Word: waif

               

waif

\ weyf \  , noun;

1. a person, especially a child, who has no home or friends.

2. something found, especially a stray animal, whose owner is not known.

3. a stray item or article: to gather waifs of gossip .

4. Nautical.  waft.

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               “Mommy, Mommy, come quick!” Shouted Julie as her small legs carried her through the lightly crowded city streets as quickly as they could.

               “What’s the matter dear?” The girl’s mother, Amy, asked.  She knew she should have been more concerned with her daughter’s urgency, but she knew the girl too well.  The six year old girl was easily excited, and tended to find even mundane items and events worthy of urgency.

               Julie didn’t answer her mother’s question.  Instead, she grabbed her hand and started pulling.  Amy sighed, but remained planted for a moment, trying to read a magazine article from a small newsstand.

               “Come on Mommy!”  Julie said as she pulled.  Amy might have been a bit jaded about Julie’s antics, but she also knew better than to ignore her completely.  She set the magazine back on the rack and let herself be pulled along.

               Julie led her to a small ally that was being guarded by her husband, George.  When he saw them coming, he looked at Amy apologetically.  Julie let go of her mother and rushed to the ally, looking at something with great interest.

               “I tired, I really did.  But you know how she gets.”  George said quietly once Amy had gotten close enough.

               “What are you…?”  She started to ask.  But, when she saw he was pointing to a box that had so absorbed their daughter.  “Oh.”  She said simply when she saw what was in it.

               Quietly sleeping inside the box was a tiny, scrawny waif of a puppy.  It’s short, solid brown fur was matted and covered with dirt.  One of its droopy ears looked like a piece of it had been torn off, giving it an awkward, lopsided appearance.  And it was so small that it could only have been to runt of the litter.

               “Can we keep it Mommy?  Can we please?”  Julie asked, looking hopefully up at her mother.

               Amy and George looked at each other nervously.  They had always planned on getting her a pet, but not until her ninth birthday.  It was something of a tradition in George’s family.  Something about teaching responsibility when they were old enough to appreciate the lesson.  But this was three years too soon.  They couldn’t get a pet that early.

               “Sorry honey, but I don’t think we can afford to have a puppy right now.”  Amy said while trying to sound sympathetic.

               “Why not?” Julie asked.

               “Because our apartment isn’t big enough for one.”  George said.  It wasn’t true.  They had more than enough room for even a medium sized dog.  But it was the best he could come up with on such short notice.

               “But she’s really little.”  Julie pointed out.  Amy was silently panicking.

               Julie had decided the puppy was a female, regardless of its actual gender.  That meant that she had started to bond with the animal—or at least was trying to.  That would make it harder to convince her to give it up.  The only thing that would make it worse would be giving it a name.

               “Well, even so, our home isn’t ready for a puppy yet.” Amy said.

               “It’s not?”

               “Nope.  See, just like people, puppies need all kinds of things.  They need food, a bed, a leash, special toys, and a lot of other stuff before we can even think of taking one home.

               “So why don’t we get all that?”

               “Because…” Amy started.  She had no idea of what to say next.

               “Because all that takes a long time to get.”  George said, coming to his wife’s rescue.  We can’t just go and get the first things we see.  We need to make sure we get the best we can, so the puppy will be happy.  But that take a long time.  So, someone else might come and take her with them before we can.”

               Julie’s eyes widened with terror at the idea of that happening. Amy looked at her husband, thanking him with her eyes.

               “But what should we do then?”  Julie asked.  George raced to come up with a solution.

               “How about this.  We take her to a nice kennel—“

               “What’s a kennel? Julie asked, interrupting her father’s plan.

               “It’s a place where dogs and puppies without homes can stay until they do.”  George said, “So, we take them to one of those.  That way, she can be around lots of other puppies and make lots of friends.  But, we might not be able to take her home for awhile, even if we do that.  But, you can still visit sometimes.  How does that sound?”  Both parents desperately hopped she would accept the offer so as not to continue the conversation.  Julie thought about the idea for a moment.

               “How long will it be before we can take her home?”  She asked.

               “I don’t know.  Once she makes friends, the other puppies might not want her to go right away, so it’ll probably be awhile.  But, like I said, you can still visit.”

               “But what if someone likes her and takes her from the kennel?”  Julie asked.

               “We can tell the owners not to let her go for anyone but us.  That way she’ll be waiting for you when we’re ready to take her home.”

               “Well…okay, I guess.”  She said.  A large, pouty frown was plastered to her face, even as she spoke.  It was still very obvious she didn’t like the idea too much though.

               She watched her father carefully pick up the box like a hawk.  Amy reached down and scooped Amy up into her arms.  The young girl wrapped her small arms around her mother’s neck, never taking her eyes off the box and its contents.  

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Everyone loves puppies!  Right?  Right?