Merlin and Wart

In the story of Camelot, before the boy has taken the sword from the stone, Merlin the Magician is the teacher, and he calls the boy Wart.

This weekend we have a guest. Tucker has joined us for three days while Kate and Skip are on a trip to a family reunion in Indiana. Tucker and Sonny are the most famous of friends and enjoy each other's company with relish.

This morning as I lay in bed, Tucker and Sonny came in to check on me, as if wondering, was I ready to get out of bed and come play? They have already eaten and fetched the paper, it is time to start the day.

I sometimes try to coax Sonny to hop up in bed with me, but he never accepts my invitation. NOT ALLOWED! He will frantically circle the bed with a toy in his mouth, he will put up one or two paws with tail wagging furiously, he really wants to join me as I pat the covers, my bed looks sooo comfy, but he never makes the full jump up.

However, Tucker has no compunction about jumping up at the smallest beckon. He joins me in the blink of an eye and immediately makes himself comfortable across my legs, pinning me to the mattress. In an instant he has made himself my focus of attention. Tucker sighs contentedly and settles in with ease. Sonny reacts with agitation, he wants to come up and join us, he wants to be like Tucker.

Sonny wants to have a war with Tucker and my body is the intended battlefield. What better game could there be? Tucker stands up over me on the bed and reaches down to engage in the tug of war with Sonny. The tug instrument is a piece of unstuffed toy that Son has in his mouth, (I think it was the remains of the chicken that crows). I turn over and let them fight it out.

Eventually they tire of that game and it becomes time to go into the backyard to scout squirrels. I lean over the gate and witness the hunt. Sonny follows Tucker as a faithful student, mimicking all that Tucker does. Tucker runs from tree to tree with Son not far off his heels. If Tucker jumps up on the bark of each tree, then Sonny must jump up on the bark of each tree. Tucker is on the lookout for squirrels, eyeing the canopy of every tree carefully. Sonny, in turn, scrutinizes the treetops just like his mentor. Sonny has hunted squirrels before and I have watched him intently standing on point for minutes at a time, tracking a squirrel in the yard with his eyes, but when Tucker is here Sonny abandons his own skills, his only purpose is to be Tucker's shadow, to do everything as Tucker does.

When the hunting safari is over, they begin to run, just for fun.

As they run from one corner of the yard to the other, I notice these things:
Tucker is always in the lead setting the pace.
Sonny never takes his eyes off Tucker.
Oh Look! Sonny has Tucker's tale in his mouth as they run their figure 8's.
Sonny's hackles are always up as he follows Tucker.
One can barely tell which dog is which, they are so similar in color, you must pay close attention, Sonny is lighter, Tucker's tail curls.

They are winded and thirsty so they come in the house to rest.

Tucker settles down with Dolly, to groom her, and she basks in his attention.

Sonny goes to his post at the front door, surrounded by his toys. The squirrels are playing on the front lawn. The yard is his television. And he doesn't want to miss his shows.