Melanie Spiller and Coloratura Consulting
Copyright 2020 Melanie Spiller. All rights reserved.
Shaggy Dog Stories: Carrot and Apple’s Big Adventure
Melanie Spiller and Coloratura Consulting
Carrot and Apple were the best of friends. Every day, they hurried out to play, racing along the boardwalk
at the beach, swinging high on the swings at the park, and swimming fast in the local pool. Their favorite
thing to do was to roll down the side of a hill out near the old forest.
They’d laugh and laugh as they tumbled and bumped down the hill—and so did everyone who watched
them. Apple’s bumps and knobs made him bounce in ridiculous ways, and Carrot’s conical shape made
him roll in swooping loops. They’d roll and bounce and laugh to the bottom of the hill and then run to the
top and do it all over again.
One day, they were rolling down the hill when Carrot went horribly out of control, rolled into traffic, and
was struck by a passing car. An ambulance fetched him, and the two friends were raced to the nearby
hospital.
Carrot was rushed into an operating room and poor Apple was left pacing and fretting in the waiting
room. Hours and hours passed.
At last, the surgeon emerged, wiping his hands on a towel. He removed his mask and came up to where
Apple stood trembling.
“Will he be all right?” Apple cried.
“Well, he’ll live,” said the surgeon cautiously. “But he’ll be a vegetable all of his life.”