The First Golden

Prologue Part Three - The First Golden

    Once everyone was settled in, the pups became restless, and they wanted to hear Cody tell them another story. They were clamoring to hear how the first Golden Retriever was made. Cody smiled and told them all to come closer and he would tell them.

    “All of the first dogs start and end the same way, they are made of clay and at first are pure white, their eyes are precious gems from the mountains and they always have a heart of gold, as does every dog who makes it to the door of the Oak.” Cody smiled and chose his words carefully so the dogs here would know he spoke of them too.

“The first golden was the same. He loved to run and fetch things for the Great Trees. Whether it was sticks, or balls, or nuts, he enjoyed running through the forest to grab whatever he was sent to get and return it to the Great Trees. They heaped such praise upon him too! As he would run and chase whatever it was he was retrieving that day he could hear the Great Trees singing to him all the way there and all the way back.

    No matter how far the Trees threw or placed the object, the golden would always complain it was too easy. One day the Trees overheard the golden bragging to some shrubs that no matter how far the Trees threw a ball the golden could always find it. No matter how far it went he never lost a scent. Upon hearing this some of the Trees decided the dog needed to be taught a lesson before his golden heart turned to coal. One of the Trees, an Oak much like ours, made a tight ball from the forest. The ball was so tight the Tree began to boast that the ball would bounce forever if left alone. The Tree told the dog that all he had to do was merely catch it and it could be his forever.

    Now this, thought the dog, was a challenge appropriate for his skill. The dog agreed, but before the Tree threw the ball he made a bet with the dog. The dog couldn’t return to the Great Trees until he recovered the ball. The dog thought this wouldn’t be that bad. The trees had never thrown a ball so far he couldn’t track it down before it landed. The dog didn’t even know if they were capable of it!

    While the dog was lost in his thought, the ball was set loose. The dog didn’t realize the ball was gone until it was far in the sky. He began to chase the ball, yelling for the brush to make way for him and asking the mountains and hills to move aside so he could pass through more quickly. They all did as he asked, and he quickly made up ground as the ball grew closer and closer. Just up ahead was a field of tall wheat stretching as far as the eye could see. Waves of gold rippled in the wind. He looked up just in time to see the ball plop down in the field, and he took off, tearing through the wheat, kicking up dirt and crushing the plants.

    He ran until his legs hurt. As he looked around he realized almost the entire field was crushed, yet still he could not find the ball. ‘A ball that bounces forever.. Yea, right,’ he thought to himself. He then noticed the wheat was all gone. He began spinning around trying to find where it went. Then he noticed it seemed to be stuck to him! He tried rolling around to get it off, and then spinning around some more or just running. Nothing worked. His once white coat was now long and golden. Defeated, he turned to go back to the Trees. Yet where there were once mountains and forest, now all that was ahead of him were small houses and rolling fields.”

    Cody finished his story as the crowd of dogs assembled stayed waiting for the next part. When they finally realized there was no next part coming the pups began to wiggle and whisper, not satisfied with such an ending.

“Does he ever get the ball?” one pup asked.

    Cody shrugged his shoulders. “What do you think?”

    “I think I should go find that ball!”

The crowd laughed as the pup's mom began whispering to him.

    A wave of whispers began to ripple across the crowd gathered before the Oak as a figure appeared from a path along the trees.

It was Sentinel Eleven.

He had his walking stick in the opposite hand as he usually carried it. As Cody looked closer, he could have sworn the Sentinel was missing one of his hands.

    Bailey made her way out from the Oak, and the Sentinel bent down to greet her. Setting down his stick he rubbed the top of her head with his hand.

Cody did not hear what they were talking about, but he saw Bailey get mad. The conversation didn’t last long, and Bailey turned and went back into the Oak. Cody tried making his way to the Sentinel, but he was stopped by several puppies asking what story Cody would tell next.