The Barking Dog

Lily was a young girl who had a barking dog named Max. Max was a good dog, but he loved to bark. He barked at the mailman, he barked at the squirrels, and he barked at the leaves blowing in the wind.

One day, Lily and her family were having a picnic in the park. Max was with them. He was running around and playing, and he was barking at everything he saw.

A woman was sitting on a bench nearby. She was reading a book. She looked up at Max and frowned.

"Can you please keep your dog quiet?" she asked Lily. "He's barking so loud that I can't read."

Lily was embarrassed. She apologized to the woman and tried to calm Max down. But Max kept barking.

Lily's father saw what was happening. He walked over to Max and picked him up.

"Come on, Max," he said. "Let's go for a walk."

Lily's father took Max away from the picnic. They walked around the park for a while. Max eventually calmed down and stopped barking.

When they returned to the picnic, Lily's father apologized to the woman again.

"I'm so sorry about my dog," he said. "He's usually good, but he's in a playful mood today."

The woman smiled. "It's okay," she said. "I understand. Dogs are dogs."

Lily and her family finished their picnic and went home. Lily was glad that her father had taken Max away. She knew that Max was just trying to have fun, but she didn't want to disturb other people.

The next time Lily and her family went to the park, Lily made sure to bring a special toy for Max. It was a squeaky toy that he loved. Max played with the toy all day long and he didn't bark once.