Once there was a farm guarded by six dogs. And every year, these dogs held a competition for jumping over obstacles, running, and other doggy skills. Ripper, the big Rottweiler, always won the contest.
His smaller friend, Billy the beagle, dreamed that one day he’d win the contest too. But what if that day was today? He wondered if he was trained enough. The dog contest was tomorrow. So what if he went out to the garden to practice a bit more?
Billy quietly slipped out to the garden so he wouldn’t wake anyone up. Ripper the Rottweiler trained almost every day, because he loved to practice. And of course, he was happy whenever he could win the dog contest. But this time, things were going to be different, Billy promised himself. But when he got to the garden, Ripper was already there.
“Hi, Billy. Are you here to practice some more too?” asked Ripper.
“Hello, Ripper. Yeah, I wanted to get in a bit more training. I’m so nervous about tomorrow’s contest that I can’t even sleep,” Billy admitted.
“Awesome, then we’ll practice together.”
Billy wasn’t too thrilled about that. He thought he might learn a few tricks that Ripper didn’t know yet. But oh well.
“Alright,” Billy finally agreed.
“Excellent. Let’s practice running fast. If a thief comes, we’ve got to be able to catch him,” said Ripper, sounding important. “First one to the big cherry tree!”
Both dogs zoomed off as fast as lightning. Billy pumped his little short legs so fast they nearly tangled, but he reached the cherry tree first. That annoyed Ripper a bit, so he said, “Well, how about we see if you can swim that fast, too?”
“Sure, there’s a pond behind the garden. Let’s go there,” agreed Billy.
Both dogs competed to see who could swim across the pond the fastest. This time, Ripper won. Billy got really upset, so he suggested another contest—this time, tug-of-war. They found an old boot and started tugging on it. When the boot fell apart and the contest ended in a draw, they kept making up more and more challenges.
Morning arrived. The rooster crowed. All the dogs got up and headed to the meadow by the pond so the competition could begin. But two dogs were missing. It was Billy and Ripper—that’s because they’d been training all night. And since they were so tired, they slept right through the rooster’s crow.
Billy was the first to wake up.
“Wake up, Ripper, the sun’s already pretty high. Did we miss the contest?”
“Yeah, we did. Big time. That rooster probably didn’t even crow. The contest has probably already started,” howled Ripper.
Both dogs dashed off madly toward the place where the contest was being held. They were just about to run out the gate when Billy noticed someone standing by the main entrance.
“Wait, Ripper. There’s someone at the gate. And it’s not our human.”
“Well, doggone it, that must be a thief. Right now, when the competition’s on.”
Both dogs dashed to the gate to guard their master’s garden and house. Doing their duty mattered more than winning any dog contest.
Billy and Ripper were at the gate in a flash, because running fast was something they were both great at. Billy tripped the thief, and Ripper bared his teeth at him. Then Billy barked loudly, calling their master over. He called the police, and they took the thief away. The man praised his dogs, gave them treats, and went back to his work.
‘Well, we’re clever,’ said Billy. ‘But we missed the contest.’
‘Maybe next year. Maybe one of us will even win.’
‘Of course, I’m the one who’ll win,’ said Billy.
‘Grrr, not you—me!’ growled Ripper at him.
But just then, the other guard dogs who had come back from the contest gathered around them.
‘Stop all this competing,’ said old Brok. ‘We saw from the hill how you completed your main job.’ You kept watch over the human house. That means you’ve won the most important contest.
So Ripper and Billy were both happy, because each of them had won. They shared the treats they got with their other dog friends. Then they all lay down together in the shade under a tree and kept an eye on the garden. What if another thief came along?