Summer and Sandy: The Howling Request

The villagers of Coney can speak with animals and insects effortlessly. Walking through the village, you’ll see old men chatting with their dogs, horses, and roosters. Once, I even saw a middle-aged man arguing with an old rat over the upcoming election. They were shouting and waving their paws and hands in the air.

Summer, an 11-year-old girl, lives in this beautiful village with her handsome dad and gorgeous mom. Her best friend is Sandy, a young, wise ant who spends all day working—and her evenings (and sometimes nights) with Summer.

One rainy day, Summer and Sandy were sitting beside the pond, chatting excitedly about different flavors of ice cream, when a thunderbolt struck near them. Miraculously, they weren’t hurt. Instead, they gained a magical power: the ability to see the past and the future in the pond whenever it rained. And to their good fortune, it rained in Coney almost every day.

On November 20th, around 5:35 in the afternoon, Summer and Sandy were practicing speaking Italian when the sky began to drizzle.

“Let’s see what yummy stuff they’ll serve at the festival tonight,” Sandy suggested.

They calmly moved closer to the pond and stared into its rain-rippled surface.

“Are you seeing what I see?” Summer asked, horrified.

“Yes, yes, I see them. A pack of—I don’t know how many—a lot of big, angry wolves,” Sandy cried.

“What should we do? What can we do?” Summer’s voice trembled.

“Summer, get it together, girl! It looks like they’ll attack the village around midnight. We still have enough time to warn everyone and prepare.”

“Right, you’re right. I’ll run to the village and talk to my parents. You find the dogs. Let them know what we saw.”

Summer ran straight home, and Sandy sped toward the dogs’ pub. They were both scared, but they moved with purpose.

The villagers knew and believed that Summer and Sandy could see the future in the pond, so they immediately began planning how to protect their beloved Coney. All dogs were alert and ready to fight to the end.

“Shoot! I thought we’d spend the whole night drinking and fooling around. Now we’re here not even sure if we’ll see the sunrise again!” Sally the Poodle spoke loudly, making sure everyone felt his frustration.

“Calm down, Sally! Fight like a knight tonight, and I’ll give you a lovely present right after sunrise, my darling.” Sally’s wife, Juana, winked at him sweetly.

“You promise?” Sally asked, perking up.

“I do, dear!”

“Then I’ll fight those junkies like a cheetah! I’ll make them cry like puppies who’ve lost their bones!”

At 11:50 PM, the wolves attacked. The village erupted with howls, barks, and shouts. The wolves didn’t know the villagers were ready—it was supposed to be a surprise. After nearly thirty minutes of fierce fighting, the wolves withdrew.

Everyone celebrated. People hugged, and dogs happily devoured leftover hotdogs from the party—when Summer noticed a relatively small wolf ambling toward them, a letter held gently in her mouth.

“Our Alpha asked me to give this to you. Please be cool and put your shovels down.”

Summer’s dad took the letter and read it aloud for all to hear:

Dear villagers and dogs,

We attacked your village because the scent of your chocolate and vanilla cookies made our stomachs growl. We only wanted to take your cookies with us to the forest.

I must admit, you fought bravely! But may I ask a favor? Would you be so generous as to give sixty cookies—preferably chocolate—to my messenger?

Best regards,
The Alpha

The villagers looked at each other for a few seconds—then burst into laughter. The dogs were still busy with the hotdogs.

“Tell your Alpha your whole pack is welcome to join our party tonight. The more, the merrier!”

Summer and Sandy watched, overjoyed that the night had ended in peace, not battle. They sang and danced with the wolves until dawn.

What a memorable night indeed.