his lips together and nodded his head in full understanding. He then came closer to the tree. By this time, the heat had made Stripes and Karen feel drowsy. They were both lying in the shade with their eyes closed. Mutt did the same, but every now and then you could see his tongue press his cheek out as he probed around to get the sock strings out from his teeth. None of them were close enough to hear Poo-Poo and Stick Dog.
“I don’t want to embarrass the others,” Stick Dog whispered, and nodded toward Stripes, Karen, and Mutt. “But I think you might be the only one here who can smell water. And I’m not sure the four of us can find any cold water without your refined and ultra-sensitive sniffing capabilities.”
Poo-Poo nodded and whispered back, “I see. Yes. I am quite special.”
Stick Dog nodded and continued in the same hushed tone. “Without your help, we might be in danger. It’s awfully hot. And we’re all awfully thirsty.”
Poo-Poo nodded again in understanding. “You guys might not stand a chance without me.”
“That’s right. It’s all up to you,” Stick Dog whispered. “You can stay here and try to get the squirrel. Or you can come with your friends, who are in desperate need, and help us find something to drink.”
Immediately, Poo-Poo cleared his throat. When he did, Stick Dog backed away, and the other dogs all opened their eyes.
“I have an announcement,” Poo-Poo declared loudly. “Despite the fact that my arch-nemesis resides somewhere in the branches above me, I have decided to leave this place. I’m quite certain that it would only be a few minutes before I figured out a way to coral this tail-twitching nuisance. But those are minutes I choose to forfeit so I can use my expert sniffing abilities to deliver my friends from thirst and anguish.”
Poo-Poo lifted his head and took a great and authoritative snort. He turned in several directions, sniffing and pondering. Finally, he pointed with his nose and said, “There is water this way! Follow me, my dry-mouthed comrades!” Poo-Poo then ran off into the forest.
By this time, Mutt, Karen, and Stripes had sauntered up to Stick Dog. They all had puzzled looks on their faces.
“Stick Dog?” Karen asked.
“Yes?”
“Didn’t Poo-Poo just run off in the exact same direction we were going before he stopped to look for the squirrel?”
Stick Dog thought for a moment before answering. “Yes. Yes, he did.”
And off they ran.
It only took a couple of minutes for Stick Dog, Stripes, Karen, and Mutt to catch up with Poo-Poo, who was running with his nose slightly elevated through the woods. And it was only a few minutes after that when they all reached the other side of the forest. They stopped to survey their surroundings from behind a couple of big logs.
They could see the backs of four houses. Between them and the houses were four good-sized yards. Each yard had something different in it. From left to right, the first yard had a set of swings, the second had a patio with some furniture, and the third had a badminton net.
But it was the fourth yard that caught the attention of all the dogs – except for Poo-Poo.
You see, in the fourth yard, three small humans were running in, out, and around a water sprinkler.
“Stick Dog,” said Mutt, “I think that funny machine is spraying wat—”
Quickly, Poo-Poo interrupted. “Shh!” he said loudly. His eyes were closed, and his head swayed back and forth in a rhythmic, almost hypnotic pattern. “I’m sniffing for water.”
“But if you just look over—” Mutt started to explain.
“Quiet. Please. I’m trying to work,” demanded Poo-Poo. He crossed his hind legs and went into a meditative position. He then whispered, “I am becoming one with the smells.”
“But all you have to do is open your—” Stripes began, but she was interrupted by Poo-Poo as well.
“Really, I must insist,” he said. There was no meanness in his voice, but you could tell he took his water-finding role very seriously.
Mutt, Karen, and Stripes all looked at Stick Dog. They opened their eyes wide and pointed toward the water sprinkler.
Stick Dog said nothing. He simply nodded his head in recognition and raised his right front paw calmly. Together they waited patiently for Poo-Poo to finish.
In a moment, he did. Poo-Poo lowered his head, opened his eyes, and then turned directly toward the yard where the little humans played in the sprinkler.
“There!” he said triumphantly, and pointed. “I have smelled out our new water source. It’s over there!”
Stripes, Mutt, and Karen just looked at Poo-Poo with blank expressions on their faces. They truly didn’t know what to say.
“I know, I know,” Poo-Poo said, and smirked a little in an attempt at modesty. “It’s hard to understand, I know. I just have a talent for smelling out solutions like this. I can’t help it. It’s just a gift, I guess. Sometimes I can’t even believe the things I do myself.”
Stripes, Karen, and Mutt still did not know what to say.
So Stick Dog spoke up. “Sometimes, Poo-Poo, I can’t believe the things you do either,” he said. And then he added, “Great job.”
Karen turned away from Poo-Poo and toward Stick Dog and asked, “How are we going to get to the water? Those little humans are all over it.”
“What are they doing with it anyway?” asked Stripes.
“I’m not sure,” answered Stick Dog. “Let’s get a closer look. Stay by the forest line.”
Mutt, Poo-Poo, Karen, and Stripes followed Stick Dog along the edge of the woods. They snuck behind sticker bushes, cattail reeds, and tall, thick weeds. Soon they were staring out from
