“ OLLIEE!!!”
My fuming mom shrieked as she chased Ollie through the disastrous garden – it didn’t even look like a garden anymore! Meanwhile, me and my amused dad giggled in the corner – triumphantly, Ollie was carrying an obese mole covered in dirt and rubbish.
“ Greg! What are you doing ? This is YOUR dog I’m chasing!!!!” Somehow, my mom was angrier at my dad, than at Ollie for creating such a mess! Let me make it clearer: my dad was determined to teach our dog how to sense truffles, but nothing went as planned – Ollie failed miserably at every task. This time, while trying to find a truffle or two, he ‘accidentally’ found a mole instead!
Meet my dog, Ollie. My dad got him in his urge to bring truffles onto his menu. However, as you can very well tell, truffles were the one thing Ollie couldn’t find. He ‘found’ instead all sorts of things: he ‘found’ the urn with my grandfather’s ashes which I accidentally broke and hid, he dug out a decomposed rabbit corpse which he carried around for days and ruined my newly planted rose bush. Truly, life was a rollercoaster with Ollie!
That was Ollie’s story until, one day, something changed… He left in the evening and I woke up to find him covered in dirt, snoring as if hit by a truck. And that wasn’t just the first time. It was the second, the third and the fourth night in a row, that he was away. We started to worry as he was not eating properly and was sleeping throughout the day. Where was Ollie? What was he up to?
“ He probably discovered a hole in the ground and he’s digging deeper to find another mole! You know how Ollie is – always up to no good.” My dad assured me as we were sitting at the table, eating dinner.
“I’m not sure, I mean, I’ve never seen him so tired!” I commented, hesitant at first. “ Don’t worry about it,” my mom said as she took my hand gently.
The night was creeping in quietly. Suddenly, in Ollie’s eyes, I could see a spark. He got up and left the house swiftly. I made up my mind. I followed him, and as it was getting darker, I was rushing to keep up. We walked for minutes, and by then, the only light available was the moon’s light guarding us. In what felt like a passing second, Ollie was out of my sight. Without warning, I tripped and fell. I looked around. There were huge heaps of dirt. Shocked, I watched Ollie digging for what felt like forever.
In the morning I shared with my dad what I had seen and I led him to the site. When we arrived, lots of people were already there, including the mayor and even the news broadcasting live.
What on Earth was happening?
OLLIE HAD DISCOVERED THE RUINS OF AN ANCIENT CITY! Finding truffles wasn’t Ollie’s thing: he was born for greatness.