One of the joys for Liquorice in having young Keaton around is that she has a permanent live-in playmate, ever ready, willing and able to join her in whatever game she desires! And that goes both ways as Keaton finds Liquorice most obliging when he wants to wrestle or simply romp for joy of it. Last Sunday on the back lawn was one of those rare occasions when Keaton displayed a distinct lack of interest in any such diversions.
But Liquorice would not be denied!
She raised a front leg and pawed toward the young master, first with her right paw going to Keaton’s left. Then her left paw waved tantalizingly to Keaton’s right. Each “wave” resulted in Liquorice taking a small step forward and Keaton a similar step back. As Liquorice repeated her effort with right paw, a sparkle came to Keaton’s eyes. The seed of an idea had germinated in his mind, grew quickly and was ready to be acted upon as Liquorice waved yet again with her left paw. This was a new tactic for their games, masterminded by the boy genius! He grabbed Liquorice’s paw in his mouth and held it! Poor Liquorice looked both surprised and shocked at this turn of events. She tried, without success, to pull her paw back. Then wriggled it side to side, up and down, however Keaton was not about to release it! Liquorice placed her weight on that leg to force its release, however that only resulted pressing her pads onto his unyielding canines! Keaton looked pleased with himself, he sensed an easy victory over his larger friend. Liquorice even tried to grab an ear or lip or leg of Keaton in hopes or organizing a “prisoner exchange” however each time she leaned forward Liquorice would lose her balance and have to hop a step. This opened up new possibilities for the devilish Keaton! He playfully stepped backward, leading Liquorice by her captive paw. He quickly found that wherever that paw went, Liquorice was sure to follow! So there was Keaton leading a most awkward Liquorice about the back lawn by her out-stretched paw!
With each backward step Keaton became more and more pleased with himself. He was “The Man”, “The one in charge”, and there was not a thing big Liquorice could do about it! So blinded was Keaton, by his own success, that he failed to notice a subtle tactical shift had taken place on their friendly “field of battle”.
I, as an interested observer, noted Keaton was no longer leading Liquorice, but rather Liquorice was actually steering Keaton! Liquorice was proving that age and cunning are no match for youth and high hopes. And the young master’s confidence in his abilities rose and rose with each step, oblivious that he was being out-maneuvered! With stealth, Liquorice steered our Landseer boy’s posterior into a spade left standing in a freshly dug garden bed! The sudden shock as he knocked the spade over, with the head coming up under his back feet, had Keaton hop a quick step forward, releasing Liquorice’s paw at the same time. While Liquorice briefly relished the wonder of having four feet once more, Keaton looked behind to see who or what had launched that counter-attack. Liquorice was ready with Part Two of Plan A by the time Keaton’s attention had turned back to her. The expression on his face showed the terms “Holy S**t” and “I’m outa here!” had new and urgent meanings. But action from those thoughts was too long in coming. Liquorice bowled him over as Keaton tried an escape. The young master lay on his back, straddled by Liquorice. With machine-gun like speed she joyously nipped at his ears, paws, legs, nose or any appendage that presented itself. Poor Keaton could not keep up with her rapid-fire attack, always defending a previous spot as Liquorice found a fresh vulnerability! In short order Keaton gave voice to his frustrations. Liquorice, sweet understanding girl that she is, backed of. The young master regained his feet but was clearly confused as to how the tables were turned so convincingly. Liquorice looked at me as I threw her a careless “Good girl!”. Never one to let an opportunity go by Keaton lunged at Liquorice in a final act of defiance. A defiance that was short-lived as once more he found himself flat on his back, unable to keep Liquorice at bay and enjoying every second of it!
Arthur Witten
Liquorice – Hey, he’s smarter than he looks!
Keaton – Those garden tools must be in cahoots with Liquorice!