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Title:The Wuggie Norple Story Author: Daniel M. Pinkwater and Tomie De Paola Format: Trade Paperbound |
I read this book the first time in the second grade. I have always loved animals, but cats and dogs especially. When I was 14, I was sitting on the porch of my parent’s house in the summer. We had just had a big talk that we wouldn’t adopt any more animals for a while. My parents were and are big supporters of animal shelters. They have always gotten their cats from the pound or adopted them right off the street. Well at that time we had two rottweilers, and about eight cats, so no more pets for quite some time. As I was sitting on the porch that day, around the corner comes the biggest orange tabby cat I have ever seen. He sees me and stops, I look at him and don’t move. I would get in big trouble if I called another cat to me. My mother happens to go by the door and asks me if the cat was friendly. I call to the cat and he comes bounding up the walk towards me. I had to name him Wuggie Norple. When we took Norple to the vet, he weighted in at 22 lbs, mostly muscle. He reminded me so much of this story. This family owns this cute little kitten. One day, the dad asks if the cat looks bigger to anyone. “No,” they all say, “he is still just a kitten.” The dad doesn’t think so, so he brings home a pit bull. They are the same size as each other, but the rest of the family swears that cannot be. Wuggie Norple keeps on growing. The next night he asks he family again, “Does Wuggie Norple look bigger to any of you?” Again they all say no. So he brings home a razor-back hog. The cat and the hog are the same size. This continues until the cat is bigger than an elephant. It is a very charming story, and if you can find it, put it in your child’s library as soon as you do.
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I’m reluctant that the Pit bull requirements a particular kind of operator…these dogs, no matter how ‘loving’ still have teeth, are still animals without moral ideas and if they DO bite, won’t allow go. As in all creatures…some tend to be much more suseptable to instinctual habits and time and time again, this breed tends to complete just that.
Dear Thorpe,
The point of having the Pit Bull in the story was to illustrate how big the cat was getting. There were many other animals along the way, including a horse. I do not agree with your “aggressive breeds only produce aggressive dogs” theory. As I stated, we owned two Rottweilers at the time I found my Norple. My uncle owned a pit mix, who really thought he was a big puppy. We used to find our male, Osso, weighed in at 120 lbs, with kittens napping with him. I truly believe that it is the owner, not the breed, that produces an aggressive animal. It is true that some breeds have more of a tendency to be aggressive, but if the owner behaves like they expect that type of personality (by either being afraid or harsh with the dog), that will produce a hostile dog, even in a chihuahua.