The Trail of Crunchy Treats

Leo stood by the tall wooden fence. The backyard felt very, very big. It felt very, very quiet without Pip.

Usually, this was their favorite time of day. Usually, Leo would kick his black-and-white soccer ball across the green grass, and Pip would chase it with happy, floppy hops. But right now, the soccer ball sat all alone near the back porch.

Leo looked down at the bottom of the fence. There was a small, dusty gap under the very last wooden board. That was the exact spot where Pip’s fluffy white tail had disappeared. Pip had been chasing a silly yellow butterfly. The butterfly had fluttered up, up, up, and Pip’s curious little paws had scrambled down, down, down, right under the wood.

Leo took a deep breath. His heart did a little fluttery dance inside his chest, like a butterfly of its own. He missed his best friend. He wanted his puppy back. He wanted to hear Pip’s happy, high-pitched yips. He wanted to feel the soft pat-pat-pat of Pip’s muddy paws against his shoes.

"Don't worry, Pip," Leo whispered to the quiet yard. "I am coming to find you."

Leo marched toward the garden gate. As he reached for the cold metal latch, his hand bumped against his right pocket.

Clink. Crinkle.

His pocket felt lumpy. It felt bumpy.

Leo slid his hand inside the dark pocket. His fingers touched something small, hard, and rough. He pulled his hand out and opened his palm.

"Aha!" Leo giggled, his eyes lighting up.

Sitting in his hand were five crunchy, star-shaped dog treats. They were Pip’s absolute favorite snacks in the whole wide world. Leo smelled them. They smelled wonderfully sweet, like creamy peanut butter and warm pumpkin pie.

Whenever Leo opened the yellow treat box in the kitchen, Pip would hear the pop of the lid from all the way across the house. Pip would run into the kitchen, do three super-fast spins on the slippery floor, and sit down as neat as a pin, waiting for his prize.

Leo smiled. Looking at the star-shaped treats made his tummy stop doing nervous flips. He put them carefully back into his pocket, one by one. They felt warm. They were like five little pieces of home to bring along on his big rescue mission.

Leo pushed the wooden gate open. It gave a long, sleepy creak-creak-creak sound. He stepped out of his safe backyard and onto the dusty path that ran behind all the houses in the neighborhood.

Leo looked down at the soft, gray dirt.

"Oh!" Leo gasped.

There they were! Tiny, round paw prints in the dust. They looked just like little flower petals pressed into the earth. They led away from the wooden fence and straight down the sunny lane.

"I need to make sure Pip hears me," Leo thought.

But sometimes, calling a puppy in a loud, serious voice could sound a little bit scary. Leo did not want Pip to think he was in trouble. Pip was a very good puppy; he just had very curious paws.

Leo took a deep, brave breath. He puffed out his chest, stood on his tiptoes, and decided to use his best, most silly singing voice. He sang to the tune of his favorite playground song.

"Oh, puppy-pop, oh, puppy-pop, where did you hop?" Leo sang loudly to the blue sky. His voice bounced happily off the wooden fences. "I have a star for your tummy, and it tastes super yummy!"

He took a few steps forward, hopping on his left foot, then his right foot, following the tiny flower-petal paw prints.

"Pip-o-saurus! Pip-o-saurus!" Leo sang to the tall green treetops. "Are you hiding in the forest?"

A little bluebird sitting on a branch chirped twice, as if it were trying to sing the chorus. Leo giggled. Singing made his feet feel lighter. It made the big world outside his backyard feel friendly, warm, and bright.

He marched down the lane, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. The tiny paw prints went straight past Mrs. Gable’s vegetable garden, where the big green lettuce leaves grew. They hopped right over a small, shiny puddle of water. Then, the prints turned a corner near a big, red mailbox.

Leo stopped singing. Standing by the mailbox was a tall man in a bright blue uniform and a matching blue hat. It was Mr. Green, the neighborhood mail carrier! He had a big, soft leather bag slung over his shoulder. The bag was stuffed with white letters and colorful packages.

Mr. Green was looking at a postcard, but when he heard the crunch-crunch-crunch of Leo’s sneakers on the gravel, he looked up and smiled. His eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Well, hello there, Leo!" Mr. Green said. His voice was warm and deep, like a cozy blanket on a winter night. "That was some very fine singing I heard just now. Are you writing a new song about a Pip-o-saurus?"

Leo felt his cheeks get a little bit warm, but he smiled anyway. He stopped hopping and stood up straight. He liked Mr. Green. Mr. Green always brought the funny magazines with the pictures of silly animals on the cover, and he always had a kind word to say.

"I am looking for Pip," Leo explained. He pointed his finger down at the dusty ground. "He went under the fence after a yellow butterfly. I am following his flower-petal prints."

Leo stopped. He looked at the ground ahead. Oh, no. The lane went in three different directions near the big red mailbox. Even worse, the soft dirt had turned into hard, gray gravel. The tiny flower-petal paw prints had completely disappeared.

Leo did not know which way to go. He felt a tiny prickle of worry in his chest. He wanted to find Pip all by himself, like a brave explorer in a book. But the path was so big, and he was just six years old.

Then, Leo remembered what his mom always told him when he was trying to tie his shoes or reach a high shelf: Asking for help is just another way of being brave.

Leo took a deep, brave breath. He looked up at Mr. Green’s kind eyes. "Mr. Green? Have you seen a very small, very fluffy puppy? He has floppy ears, and his tail wags back and forth like a windshield wiper."

Mr. Green tapped his chin with his finger. He looked up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky. Then, he looked down at his big leather bag, pretending to search inside it.

"Let me see," Mr. Green said with a playful wink. "I have letters for the Smiths. I have a big brown box for the Millers. But I do not think I have a floppy-eared puppy in my bag today."

Leo giggled, and the nervous prickle in his chest melted away.

"But," Mr. Green continued, pointing a long, friendly finger down the path that led toward the sunny meadow, "I did hear something very interesting just a few minutes ago. I was putting a letter in the yellow house's mailbox, and I heard a happy little woof-woof coming from the tall grass."

Leo’s eyes went wide and round. "A woof-woof?"

"A very small, very cheerful woof-woof," Mr. Green confirmed, nodding his head. "It sounded like a puppy who was having a grand adventure in the sunshine."

Leo felt a big wave of happy hope rush from his toes all the way to his hair. "That must be Pip! Thank you, Mr. Green!"

"You are very welcome, young explorer," Mr. Green said. He tipped his blue hat with a smile. "Good luck on your search. Keep singing those excellent songs!"

"I will!" Leo called back.

He felt so brave now. He knew he was not alone. Mr. Green was watching out for him, and Pip was just a little bit further ahead.

Leo skipped down the path that led toward the meadow. The tall trees began to thin out, and the warm, golden sunlight spilled over the grass. The air smelled wonderful here. It smelled like sweet green clover and wild, juicy strawberries baking in the sun.

Soon, the gravel path ended, and the wide, open meadow spread out before him. It looked like a giant green carpet. The tall grass waved gently in the warm breeze, making a soft hush-hush sound. Yellow and white daisies nodded their heads in the sunshine, looking like little stars in the grass.

Leo stopped at the very edge of the meadow. He reached into his pocket and touched the five crunchy, star-shaped treats. He was so close. He could feel it in his bones.

He held his breath, stood very still, and listened as hard as he could.

Swish.

Rustle.

Swish.

Just a few feet away, in the middle of a patch of tall, green grass, the long green stalks began to wiggle. They began to shake. Something small was moving through the clover, coming closer and closer.