Become a Newfoundland dog, discover a world of colorful scents, and help a bear who needs a little kindness.
Imagine yourself waking up in your bed one morning. You get up and head outside. Something feels magical about today, a feeling you’ve had before, the last time you found the costume tree.
With that feeling in hand, you start to run around your house, looking left and right and anywhere you can for the costume tree to appear. Because, you see, the costume tree isn’t a tree that stays in one place. It’s a tree that appears to those who need it, and those who have a powerful enough imagination.
You look everywhere you can for the tree, but you have no luck. Eventually, you slump your head down and walk back towards your house. When you lift your head up again, you find that you’re not staring at your house at all. You’re staring at a giant, ancient-looking tree with a door on it.
The costume tree! You found it!
You know from experience that the costume tree has all sorts of magic costumes inside, costumes that allow you to take on the powers or personalities of whichever ones you wear. You step up to the door and push it open.
Inside, the space is much larger than you would have imagined. The walls are lined with all sorts of branches, each one holding a variety of different costumes. There’s pirate costumes, astronaut suits, fairy wings, superheroes, and almost anything else.
But one costume in particular catches your eye this time: a dog costume. A dog costume that looks kind of like a Newfoundland. And just in case you’ve never seen a Newfoundland before, imagine a really big and really fluffy dog that looks kind of like a giant teddy bear. I’d probably go with a mix of black, brown, and white fur, which, coincidentally, is exactly what the costume looked like: a big, bear-like dog with fluffy brown, black, and white fur.
You walk over to the costume and pick it up off of the little branch. It feels very fluffy, and it’s kind of heavy. You begin to put it on, and as you pull it over your head, you feel a strange sensation wash over you.
Your body starts to change, morphing and reshaping. Your hands turn into paws, your legs adjust themselves, and you feel a tail suddenly moving around on your back. Your senses are heightened too, especially your sense of smell. The world around you seems to kind of expand as you take in the scents you’ve never noticed before.
Even stranger, each scent seems to mix with your ability to see, and it sort of displays itself like a color misting through the air in front of you. As you take in a deep breath through your nose, the colors become darker, more distinct, as if you can see smells.
Your body feels different too. You can move with a new, agile grace. You begin running on all fours, and you find that it is way more comfortable than running on two legs. You start to wonder why you’ve run on two legs for so long.
With that, you have the urge to run. You dash away from the tree, feeling the wind rush through your fur. As you run through the forest, the ground feels different beneath your paws, soft and springy with a mix of leaves and moss. You weave between the trees easily, leaping over fallen logs and darting around bushes.
As you continue to run, you come across a lake. The water in the lake looks clear and inviting. You can’t resist but dive in. As you begin to paddle through the water, you can feel the coolness against your fur. Swimming feels very natural, almost instinctual. You find that you can glide through the lake with ease.
After a while of swimming, you swim back to the shore and shake off the water. As you do, you see another group of dogs nearby. There’s all sorts of dogs: big ones, small ones, furry ones, little tiny ones. They all seem to be having a conversation, and you approach them curiously.
“Hey there,” barks a friendly-looking golden retriever. “Haven’t seen you around here before. What’s your name?”
You pause, realizing that you can now speak dog.
“Uh, hi. Um, well, I’m new here.”
The retriever tilts his head, then grins. “I’m Max. Welcome to the pack. These are my friends Bella, Duke, and Rocky.”
Bella, a sleek greyhound, nods at you. “Nice to meet you. So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?” Bella asks.
“Oh, long story. I found a costume tree, and now I’m a dog.”
Max’s eyes widen. “A costume tree? That’s amazing! Uh, what’s a costume tree?” Max asks.
“That’s a tree with a whole bunch of costumes. When you put them on, you transform into whatever it is you’re wearing.”
“That’s so cool,” Max says. “Well, how do you like being a dog?”
“It’s amazing,” you reply. “Everything smells so different, and running and swimming are so much fun.”
“Yeah, we dogs have it pretty good. Lots of time to play, sniff around, and just kind of enjoy life. In fact, you know, humans think we’re just goofing off, but we dogs have our own way of seeing the world. For example, did you know that each scent tells a story? Every tree, every patch of grass, it’s like reading a book.”
Bella laughs. “And don’t forget the belly rubs. Humans give the best belly rubs.”
Max nods enthusiastically. “And food! Humans always drop the best stuff on the ground. It’s like a treasure hunt every day.”
You can’t help but laugh at their excitement. “You guys sure know how to enjoy life.”
“We do our best,” Max replies. “It’s all about living in the moment and appreciating the little things, like this beautiful forest or a good swim in the lake.”
As you and your new friends continue to chat and play, you hear a rustling in the bushes, and it makes everyone freeze. Out steps none other than a gigantic black bear, its eyes scanning the group of dogs. Instantly, the smaller dogs yelp in fear and start to scramble to hide behind the trees and rocks.
But you and some of the other larger dogs feel a surge of courage. You plant your paws firmly on the ground, and you begin to bark. Each bark feels powerful and deep. The sound echoes through the forest, causing the bear to start to hesitate. You continue to bark, louder and more forcefully, and soon all of the other dogs join in.
The bear stops in his tracks. But then something kind of unexpected happens. The bear’s expression changes from one of anger to one of sadness. It begins to sit down on the ground and cry, large tears rolling down its furry cheeks.
Curious about what exactly is going on, you slowly approach the bear. “Hey, what’s wrong?” you ask gently.
The bear sniffs and wipes away a tear with its paw. “I just wanted some honey,” it says between sobs. “I tried to get some from the beehive, but the bees got angry, and they stung me. Now I have no honey, and my paws hurt.”
You feel some sympathy for the bear. “Wait a second. Wait here. I think I can help.”
You begin to run through the forest once again. You dodge trees and jump over bushes, and generally make your way through the forest at pretty amazing speed until you find an exit to the forest, and you begin to head toward your own house.
As a dog, you have the advantage of keen senses and improved agility. You easily slip through the door, quietly navigating your way to the kitchen. Your heightened sense of smell leads you straight to a jar of honey sitting on the counter. Thanks to your Newfoundland size, you manage to nudge it off the counter and catch it gently in your mouth.
Very stealthily, you sneak back out of the house, and you head directly back for the forested area that you came from. You sprint through the forest once again, jumping creeks and small rivers, logs and bushes, and winding your way in and around trees until you eventually come to the bear once again.
“Here you go,” you say, placing the jar of honey in front of the bear.
The bear’s eyes light up with gratitude. “Thank you so much!” it exclaims, opening the jar of honey and eagerly picking up a huge scoop of it in its bear paws. “This is the best thing ever. You’re a true friend,” the bear says.
Seeing the bear so happy fills you with a warm feeling. “I’m glad I could help,” you say. “Uh, just be careful around those bees next time.”
The other dogs, who’d been watching from their hiding spots, slowly come out and gather around. Max barks in admiration. “Wow, that was incredible. You really saved the day.”
The other dogs nod as well. It’s not every day you see a dog brave enough to stand up to a bear and then show such kindness.
You smile, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment. “Thanks, everyone. But now I think it’s time for me to head back to the costume tree.”
The pack of dogs follows you as you make your way back through the forest. When you reach the tree, you turn to your newfound friends. “It was great meeting all of you. I’ll never forget this adventure. But once I take off this costume, I don’t think I’ll be able to understand you anymore.”
“We’ll never forget you either. And come back and visit anytime,” Max says.
With a final wave of your paw, you step up toward the costume tree. You use your teeth to open up the door, and you climb inside. As you look down where the zipper should be, your paws seem to immediately transform back into hands. You easily find the zipper, and as you unzip the costume, another strange sensation rolls across your mind and through your entire body.
You begin to feel like yourself again, like a human again. You finish taking off the costume, and you hang it up on the tree. As you look outside, it’s starting to get dark, and you know you need to be home. It’s time to go to bed, after all.
You head out of the costume tree and walk out of the forest. You find yourself standing back in front of your house. But this time, as you look behind you, the forest area is gone. It’s transformed back to what it always used to look like. You’ll never get used to how the costume tree just kind of appears out of nowhere, but you kind of like it that way.
You head inside, and you climb into your bed. As your head hits the pillow, your eyes become very, very heavy. You allow them to close, and you just focus on your breath, noticing as your stomach rises and falls with each breath.
The muscles in your arms and your legs just begin to relax more and more. And then you notice any tension in your stomach or your shoulders or your chest. And with each breath, you let the tension melt away, allowing yourself to sink down deeper into the mattress.
And last, you notice any tension in your face or your neck, and you allow it to melt away as well. And now, as you melt, your mind begins to wander, and it starts to go in different directions, leading you off to new adventures and new dreams to come.
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