Chapter One: Who I Am

I’ve been trained and blessed for one job and one job only since I was a little pup; be the protective companion for Princess Rose. She had been cursed at birth to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die by the Fairy Nightshade. And all because the King and his Queen had forgotten to not only invite her but didn’t have enough gold plates for all the fairies.

I don’t understand humans or fairies sometimes. Making such a big deal over things like what they eat from.

Fortunately, the Lilac Fairy saved baby Rose by changing the curse so she’d sleep for a hundred years and be awakened by a prince. But King Georges and Queen Isolde didn’t want to take chances. They burned the spinning wheels but that only lasted until they realized that it put many spinners, weavers, tailors, seamstresses and merchants out of work. I overheard them saying it was something like half the kingdom.

Something they didn’t think through. Just like the plates and invitations.

Then they tried banning spindles and spinning wheels from the castle…but once again, they ran into the same problem. It was on a smaller scale but apparently royals need to dress better than anyone else.

If only they came with fur coats, they wouldn’t have this problem.

Finally, they tried keeping the Princess under a tight watch. She had nannies, governesses, servants and tutors all keeping at least one eye on her at all times.

But humans aren’t as watchful like dogs, I suppose. A few would turn their heads away to “watch for something sharp” and then not look back until the Rose had wandered out of their sight.

When she had her hands close to a shiny little spindle, King Georges had enough. Based on what Rose told me, he pulled on his beard so hard he almost pulled it out.

No wonder his face looks funny, at least to me; red like my favorite ball and whiskers like the walrus in Rose’s favorite picture book.

In any case, before he lost all his hair, the Queen came up with what she called “a marvelous idea”.

Rose had been wanting a puppy for some time. And apparently the kind of dog I am means that I’m smart. I don’t know how true that is. I’ve been chasing my tail so many times that I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve fallen over. To say nothing of my littermates.

I could tell you stories of how Flopsy, my oldest sister, knocked over the barrel of food after hearing a thunderbolt. Or of how Cottonbutt, my little brother, yanked down a curtain because he thought it was a giant monster

But that’s not why you’re here is it?

You want to hear about the time the curse came true and she fell asleep for a hundred years.

Everyone loves the part where she wakes up because her true love is there.

And I guess I do too. I know I love telling it to my puppies.

I better start with those old words that humans love best; once upon a time.