“Tag. You’re it!” Then I took off before he even knew he’d been got.

I was only halfway across the yard when I heard those thundering paws gaining on me. I ran harder. He was almost on top of me. I darted to the right.

He missed, but he didn’t stumble. Instead, he made kind of a circle and closed on me again. I waited until he almost had me, then faked left and dodged right again. Willy slid right past me.

Once more those enormous paws came thundering. I glanced back. Long legs gobbled up the ground as he raced after me. When I looked back at where I was going, my eyes flashed wide. I was headed for the corner. Willy ran faster. I was trapped! I couldn’t turn. I couldn’t dodge. His massive weight made the ground shake beneath me as he charged.

Suddenly, a thought grabbed me. What if he couldn’t stop?

More like a vision, I could almost see it.

Willy was a good friend. He would try to stop. But he was big. Once he got all that weight moving . . . what if he couldn’t stop? What if he tried, but . . .

I was a goner! If I got stuck between the enormous dog and the fence, there would be nothing left. I’d end up looking like “roadkill” . . . “freeway pizza” . . . I’d be smushed!