Pickle Can't Keep a Secret
8 pages · 6 min · ages 5+
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Thump-thump-thump went Pickle’s little tail against the hard wooden kitchen floor as he spun in giddy circles. “Today we are making Grandma’s giant surprise party!” Pickle cheered, bouncing like a furry tennis ball. “Shh, remember the golden rule,” Mom Dog whispered, holding up a glittery gold party hat. “If Grandma finds out early, the whole surprise will pop like a balloon, and there will be no happy gasps at all!” Pickle squeezed his jaws shut tight because secrets made his tummy prickle like fizzy soda. Dad Dog lowered his newspaper and blinked slowly. “Not one peep, Pickle,” Dad Dog said.
Lock the lips and tuck the tail! At breakfast, Pickle stuffed a thick woolly striped sock straight into his mouth to keep the words inside. Grandma Dog trotted into the kitchen carrying a warm plate of buttery toast that smelled like toasted oats. “Good morning, Pickle,” Grandma Dog said, adjusting her round spectacles. “What do you have there?” Pickle tried to say good morning, but the woolly sock turned his voice into a muffled “GURGLE-BURP-DAY!” Dad Dog blinked twice as a puff of fluffy sock lint shot from Pickle’s nose. “Just dental hygiene, Grandma,” Dad Dog sighed. Pickle thought his cheeks would burst from holding the secret.
Lock the lips and tuck the tail! When they walked toward the sunny park, Pickle decided on a much safer plan. He squeezed himself inside a wicker laundry basket, pulling soft floral towels over his nose so no barking could escape. Grandma Dog pushed her shiny tricycle alongside them, the cool breeze whistling in her floppy ears. “Why is that laundry basket wiggling toward the duck pond?” Grandma Dog asked, tapping the handlebar bell with a cheerful ding-ding. “It is our new sports basket,” Mom Dog said smoothly. Inside the scratchy basket, Pickle knew the wonderful secret was itching to escape his paws.
Pickle’s tail wagged so hard that the wicker basket began to roll on its own wheels down the grassy slope. Whoosh went the basket across the lawn before bumping gently into a patch of bright orange marigolds right at Grandma Dog’s paws. Pickle popped out covered in yellow dandelion fluff. “Are you delivering party flowers to someone special, little pup?” Grandma Dog asked with a twinkle in her eye. Pickle clamped both paws over his snout to stop a joyful squeal. Dad Dog slowly lifted his umbrella and sighed. Pickle felt his paws trembling with pure excitement.
Lock the lips and tuck the tail! At the bakery, the air smelled of sweet vanilla cream and warm honey buns. Pickle decided he would only speak in simple puppy noises that could never spell words. Grandma Dog walked up to the counter to choose a cinnamon swirl. “Pickle, what kind of sweet treat looks yummiest to you?” Grandma Dog asked, leaning down kindly. Pickle puffed out his chest and went, “Woof, woof, BONES-AND-CAKE-WOOF!” Dad Dog blinked at the ceiling and froze in place. Pickle knew his clever barking trick was crumbling faster than a cookie.
To stop any more words from escaping, Pickle began an emergency tap dance on the shiny tile floor. His back paws skidded into a towering stack of shiny tin pie pans. Clatter-bang-crash echoed through the bakery as pans tumbled like silver raindrops. Pickle sat on the floor with hot red ears and tucked his tail tightly between his legs. “Are you practicing a secret birthday dance for me?” Grandma Dog asked, chuckling softly. Pickle touched the squeaky rubber party horn hidden in his vest pocket and suddenly knew exactly what to do. Pickle smiled from ear to ear.
Blow the horn and wag the tail! The living room was completely dark and quiet when Grandma Dog pushed open the squeaky front door. Mom Dog and Dad Dog crouched behind the sofa under colorful paper streamers, holding their breath. Grandma Dog reached for the lamp switch. “Is anyone home?” Grandma Dog called out into the shadows. Pickle did not bite a sock or hide in laundry; he clamped his teeth onto the rubber horn and blew the mightiest HONK-SQUEAK-TOOT of his life. “SURPRISE!” shouted the whole family as the lights flared bright. Pickle felt proud that Grandma Dog was truly surprised.
Grandma Dog happily blew out the flickering candles on her towering peanut-butter bone cake while everyone clapped. “This is the finest party ever,” Grandma Dog laughed, licking a smudge of sweet frosting from her nose. Then she leaned down to Pickle. “I have a secret too,” Grandma Dog whispered. “I knew since breakfast. Socks do not say GURGLE-BURP-DAY.” Pickle’s tail went thump-thump-thump so fast that every party hat in the room fell off. “Lock the lips, Grandma!” Pickle giggled. “That one stays between us.”