You Can’t Hug a Goldfish
By Gammy
When Gammy was seven, she asked her parents a very important question. Can we get a dog? No, dear, they said, a dog is too much work. Well, what kind of a pet can I have? Mom thought for a moment and then said, “How about a goldfish?” So Gammy’s family went to a pet store and bought two goldfish, a fishbowl, fish food, and a small net. Gammy was in charge of cleaning the fishbowl every few days. She would catch the fish in the net and place them in a small bowl of water while she emptied the bigger fishbowl. It was a messy job. After refilling the bigger fishbowl with fresh water, Gammy returned the fish to their home. She would watch them swim for a few minutes, and then leave. Because you can't hug a goldfish, you can't play catch with a goldfish, you can't run with a goldfish! All you can do is watch.
Next her mom and dad bought Gammy a turtle. It crawled around on a dish from time to time. But Gammy grew sad. You can't really hug a turtle. You can't play catch with a turtle. You can't run with a turtle! All you can do is watch.
A few years passed and Gammy gave up on the idea of a dog. Then one day her neighbor's dog had puppies, soft little furry dogs with big brown eyes! Gammy brought one of the puppies to visit her parents. The dog was so cute, even her parents’ hearts were full. Gammy had a new puppy!
The family decided to name the dog Liebchen, which in German means little love. On the first night dad said Liebchen can sleep in the downstairs bathroom. We set up a small bed in the corner under the sink. But Liebchen didn't like the bathroom. She was lonely and cried and scratched at the closed door.
The next night dad said let's try letting her sleep in the family room with a gate. Liebchen was still lonely and tried to chew the gate apart. Gammy was worried about her new dog, but happy too! She could hug Liebchen. She could play catch with her. She could run with her. She could watch her dog play for hours.
On the third night everyone was really tired. Dad gave up and let Liebchen and sleep in Gammy's room with her little bed in the corner. But after Gammy fell asleep, Liebchen jumped up on Gammy's bed. Every time Gammy turned in her sleep, Liebchen crawled closer to her. In the morning, Liebchen was snuggled in the middle of the bed and Gammy was on the edge of it and it felt perfect.
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