Mac heard a noise out back and glanced at the sliding glass door on the back porch. He was surprised to see a smaller version of Alphonse sitting there. He decided to let Al go to the door! Hey Al, said Mac, there's someone at the back door. So, why are you telling me, asked Al? I think you should answer the door, said Mac. OK, said Al, I have to do everything around here anyway.

WOW, said Alphonse, that little fellow looks just like me! I had better let him in and find out the story about him. He looks like he has been traveling for a while, and he is probably hungry and thirsty. I bet we can fix him up.

Come in little fellow and have a seat, said Al. Thank you sir, said the visitor, it is nice to get in out of the cold weather. You didn't pick a very good time to be traveling, said Al. Well, said the visitor, I didn't really pick the time - I was just responding to a bad situation. Great, said Al, who are you? My name is Felix, said the visitor, and I think you are my uncle!

WOW, said Al, I have a nephew. Give me a big hug. I always thought I had some kin somewhere, but I never thought I would meet any of them. By the way, said Al, what is that you have around your neck? That's a bed roll, said Felix. I couldn't have made it in this weather without it. That's smart, said Al, I have never seen a dog with a bed roll before. Why don't we jump up in my chair where we can be more comfortable, said Al.

How did you know to come here, asked Al? I didn't exactly, said Felix. My mother was your sister Mabel. She is the only name I remember from all of the brothers and sisters, said Al. Mom remembered your name as well, said Felix, and told me that the people who took you were from the south. That is, south of where we were. She also said if I ever needed help and I couldn't find her, I should try to find you. So, that's why I headed this direction. Well, said Al, I want to hear all about what happened to you and how you found me. However, first I want you to meet the gang. They are what mac calls full-time-critters! Let's move over to the couch. Hey guys, yelled Al, there is someone I want you to meet.

Guys, this is my nephew Felix, said Al. He just got here from a long trip. Felix, These guys are Barely Beaver, Hicky Hedgehog and Vinny is the alligator. Why doesn't his name sound like the other two, asked Felix? It's a long story, said Barely, and we will tell it to you later. What's the thing rolled up by your foot, asked Vinny? It's my bed roll, said Felix. I thought dogs slept on the ground said Vinny. They usually do, said Felix, but I just happened to have a bed roll and it sure kept me warm on the trip. OK Felix, said Al, tell us how you got here from when you left your liter.

After my litter was old enough to leave, we all got separated, said Felix. I've never seen any of my brothers or sisters or mother since then. I went with a real nice older couple. They took good care of me and we had fun together. Then they adopted a cat! A very large cat named "Honey". The cat was real nice as long as the folks were home or close. However, when they weren't around the cat beat me up. He picked at me all the time

If that situation wasn't bad enough, they also adopted a kitten named "Cutie". The kitten wasn't so bad, but any time the big cat was holding me down, Cutie would come over and lick my face. My face was always sticky and I smelled like a cat! That was more than I could stand.

I ended up spending most of my time under a chair. As soon as I saw them coming, I would move back far enough that they couldn't reach me. So, after the cats took over I had very little enjoyment any more. I decided to run off and try to find new home. I had heard that was possible, and it seemed like I had very little to loose.

I wandered around in the town where I lived. In a few days, I followed a little girl home. She asked her folks if I could stay and they said I could. That worked out for a while, but then the sisters got overly possessive about my attention. It seemed like they fought over me all the time. That would have been ok, except they usually had me in the middle and were pulling on both ends! It's a wonder they didn't pull me apart.

When they weren't fighting over me, that youngest girl carried me around. That would have been ok, but she carried me by my ears. The folks thought that was real cute and did nothing to stop her. That hurt. It didn't take too long for me to get enough of being carried around by my ears. So, I decided to run away again. Since I had no idea where any of my brothers and sisters were, there was no point in looking for them. Also, I had no idea where mom was, so I decided to see if I could find the uncle that mom talked about. She said he lived south of where we were, but didn't know how far. I decided to give it a try, and started the biggest part of my journey.

When I was making plans to leave , I remembered the bed roll the girls got me for Christmas. I think it was a joke, but it turned out to be a life saver. When I left, I had no idea where my uncle was, so I just took off for what I believed was south. I had a few supplies that I had been saving up for the trip, so I knew I would be ok for a while. I had no idea that it would take so long to find Uncle Al. I started out walking along the highway. After a couple of days I camped with some dogs that were headed north. They told me not to travel beside the highway. They said besides getting run over, that people might pick me up and take me somewhere that they do "spearmints" on dogs. What are "spearmints", asked Hicky? I don't know, said Felix, but the way they described it convinced me to travel through the woods. I just kept going. I ran out of food, and had to check out dog and cat food dishes along the way. I don't care much for cat food, but it is better than starving. I didn't have any more great adventures for the rest of the trip.

After all that, said Felix, I set up camp not too far from here. I built a fire and rested and chewed on a bone some other dogs had given me. I sat around the fire and thought about how far I had come and how far I might have to go before I got to your house. I had no idea how close I might be, or even if I was headed in the right direction. I began to think I was probably very lost and might never find my uncle.

After a long day's travel and all that hard thinking I decided I should go to bed. So, I stretched out in my bed by the fire and went to sleep. I kept my bone close to my nose so I could know if another dog or some other critter should try to steal it. I also kept one ear out from under the cover so I could hear all of the night sounds. You learn that if you travel like I did.

My camp was by a creek that ran into a lake a little ways down stream. I cleaned up and then sat around the fire and enjoyed my bone. I had been going generally south, I think, and I had to decide if I wanted to continue in that direction. I really didn't have a good reason to go any particular direction, so I just decided to be lazy for a while. After a while, a flight of geese came over and circled to land on the lake. As they were about to land, one of them let out a squawk and broke out of the pattern and landed by me.

The goose came over and looked at me and said, I thought you were someone else. What's your name, asked the goose? I told him my name was Felix. You look a lot like a friend of mine, said the goose. The goose sat down on the bed, told me his name was Golly, and asked where I was headed. I told him I was looking for an uncle named Alphonse. That's who I thought you were when I saw you from the air, said Golly. Do you mean you know my uncle, I asked? Well, his name is Alphonse and he looks very much like you, said Golly. Can you tell me how to find his house, I asked? I can tell you exactly by air, Golly said, but that wouldn't be much help. Keep going south and just a little west. Ask every critter you see about Alphonse and the other critters that come to his place. You will find him before long. I was very excited, so I said so long to Golly, grabbed my stuff and took off south!

A few days later There I was looking in a door and hoping my uncle was there. Almost every animal I met after I left camp knew who Alphonse was and about where he lived. I didn't know why, but I suppose I will find out in my new life.

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