Chapter Three: Escape from the Pet Store
May 20, 2025 at 9:20 AM
The next day, Varanda and Buddy went to the village again, but this time they were going to the pet store. Varanda noticed that Buddy had been lonely lately, and she often left him alone because she spent more time with Sonic and her other friends. So, so that Buddy wouldn't be bored in her absence, she decided to buy another pet that would be Buddy's best friend or even a brother. Or at least a sister, if it was a female.
At that time, an escape was being planned in the store. The animals were trying to escape from the pet store and in such a way that no one from the people or Mobians would notice. The escape was mainly planned by a pink parrot, a black kitten, a gray dog, who was half wolf and a brown hamster. More precisely, the half wolf was trying to escape and run away. When a man came into the store and brought a new cage with two homeless cats, which they decided to sell as pets. The man showed the store owner countless cats and while they were flirting with each other, they went together to wash the unfortunate cats from fleas and dirt. At this time, the half-wolf tries to reach his tongue through the hole in the glass door of his cage and open it. At this time, the hamster stands guard and watches. He sees the guard coming.
β Freeze! β the hamster commands and the half-wolf stops, pretending that he is not up to anything. The guard looked around to make sure that the animals would not escape and went back to keep watch. The half-wolf sighs with relief. β Returns to his room.
β Thank you. β the gray one answers and continues to reach his tongue for the keyhole. He almost opened it, but the man himself returns, who was looking for shampoo from the block. On the way, he saw that the dog was trying to escape and almost opened the cage.
β No-no-no-no-no. β he closes the keyhole tighter again and starts scolding the half-wolf, pointing his finger at him. β Bad dog! If you try to escape again, I'll send you to the warehouse and lock you there. β he scolded him and returned to the kittens.
β Another failure! β the kitten was upset.
β Don't panic so much, baby. β the half-wolf reassured him. β Not everything always works out the first time and not everything can be foreseen. β he tries to open the keyhole again, sticking his tongue out.
β Escape is a good thing, Togo, but don't you want to be bought, taken in and cared for by some middle-aged and lonely owner? β the parrot asks him, sitting in his cage and swinging on his swing.
β Yes. Maybe he will become your friend? β the black kitten asked.
β You are my friends, fools. β Togo answered them with a grin. β I promised you that sooner or later we would escape from this pet store and run away together to live in the forest to be free.
β Well, I donβt know. We are domestic animals, and itβs more comfortable for us to live in villages or cities, as well as among people and Mobians. Perhaps we wonβt get used to the wild? β asked the hamster.
β Weβll get used to it. Iβm half dog and half wolf. Iβll teach you a lot about how to live and survive there when we escape. β explained the half-wolf. β The forest is the only Paradise untouched by man and Mobian, where all the animals are free and decide for themselves how to live. They all love and protect each other there, and the latug and the feeder are everywhere. Take as much as you want. But the most important thing is that no one controls you there or tells you what to do. Each animal decides for itself how to live.
β Sounds like an unreal fairy tale. β the kitten suggested.
β It's very beautiful. When I free us, we'll all go there together. β Togo said and finally managed to open the keyhole and the door of his cage. Fortunately, there were no people or Mobians nearby. β Freedom!
The hamster, the parrot and the kitten were surprised and happily watched Togo come out of the cage. He first went to the parrot's cage, deciding to free it, but saw that a customer appeared behind the door, and with his dog.
β Hide quickly! β said the pink parrot and the half-wolf ran away, hiding under the saleswoman's table.
Varanda was behind the door, patting Buddy on the head and leaving him outside to wait for her.
β Behave well, Buddy, and this time I promise and will try to come back faster. I give you my word. I'll come back with a gift especially for you. β she said and went.
β And from now on I promise to wait for you here and I will not move from this place for a single step. βthe dog answers her, although she did not understand him when she entered the pet store. At that time, another dog of the corgi breed was standing nearby. Buddy saw him and turned to him. β Hello, neighbor. Are you new?
β Yes. I was brought here only a week ago and bought only yesterday. - the corgi explained. β My name is Laika. β he held out his paw.
β Buddy. β He introduced himself and shook his paw. β What are you doing here?
β I sometimes come here to look at my old home in the pet store and say goodbye to it. β the corgi explained. β After all, from now on I live with the owner in the house that bought me.
β Who bought you? β Varanda's dog asked.
β Some pink she-hedgehog in a red dress. I still haven't remembered her name, but she feeds me well. And she also seemed to say that she wanted some blue hedgehog to become her favorite guy and marry her.
β Aha! Amy Rose. β Buddy guessed, looking at the ceiling.
β Exactly! That was her name. Amy Rose. I can't remember her at all. How can I not be ashamed?
β "What tricks will she not use, just to steal Sonic from my mistress?" thought Buddy, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. β "Although!... That's an idea." β Buddy imagined that if Amy Rose and her dog Laika could take Sonic away from Varanda, then Sonic would go to Amy. Varanda would of course be upset later, but Buddy would stay with her and calm her down, lick her muzzle, she would hug him again, and then they would be alone again and be best friends forever, which meant she would never get rid of him. Buddy smiled slyly. β I have an idea!
β What idea? β asked Laika, hearing what Buddy had said.
β Listen, do you want me to help you with your mistress, since she wants love from Sonic so much and for him to marry her?
β Mmm... β the corgi looked at the sky, thought for a moment and answered:β Of course I do. I think my new mistress will be only too happy about it.
β Okay. Then listen to me carefully! Here's what we'll do. β said Buddy and leaned over slightly, raising both ears as if he was covering them both with his hands, and Laika turned his right ear to him and began to listen to him attentively. Buddy began to whisper his plan of action to him. About thirty pigeons flew past. They saw that the two dogs were whispering something secret. They became curious and came down to eavesdrop on what they were talking about. Buddy and Laika saw that the pigeons were eavesdropping on them and began to bark at them and scream, trying to drive them away.
β GET OUT OF HERE!!! OUT-OUT-OUT!!! β they shouted at the same time and the pigeons flew away, leaving white spots on the ground in their places. After that, Like began to listen attentively to Buddy again, and he continued to whisper in his ear.
And Varanda at this time was examining each pet and thinking about which one to choose. A store employee, who was a pink fox, came up to her.
β Hello, Varanda, have you come for a new pet? Yes?
β Well, my dog ββis still better. But the circumstances are such that I now have a beloved boyfriend, with whom we often cross paths lately, communicate and even flirt sometimes, and occasionally even kiss.
β How romantic. β the saleswoman sighs, folding her hands together downwards.
β Yes. And the other day I even think about proposing to him and that maybe someday in the future we will get married, but... The thing is that my favorite dog doesn't know about it yet. And I thought that if my boyfriend and I get married and live together, then I might accidentally stop paying attention or remembering about Buddy and he will think that I traded him for a man and will miss me. So I thought that Buddy needs a new friend. β explained the hedgehog.
β Well. I understand you. I think I can help you choose the best friend for your dog. We have a very good dog and his name is Togo. However, he is not just a dog. He is half dog and half wolf.
β Really? Why is that? β asked Varanda.
β When we found him as a puppy, we found out that his mother died after giving birth, and his father was shot by one of the hunters. His father was a wolf, and his mother was a dog. That's why we took him in and raised him for a long time. We couldn't leave him to die on the street alone. Well, how alone? His mother gave birth to seven puppies, mostly. Six were dogs and only this one was half wolf. We were able to sell all of his brothers and sisters, oddly enough, but unfortunately no one wanted to buy Togo and take him home because he was half wolf. Even he himself was sad that no one wanted to take him home.
β Really? β Varanda felt sorry for this half-wolf after hearing the news. Then she decided that she would buy Togo so that not only Buddy, but Togo would be happy too. β In that case, I'll buy him myself.
β Great! I'll show him to you now. β The fox took the hedgehog to the cage with Togo, but he himself was not inside, and the door was open. β Oh! Well, there he goes again. Lately he doesn't like to sit still and tries to escape. I don't even know where he is?
β Hmm... Well, maybe you should just let him go then, since he wants to be free himself. He's probably grown up by now and wants to live free in his own way, considering that he's half wolf. β Varanda suggested.
β Hmm... I somehow didn't think about it... Oh, okay! β the fox waved her hand and stood up. β Maybe you should buy yourself a kitten then? Your dog doesn't hunt cats and loves them, right?
β Of course. He's mostly friendly to cats. He even liked to play with Blaze once. β Varanda even remembered for a moment how Buddy once jumped on Blaze, knocking her down on the grass and began to lick her muzzle, and the princess at that time laughed from the tickling and tried to push him away and begged him to stop. Even Varanda herself quietly laughed, remembering this. β And what kind of kittens will you offer? β she asked the fox and she approached the cage with the black kitten.
β I can offer you this baby. β she opens the cage and takes out the kitten. β His name is Lucky. He needs to be loved. β she gave the kitten into Varanda's hands and she looked at the kitten, and the kitten in turn looked into Varanda's eyes. They both seemed to see almost kindred spirits. The kitten smiled and meowed briefly.
β Pst... Togo, here's what we'll do! It's better for you to escape from the pet store yourself. β the hamster whispered to the half-wolf.
β Don't worry! I promise that I'll come back for you after the store closes and try to free you! β Togo answers and runs to the open window. He climbed onto the closet, climbed through the window and ran out into the street.
β Run to freedom, Togo! β the parrot sang. Then he sighed heavily. - I hope Miles Prower buys me. He has such soft two tails. I always look up to him.
β And I would like Knuckles to take me in. β said the hamster.
β I'll take it! β Varanda answers about the kitten.
***
The friend finished whispering in Laika's ear. β Okay. I'll try to do that and advise my owner to do the same. β said Laika and gets ready to leave. β It's time for me to go, because the owner is worried. β Bye, Laika. I hope to see you again. At this time, Togo ran out of the alley and accidentally collided with Buddy, and they both fell. β Hey! Watch where you're running! I'm actually standing here waiting for my mistress. β said Buddy. β My fault! I was blinded by freedom. For the first time in my life, I got out of the pet store and can run my paws on the grass, earth and sand. β explained Togo and ran on. Buddy thought about it and ran after him. β Wait! You said you ran away from the pet store? β That's what I said. β the half-wolf confirms. β I was locked in this prison for five years, like a prisoner. I'll never go back there again. I am finally free and can walk freely in the forest, run wherever I want, bark at whomever I want, howl at the moon and do only what I want and when I want. β Are you saying that a pet store is a prison? β asked the dog. β Not for everyone. Only for me and my friends who were locked up there. Kitten Lucky, parrot Lesha and hamster Morgun. They also want to be free, just like me. I promised them that I would come back at night and free them. Sorry, I would really like to chat with you, buddy, but I don't have much time. Goodbye. β Togo explained and ran into the forest, leaving Buddy on the path at the entrance to the forest. Dzhok immediately decided to return to the supermarket and continued to wait. At that very moment, Varanda came out, holding the purchased animal in her hands. β Here I am, Buddy. Look who I bought!? Your new friend! β she stretched out her hands and showed the kitten itself. Any dog ββin Buddy's place would have immediately started barking by instinct and would have attacked any cat, not just the kitten, but not Buddy. This dog calmly looked at the kitten, and he looked at the dog with his big eyes and meowed briefly. Buddy smiled and slowly opened his mouth and said: β Hi-i-i-i! β he said, and the kitten, seeing the dog's teeth, became worried and began to cry.Buddy was surprised. β No-no-no. What you, don't cry! Don't cry, please! I didn't want to scare you. I'm just a harmless dog. Varanda only saw how Buddy calmly barked, and the kitten meowed. Although she did not understand either of them, she suspected that they were most likely talking to each other. β Itβs a pity that I donβt understand you both. I would like to talk to you both myself. β she told them. The dog and the kitten stopped making their sounds and looked questioningly at their common mistress. Afterwards they went home. Varanda held the kitten in her arms, and the dog walked next to her. They came to Varandaβs house. She left the kitten by the fireplace and went to cook dinner. Buddy sat down next to her. β Sorry again. I really didnβt want to scare you. β Itβs okay. Iβve never seen such teeth myself. Especially not on the wolf Togo. β So you know him? β Heβs our friend. He promised to free us so that we could live free in the forest and without owners. Although I would rather have an owner who looked like... Something like me... β Lucky explained. β I was named Lucky because Iβm a black kitten without a single white spot. β Thus destroying the stereotype that black cats bring bad luck. The saleswoman believes that I, on the contrary, can bring good luck. β Ah! Then I understand. But now you will be with us. With me and my... Well, our mistress. β explained Lucky. The kitten stood up, went up to the dog and began to rub his muzzle against him, and Buddy lay quietly and moved his tail. Varanda comes and brings them both one bowl with very small pieces of cut meat. β See how he liked you. β the hedgehog patted the dog on the head and went outside. β I'll go and take a walk for now. Don't be bored without me. β Okay, Varanda. I'll take care of Lucky. β the dog answered towards the exit and went to have a snack, but stopped. β Are you probably hungry? Don't you want to eat? β he points his nose at the meat bowl. β Uh... I'd love to, but this is your bowl, not mine. I don't eat from someone else's bowl. β the kitten replied. β No, Lucky. This is now our shared bowl. We'll eat from it in turns. β the dog said, and the kitten, a little hesitant, approached the bowl. β Be brave! Don't be afraid. Lucky leaned over and tried the meat. It was delicious, and the kitten ate half of it. Buddy ate the rest of the meat.***
Night fell, and the kitten and the dog were lying together on Varanda's bed. The bed was very soft. The kitten felt something with his whiskers, woke up abruptly, and looked around. Buddy woke up after him. β Did something happen? β asked the dog. β Yes. I think I felt Togo running past our house. I think he's running back to the pet store to free the others. β Lucky looked at the ceiling and thought out loud: β Buddy, maybe we should help him? β Well... I don't know. β answered Buddy. β What if our owner scolds us if she comes back and sees that we're not home? What if we get caught and go to jail? β It's okay, I've gotten used to the pet store. We'll sit there until they buy us again. β explained Lucky. β No, no, I don't want to. I've gotten used to my good old owner a long time ago and she's never had anyone except me since childhood. β answered Buddy. β Okay. I promise that we'll act quietly and carefully! β said the kitten and jumped off the bed. β You're coming, Buddy. The dog rolled his eyes and followed the kitten to where he was going. Together they went outside and followed the half-wolf. At this time, Togo returned to the village and came to the same pet store from which he had escaped earlier. Having climbed onto a garbage can, he enters the store through the window. All the pets in the cages that had not yet been bought were asleep and did not suspect anything. Even the hamster Morgun and the parrot Lesha were asleep. β Pst... Guys! I'm back. β whispered Togo. Morgun and Lesha woke up and yawned. β Huh?... Togo? β Lesha could not believe what he saw. β I knew that you would come back for us. β said Morgun. β I couldn't leave you here alone. Let's get out of here. β says Togo and stands in front of the parrot's cage door, tries to reach the lock with his paw and lifts it. However, in order to open this cage, it was necessary to open another lock from below. The half-wolf lowers his paws to the lower latch, but the cage still does not open, because it is necessary to open the upper latch at the same time. β It doesn't work. If only there was another one next to me. β Let me! β Togo heard a voice behind him and turned around questioningly, still holding the lower latch open. Buddy stood next to him, raised his paws and opened the upper latch. The door of the parrot's cage Lesha was open and he fluttered his wings and began to fly around the pet store, shouting: β Yes! I'm free! Finally! β You? β asks Togo of Buddy. β Me too. β the kitten came out from behind Buddy. β Lucky boy! β smiled Togo and licked the kitten's face with his tongue. β Enough, uncle! The animals are watching, after all. β said Lucky modestly. β Did you come to help him? β asked the half-wolf. β What did you think? That we would hinder you? β asked Buddy jokingly and, raising his right front paw, opened the cage with the hamster, who came out and began to sing: β Freedom for the hamsters, hurray! From now on there will always be sun, from now on there will always be sky! β From now on there will always be freedom, from now on there will always be us! β the parrot finished the hamster's song and sat down next to him. β Thank you for the three of you coming back and freeing us. Let's get out of here now! β Wait! What about all the other animals in the pet store? β asked Togo. β We won't go. If you want, you can run away to freedom and live on the street. We're fine here, too. β they heard the other animals in the cages answer at the same time. β As you wish. β the half-wolf answers and runs to the window. β Everyone who wants freedom, follow me! The half-wolf ran out the window, jumping onto the trash can and landing on the ground. The dog followed him, holding the kitten and hamster on his back, and the parrot flew out the window on its wings. After that, they ran and all flew together into the forest. The goose Gulpcoder saw them on the way and became interested. He flew after them. β Sorry, Buddy, where are you running with these animals? β the goose asked the dog. β We're all running to freedom. I'm helping this half-dog half-wolf and his friends escape from the pet store so that they can run into the forest and live there in freedom. β Buddy explained. β Really? β the goose asked and the dog nodded. β Can I come with you? I've wanted to see this forest for a long time myself. β No problem, β Togo answered. β But beware of wild animals, like wolves and bears. They really love to feast on delicious geese. β he said jokingly and the goose swallowed. β Although you know. I remembered that it was high time for me to go to bed so that I could get up early tomorrow morning and wake up your mistress, as I promised you. β he explained to Buddy and flew back. β See you tomorrow, Buddy. β Oh, you coward! β Lesha answered jokingly. They ran along the path to the entrance to a dark forest with tall trees and stopped. β Well, that's it! I won't go any further. I helped you and now you must go to freedom on your own. β said the dog. β As you wish, Buddy. But if you suddenly change your mind and want to join us, we will wait for you here in the forest. β answered Togo. β You go, and I will stay. β answered the kitten. β You donβt want to come with us? β the half-wolf looked questioningly at the kitten. β I want to... But... They already bought me... And I like living with my new owner and new friend. And itβs dark and scary in the forest. Plus, Iβm still little. Iβm not ready for the wild life or freedom yet. β explained Lucky. β I understand you, Lucky. But if you suddenly change your mind and want to join us, we are always glad to see you. Goodbye, Lucky. And goodbye, Buddy. β answered Togo and ran into the forest. A hamster runs after him and a parrot flies. β YAHOO!!! FREEDOM AND WILDLIFE AT LAST!!! β YE-E-ES!!! β Lesha and Morgun also shouted joyfully. Buddy and Lucky only smiled and watched them go. Then they looked at each other. β Let's go home, little one. β he said to the kitten and they went back to their mistress.***
But Buddy and Lucky did not forget about Togo, Lesha and Morgun, just as the three of them did not forget about these two. Sometimes at night they would come to visit each other and meet between the entrance to the village and the forest. Togo even taught Buddy one night, when the moon was full, to raise his head and howl at the moon, like a real wolf. At first, Buddy was uncomfortable, because he was trying it for the first time, but over time he got used to it and sometimes every night when he went outside, he also howled at the moon, and when Togo heard his howl, he also howled in response to support his home friend. So they lived and secretly crossed paths with each other in the forest for about four months. None of the people or Mobians, and especially Varanda, even knew or suspected about it.
