The Owner is looking at herself in the Mirror.

Can you Hurry Up, I say, I am waiting for my Walk.

It is in order to prepare for your Walk that I am looking in the Mirror, says the Owner. I am Checking that my Face is Presentable, says the Owner.

It is the Only Face you have Got, I say. It is unclear to me what, therefore, you will do if what you see is Unsatisfactory.

It is not a Matter of Unsatisfactory, says the Owner, it is a matter of Good Days and Bad Days.

I think that is Just the Light, I say. Wrinkles cannot disappear Overnight, I say. Indeed, I say, there is a New One there today, I say. In the very Small Space that remains between two of the Old Ones, I say.

The Owner opens the Cupboard and Extracts a Pot of Cream. Just a Minute, she says.

I think you know that filling them in is not a solution, I say.

It is my Rejuvenating Face Cream, says the Owner. I use it Every Day, says the Owner.

Does it work? I ask.

You tell me, says the Owner.

I cannot tell, I say, as I do not know how you would look without it, I say. I suppose, I say, it is Possible to Imagine you looking more Wizened and Wrinkly, I say. Although only slightly, I say. Given the lack of Space that now remains between the Wrinkles, I say.

That is Charming, says the Owner.

Thank you, I say. Don’t mention it, I say. Can we go now, I say.

In a minute, says the Owner. It is important that I know what Other Persons will see when they Meet Me in the Park before we leave.

You do not need a Mirror for that, I say. You can simply Ask your Moral Dog to tell you what he sees when he Looks at You, I say.

The Moral Dog is not Well Versed in the Understanding of How the Owner wants to Look, says the Owner.

On the Contrary, I say. The Moral Dog is aware that the Owner would like her Superficial Face to resemble that of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, I say. However the Moral Dog is also Well Versed in What Actually Matters regarding how the Owner truly Looks, I say. That is Far More Important than the Trivial Superficiality of the Owner’s Many Wrinkles, I say. When the Moral Dog looks at the Owner he sees not the Wrinkles that the Owner possesses on the Outside, I say, he sees what the Owner Truly Is to the Moral Dog, I say. That is entirely on the Inside, I say. That is far more Morally Relevant than the Odd Wrinkle, I say. Even when it Joins so Many Others, I say. The Owner will not see that in the Mirror, I say. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, I say.

Goodness, says the Owner. That is Very Profound. I had no idea the Moral Dog had such depth of Understanding regarding the Superficiality of Face Cream and the Importance of the Inner Moral Heart, says the Owner.

We Moral Dogs are known for it, I say.

The Moral Dog is Absolutely Right, says the Owner. He puts his Owner’s Vanity to Shame, says the Owner. A Moral Owner should not check the Mirror Prior to a Walk in order to Ascertain whether she is Presentable on a Superficial and Trivial Level, says the Owner. She should trust her Moral Dog to know whether she is, in fact, Presentable in the Middle.

Exactly, I say.

The Owner closes the Cupboard. What a Wise, Profound and Lovely Moral Dog I have, she says as we head down the Stairs. Tell me, she adds, as we step through the Door, what does the Moral Dog see when he Gazes at his Owner? What does the Moral Dog see when he looks beyond the Trivial to the Inner Moral Significance of his Owner? What does he see in the Owner’s Moral Heart, stripped of the Superficial Ridiculousness of Wrinkles and Face Cream? What does the Owner mean at that most Basic Moral Dog Level?

Cheese, I say. Obviously.

The Owner has gone back to get her Face Cream. The Moral Dog gets the Impression this was not what she wanted to hear.

Categories: cheese dignity dog dog philosophy

Hergest the Hound

I am a dog of many thoughts.