BARNABAS BARKLEY

MAKES A FRIEND

By Paulette Penzvalto

Illustrations by Peggy Force

P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley

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Barnabas Barkley loved to dig. In the morning, he would jump out of bed and race to his backyard

to dig before breakfast; his mother would scold him “Barnabas, now you are all covered in mud and

are going be late for school!” He would grin and bound once more around the muddy backyard

until his mother began to count. “One, two…” on three he would grudgingly come inside to take

his bath. Barnabas did not like school.

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Each day at recess while the other puppies laughed and played, Barnabas hid behind the monkey

bars and worked on digging a deep hole. Sometimes the other puppies would tease him and shout

“Barnabas Barkley is a mole; he thinks he lives inside a hole.” Barnabas would crouch inside his

hole so no one could see him, and put his paws over his ears and cry. He did not like loud noises

and he hated being teased.

“Barnabas, it's your birthday next week,

would you like to have some friends over to

celebrate?” asked his mother one morning.

Barnabas felt anxious “Do I have to?” “Of

course not” she replied, “we can do

whatever you'd like.” Barnabas felt relieved

and thought for a moment “I think I'd just

like to eat some pineapple upside down cake,

please.” His mother smiled and nodded

“Then that is what you shall have.”

Barnabas heard his father whisper, “It isn't

normal for a puppy to not want a birthday party.” He crept out into the backyard, climbed into his

hole and cried. He wanted a birthday party more than anything, but he was too embarrassed to

explain to his parents that he had no one to invite.

Barnabas wanted a friend. Each day at school he watched the other puppies play, wishing he knew

how to join them. One morning, Honey, a little white poodle whom all the other puppies loved,

cried “Oh no! I’ve lost my ribbon!!” Barnabas’ ears perked up; he wanted to help, so he dashed

around the playground expertly digging in the mulch. Suddenly, Barnabas gave a happy yelp- he had

found it under the swing set! He could barely contain his excitement as he ran to Honey, the ribbon

dangling from his mouth.

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When she saw her beautiful pale pink ribbon all covered with dirt and slobber, she began to cry.

Her friends barked at him “Barnabas, you’ve ruined Honey’s ribbon! Go back to your hole, where

you belong!” Barnabas whimpered and crept back to his corner of the playground.

That evening at dinner, his mother placed a huge t-bone steak into his bowl, but Barnabas wasn’t

hungry. “Barnabas, why aren’t you eating?” asked his father “It’s your favorite.” Barnabas looked

sadly at the beautiful steak, but his stomach hurt; all he could think about was how the puppies had

teased him. He asked “Dad, why doesn’t anyone at school like me?” His father replied, “Barnabas,

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don’t be silly, of course they like you!” Barnabas looked at the ground and focused on swallowing

the big lump that had risen in his throat.

After dinner, his mother took him outside and sat beside him on the porch “Barnabas” she said,

“You are very special. Sometimes puppies are intimidated by that. You just wait, things will get

better and you will make friends.” Barnabas pretended to smile, but he wasn’t happy. He didn’t

want to wait; he wanted things to get better now.

Barnabas went to the backyard to work on his hole. He climbed carefully in and began to loosen the

dirt around a stubborn root. He was happiest when digging. He was very, very good at it. He had

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never encountered a root or a rock he could not dig past and his backyard was a place where he

could be himself and no one would laugh at him.

Barnabas loved pirates and

was working on digging his

very own pirate cave. He had

planned it all out; he was

going to have a little table

and chairs, a pump sink so

that he could have water on

hot days and chest where he

could hide his treasure. That

night he kept digging even

after the sun went down,

deeper and deeper, through

his painful emotions, until his

mother called “Barnabas! It's

dark out, come inside and go

to bed.” Exhausted,

Barnabas slept soundly and

visions of pirate ships, peg

legs and treasure sailed

through his head.

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On Monday, Barnabas’ teacher announced that the

class would be giving a presentation on the topic of

their choice “I have broken you all into pairs” she

said. “Who will I be working with?” asked

Barnabas timidly. His teacher replied “Barnabas,

you will be working with Honey.” The other

puppies giggled and whispered “Barnabas has a

girlfriend.” Barnabas turned bright red and

slouched deep into his desk.

After school, Barnabas began his walk home, but

stopped short when Honey called out to him “What

subject would you like to work on?” His eyes grew

wide and he couldn’t find the words to reply. “I

like pirates” said Honey. Barnabas was amazed,

that was precisely the subject he would have

chosen. He managed to nod weakly. “Then it’s settled, we will meet after school tomorrow and

read about pirates!” Honey flashed a grin at wide-eyed Barnabas and then bounced happily away.

He stood frozen; suddenly realizing he had forgotten how to breathe.

Barnabas arrived home from school the next day with Honey in tow. As his mother heard him walk

through the front door, she called “Hello Barnabas dear! How was your da-'” she emerged from the

kitchen and realized he wasn't alone “who is your friend?” she asked, attempting to hide her

surprise. “Th-this is Honey” Barnabas sputtered “We're working on a project together.” Honey

chimed in “On pirates!” “Well that's just lovely. Will you be staying for dinner Honey?” Barnabas

tried answer, but forgot how, so Honey replied “Sure!!” She spun to face him and exclaimed “Hey,

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Barnabas, let's go read about pirates!!” He mustered his courage and replied “I-I have something

even better.” He led Honey into the backyard.

Honey’s eyes widened when she saw the entrance to Barnabas’s massive hole. “It’s my pirate cave!”

said Barnabas proudly “Or at least it will be, it’s not quite finished yet.” Tail wagging, Honey eagerly

scampered to the edge and looked inside “Wow, can I go in?” Barnabas hesitated “Yes, but it’s

pretty dirty-”. Honey didn’t hear him; she had leaped down into the hole and was digging wildly.

“Come on Barnabas!! We

need to finish the cave and

hide the treasure before our

enemies find it!” Barnabas’s

face broke into a huge

lopsided grin and he dove

inside to dig with Honey. He

thought his heart might burst

from happiness.

“Barnabas, Honey, it’s time

for dinner!” called his mom

from the back door. Barnabas

and Honey stopped digging

and ran to the house.

Barnabas's mother gasped – the two of them were entirely covered with dirt. “Oh my!” She said

suppressing a smile “You're going to have to get cleaned up!” She turned on the sprinkler for them.

Giggling, they scampered through the streams of water, shaking mud everywhere. Barnabas' dad

looked out at the backyard and smiled “It looks like Barnabas has finally found a friend.”

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The next day, Honey invited Barnabas to join her during recess. He followed her over to the

swings. “Barnabas is going to play with us today!” she announced. The other puppies looked as

hesitant as Barnabas felt, but they agreed and began counting sides for a game of dodge ball. He

hung shyly back until he heard someone call out “Barnabas!” As he walked to join his new team, he

heard one of the puppies whisper “No chance of winning now.”

Barnabas took a deep breath and stood as tall as he could. “Ready, set go!” said a big puppy. All of

a sudden, the playground was a whirlwind of noise and shouting, Barnabas was shoved this way and

that, until he felt something hit him in the head, hard. “Barnabas, you’re out!!” yelled the puppies

“Get off the court.” Barnabas was confused, overwhelmed and embarrassed; he started to cry and

ran from the playground, all the way back to his classroom.

Barnabas stayed home from school the next day. He said he had a stomachache, and it was true.

His mom brought him some chicken soup and a book about pirates. “Would you like me to read it

to you?” she asked “For your project”. He

reluctantly agreed; he wanted to forget

about school, but he really loved learning

about Pirates. He spent the rest of the

afternoon resting and reading with his

mother until he heard a knock at the door.

“Barnabas, Honey is here to see you” said

his mother.

He scrunched under the covers as Honey

entered the room. “Barnabas, we missed

you at school today” she said “I came over

to bring you this bone; I hoped it might make you feel better.” Barnabas looked at the delicious

bone and didn’t know what to say. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. She jumped up onto the bed

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and put it down beside him “Besides, we have work to do if we want to get an A on our report

tomorrow.” Barnabas took a deep breath “My mom read me a book about pirates today, I could tell

you what I learned.” By the time they were called for dinner, the report was finished, complete with

a pirate ballad and a handmade map leading directly to the backyard pirate cave.

The day of the presentation finally arrived and

Barnabas and Honey excitedly donned pirate

costumes sewed by his mother. They arrived at

school lugging a bag of golden coins and an eye

patch for each member of the class. Their

presentation began and they impressed

everyone with their knowledge of the history

and customs of pirates. When Barnabas

unveiled the Pirate Map, there was an audible

gasp and everyone huddled together to get a

closer look “Is there really a pirate cave right

here in our neighborhood?” asked a little

Chihuahua “Yes!” said Honey proudly “It’s in

Barnabas’ backyard!” “Ohhhh” breathed all the

puppies. They ended the presentation with a pirate ballad, composed by Barnabas “Yo ho, yo ho!

Our ship is out to sea, arrrrgh, the crew has set the plank. We’re looking for some land, a bank, to

hide our treasure on, arrrrgh!” All the puppies joined in, marching around the classroom singing

until the bell rang.

After school, Barnabas skittered home, singing all the way. He careened through the front door and

swept past his mother who called out “How did it go today?” He swung around and cried, “It was

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so awesome!!” He resumed his mad dash for the backyard “Now I’ve got work to do!!” Barnabas

spent the rest of the evening digging furiously, and couldn’t be convinced to come in for dinner. He

was determined to finish the work on his cave. Finally, his father came outside and crouched down

beside the hole “Barnabas buddy, can I take a look at what you’re doing there?” Barnabas lit up

“Sure, Dad!” His father climbed down and looked around “This is very impressive, son. I see what

you’re trying to build here- do you mind if I help?”

Barnabas was incredulous “Wow, would you really dad?” “I would love to” his father replied. He

inspected the ceiling and walls of the cave

“When building a pirate cave, safety is

important; you wouldn’t want your crew

to get injured while they were hiding their

treasure” said his father gravely “No”

replied a wide eyed Barnabas “I

wouldn’t!” He taught Barnabas how to

shore up the walls and ceiling by nailing

together some old plywood and a few two

by fours from the garage. He finally

helped Barnabas build his little table and

chairs “this is for when your friends come

to visit.” Barnabas grinned; he had never

felt closer to his father.

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That night, his mother asked him again about having

a party for his birthday. This time he was hesitant,

but didn’t refuse. “Mom, what if no one wants to

come?” he asked nervously. She put her arm around

him “They will come Barnabas, because you are a

wonderful, likeable puppy.” The next day Barnabas

went to recess holding a small pile of invitations. He

shyly approached a little Chihuahua playing

hopscotch with her friends “Excuse me, I’m

Barnabas. Would you like to come to my birthday

party on Saturday?” they turned and blinked at him

until one of the girls squealed, “Sure, I love parties!”

He felt a wave of relief as they each accepted a copy of his invitation.

He finished his rounds and exhausted, retreated to his corner of the playground. He didn’t have the

energy to dig, so he lay down on the grass. Honey bounced over and flopped down beside him “Oh

Barnabas, I’m so excited to come to your party!” she effused. Barnabas was quiet and Honey

cocked her head to the side “What’s wrong?” “What if no one comes?” he whimpered “and, what if

they do come and they think my party is silly? What if the party is very loud and I get overwhelmed

and I run away? I would be so embarrassed. And what if-” Honey interrupted him “Why would

you feel embarrassed around us? We are your friends!” Barnabas felt relieved and sighed. He rolled

onto his back, letting the sun soak into his belly, and for the first time in a long time, he felt like

everything might be okay.

When the morning of his party came, he paced back and forth nervously across the kitchen,

watching his mother ice his pineapple upside down cake. It was shaped like a pirate’s chest and his

favorite golden coins spilled out and down the side. “Would you like to help me?” asked his

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mother. Barnabas shook his head no and went back to his cave to check on the place settings and

the party favors on his little table. Everything was in order, but he checked them once again just to

be sure. His mother smiled and called out “Barnabas honey, don’t worry; everything is ready. Why

don’t you go upstairs and find something nice to wear?” Barnabas nodded and went to his room.

Barnabas opened his closet and chose his smartest bowtie. He looked in the mirror and took a deep

breath, which turned into a yawn. He was tired; he had stayed up half the night worrying about his

party. He peeked out his window into the backyard and smiled at his finished pirate cave. No one

was expected to arrive yet, so he lay down to rest his tired eyes, and fell asleep. Suddenly he woke

and jumped up, startled. He squinted at the clock; it read 4:15pm, his party started at four! He

perked his ears and listened hard, but didn’t hear anything from downstairs. He whimpered aloud;

maybe he had been right to worry. Maybe no one had come.

Barnabas crept slowly down the

stairs and looked around the

corner into the kitchen.

“Mom?” he called out

tentatively. His mother was

there “Barnabas, follow me” she

said softly and they made their

way into the backyard and

stopped at the entrance of the

cave. Barnabas peered in and

his heart swelled when he saw

that every puppy from school

was inside waiting for him, and

each was wearing an eye patch.

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He stood still, unsure of what to do next, until Honey stepped forward and whispered “Happy

Birthday, Captain Barnabas!” Then all the puppies began to giggle, “We tried so hard to be quiet!”

cried Honey “We didn’t want to startle you!” He felt his tail began to wag as he looked with wonder

on the cave’s transformation; his smiling friends, a mountain of presents meant just for him, and his

beautiful pineapple upside down cake sitting on a pedestal in the corner. “Thank you,” said

Barnabas softly “may I please have some cake now?” Everyone laughed, Barnabas most of all. He

had never had such a wonderful day in his whole life.

THE END