Chapter One

 

“Boom!”

Freddy jumped. Wide-eyed, he scooted closer to his mother Bella and sisters Emma and Abby.

“Boom!”

“Momma! Make it stop!” he cried as the strange sounds blasted through the night.

Bella nuzzled her puppies, licking their fur to soothe them. "Don't be frightened, little ones," she said calmly. "It's called fireworks. The humans set them off every year on the fourth of July. It is a lot of noise and lights, but it can't hurt you."

The puppies trembled as another explosion burst overhead, lighting up the sky in dazzling red and blue. Abby yelped and buried her face in Bella's soft fur.

Freddy peeked out from under Bella's chin, his brown eyes wide. High above the pasture, a golden starburst spread across the dark canvas of the night, raining down glittering sparks before fizzling away. An earsplitting whistle made Freddy jump again.

"It's so loud!" Freddy howled, flattening his ears against the booms echoing across the pastures. The air smelled like campfires.

Emma pressed herself against Bella's side, shaking as more explosions crackled overhead.

"Why won't it stop?" Emma cried.

"I know it is scary," Bella said. "But it's just noise and lights. Look how the fireworks paint pictures in the sky. And then they drift away. It’s beautiful."

Red, white, and blue stars burst in the darkness.

Abby yelped and buried her face in Bella's fur.

"It's alright, Abby," Bella said softly. "You're safe here with me. Let’s go to the barn.” She led the puppies to the farthest, darkest corner of the cozy barn where they lived together. She lay down. The puppies curled up with her, pressing against each other as close as they could.

“I know what you need,” Bella said. “You need a story.” She could feel the puppies nodding their heads as they stayed buried against her. “I’m going to tell you a story about why the humans blast fireworks each year. Do you remember when the Farmer’s Daughter had her birthday last month? She had a big party with lots of people and music and balloons…”

“And cake!” Freddy popped his head up, smiling widely.

“Yes, Freddy,” Bella smiled. “And cake. It was a big celebration because she had lived another year.”

“Have I had a birthday, Momma?” Emma asked softly.

“No, my dearest,” Bella said. “Birthdays happen each year, and you have not been with me a year yet. You are still a puppy. May I continue?” The puppies nodded and snuggled tightly against Bella.

“The fireworks celebrate something called Independence Day. The humans celebrate it on July 4^th each year. It’s the birthday of this country, the United States of America.”

“What’s a country?” Abby asked.

“What’s a July?” Emma asked.

“July is a month in summer. A country is land that has borders and a government where people live. We live in a country called The United States of America. It is made up of 50 states that each have their own governments. The states and the country work together to make a nice place for humans to live.”

“Like our farm?” Freddy asked.

“Yes, our farm is a place where we live with the humans, and we all work together to make it a nice place to live. The Farmer is our leader,” Bella said. “I guess it is kind of the same.”

“Tell us about Independence Day!” Abby said.

The puppies looked up at Bella with big brown eyes. She smiled, seeing the fear leaving their faces as they listened to her.

Bella began…

Once upon a time, long before there was a farm here, long before there was a country here, this land was called America, and it had 13 special places called colonies.

"Colonies?" Freddy's ears perked up. "Like ant colonies?"

Bella chuckled. "Not quite, but good thinking! These colonies were groups of people, not ants."

The colonies were part of a great kingdom across the ocean called Great Britain. A kingdom is ruled by a king who has all the power. Kings believe that they are born to be king. They can be king their entire lives. Everyone must do what they say. Britain’s king at this time was named King George the Third.

The people who lived in the colonies came here from Britain to start new lives and to have freedom. For a long time, everyone was happy. The colonists worked hard and helped each other. They built houses, planted crops, and made friends with their neighbors. They created towns and schools. They had children who grew up and never knew Britain.

King George lived across the big ocean. He never visited the colonies. He let the colonists make most of their own choices about how to live. The colonies grew larger with more people. They took care of themselves. They made their own rules. Everyone was happy.

But then, the King wanted more control. He wanted the colonists to pay more money for the things Britain provided. He started making new rules without asking the colonists what they thought. The colonists didn't like this. They didn’t think it was fair. They wanted to make their own decisions about how to live.

When they protested, the King made tougher rules. He increased the taxes that he forced them to pay. The colonists said, “No taxation without representation!” They wanted to be represented in the government. They wanted King George to listen to what they said.

The colonists stopped buying products that Britain sent over by boat. They refused to pay the taxes. They gave speeches and wrote articles in the newspaper.

Freddy hopped up and stood on his back legs, waving his front legs.

“I’m King George,” he said. “Pay your taxes!”

Emma and Abby laughed. They jumped up and shouted, “No taxation without representation!” The three puppies barked as Emma and Abby chased Freddy around the barn. They collapsed in front of Bella. The fireworks were forgotten for a moment.

“What happened next, Momma!?”

Bella continued.

The more the colonists complained and protested, the meaner the King became. He sent soldiers to the colonies to force them to obey. He even made the colonists let the soldiers live in their houses! There were many fights between the soldiers and the colonists. One of the fights led to several deaths of colonists. Things just got worse and worse.

Many of the colonists wanted the King to stop being mean. Others wanted to leave Great Britain. They wanted to be their own country and make their own decisions about how to live.

“Oh my!” Freddy gasped. “The King wouldn’t like that! Was there a war?!”

“There was!” Bella said. “At the time, Great Britain had the greatest army in the whole world. No one thought the colonists stood a chance. The King thought it would be over very soon. The leader of the American Army was named George Washington.”

“Wait a minute,” Abby said. “Isn’t that the King’s name?”

“Yes,” Bella said. “They were both named George!”

The puppies giggled.

“At first, the colonists hoped that King George would give in and let them govern themselves. But King George was not going to give in. He wanted the colonists to do what he said. The war went on. It wasn’t long before the colonists decided they wanted to live free. They needed to declare their independence from Great Britain.”

“Independence Day!” shouted Emma.

“That’s right!” Bella said. “Independence Day is the day that America declared independence from Britain. They fought and won the War for Independence. It is also called the American Revolution.”

“No wonder the humans celebrate each year!” Freddy said.

A loud boom shook the walls of the barn. He shook his head. “I guess the fireworks aren’t so bad,” he said.

“I think they are almost over,” Bella said. “Do you want to watch the ending?”

The puppies slowly crept towards the barn door and peeked out. The fireworks popped and sizzled in the sky above the farm. A red and blue rocket burst into a thousand glittering trails. A trio of screeching white comets raced each other and vanished. The booms and whistles still made the pups tremble, but they didn't look away from the bright and shimmering display.

"It is kind of pretty," Emma admitted. Abby and Freddy nodded.

“It’s a celebration,” Freddy said.

Bella smiled and cuddled her brave pups. "I will always keep you safe," she promised as the fireworks finale filled the night with crackling light and color. "I'm right here."