Puppies in the well

Puppies in the well                                                        11^th March 2013

Two puppies were out playingone day and they fell down a well/ hole. In that well there was a dangerous body of water and a deadly cobra. The cobra kept the puppies safely away from the water and didn't bite and eat them. They all lived happily ever after (unless it was in china in which case the snake was possibly eaten. )

My two new puppies, Dodger and Bodger, were out playing in the fields at the back of our house one day when they fell down a hole in the ground. I think it was an old well as there was a dangerous body of water at the bottom.

      Like all puppies, they were curious and wanted to explore their new world so they started wandering around the bottom of the well. As they neared the dangerous body of water a deadly cobra appeared from a crack in the old masonry that formed the well shaft. They were very frightened by this as their mother had told them that snakes were dangerous, some would kill them with the venom from their fangs and others would eat them alive.

      This was a different kind of snake, not in the grass but down in the well with them. It carefully shepherded them away from the dangerous water until I heard them faintly barking and I lowered a basket down on the end of a rope for them to climb in before I hauled them up to the surface where they lived happily ever after.

      And the cobra? After the puppies were safely on the surface, I lowered the basket once more, the snake slithered in and I pulled it to the surface where I dumped it in a burlap sack and took it around to my local Beijing Grill. Not sure what they did with it but the next time I went in for a meal, the chicken pasanda tasted a little more exotic than usual.

      ‘What do you think is the significance of this dream, Doctor, ‘ I asked from my reclining position on the couch.

      ‘My professional opinion is that it will take some unravelling so I suggest we leave that until our next session,’ said Dr Fred Youngman.

*

‘Come in and relax on the couch,’ he said as he took his customary seat just behind my head.

      ‘Have you worked out what my dream means, doctor?’ I asked

      ‘Yes, of course. I think your dreaming of puppies is representing your lost youth and fear of getting older. The fact that there were two puppies means that you see yourself as a split individual. Part of you wants to bring more excitement and danger into your life while the other part just wants a quiet life while leaving all the major life decisions to your alter ego.

      The dangerous water exemplifies all the dangers you see and fear in your life while the snake who turns out to be a life saver is the uncertainty you feel about people’s motives.’

      ‘Do you think I will keep getting this dream?’

      ‘Possibly but let me tell you a story that will give you something to think about and make help you to clarify and subdue some of your fears.’

*

‘Once upon a time a sparrow was happily flying along one sunny autumn morning when a storm arose and it started snowing. The poor sparrow couldn't fly against the strength of the wind and got very cold. Eventually it got so cold that it could could not fly any more and dropped to the ground.

      It lay there slowly freezing to death.

      It had reached it’s last moments of life when a big cow walked over to him and dropped an enormous pat on top the poor sparrow. This soon warmed up the sparrow and brought him back to life so he started singing at the top of his bird voice because he was so happy to be alive.

      The farm cat heard the sparrow song and followed the sound until he spotted the bird. He quickly snatched the sparrow out of the pat, carried him over the the cows drinking trough and washed him clean. He then chewed the sparrow and swallowed him with a couple of gulps for his dinner.

      There are several learnings to be had from this little story.

1 – Not everyone who drops you in it is your enemy

2 – Not everyone who pulls you out of it is your friend

3 – If you are in it and happy to be in it – don’t sing about it.

That will be thirty three pounds and fifty pence please. See you next time.’

      ‘Thank you doctor, goodbye.’