2. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 2
Barnabas Barkley loved to dig. In the morning, he would jump out of bed and race to his backyard
to dig before breakfast; his mother would scold him “Barnabas, now you are all covered in mud and
are going be late for school!” He would grin and bound once more around the muddy backyard
until his mother began to count. “One, two…” on three he would grudgingly come inside to take
his bath. Barnabas did not like school.
3. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 3
Each day at recess while the other puppies laughed and played, Barnabas hid behind the monkey
bars and worked on digging a deep hole. Sometimes the other puppies would tease him and shout
“Barnabas Barkley is a mole; he thinks he lives inside a hole.” Barnabas would crouch inside his
hole so no one could see him, and put his paws over his ears and cry. He did not like loud noises
and he hated being teased.
“Barnabas, it's your birthday next week,
would you like to have some friends over to
celebrate?” asked his mother one morning.
Barnabas felt anxious “Do I have to?” “Of
course not” she replied, “we can do
whatever you'd like.” Barnabas felt relieved
and thought for a moment “I think I'd just
like to eat some pineapple upside down cake,
please.” His mother smiled and nodded
“Then that is what you shall have.”
Barnabas heard his father whisper, “It isn't
normal for a puppy to not want a birthday party.” He crept out into the backyard, climbed into his
hole and cried. He wanted a birthday party more than anything, but he was too embarrassed to
explain to his parents that he had no one to invite.
Barnabas wanted a friend. Each day at school he watched the other puppies play, wishing he knew
how to join them. One morning, Honey, a little white poodle whom all the other puppies loved,
cried “Oh no! I’ve lost my ribbon!!” Barnabas’ ears perked up; he wanted to help, so he dashed
around the playground expertly digging in the mulch. Suddenly, Barnabas gave a happy yelp- he had
found it under the swing set! He could barely contain his excitement as he ran to Honey, the ribbon
dangling from his mouth.
4. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 4
When she saw her beautiful pale pink ribbon all covered with dirt and slobber, she began to cry.
Her friends barked at him “Barnabas, you’ve ruined Honey’s ribbon! Go back to your hole, where
you belong!” Barnabas whimpered and crept back to his corner of the playground.
That evening at dinner, his mother placed a huge t-bone steak into his bowl, but Barnabas wasn’t
hungry. “Barnabas, why aren’t you eating?” asked his father “It’s your favorite.” Barnabas looked
sadly at the beautiful steak, but his stomach hurt; all he could think about was how the puppies had
teased him. He asked “Dad, why doesn’t anyone at school like me?” His father replied, “Barnabas,
5. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 5
don’t be silly, of course they like you!” Barnabas looked at the ground and focused on swallowing
the big lump that had risen in his throat.
After dinner, his mother took him outside and sat beside him on the porch “Barnabas” she said,
“You are very special. Sometimes puppies are intimidated by that. You just wait, things will get
better and you will make friends.” Barnabas pretended to smile, but he wasn’t happy. He didn’t
want to wait; he wanted things to get better now.
Barnabas went to the backyard to work on his hole. He climbed carefully in and began to loosen the
dirt around a stubborn root. He was happiest when digging. He was very, very good at it. He had
6. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 6
never encountered a root or a rock he could not dig past and his backyard was a place where he
could be himself and no one would laugh at him.
Barnabas loved pirates and
was working on digging his
very own pirate cave. He had
planned it all out; he was
going to have a little table
and chairs, a pump sink so
that he could have water on
hot days and chest where he
could hide his treasure. That
night he kept digging even
after the sun went down,
deeper and deeper, through
his painful emotions, until his
mother called “Barnabas! It's
dark out, come inside and go
to bed.” Exhausted,
Barnabas slept soundly and
visions of pirate ships, peg
legs and treasure sailed
through his head.
7. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 7
On Monday, Barnabas’ teacher announced that the
class would be giving a presentation on the topic of
their choice “I have broken you all into pairs” she
said. “Who will I be working with?” asked
Barnabas timidly. His teacher replied “Barnabas,
you will be working with Honey.” The other
puppies giggled and whispered “Barnabas has a
girlfriend.” Barnabas turned bright red and
slouched deep into his desk.
After school, Barnabas began his walk home, but
stopped short when Honey called out to him “What
subject would you like to work on?” His eyes grew
wide and he couldn’t find the words to reply. “I
like pirates” said Honey. Barnabas was amazed,
that was precisely the subject he would have
chosen. He managed to nod weakly. “Then it’s settled, we will meet after school tomorrow and
read about pirates!” Honey flashed a grin at wide-eyed Barnabas and then bounced happily away.
He stood frozen; suddenly realizing he had forgotten how to breathe.
Barnabas arrived home from school the next day with Honey in tow. As his mother heard him walk
through the front door, she called “Hello Barnabas dear! How was your da-'” she emerged from the
kitchen and realized he wasn't alone “who is your friend?” she asked, attempting to hide her
surprise. “Th-this is Honey” Barnabas sputtered “We're working on a project together.” Honey
chimed in “On pirates!” “Well that's just lovely. Will you be staying for dinner Honey?” Barnabas
tried answer, but forgot how, so Honey replied “Sure!!” She spun to face him and exclaimed “Hey,
8. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 8
Barnabas, let's go read about pirates!!” He mustered his courage and replied “I-I have something
even better.” He led Honey into the backyard.
Honey’s eyes widened when she saw the entrance to Barnabas’s massive hole. “It’s my pirate cave!”
said Barnabas proudly “Or at least it will be, it’s not quite finished yet.” Tail wagging, Honey eagerly
scampered to the edge and looked inside “Wow, can I go in?” Barnabas hesitated “Yes, but it’s
pretty dirty-”. Honey didn’t hear him; she had leaped down into the hole and was digging wildly.
“Come on Barnabas!! We
need to finish the cave and
hide the treasure before our
enemies find it!” Barnabas’s
face broke into a huge
lopsided grin and he dove
inside to dig with Honey. He
thought his heart might burst
from happiness.
“Barnabas, Honey, it’s time
for dinner!” called his mom
from the back door. Barnabas
and Honey stopped digging
and ran to the house.
Barnabas's mother gasped – the two of them were entirely covered with dirt. “Oh my!” She said
suppressing a smile “You're going to have to get cleaned up!” She turned on the sprinkler for them.
Giggling, they scampered through the streams of water, shaking mud everywhere. Barnabas' dad
looked out at the backyard and smiled “It looks like Barnabas has finally found a friend.”
9. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 9
The next day, Honey invited Barnabas to join her during recess. He followed her over to the
swings. “Barnabas is going to play with us today!” she announced. The other puppies looked as
hesitant as Barnabas felt, but they agreed and began counting sides for a game of dodge ball. He
hung shyly back until he heard someone call out “Barnabas!” As he walked to join his new team, he
heard one of the puppies whisper “No chance of winning now.”
Barnabas took a deep breath and stood as tall as he could. “Ready, set go!” said a big puppy. All of
a sudden, the playground was a whirlwind of noise and shouting, Barnabas was shoved this way and
that, until he felt something hit him in the head, hard. “Barnabas, you’re out!!” yelled the puppies
“Get off the court.” Barnabas was confused, overwhelmed and embarrassed; he started to cry and
ran from the playground, all the way back to his classroom.
Barnabas stayed home from school the next day. He said he had a stomachache, and it was true.
His mom brought him some chicken soup and a book about pirates. “Would you like me to read it
to you?” she asked “For your project”. He
reluctantly agreed; he wanted to forget
about school, but he really loved learning
about Pirates. He spent the rest of the
afternoon resting and reading with his
mother until he heard a knock at the door.
“Barnabas, Honey is here to see you” said
his mother.
He scrunched under the covers as Honey
entered the room. “Barnabas, we missed
you at school today” she said “I came over
to bring you this bone; I hoped it might make you feel better.” Barnabas looked at the delicious
bone and didn’t know what to say. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. She jumped up onto the bed
10. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 10
and put it down beside him “Besides, we have work to do if we want to get an A on our report
tomorrow.” Barnabas took a deep breath “My mom read me a book about pirates today, I could tell
you what I learned.” By the time they were called for dinner, the report was finished, complete with
a pirate ballad and a handmade map leading directly to the backyard pirate cave.
The day of the presentation finally arrived and
Barnabas and Honey excitedly donned pirate
costumes sewed by his mother. They arrived at
school lugging a bag of golden coins and an eye
patch for each member of the class. Their
presentation began and they impressed
everyone with their knowledge of the history
and customs of pirates. When Barnabas
unveiled the Pirate Map, there was an audible
gasp and everyone huddled together to get a
closer look “Is there really a pirate cave right
here in our neighborhood?” asked a little
Chihuahua “Yes!” said Honey proudly “It’s in
Barnabas’ backyard!” “Ohhhh” breathed all the
puppies. They ended the presentation with a pirate ballad, composed by Barnabas “Yo ho, yo ho!
Our ship is out to sea, arrrrgh, the crew has set the plank. We’re looking for some land, a bank, to
hide our treasure on, arrrrgh!” All the puppies joined in, marching around the classroom singing
until the bell rang.
After school, Barnabas skittered home, singing all the way. He careened through the front door and
swept past his mother who called out “How did it go today?” He swung around and cried, “It was
11. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 11
so awesome!!” He resumed his mad dash for the backyard “Now I’ve got work to do!!” Barnabas
spent the rest of the evening digging furiously, and couldn’t be convinced to come in for dinner. He
was determined to finish the work on his cave. Finally, his father came outside and crouched down
beside the hole “Barnabas buddy, can I take a look at what you’re doing there?” Barnabas lit up
“Sure, Dad!” His father climbed down and looked around “This is very impressive, son. I see what
you’re trying to build here- do you mind if I help?”
Barnabas was incredulous “Wow, would you really dad?” “I would love to” his father replied. He
inspected the ceiling and walls of the cave
“When building a pirate cave, safety is
important; you wouldn’t want your crew
to get injured while they were hiding their
treasure” said his father gravely “No”
replied a wide eyed Barnabas “I
wouldn’t!” He taught Barnabas how to
shore up the walls and ceiling by nailing
together some old plywood and a few two
by fours from the garage. He finally
helped Barnabas build his little table and
chairs “this is for when your friends come
to visit.” Barnabas grinned; he had never
felt closer to his father.
12. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 12
That night, his mother asked him again about having
a party for his birthday. This time he was hesitant,
but didn’t refuse. “Mom, what if no one wants to
come?” he asked nervously. She put her arm around
him “They will come Barnabas, because you are a
wonderful, likeable puppy.” The next day Barnabas
went to recess holding a small pile of invitations. He
shyly approached a little Chihuahua playing
hopscotch with her friends “Excuse me, I’m
Barnabas. Would you like to come to my birthday
party on Saturday?” they turned and blinked at him
until one of the girls squealed, “Sure, I love parties!”
He felt a wave of relief as they each accepted a copy of his invitation.
He finished his rounds and exhausted, retreated to his corner of the playground. He didn’t have the
energy to dig, so he lay down on the grass. Honey bounced over and flopped down beside him “Oh
Barnabas, I’m so excited to come to your party!” she effused. Barnabas was quiet and Honey
cocked her head to the side “What’s wrong?” “What if no one comes?” he whimpered “and, what if
they do come and they think my party is silly? What if the party is very loud and I get overwhelmed
and I run away? I would be so embarrassed. And what if-” Honey interrupted him “Why would
you feel embarrassed around us? We are your friends!” Barnabas felt relieved and sighed. He rolled
onto his back, letting the sun soak into his belly, and for the first time in a long time, he felt like
everything might be okay.
When the morning of his party came, he paced back and forth nervously across the kitchen,
watching his mother ice his pineapple upside down cake. It was shaped like a pirate’s chest and his
favorite golden coins spilled out and down the side. “Would you like to help me?” asked his
13. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 13
mother. Barnabas shook his head no and went back to his cave to check on the place settings and
the party favors on his little table. Everything was in order, but he checked them once again just to
be sure. His mother smiled and called out “Barnabas honey, don’t worry; everything is ready. Why
don’t you go upstairs and find something nice to wear?” Barnabas nodded and went to his room.
Barnabas opened his closet and chose his smartest bowtie. He looked in the mirror and took a deep
breath, which turned into a yawn. He was tired; he had stayed up half the night worrying about his
party. He peeked out his window into the backyard and smiled at his finished pirate cave. No one
was expected to arrive yet, so he lay down to rest his tired eyes, and fell asleep. Suddenly he woke
and jumped up, startled. He squinted at the clock; it read 4:15pm, his party started at four! He
perked his ears and listened hard, but didn’t hear anything from downstairs. He whimpered aloud;
maybe he had been right to worry. Maybe no one had come.
Barnabas crept slowly down the
stairs and looked around the
corner into the kitchen.
“Mom?” he called out
tentatively. His mother was
there “Barnabas, follow me” she
said softly and they made their
way into the backyard and
stopped at the entrance of the
cave. Barnabas peered in and
his heart swelled when he saw
that every puppy from school
was inside waiting for him, and
each was wearing an eye patch.
14. P. Penzvalto, Barnabas Barkley 14
He stood still, unsure of what to do next, until Honey stepped forward and whispered “Happy
Birthday, Captain Barnabas!” Then all the puppies began to giggle, “We tried so hard to be quiet!”
cried Honey “We didn’t want to startle you!” He felt his tail began to wag as he looked with wonder
on the cave’s transformation; his smiling friends, a mountain of presents meant just for him, and his
beautiful pineapple upside down cake sitting on a pedestal in the corner. “Thank you,” said
Barnabas softly “may I please have some cake now?” Everyone laughed, Barnabas most of all. He
had never had such a wonderful day in his whole life.
THE END
