Penguin and the Fig Tree

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Penguin and the fig tree

When I was still young, I would spend my summer holidays at my Uncle Ernesto’s home. He lived, at that time, by the well-known and touristy beach of Figueira da Foz, in the North of Portugal, in a lovely house at the end of a cul-de-sac that ended at the entrance to a pine forest.

My uncle had a dog, Penguin, and this is a story about him.

He was a magnificent dog, an Irish setter, very friendly and well behaved, although he had a weakness! A sweet tooth! He loved… Well, you’ll learn about it when reading further!

But, right after my uncle discovered this quirk in his dog, it was necessary to solve another mystery! Let’s learn about the first mystery, though – the mystery of the disappearing figs…

Uncle Ernesto liked fruit very much, and figs most of all. He had therefore planted a fig tree right in front of his bedroom window.

The fig tree had grown enormous and, by looking out of his window, he could tell when the figs were ripe and ready to eat.

So, one day, he was very happy when he saw the first ripe figs. He told himself, “tomorrow I will pick them”.

To his great surprise, the figs he had seen in the tree the day before were no longer there the following day. He thought that perhaps my aunt had picked and eaten them, and he thought about it no more.

A few days later, he noticed that there were lovely, ripe figs on the tree again, and promised himself he would pick them the very next day.

Sure enough when the next day came the figs had disappeared!

Frustrated but determined, Uncle Ernesto said nothing about it to my aunt – who he though responsible for the fact – but vowed to not let any more be taken!

And when one lovely morning he saw some newly ripened figs hanging from the tree, he rushed straight to the garden to pick them.

It was then that Uncle Ernesto found out who had been helping himself to his figs all this time!

Upright, with his front paws scratching and pushing at the fig tree – the way bears do when they want fruit to fall from the trees – was his precious Penguin!

The rascal had already eaten two or three figs! Ripe fruit falls easily from trees, especially when they are shaken, as you know.

From that day onward, Uncle Ernesto decided that Penguin should remain tied up during fig season. This solution would also have the advantage of putting an end to the mysterious and repeated disappearances of his dear, four-footed friend.

In fact, since the beginning of the gorgeous days of summer, Penguin had disappeared every morning and wouldn’t return until it was almost lunchtime. His escapades very much intrigued my uncle but he was already resigned to them. And he made his best too not to worry about them any more.

He then took advantage of the incident with the figs to put Penguin on a leash, unfortunately a very weak one, and he went to work.

When he returned for lunch that day, he saw that the leash had been broken and of Penguin… no sign!

Uncle Ernesto decided a stronger leash was needed. But since he really didn’t want to give his dog a very bad feeling about being somehow “imprisoned”, the second leash he bought was still not strong enough…

And the next morning, that rascal Penguin had run away once again!

The mystery of these escapades was only resolved when my grandmother and I arrived to spend some well deserved holidays at Uncle Ernesto’s house, after a long ride from Lisbon.

As I’ve said before, I would spend the long holidays at my uncle’s house because he lived, at that time, in Figueira da Foz, in a lovely house near the seashore.

The morning after our arrival, grandmother and I went to the beach, which as know, was not far from the house. Suddenly, I saw an Irish setter surrounded by a multitude of children. It was pulling some sort of cart with two or three kids aboard!

I couldn’t believe my eyes! I asked grandmother to take a look also. It was true! The dog was Penguin!

I went up to the children and asked them how they knew Penguin. They told me about how the dog had appeared one day, they did not know where from, and how he would return every morning. The kids did not know his name, but they adored him.

When my uncle was told of the maternal aspect of his dear, four-legged friend, he showed himself to be very happy with, and very proud of his dog, and quickly forgot about the small thefts of the figs. Penguin had his forgiveness and his understanding.

He also had his permission to go and play with the children on the beach. Penguin would never be put on a leash again!

Anyway, as soon as the summer had ended and the children had gone away, Penguin no longer ran away, staying instead in the garden and being very sensible… until the next summer!

And so, there it is! No sooner did holidays arrive, and with them the return of the children to the beach, then the escapades of dear Penguin would start again!

And since Penguin could not talk, he was unable to tell us how this adventure had started. This secret he kept to himself!

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- Total nr. of readings: 7,796 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.

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3 thoughts on “Penguin and the Fig Tree

  1. Beverly

    I love this story. I love dogs. i do storytelling for children on Fridays at Lunch-in-the-Park. I try to find stories they haven’t heard before. I looking for a coloring page because I pass out a coloring page for them to take home and color. I tell the stories while the children are seated eating their lunch so they can run and play when they are finished eating.
    The church does the lunch on Fridays when school isn’t in session. They are putting in a dog park in one corner of this park as well. This story takes place in the summer when the children are on vacation too. We all have our bad habits. Children can relate to this too.
    I wonder if parents will start naming their children Penguin after hearing the story along with their children.
    Thank you so much for such a funny true story. It is a pleasure meeting you through the story. Please continue using your writing gift.
    Peace and Joy,
    Bev

    Reply
    1. Dulce Rodrigues

      Thank you so much, Bev, for your nice comments. I’d like to add that “Penguin and the Fig Tree” was already performed twice: the first time by children from the French classes in a highschool in Romania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ITegNW4L8U), and the second time in Luxembourg , also by highschool children but in Portuguese (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3tWyPYJH8A). As a matter of fact, I rewrote this story as a play in French and in Portuguese; it’s h

      Reply
      1. Dulce Rodrigues

        Sorry, my previous comment was not finished… wrong manipulation. Well, as I was saying, the play is half translated in English, then it’ll need editing by an English-speaking native who volunteers, most of the time an ex-colleague of mine.
        In general, for my stories or published books, I have free pdf working sheets related to the story, but I’ve not yet had the time to finish them. However, in my children’s website http://www.barry4kids.net you’ll find a lot of activities under “DOING” that you may like to use on your Fridays with children. Feel free to use everthing you find in the site and also to give me any suggestions.
        One more thing. I had a lot of pets (including a cat, a bird, and the eel of http://www.shortkidstories.com/story/eel-aquarium/); most of them were dogs. And my first book (in French) tells the funny tories of most of these pets. Unfortunately, the only I published in English is “Barry’s Adventure”. And you’re write if you think “that” Barry is the one of the site.
        I hope you read my comment, and it was also a pleasure for me to “meet” you thru Short Kid Stories. Please keep in touch, we have at least two common interests: dogs and storytelling.
        Have a nice day.
        Dulce

        Reply

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