I walked to the playroom and found Bluey and Bingos standing in the middle of the room discussing what they should play. The room was still a wreck.

"Didn't your mum tell you to tidy up in here?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah, but that's BORING!" Bluey responded with her arms drooping.

"Come on," I said, "If I help you it'll go really quick."

"Yeah come on Bluey!" Bingo said as she started to pick up the toys strewn about the room. I started tidying up and Bluey joined in shortly thereafter. It only took maybe 5 minutes to get everything cleaned up.

"There," I said, "That wasn't so bad was it? Now what do you guys want to do?" Bluey and Bingo seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. Then they both got extremely excited and at the same time yelled,

"Horsey Ride!"

"Alright! How do we play?" I asked.

"Well I'll be the horse owner. Bingo can be the rider, and you'll be the horse," Bluey said with a grin.

"I'm not sure what I expected," I responded with. Bluey ran off and returned quickly holding a rope in her hand.

"Alright. Now get on all fours and keep this in your mouth," she said. I groaned to myself internally. I should've known this would be a bad idea, but I did as she told me to. I got down on all fours with my knees on the floor and I took the rope in my mouth. I assumed it was meant to mimic a lead. In no time Bluey and Bingo had already started into their roles.

"Hello," Bluey said, "Welcome to the horse farm. Would you like to ride a horse?"

"Yes I would," Bingo responded, "I want to ride that one." She pointed to me.

"Yes of course," Bluey said, "Go ahead and hop up." Bingo walked over to me and started trying to climb up onto my back. As she did so she dug her knees into my side, making me wince. After a couple seconds of struggling Bluey helped Bingo up. She was surprisingly light.

"What's his name?" She asked.

"Oh yes," Bluey responded, "His name is...uh...Lance!" Bingo nodded and Bluey got to work. She grabbed the rope dangling from my mouth and started using it to lead me. At the same time Bingo was kicking my sides and telling me to "Giddy-up!" They led me in circles around the playroom for a little while, and it wasn't too bad. I just had to be careful not to step on any toys. Eventually Bluey must've gotten bored because she turned to face me.

"You're supposed to neigh," she said.

"Oh sorry...uh...neigh?" I said.

"No!" she said while laughing, "You're supposed to actually neigh, not just say the word!"

"Aw man. Okay," I responded. I did my best to neigh, though it sounded nothing like an actual horse. She seemed satisfied by this and Bingo started laughing. Bluey started leading me again, except she was now bringing me out of the playroom. We went through the family room and into the kitchen where Chilli seemed to be preparing morning tea.

"Look at our horse mum!" Bluey said, "His name's Lance." Chilli turned and smiled when she saw us.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, "And what a handsome horse he is!" She leaned down and stroked my hair between the ears as one would pet a horse. I was more than a little embarrassed, but I still gave a half-hearted neigh to appease my captors.

"Can I have a turn now Bingo?" Bluey asked.

"Okay!" Bingo said as she slid down off my back. Bluey wasted no time in trying to get on top of me, but she was a good bit heavier than Bingo. I grunted audibly as she climbed, but once she was up I was okay.

"Come along horsey," Bingo said as she took a hold of the rope. I neighed once more and we were off. I was led back into the living room where Bandit was reading that day's newspaper. He looked up when he heard us come in and he laughed when he saw me.

"Looks like you got your work cut out for you," he said. All of a sudden Bluey got this devious look on her face.

"You know what we should do Bingo?" she asked. Bingo got a puzzled look.

"What?" Bingo questioned.

"Horsey race!" Bluey exclaimed while looking directly at Bandit.

"Oh yeah!" Bingo said.

"Aw don't you think your mum would want to play?" Bandit asked in an obvious attempt to get himself out of the situation.

"She can watch the race!" Bluey said, "I'll go get her!" She hopped off of my back and ran out of the room while Bingo grabbed another length of rope from the playroom. She had Bandit get on all fours and gave him a rope to hold in his mouth as they had done to me. Bandit looked worried, and I had the feeling he'd done something like this before. Bingo took both the ropes in her hand and led us back to the kitchen. Bluey had already gotten to work setting up the race. There was a pool noodle on the floor that obviously was meant to mimic a starting line. Chilli was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea in her hands. Bingo led Bandit and I up to the starting noodle where she took both of the ropes from us.

"Alright I want a nice clean race," Bluey said while mimicking an announcer, "You'll go into the dining room, through the playroom, then the living room, and end back in the kitchen. You'll take 3 laps, understand?" Bandit and I both neighed, but his was much better than mine. Chilli set down her mug and held up a little flag, starting a countdown,

"Ready...Set...Go!" She waved the flag and I was off. I immediately noticed it was significantly more uncomfortable trying to run on my knees rather than just walking, even with no one on my back. Bandit and I were just about neck and neck through the first lap. When we got back to the kitchen all three girls were cheering for me funnily enough, and Chilli was filming on her cellphone. Starting the second lap Bandit seemed to be tiring out and succumbing to the pain in his knees. I was beginning to pull ahead of him, but just as I had passed him he reached out and grabbed my leg, causing me to trip and fall. Bandit kept going on ahead, even looking back to gloat for a second. With his head turned he had no way of seeing the upcoming obstacle. Just like a cartoon he ran head first into the side of the couch, halting his momentum immediately. I recovered quickly from my fall, and then it was my turn to gloat as I ran past him groaning on the floor of the living room. I finished my second lap and started into my third. By the time I reached the living room again he had only just started moving, so I lapped him. I finished my third lap, winning the race with a substantial lead. Bluey, Bingo, and Chilli cheered as I crossed the finish noodle.

"Wait, where's Dad?" Bingo asked, looking puzzled. As if on cue Bandit came trudging into the kitchen, still on all fours. He was panting heavily.

"I'm gonna call that a DNF," Chilli said with a chuckle. I was finally allowed to get up off the floor, and my knees were killing me. I could only imagine how Bandit felt. He took significantly longer to get himself off the floor. I walked over to him and held out my hand to shake.

"Good game," I said with a smile. Bandit smiled back and shook my hand,

"Yeah I guess karma got me on that one." I looked over to see Bluey and Bingo had sat at the kitchen table. Chilli brought them each a plate with some grapes and a glass of water.

"You want anything Lance...er I mean Oscar?" She asked me with a smile on her face.

"No I'm alright thanks, just some water," I said. She nodded and poured me a glass. Bluey and Bingo finished their snack quickly.

"Come on Oscar!" Bluey said as she grabbed my paw, "I know what we can play next!"

"Hang on a minute," I responded, "I'm kind of tired Bluey. I think I need a break before I play another one of your games."

"Oh alright," she said dejectedly before leaving the kitchen. I made my way back to the living room and plopped down on the couch. I grabbed my book off of the coffee table and started to read. Bandit came in soon after and sat in the armchair to resume his newspaper reading that had been so rudely interrupted. After about 20 minutes of reading my book the sound of the doorbell was heard throughout the house. Bandit put down the newspaper and got up from the chair,

"Ah. That must be the other cousins."