Tail as Old as Time

Tail as Old as Time - Part 7

In the depths of Grace's uncomfortable sleep, she had a dream. She was at the beautiful Maxwell Estate  being fed a large delicious breakfast by a kind hearted human instead of the Beast.

The human gave off a smell like the garden outside the estate, a beautiful rosy smell that made Grace want to leap into his arms. She played with this human, fetch and tug of war, just like she had with the Beast. But they also went for short romps out in the garden and long walks through the park and the neighborhood.

At night she slept next to the fire in her library, but instead of tucking her nose into her own soft fur on the braided rug she lay neatly snuggled into the lap of this rose smelling human while he scratched her head and spoke nice things to her, "Good girl, Grace. What a smart girl you are."

But Grace began to whimper in her sleep as the dream turned bad. The voice she heard belonged to the Beast, and the rose smelling human disappeared. The fire blew out, and Grace sat on her braided rug in the cold and empty house all alone.

She searched the room, and did not find the Beast or the human, so she wandered to the hallway. The back door stood open to the rose garden outside where she could hear moaning. Grace ran out to find the Beast on the ground next to the remains of his prize rose, sobbing with loneliness because she left him.

Grace awoke in the dark and leaped to her feet. Moe had a doggy door at the back of the house and she ran through it into the small yard. She found a spot where the fence wasn't quite touching the ground and began to dig with all her might until she was able to wriggle out into the street.

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Grace did not feel the same as she had during her last escape. When she ran away from the house on the hill, she was disoriented and scared with only a small idea which direction to head in. This time, her instincts led her exactly where she needed to go.

She ran past the lines of maples on Daffodil Way and beyond the park. She did not stop once the whole way home, and didn't even notice the lady in a white gown who stood watching her race back to the Beast.

When Grace reached the estate, she leaped between the iron bars of the gate into the rose garden, and immediately smelled the Beast. She knew from her dream exactly where he would be.

The Beast did not see her approach. He lay face down on the ground with his head buried in his elbow. His heart was broken.

Grace felt a little afraid, so despite her excitement, she slowed to a walk as she approached. She tentatively nuzzled his hand with her nose, and jumped back when he lifted his head in surprise.

"Grace! You're here! You're back!"

The excitement in his voice let her know how happy he felt to see her, so she gave a playful bark to show the feeling was mutual. She sat there, nubby tail wagging, panting with her pink tongue hanging from her mouth, as he began to reach his hand toward her.

Grace did not recoil. She simply continued wagging her tail until his hand touched her soft furry head and began scratching. She barked happily again and moved closer to him so he would continue.

Then something strange happened. The smell of the Beast changed. It did not simply disappear, or go away; it morphed into a totally different scent. Grace's tail stopped wagging as she sniffed the air, confused and elated as he started to smell like the rosy man in her dreams.

Her happiness overflowed as the Beast gathered her up in his arms, no longer a beast at all but the most wonderful, loving human master she could ever hope for. She nuzzled into him as he carried her into the house where they lived happily ever after.