Peter the Pup and the Canine Kingdom
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 1.0 ACTIVITYAP THEMES INTRO: PETER THE PUP 1Peter the Pup and the Canine KingdomBy OER Project staffPeter the Pup was born as part of one of the biggest litters in the Canine kingdom. This litter’s birth had been long awaited by all the dogs in the kingdom, as they were the offspring of Leroy the Lapdog andGreta the Great Dane. Theirs had been a controversial marriage for many reasons. First of all, it wasthought that big dogs and small dogs should never marry because their offspring would be medium-sized, and therefore shunned by normal dog society. Also, this union brought together two groupingswithing the Canine kingdom—the Growlers and the Waggers—who had long been at war, largely due to ideological conflicts. As it happens, Leroy and Greta’s relationship became one of the great love stories in Canine history.Peter, the runt of the litter, seemed to inherit more traits from his Wagger momthan his Growler dad. At first, no onethought Peter would survive. At mealtime, he was always pushed to the bottom of the puppy pile and would walk away with scraps.One day, Peter’s hunger and lonelinessbecame too much to bear, so he crafted a plan to improve his poor puppy life. Manydogs in his position would try to fight theirsiblings for food and attention. But Peter’s Wagger tendencies led him to anothersolution. Peter may have been small, but he was really smart. After mulling over a lot of ideas, Peter invented something that madeevery dog in the kingdom sit up: anautomated behind-the-ear scratcher! Peterhad been carefully saving his allowance, andhe spent all 200 treats on the materials andlabor needed to make the Scratch-o-matic.His inventory sold out immediately. Peter used half the money he made to buy food, and used the rest to make more Scratch-o-matics. His invention was a hit, and soon his business expanded to include anautomated belly-rub machine. In fact, his products became the first in Canine history to be traded in the Land of the Felines. Everyone scoffed at this at first, as cats and dogs were (as they are, and as theyalways will be) mortal enemies, but Peter was different, and he knew what it was like to be shunned forbeing different. And because he wagged more than he growled, thecats weren’t afraid of him. Petereven hired some felines to work for him, and before you knew it, dogs and cats were getting along, and Peter became famous throughout the animal kingdom as a unifier of diverse...um...peoples.Even after he became King of Canines, they still called him Peter the Pup because of how small he, the runt of the litter, still was. He loved the name because it was a reminder to others that you don’t have to be big or violent to get what you want. Still, the Growlers and their descendants did not disappear fromCanine society, and their beliefs merged with many Wagger beliefs. It was this blending of ideas andvalues that allowed the Canine kingdom to develop one of the most powerful armies in history—eventhough most political conflicts were settled with negotiation and diplomacy.Currency in the Canine kingdom was called treats. The most valuable were blue, followed by red, then white. Here, Canines are seen exchanging the treats at a business meeting, using a system of card-reading to determine who has earned the most treats.. A Friend in Need, by C.M. Coolidge, 1903. Public domain.Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “AP Themes Intro Excerpt”, OER Project, www.oerproject.com/
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 1.0 ACTIVITYAP THEMES INTRO: PETER THE PUP 2One of the most difficult challenges Peter faced during his reign came when the entire region was made nearly uninhabitable by the increased presence of unscooped doggie-doo-doo, a problem Canine historians call overpoopulation. Despite the seriousness of the problem, it was very hard to change thebehavior of most dogs due to their belief system, which emphasized the credo, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Even Peter the Pup could not invent a machine powerful enough to keep the kingdom clean. So instead, he and several other great thinkers of the day passed laws requiring dogs to poop only in certain areas. They also added overpoopulation awareness curriculum to schools, which, over a few generations, changed dogs’ attitudes and behaviors.Peter the Pup lived to the ripe old age of 16 before reaching the dog afterlife, referred to in Canine rituals as “going to live on a farm.” But he is known and respected all over the animal kingdom as a kind,benevolent pup who made the world a better place for all.