A Fairy Tale: The Ugly Red Headed Princess...

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. OK, she wasn't a princess but a white lab who does have a sweet princess type temperment. One glorious weekend the princess/lab went to a far away land in search of adventure. (Actually, it was Manresa State Beach right over the mountain.) Adventure was there to be had: chasing seagulls, running circles on the beach, fetching sticks and romping thru the waves. But like all good fairytales, there has to be a bad guy. That guy was a mean, ugly, quasimodo type skunk - this was no "Pepe Le Pu" (alright no one actually saw the skunk but we are sure he was nasty ugly!).

The princess had been sleeping in her castle (AKA tent) when she wandered out to see what was happening in the land of adventure. Out of no where the skunk sprayed the beautiful princess with his hideous skunk juice. The princess was covered with the foul smelling juice, which caused the princess to become the outcast of the family (King Jim, Queen Chris, Prince Drew and Princess Gracie) and their guests.

The Princess was banned to the farmhouse on the outskirts of town (actually it was back at our house in San Jose). It was there that she was given a special treatment of eye of newt, wart of a toad and flowers of a magnolia (actually it was peroxide and baking soda). This potion worked wonders on her princess body but could not be used around her sensitive eyes and nose, so her head and snout (don't be alarmed that the princess has a snout - remember she is a lab). So the princess' head reeked! This led to more banishment from the castle, which upset the Queen who loved the princess so.....

So the Queen ordered one of her servants to wash the princess' head in a new magic potion of juice from a tomato. (Actually the Queen has no servants so she had to do it herself - which meant she had to go to Nob Hill and buy a bottle of Tomato Juice and dump it on the dog's head). This new special potion was miraculous and cured the stench. But it left the princess with a red head! (Red juice on white fur leaves quite a stain.)

This meant that the princess was no longer banished and could return to life within the castle!

And they lived happily ever after....