Hard Work Pays Off

By: Kasey

I stood watching as Dip 'n Dots fell again and wondered, "Will they ever get this right?

The warm October sun felt good on my cheeks as I worked outside with my animals. A gentle breeze that Saturday afternoon kept us from getting hot while I trained my pet horse, monkey and puppies for a circus act. Last month I found a newspaper ad announcing a circus contest and decided to enter my animals for the contest.

My puppies' names are Fudge, Squirt and Dip 'n Dots. My monkey's name is Gabriella and my horse's name is Lilly. I'm training my puppies and the monkey to stay on the horse while she jumps over an obstacle of wood and dirt. It isn't as easy as I thought it would be! The monkey and puppies keep falling off the horse. I walk beside them so they won't fall off and hurt themselves really bad. I give them treats each time they get it right.

We practiced over and over again when we were at the farm. Fudge learned fast because he wanted those treats. He had no problems staying on Lilly's back. He really liked the treats. Squirt, Dip 'n dots and Gabriella took a little longer to learn.

It was Saturday and almost time for the contest. The animals wore special costumes and looked really cute. Lilly wore a purple and blue costume. Gabriella wore a pink and black costume and Fudge wore a green and black costume. The girls wore purple and pink costumes with ruffles that my mom made. They looked the same but were different sizes and had different colors.

I was nervous but we did a great job. None of the animals fell off Lilly and everybody loved our act. I could hear the audience clapping and cheering. I felt so happy and proud of my animals. We won the contest and got a big trophy. Everyone loved the costumes my mom made.

When we got home I gave each of my animals a treat. I got myself a snack, too. We were all tired but happy and surprised that we won. The contest was great and worth all the hard work. I wish we could do it again.

Patti Weeg
pweeg@comcast.net

May 21, 2005