The Dog With Thumbs (Bedtime Story)

Harold finally gets the thumbs he's always dreamed of, thanks to Roger’s inventive streak. With his new digits, Harold hilariously navigates the Honeybee Neighborhood like never before, hitchhiking from car to car, climbing banisters, and getting into all sorts of mischievous trouble. After an exhausting day of chasing him, we settle down for a movie while secretly stashing Harold’s thumbs out of sight—for some well-earned peace. - Love, Mrs. Honeybee

Featuring: Mr. Honeybee, Melodybee, Roger Robot, and my dog Harold

Transcript

BEDTIME WITH MRS.

HONEYBEE Today,

In the Honeybee neighborhood,

We'll be exploring the forest behind our house.

You have to go out,

Harold?

Okay,

Hold on just a moment.

Harold,

You're going outside again?

I let him out like ten minutes ago.

Harold has been out six or seven times this morning.

Whatever the little pup wants,

He gets.

That's right,

Melody Bee.

Anything for our little pup.

Come on,

Harold.

I'll let you out.

All you have to do is close your eyes,

Get cozy,

And listen to the sound of my voice.

Mrs.

Honeybee will be your guide.

Let's begin.

You are here,

Walking up to knock on our brightly colored door.

As usual,

Harold is the first to hear you.

He darts around the house as if it were an obstacle course,

Trying to get to the door as fast as his little legs can.

It's the highlight of Harold's day when you visit,

And he prides himself on being first at the door to answer your knock.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the coolness of the air coming in through your nose and expanding your chest out.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth.

He barks again,

This time to get our attention.

When we do not hear him,

He tries his paws at opening the door himself.

Harold looks down at his fluffy little paws,

Then up to the doorknob and puzzling lock that stands resolutely in his way.

He jumps up to the lock paws first,

But the smoothness of the doorknob combined with the softness of his fluff brings him right back down.

Determined,

He tries again and again without success.

He wails his frustration before trying and trying again,

Which finally gets Melody B's attention.

Delighted to help someone else with the locks now,

She buzzes over to the door and unlocks it triumphantly.

Harold,

You know we'll help you if you just ask,

Little guy.

Harold's not having the best day.

No,

I know you don't like to wait for us when you can't open things,

But you just don't have thumbs.

Is Harold still upset about the thumbs?

Sounds like it.

Hello,

My little honey bee.

It'll cheer him up to see you.

Look,

Harold,

Your favorite person is here.

He is so happy to see you,

As he always is,

But today it's buried under a pile of discontent.

Harold wishes more than anything he could have thumbs that would open up his world in unimaginable ways that he imagines every day.

He's been talking nonstop about thumbs all morning.

And yesterday.

It's been weeks.

I'm sorry,

Little guy.

There's nothing we can do.

Maybe there's nothing you can do.

Come here,

Harold.

You want some thumbs?

Today's your lucky day.

Now you have four.

Roger Robot matter-of-factly gives four artificial thumbs up before laying each thumb out in his blue metallic palms for us to see.

Each thumb is connected to a small pulley system that Harold will be able to control with the rest of his paws or his snout if needed.

They have a leather strap to securely attach to his ankles so he can run and play as usual.

It's an impeccable design that Roger is proud of and Mr.

Honeybee is surprised by.

When did you make these?

I had no idea.

I couldn't bear to hear one more murmur from our little friend about being so powerless.

I took this very matter into my,

Well,

My own hands.

And now we're all on equal footing.

Good one.

And also,

Oh no!

That means he can do everything we can do.

Like open front doors.

And ignite stoves.

Harold barks and jumps for joy.

Flailing about in circles and pretending he wasn't lured into another game of chase with his tail.

He sits in front of Roger,

One paw lifted anxiously waiting for the transformation of a lifetime.

You made him thumbs?

Yep,

Thumbs.

There's one.

You made him four thumbs?

Yes,

Again.

There's two.

And let's have your back paws,

Little guy.

Harold has thumbs.

Three and four.

Enjoy.

Use them wisely.

Much to our dismay,

Harold adjusts instantaneously to his new digits.

A permanent shock stays on our faces as we watch him run into the house,

Picking up everything he can to hold them in his new hands.

When he gets distracted from the highlighters,

TV remote,

Kitchen utensils,

And his very own leash,

He realizes he can now climb up the banister instead of the stairs.

Before he can remember that he loves to climb trees,

We each block one of the exits and wait for the excitement to dissipate into his regularly scheduled afternoon nap.

Roger Robot does not share our concern.

He rolls about his day proud of his latest invention.

I got that dog a voice and some thumbs.

What's next,

Roger?

What's next?

What can't you do?

Wow,

I'm proud of that one.

We don't move a muscle from the doorways until we've confirmed Harold is asleep.

Roger,

Is he asleep?

Yeah,

Why?

Well,

He'll be able to feed himself.

We don't have to worry about that anymore.

That's true.

But I was worried about him digging holes under the fence.

Now he can just walk out the front door.

He's going to live at the Pupple Park.

His life is his to live.

He will do as he pleases.

Thanks to a shockingly innovative invention.

After his nap,

Harold woke up to realize that his thumbs weren't just a dream.

They were still very real and still attached to his paws.

He refuses to go about his day as usual.

Instead,

He follows us around mimicking our movements and reveling in doing all that we can.

In the garden with Melody Bee,

Harold happily reaches for the hand shovels instead of digging into the soil with his paws.

Out in the garage with Mr.

Honey Bee,

Harold pops up every so often proudly holding the exact tool he needs.

A screwdriver here,

A hammer there.

One time Harold even offered to hammer a nail for Mr.

Honey Bee before realizing that some things aren't so automatic to those with thumbs.

Another one of those things is the intricate cross stitch I'm working on and right in the middle of.

Harold joins me on the couch with his own linen that he draped over a small wooden circle.

He holds his hand out waiting for me to hand him his own needle and thread.

But you jump in to distract him with a rousing game of tag that he cannot resist.

You tucker him out enough to warrant another afternoon snooze which gives us another moment to relax and enjoy life as it was before Harold's thumbs.

Even Roger Robot is feeling the consequences of his most innovative invention.

When he hears Harold snore he peeks out from behind the wall whispering.

Is he asleep?

Yes,

I think so.

You're safe.

I never needed nor wanted an invention assistant.

I am my own invention assistant but do Harold and his new thumbs see that?

No,

I made those all on my own.

No assistant,

No fluffy little dog barking over my shoulder getting his clumsy little thumbs all mixed up in my work.

He's just excited Roger.

Over time it'll probably maybe get better.

I do not share your optimism Mrs.

Honeybee.

He planted and replanted seeds today.

He dug them up for fun.

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Who does that?

Is he asleep?

Yes,

You're safe too Mr.

Honeybee.

He nearly hammered his thumbs right off.

All of them.

Well,

That's not possible.

They're shatterproof.

Oh,

Really?

Yeah,

That I did think about.

Those tight angles sometimes?

I thought those would be helpful.

Wow,

I might borrow Harold's thumbs.

Mine sure could use a little break from being smushed.

Exhausted from watching over our own and Harold's shoulder we sink into the soft cozy couch and this moment of peace before the next storm.

Take a slow deep breath in through your nose.

Allow your mind to clear.

Allow yourself to simply be here in a quiet endless moment.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth just as Harold bolts up from his nap to join us for lunch at the table.

After getting his favorite kibble from the pantry his bowl and a spoon he pulls out the chair of his choice right next to yours.

He pours a big bowl of kibble not realizing that we are all staring at him.

He digs right in happily crunching the kibble and waiting for us to join him because he still needs a little help with the water glass which is more of a snout issue than a thumb one.

Since he's not tall enough to help with dishes load the dishwasher or put the clean plates back in the cupboards He bumbles around while we go about our afternoon as usual.

We still have the whole afternoon.

What should we do today,

My dear?

Hmm,

I'm not sure.

What sounds fun?

Oh,

Maybe we can watch a movie in the backyard.

It's better to wait until evening.

There's less of a glare on the projection.

Until then,

Maybe we can stop in to see how our new neighbor is acclimating.

See if they need anything.

Oh,

That's a good idea.

I'll bring some of the lavender we harvested.

And their house is halfway to the dog park so we can even stop by there.

Harold,

You hear that boy?

An uncharacteristic silence rings loudly through the house where Harold's enthusiastic bark should be.

Harold,

We're going to go to the park.

Can I at least get a little bark?

Harold?

We follow the silence all the way to the doorway where Roger Robot is standing in front of the front door which is wide open.

Harold got out,

Or left,

I guess.

We rush out hoping that he's just climbing a tree out front.

When we don't see him there,

We run to the dog park and check his favorite tree.

He's not at the pupple park,

The movie theater,

The new neighbor's house,

Or at the flower shop.

We cannot find Harold anywhere.

Instead of panicking,

We collect ourselves to figure out our next steps.

Take another slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the fresh air expanding your chest out,

Not allowing you to collapse into fear.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth and feel how it will feel when we find Harold,

That deep relief of having your best friend back by your side.

We canvas the neighborhood,

Asking everyone if they've seen Harold.

Luckily,

Our observant neighbors give us many leads.

One neighbor saw him walking toward the dog park,

But another saw him all the way down at the docks.

Yet another neighbor just saw him driving by in the passenger seat of an old beige truck.

She said Harold waved and smiled at her as they passed on the highway.

And she could have sworn that she saw thumbs on his paws,

But quickly laughed that off.

Harold seems to be getting around the neighborhood awfully quick,

Zigzagging from one end to the other.

Roger,

Would his thumbs make him faster?

They shouldn't.

We spend the rest of the afternoon tracking down leads on Harold's location.

It seems we just miss him no matter where we go.

We start heading down the street,

Back towards the house,

Thinking that Harold will surely come back.

Before frustration and hopelessness can set in,

A little red electric car pulls into our driveway up ahead.

We don't recognize the car,

But we do recognize the pup using his own thumbs to open the passenger side door and step out.

Harold closes the door and waves the nice woman goodbye as he continues along the sidewalk,

Pausing to admire his thumbs that stand up straight from his paws.

He holds them up to the sunshine as if to watch them glitter.

Yet another car pulls up to Harold,

Called by what they assume is a hitchhiker's thumb.

The friendly neighbor rolls down the passenger side window and asks where Harold is trying to hitchhike to.

Before Harold can respond and be whisked away to the other side of the neighborhood,

We call out to him from down the street and wave off the offer of a ride.

Harold always knew thumbs were powerful,

But he didn't know they could call cars and signal to people that he wants to go somewhere far away.

He has quite unknowingly hitchhiked all around the neighborhood with these brand new shining thumbs of his,

And that's why we couldn't track him down.

He was on the move.

We're reunited with Harold just as the sun is setting,

The perfect time to enjoy a movie out in the hammocks in the backyard.

Harold had no idea we were looking for him.

Without another thought,

When he hears the word hammock,

He willingly takes off his thumbs for the day and races you to your hammock.

He jumps up and waits for you to join him for a cozy snuggle watching your favorite movie.

Melody Bee and I get the snacks while Mr.

Honey Bee and Roger Robot pull down the projector screen and get the movie started.

Harold is perfectly distracted in the hammock when you softly pet his fluffy ears that he doesn't notice when Mr.

Honey Bee hides the thumbs in a very high,

Hard-to-reach spot under a roof shingle.

All Harold sees is Mr.

Honey Bee smoothing out the screen and the movie getting started.

He's happy to have another adventure under his belt and we can rest easy that the thumbs have been accidentally misplaced for a while.

Always remember Mrs.

Honey Bee believes in you.

You are special and you are loved.

I can't wait to see you again.

Reviews

What’s next?Roger robot giving Harold a hand on his tail?P.S.please don’t do anything that in any way could potentially let Roger robot know about this review.

Loved it if my dogs had thumbs we would all be in great danger my dog already acts like a cat the other one looks like she can understand us it would also be bad if they could talk they would go on and on night and day lol but I loved it