "Snag! You stupid mutt! I've had it with you! You've been causing too much trouble around here! Cedric! Open the door!"
Cedric opened the back door, like his father instructed. The minute it was open, Cyril punted Snag like a football, and he sailed into the backyard. Spot ran in as Snag practically flew out.
"And stay out!" Cyril shouted, slamming the door shut.
Snag whimpered a little. He didn't think this was fair. It was that darn Spot causing all the trouble, not him! Why wasn't he being punished?
For the next few days, Snag was on the outside looking in. The Pigs were given the job to feed him, which caused them to fear for their lives. Snag was still a vicious dog towards certain people, the Pigs just being three of them. But for awhile, Snag didn't look ready to tear them to bacon bits. This was because he was depressed and he missed Forest.
Forest missed Snag, too. Every time he didn't think his parents were looking, he would sneak out the dog door and go play with Snag. But someone would always catch him, and bring him back into the house. After the kitchen incident, Cedric and Sophia didn't trust Snag around the baby anymore. Every time one of them would come out to the backyard and take Forest back inside, he'd cry. But the cries stopped when Spot came in, and Forest played with him for awhile. Spot was a good substitute, but he just wasn't Snag.
One day, the Pigs were busy taking some time to themselves. Cyril didn't need them to do any of his dirty work (yet), and they were relaxing. And practically using up all the power at the Sneer mansion. They had a ton of electric devices in their quarters, and they often left them all running non stop. Of course, that meant the electric bills at the Sneer mansion were usually through the roof. The Pigs never really came right out and talked about the bills, either.
"Aren't you worried that the power might be shut off again?" Floyd asked his brothers.
"Relax!" Boyd shouted, plugging in the blender into the already overloaded outlet. "We paid the electric bill already!"
"But what about all these outlets?" Floyd asked. "They could be a fire hazard!"
"You worry too much," Lloyd said, relaxing in the light of his tanning bed.
Floyd shrugged, and went over to his electric reclining massage chair. He needed to relax a little himself.
As they were relaxing, Cedric, Forest, and Spot went downstairs. Cedric had been working on a super computer, and he was almost done with it. He was going to test it by playing some computer games on it with Forest. Spot just came along for the heck of it. Forest wasn't too excited at the prospect of computer games. He wanted to go out and play with Snag, but Cedric wasn't going to let him.
"I know you want to go and play with Snag, Forest," he said. "But after what happened the other day, I don't trust him."
Cedric set Forest down on the floor, and began searching around for the "on" button to his computer. Spot barked, and began to wander away. Forest giggled, and followed him. Cedric was too busy looking for the power source to the computer to notice.
Spot and Forest both ended up attracted to a bright light coming from the Pigs' room. Just as they reached the room, the door open, and Boyd walked out.
"I don't see why I have to get the snacks all the time," he grumbled.
"Because you're the youngest!" Lloyd and Floyd shouted.
"Hurry up with the popcorn!" Lloyd shouted. "You're missing a great football game!"
"And don't forget the root beer!" Floyd added.
Boyd grumbled, and started towards the kitchen. Forest and Spot went into the room to investigate things. Forest had been in the Pig's room before, but he never really noticed all the bright lights there. Spot was more interested in the overloaded outlet. He sniffed at it, and began chewing on it, growling, trying to yank it out of the wall. Sparks flew, but Spot didn't seem to notice. Forest just giggled as the sparks flew. Lloyd and Floyd didn't notice, either. They were too engrossed in the football game.
Cedric, in the meantime, had found the on button on his computer, but to his surprise, it didn't turn on! He went to investigate, and found that his computer wasn't even plugged in! He picked up the plug, and stuck it into the outlet, but it was all the wiring could take. The minute he plugged in his computer, all the lights in the house flickered. Spot got the shock of his life as well. He immediately dropped the plugs he was chewing on, and ran, yipping all the way. He ran straight into Boyd on the way out.
"Whoooaaaa!" Boyd shouted, trying to keep his balance. He ended up falling flat on his stomach, which caused popcorn and root beer to fly all over the place. And the root beer ended up hitting the overloaded outlet, causing it to short out, and a fire to break out.
"Uh oh," he said.
"Let's get out of here!" Lloyd shouted.
The three Pigs screamed, and ran out of their quarters as fast as they could. Forest sensed their panic, and followed, but he wasn't as fast as they were. Cedric ran over to the Pigs quarters to see what was going on, only to find that it was going up in flames, and the rest of the house would follow if someone didn't get the fire department!
"Pop!" Cedric shouted, racing up the stairs. "Hey Pop!"
"What is it, Cedric?" Cyril asked. "I'm busy here!"
"Fire, fire, fire, fire!" the Pigs shouted, running around in circles.
"WHAT!" Cyril shouted. "You stupid swine! You overloaded the circuits again with all that junk of yours, didn't you!"
"What's going on down here?" Sophia asked, coming down from the second floor.
"There's a fire in the basement," Cedric said. "We've got to get out of here and call the fire department before it spreads too far!"
Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia ran out the back door as fast as they could. The Pigs followed. Spot was already outside, hiding under the bushes. Snag looked at everyone, wondering what was going on. Then he sensed something was wrong. Really wrong. He began barking, and running for the house, but Cyril grabbed onto the chain that was attached to his collar before he could get anywhere.
"Oh no you don't," he said. "The last thing I need is a barbequed dog and the ASPCA on my back!"
"Did everyone get out okay, boss?" Lloyd asked.
"How should I know!" Cyril yelled. "Just call the fire department NOW! Before that fire spreads and reaches the vault!"
"Is that all you can think about a time like this!" Sophia shouted.
"Hey, boss?" Boyd asked, timidly. "Uhh, where's the baby?"
Cedric, Sophia, and Cyril all looked at each other, and panic spread across their faces.
"THE BABY!" they shrieked in perfect unison.
"We forgot about Forest!" Cedric shouted.
Snag couldn't take it any longer. In a burst of speed, he ran for the dog door, pulling his chain leash from Cyril's hand.
"Snag!" Cyril shouted. "Come back here, you crazy dog!"
Snag didn't listen. He squeezed through the dog door, and began sniffing around the kitchen, which was starting to get pretty smoky. Cedric and the Pigs had left the basement door open, and the smoke and flames from the fire were heading upstairs. Snag continued to sniff around until he heard a tiny cough coming from the stairway to the basement. He ran over, and saw Forest, trying to crawl up the stairs. He was coughing and crying all at the same time. Snag ran over, and grabbed the collar of Forest's shirt, and then dragged him across the kitchen floor, and through the dog door in the kitchen. Then he stopped, and barked, giving Cedric, Cyril, and Sophia a signal to come over, which they did.
"Forest!" Sophia shouted, scooping her baby into her arms. Forest coughed a little, and let out an extremely loud wail. It was music to everyone's ears.
"I never thought I'd be happy to hear him scream," Cyril said.
The fire department arrived moments later and began to put out the fire before it could spread any farther than it had. The basement of the Sneer mansion was completely ruined, which included the Pigs quarters, and Cedric's super computer. Cedric didn't really care about his computer.
"What started the fire, anyway?" he asked.
"A lot of things," one of the firefighters said. "There were too many plugs in one of the outlets, and it looked like an animal of some kind was chewing on the chord."
"An animal?" Cyril asked. Then he looked at Snag. "Why you . . . ."
"Wait a minute, Pop," Cedric said. "Snag was outside all day. He couldn't have been the one to chew on those wires!"
"Then who . . . . ." Cyril started.
A tiny bark interrupted things. Everyone turned around and looked at Spot. They had found the culprit.
"Looks like the puppy's been the cause of everything around here," Cedric said.
"We can't keep both dogs," Sophia said. "It'll be too much trouble. We'll have to choose which one."
Forest eagerly reached for Snag. Sophia laughed, and put him down on the ground. Snag raced for him, and nearly tackled him. Forest giggled, and wrapped his arms around Snag's neck. It was settled then and there. No argument about it.
Cedric brought Spot back to Bert and explained what was going on.
"He's too much trouble, Bert," he said. "It was a nice idea, but we just don't have the patients for two dogs."
"Well, I'll find something to do with him," Bert said. "Maybe I'll give him to Ralph's Aunt Gertie. She might like a companion."
Cedric nodded, and left. That night, when Cedric and Sophia put Forest to bed, Snag jumped into the crib. Forest giggled, and hugged his friend.
"Okay Snag," Cedric said. "You can sleep there, but just for tonight."
Snag settled himself into the crib. Sophia turned on Forest's mobile, and Cedric dimmed the light. Then the two of them left. Before Forest went off to dreamland, he snuggled against Snag. He was better than any teddy bear Forest ever had.
The End