Chapter Four, Page Eleven

Upon the subject of my person-She has often seemed melancholy of late, and I sense that however primitive they may be, she does have trials and fears that plague her. I wish I could bark to her words of comfort. If I could, I would tell her this;

As I lay beside you, my head in the crook of your knee, the binky resting on your hip, I know that you and I will be together for always. As you stroke my face and turn your mouth up as humans do when amused, know that no person or dog shall ever hurt you as long as I draw breath. No illness, hunger, pain or sorrow shall sway me in my devotion to you. I am your king, and I stand ever ready to guard you against the perils of the world. Though I paid no price to own you, you are utterly and completely mine. I shall never fail you. I shall never leave you. I shall love you fully and completely, until my reign over this kingdom has come to an end.

Yours forever,
Boo Radley

Chapter Four, Page Ten

I found a break in the barrier of the meadow. My person made the 'come' noise, so I returned after sniffing the yellow plants they grow. I ate one once, and promptly lost my stomach. It was delicious, and worth it.

Many small persons here today. I enjoyed them for a small time, but retired to my crate after they became too much for my nerves to bear. My person removed all the lovely dirt from the castle floor again with her large wet stick. It leaves a strange smell, half unpleasant and strong, half flowers. She does not like me to walk on the places she rubs the floor until they are dry. It irritates me. A king should have the run of his own castle, dear readers.

The concessions I make in the name of peace...

Chapter Four, Page Nine

Quite a lot of Binky today. The tiny old one seems to be feeling peckish. He is always grumpy, but I fear his skin is bothering him to no end and this always puts him out of sorts. My person's spirits, however, continue to improve. She has been returning from wagon trips with a strange smell of orange dirt and person-puppy sweat. It hurts my pride to think she is enjoying some sort of game without me, but I remind myself that anything that pleases her can only be good for the morale of the kingdom.

Chapter Four, Page Eight

The dark-haired female person came to visit my castle today. I approve of her. She gives excellent pets and makes amusing noises to me, as well as throwing the Binky with appropriate fervor. She belongs to several dogs, I believe, but has never brought them with her. The noises she makes sound different than my person's noises. Perhaps she is from another land.

The yellow one did something extremely rude in the castle today. We shall not bark of it, except to say when last she did this thing, there were skybooms.

The little persons were fractious today. Much howling and eye water. I was not pleased, nor were the persons if I am any judge of their primitive body language and 'barking'. More delicious smells from the food room, and again none served to me.

And now I retire, reflecting on the fact that today's only saving grace was several well-played games of Binky.

Chapter Four, Page Seven

The yellow one's behavior was much improved today. Perhaps she was exhausted from our battle during the night. We heard a fierce barking in the middle of the night. I tried to resist but I could not help but join the fray. Our barking woke my person's mother and she made some noises that seemed to express extreme displeasure. My person went out into the meadow behind the yard and through the barking I heard her make the 'NO' noise at the muscular dogs who are in shackles behind the next castle. Foolish person, of course they did not listen...

Games went excellently tonight. I wonder when we will return to the Canine Mastery person's meadow. I feel quite uneasy without our regular visits, and I have noticed that we have not learned any new games in quite some time, but simply repeat the same ones endlessly. I tire of these games and hope to learn more soon.

Chapter Four, Page Six

The yellow one has been driving me mad. I tried to express this to my person with various noises and I believe she understood, although her mother made the mirthful howls that offend me. My person made soothing nonsense noises and I was somewhat mollified. Really, the yellow one knows that my person belongs to me. I do not understand why she insists upon rudely shoving her face into my person's leg and whining for attention like a tiny pup. Perhaps she was neglected by her own mother. Whatever the reason, I remain sorely vexed and shall not let her participate in any Binky games tomorrow.

Chapter Four, Page Five

Where shall I begin, dear readers? So much has happened in the castle today. Aside from the usual games and Binky throwing, we had two visitors, a male and a female person. They seem like a good sort and petted me very nicely. My subjects and I all received the delicious treats my person keeps on top of the box that keeps person food cold, and another male person who sometimes visits the castle spent some time in the back meadow assembling some sort of purple wagon with two big wheels.

Earlier in the day, my person fought the big purple monster again and drove it back into the room by the wrinkled one's quarters. I have also discovered that I can open the barrier in the back meadow by hitting it with my nose. My person cbeckoned me back into the meadow and I immediately heeded her call, which seemed to make her happy. I assumed it would, thus effectively distracting her from my original misdoing. It takes intellect and cunning to rule a kingdom well!

I have not yet mentioned the horrible attack perpetrated on me today. An object I previously thought inanimate grabbed me by the collar and I struggled mightily but could not free myself! Luckily, my person was sitting on a similar object right beside me. She called my name loudly as if to rebuke me, but then she spied the root cause of my distress and valiantly released me from the creatures grasp. I barked at it in utter confusion. How could a cold wooden thing with legs of rock do such a thing? Has everything I have ever known about life been trickery? I howled and growled my confusion for quite some time, but my person stroked my chin and made soft, soothing noises until I was quite sure that the thing would not attempt to harm me again. However, I shall keep my eye on that thing from now on. I cannot let down my guard, for that is the path to certain death.

I must admit that my person's mirthful howls did injure my pride, but I tell myself that she would never find such a hair-raising event humorous...

Yours in consternation,
Boo Radley