CHAPTER 1

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall liedown with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatlingtogether; and a little child shall lead them.

—Isaiah 11:6

INNOCENCE

by Zarriah Polk

Once upon a time, there lived a fairy princess. Her name wasMarygold. She was very kind to everyone she saw. She had twosisters. One was sixteen, and one was ten. Marygold was the oldest,at seventeen.

Marygold was so rich that she even had a prince. His name wasCharles. He was rich too, but he didn't have any brothers or sisters.He was sad that he did not have any brothers and sisters to look after.

The prince was concerned that he would not get to marry the fairyprincess if he did not have a sister. So he pretended that he hada sister. He tried to use one of the princess' sisters, but she knewthat it was her sister. So he used his cousin instead. He showedthe princess his sister (that was really his cousin), and the princessbelieved it.

The next day, the prince came to the princess' castle. He knockedon the door. Once inside, he asked the princess to marry him,and the princess said, "Yes!" The prince was very happy that theprincess said yes to him.

Two months later, the prince and princess were finally married.She wore a new dress her father got her.

In the end, they had three kids. Their names were Tana, Trania,and Talya.

And they lived happily ever after.

And here is a picture.

CHAPTER 2

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and nakedshall I return there: the LORD gave, and the LORD has takenaway; blessed be the name of the LORD.

—Job 1:21

LOSS

by Ursula Lovely

This is a story that began in the year 2004. It is a story of puppylove that will last forever more. Two young people, who decidedto become husband and wife, made a decision together as theybegan a new life.

Oh, who am I, you might ask? I am the mother of the bride, and Iam privy to the story from the inside.

The couple, Pamela and Martez, decided that they wanted topurchase a puppy. They wanted to get a Tosa Inu mastiff. WhatI didn't know was that this particular breed would grow to beso massive. They began their search for breeders and even on theinternet far and wide. Would you believe that on their way to thegym one day in a yard nearby the pup was spied? They felt she wasthe cutest and most perfect dog they had ever seen, but they had towait a little while for her to be weaned.

It is funny as I look back on it. For all intents and purposes, Kaidawas their first baby. She was good training for them because of thethings puppies and babies have in common. Puppies and babiesneed to be taken care of. They both slobber a lot, and both, in away, have to be taught to use the pot. Now, it wasn't a surpriseto the kids how much Kaida grew. The size of this pup wassomething that they always knew.

At the beginning of the story, my husband and I had moved toArizona for a while. Then we received a cute little bear in the mailthat informed us that the couple was now with child. When wegot over the shock and the excitement settled in, we couldn't wait.We sold everything that was not nailed down and headed back toWashington State.

On December 2, 2006, a new chapter of the story begins. That iswhen Makaila was born and Kaida got a new friend. I rememberafter the baby was born, we took a receiving blanket in whichMakaila was held, so that Kaida could sleep with it and getaccustomed to the baby's smell. When we finally brought the babyhome, we let Kaida smell her and kiss her little face. After this wasdone, it was like Kaida said, "Okay, she's all right. She can stay inthis place."

They grew together for seven months or more. During this time,Makaila was poking eyes and pulling ears, and one day we placedMakaila on the floor. Can you imagine what Kaida was thinkingas the baby started to crawl her way? Maybe something like, "Whotold you guys that I was ready to play?" Makaila had a determinedlook upon her face, a look like, "This will be fun." Kaida saw hercoming and turned and immediately started to run. Makaila wassmall but never frail. The only problem that she had was withKaida bumping her and wagging and hitting her with her tail.

Picture this: Kaida sitting in an open back door. Makaila crawls tothe door and seems to be asking her, "Okay, what are we waitingfor? Let's go." We thought it was bad for poor Kaida when Makailalearned to walk. We had no idea what the puppy would be in forwhen the baby started to talk. Makaila would take Kaida's toys andrun as a tease. Kaida couldn't ask her to please give it back. Theonly way she could communicate was to growl. That's the way shecould get through. Makaila would look at her and say, "Kaida, stopit. Nobody's afraid of you."

Then there was the time Uncle Craig gave Makaila a toy truckto ride. You guessed it. Makaila chased poor Kaida, who couldonly run and search for a place to hide. Makaila was never afraidof this dog that was four times her size. Kaida would give in to hercommands and just step aside. When Makaila was just two yearsold, she would walk Kaida outside on a leash, and Kaida wouldobey and do as she was told. This odd pair had a friendship thatwas good as gold. Kaida was such a good dog, and she loved thefamily so. She would protect them at home and wherever theywould go.

In 2010, two things happened, one good and one that was bad.The good thing was a beautiful baby, a little sister, McKenna,joined the family. And then the news that was sad. Kaida hadbegun to lose weight and be less active. The young couple took herto the vet to get an answer. The news was not good. We learnedthat Kaida had cancer. They told Makaila that Kaida was ill andgoing to die. The only question she had for them was,...