DIXON and DINAH

by Danna Shirley

This was an assignment to use the following words (or any form thereof) in a story...

Feather     Decade     Weary     Light-Hearted

Alligator     False Teeth     Elevator

Emma and Bella were fun and light-hearted little rich girls who lived in a big mansion up the slope on high ground far away from the lake. Every morning they rode the elevator down to their playroom and scampered out to the backyard to greet their pet geese who waddled up to go swimming with them in their big pool.  

The girls had been warned not to approach the lake because Bruno, the alligator, lived down there and he didn’t like little girls.

Emma loved to watch Dinah preen herself as she prepared for her babies. The feathers, twigs, bark, and leaves made a soft and comfortable nest. Bella and Dixon would play tag running in and out of the trees.

The geese had been together over a decade now and were great parents with forty offspring to their credit. This was to be her ninth brood and she was excited for the day her little ones would arrive. They always returned to this section of the lake and were very careful to build their nest in a secret place far beyond Bruno’s roving eye.

Unfortunately, Bruno was always on the hunt. He was getting pretty tired, though, of skulking around looking for prey, only to lose them through his false teeth. He knew his days were numbered and food was getting scarce for an old and weary wanderer. He lay in the sun sleeping most of the day and would occasionally half-open an eye to get a glimpse of where Dinah had built her nest. This might be his last opportunity to feed on those delicious goose eggs.

 One bright and sunny day six little goslings finally broke through their shells and peeped for food. Bruno had fallen asleep on his favorite bank and missed the birth. They would always be safe from Bruno, however, for he was sleeping now and would never wake again.

Dixon and Dinah and their sweet little offspring lived happily ever after in their safe part of the lake. Eventually, they learned to waddle up to the pool too and go swimming with their best friends, Emma and Bella.