For kids and adults that need to laugh

 

 

 

 

Austin Goes to Washington:

A Capitol Idea from a Very Short Dog

 

Terrie M. Williams

(Text and Photos copyright to Terrie M. Williams)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin came to America as a very small puppy to live in the fine green state of Hawaii.  Coming from a pumpkin farm he was long on ears and short in stature, and never outgrew either one.  

 

“Vertically challenged,” his friends stated politely.

 

“Shorty,” the ruder dogs declared.

 

 

 

 

 

	He was so short that when he sat on the beach people thought that his legs were buried in the sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Only when he went kayaking did he look to be the same height whether he stood up or sat down.

 

 

 

 

On days that he felt especially small Austin would climb the hill overlooking Honolulu and the deep blue Ocean.  From atop the hill he stood as tall as he could on his stubby legs, stretching his giant, pointy ears into the tropical breeze.

 

One day Austin thought to himself, I still feel short.  This hill is not big enough and the buildings not high enough.  As the soft breeze tickled his ears, he remembered what his mother had told him on the pumpkin farm. 

 

 

	She had whispered in one of his giant ears, “Great things are in America and BIG people live in Washington DC.”     So Austin flew to Washington to get big.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	It was very confusing with all of the people and buildings, so Austin decided to follow the crowds.

 

First stop was the White House where he was told that a tall dog lived.  (There were rumors that a cat had recently lived there, but he couldn’t believe that anyone would actually allow a cat into such a nice place!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giant statues all around the city gave him a new viewpoint on things.  However, he still didn’t feel any taller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin stopped to rest, reflecting by the Reflecting Pool wondering if his mother had been right.

 

	Then he saw it.   It was truly           magnificent.   It was amazing.   It was the tallest   thing that he had   ever seen.   The name of it was right on the top of his head: Oh yes, THE WASHINTON MONUMENT!

 

 

 

 

 

This must be what his mother meant about big, he thought excitedly.  And Austin lost no time bounding down the path towards the enormous monument.   

 

Once he had reached the base of the Washington Monument Austin suddenly found that he felt only smaller.  The people, the flagpoles and the flags dwarfed him.  Even the monument itself reached out of sight high into the sky.  He looked down at his short legs and believed that everyone was staring at him.

 

 

 

 

 

Austin walked sadly towards the Last building on his tour, his large Ears sometimes drooping nearly to the ground.   He began to climb up a set of stairs that seemed to go on forever.   Because his legs were so short there were several times that he thought he would not make it.   Resting between each step Austin eventually reached the top only to see a long line of people waiting to get into the building.   Quietly, he joined the line and waited his turn. He waited for the honeymooning couple and the Japanese tour group to take their pictures.   He waited for the school children with their lunch boxes to run past him.    He waited for the wrinkled old man in a tattered uniform to hobble past him with a cane.   At last he slowly tiptoed his way to the base of the massive statue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin was so short that he could barely see past the giant foot.  Towering above him carved in white marble was the figure of a very tall man.  Austin peered up and saw the massive chair in which the man sat with his long coat flowing all around him. 

 

 

 

	The man’s eyes and bearded jaw were set with such rigid determination that they appeared much harder than the marble they were carved out of.

 

 

 

 

 

Next to the lanky man, etched in white stone were his words in giant letters that were taller than himself: 

 

 

 

FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH ON THIS CONTINENT, A NEW NATION, CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY, AND DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now Austin wasn’t smart enough to know about “four score” or even the meaning of big words like “continent” and “proposition”.  But he understood the last five words, and realized that he was no longer short.  At last he was bigger than Mount Everest and higher than any skyscraper or monument.  For he had learned the most important thing that a short dog could learn.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	In America it’s not the size of your ears or legs that make you tall, but the size of your heart.

 

 

 

 

 

(You can send messages to Austin at williams@biology.ucsc.edu.  But remember he doesn’t have thumbs so it will be difficult to write back.)

 

 

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