Sharon the Shiba, Pudge the Pig, Cassius the Capybara… our T-Lab. friends are always on the lookout for a great adventure. We’ve collected our favorite stories so you can join the fun.

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Nash the Wolf Reclaims His Howl

On the first day of spring, Nash the Wolf greeted the dawn with a stretch, a yawn, and a tail flip - his usual routine. Rested and replenished, Nash left home in search of his pack; most days, they were at the local watering hole, but today the waters were tranquil.

Nash bounded on, but even with miles of land behind him, his pack was nowhere in sight, so Nash decided to muster a round-up call. As he prepared to unleash a mighty howl, he opened his jaws wide, and from the depths of his lungs came… nothing. Still, he tried and tried - and still, nothing!

With nose down and tail between his legs, Nash slowed, tempering his leaps and bounds through the forests to a plodding gait, eventually halting as his heavy paws reached a small town’s edge.

There, a beagle sat sipping a refreshing drink.

“Good evening!” she called. “Everything alright? I’m Belle, and you are…?”

“Eh… hi, hello. I’m Nash,” he whimpered quietly.

After their brief introductions, Belle explained that she was the head teacher at the How to Howl Center for Communicative Arts.

Nash quickly lifted his chin in hope and began to confide in Belle about his lost pack and silenced howl.

“I don’t get it,” said Nash. “I’m well-rested, watered, and fed; I’m primed for spring, but still, nothing.”

“I’ve heard that this can happen in springtime - something to do with the pollen out there,” Belle said. “Not to worry. Let’s work on it!” she yipped with a smile.

After a few busted notes, Belle and Nash had some sounds to shape up. Nash’s tail lifted as the sounds flourished, and in a matter of hours, a confident howl at an impressive scale had Belle’s coat gleaming as she sat, proudly listening to Nash test every note’s potential.

“Do you think you might be ready to howl for your pack, Nash?” Belle asked.

“It’s a full moon tonight. The extra light will be excellent for my search, and I think I’m ready!” Nash exclaimed.

“How can I ever thank you, Belle?” said Nash. “Wait, I know: I’ll spread the word about your school!”

And with that, Nash dashed off.

“Here I come!” he called as the landscape blurred by. Then, he came to a halt and belted out a classy and polished “HOOOOOWWWWWLLLL”.

On the horizon, a figure appeared, then another and another. As his pack moved closer, they danced in joy at the sight of Nash, and a warm buzz of belonging rushed over the wolf as he and his family found themselves reunited. Under the glow of the moon, they played.

“Hello, pack. I’ve missed you,” cooed Nash. His howl was finally reclaimed!

Pudge the Pig Visits His Local Pâtisserie

It was Monday - Pudge's favorite day of the week, because the bakery offered half-off day-old treats from the weekend.

Every Monday, Pudge would take a few extra trots ‘round the block to hash out the pros and cons of starting his day with or without a sweet treat, always arriving at exponentially more things about pastry that made him happy than not.

As he bounced up to the bakery door, he noticed a sign: "LAST DAY FOR CAKE". Inside the shop, Pudge greeted the owner, Kal - a happy, loving, and exceedingly good-at-baking Corgi, though his short stature meant he was only able to use the lower shelves of ingredients. Kal was in need of some new ideas; the bakery had been slowly flagging in popularity over the past year.

"Kal, what's this sign? Are you closing for good?!"

"Oh, dear Pudge! You're my best customer, but sadly, things aren't working out as planned. I need something new, something tip-top, something to blow their socks off if I'm to stay open!"

“Hmm, tip-top,” Pudge pondered. “Tip, top, top... the top shelf!" he exclaimed. "Do you even know what's hanging around up there?"

"Why no, Pudge. I had an assistant that stocked my shelves, but they left town and I've not seen what's up there in some time."

"Your secret ingredient could be right up there, Kal. Let me see if I can help you out."

Pudge hoisted his waistline up against the counter and - with trotters wedged on buckets of chocolate chips and bags of flour - clambered up to the top shelf of the larder.

"Okay, this could be it,” he said. “I've found the fruit preserves that Syd made at the town fair last month. Let's try them."

Pudge plopped back down to the bakery floor and began splodging jam among the floury layers of half-finished patisserie dozens Kal had abandoned.

An hour later, powdered sugar clouds and the smell of sweet, sticky fruits wafted through the town square, encouraging a crowd of sweet-toothed locals to line up around the block for the shop’s bake of the day.

Pudge swung open the door of the bakery and oinked with delight: "You're back in business, Kal!”

"Woah, thanks Pudge! I would have lost everything without a friend like you. You're too sweet!"

Wanda the Whale Makes a Kind Offer to Pedro the Polar Bear

Through hard work, Pedro the Polar Bear earned his realtor’s license, eventually finding great success selling icy homes in his corner of the Arctic Circle. As the planet warmed, the once-permanent ice in his hometown started to melt, and real estate became dear.

Pedro, his ambition swollen by success, took advantage of the limited supply to boost his profits and bought an enormous seaside glacier to live in even as his neighbors struggled to make ends meet.

One day, as Pedro returned home, he found a nasty surprise: His giant house had vanished, reduced to a pool of water. Pedro was homeless, all his wealth washed away into the ocean.

As Pedro sat miserably in the watery ruins of his once-grand mansion, he spotted a familiar sight - Wanda the Whale, a neighborhood fixture who often gave rides to the local kids on her broad back. The ever-perceptive Wanda noticed Pedro’s sad state and quickly realized what had happened.

“Hey, Pedro. Need a little help?” Wanda asked, though she already knew the answer.

“Yeah,” responded Pedro, his furry face downcast.

“Hop on,” said Wanda, pulling up at the shoreline and extending a flipper to give Pedro a path onto her back. “You can stay with me while you get back on your feet.”

“Are you sure?” Pedro asked in disbelief. “I never really helped anyone else, you know. Not sure I deserve this generosity.”

“I’m sure,” Wanda replied firmly. “Everyone needs a little help sometimes. Just promise you’ll pay it forward one day.”

“I promise,” said Pedro solemnly. With a glance back to the puddle he had once called home, Pedro loped to the waterline and gingerly walked up Wanda’s fin, careful to keep his sharp claws retracted.

“Thank you, Wanda. This means so much,” Pedro said as he laid atop Wanda’s back.

“Anytime,” said Wanda with a small smile.

Teddy the Tapir Befriends Bobby the Beagle and Beatrice the Bulldog

On the first day of school, Teddy the Tapir was nervous. His family had just moved to the area, and he didn’t know anyone yet. That problem was thankfully remedied when he got to the cafeteria for lunch.

Not a moment after Teddy sat down to eat alone, two students set their trays across from him - Bobby the Beagle and Beatrice the Bulldog. Lifelong friends, the pups had spotted Teddy sitting by himself and decided to keep him company.

“Hey there,” said Bobby. “You’re the new kid, right? We heard about you.”

“Uh, yeah,” replied Teddy nervously. He wasn’t sure what to make of these newcomers.

“Well, we’re going to go dig holes and chase cars after school,” said Beatrice. “Want to come?”

Teddy had never dug a hole before, and he had certainly never chased a car. They were so big and loud, and they moved so fast! Still, he was eager to be accepted.

“Sure!” said Teddy. “I love that stuff!”

“Great!” the dogs replied. “We’ll meet you out front after school gets out.”

As soon as the last bell had rung, the trio came together on the sidewalk out front of the school. After a moment of chatting, the excited pups took Teddy to their favorite hole-digging field.

However, it was quickly apparent that Teddy was not cut out for hole-digging. His feet only seemed to push the dirt around, while his companions had mountains of dirt standing by them in a few short minutes. Teddy was embarrassed.

“Maybe we can go find some cars?” he suggested, hoping he’d have more luck with the second activity. The two dogs shrugged and nodded, smiling.

Unfortunately, the first car that came down the road was a big black SUV that growled like the meanest lion. The moment he saw it barreling toward him, Teddy jumped back with a yelp, then ran in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him.

In a flash, Bobby and Beatrice were after him, a look of concern on their faces as they tried to figure out what had happened. As they turned a corner, Bobby slipped down an embankment and fell into a fast-moving river.

“Help!” called Bobby. “I can’t swim!”

Hearing his cries, Teddy turned back around and made for the riverbank, diving in without a second thought. He reached Bobby in moments, grabbing the pup by the scruff of his neck and pulling him back onto dry land.

“Thank you!” Beatrice cried as she ran up to find Bobby drenched and shaken but otherwise perfectly fine. “I’ve never seen a dog swim like that!”

“Well,” said Teddy hesitantly, “I’m not a dog. I’m a tapir!” Beatrice and Bobby’s identical expressions of shock made Teddy laugh.

“Oops,” said Bobby. “Sorry. We never would have pressured you into doing dog things if we had realized.” He looked embarrassed.

“Don’t be sorry!” Teddy exclaimed. “I had fun… but maybe you can teach me how to get better at digging and chasing cars?”

“Sure!” barked Beatrice and Bobby in unison.

“And maybe I can teach you to swim,” suggested Teddy with a chuckle. His new friends grinned in agreement, then the three of them ran off to play together.

Tobias the T-Rex Takes Care of His Pearly Whites

Meet Tobias the T-Rex. After a long summer working as an intern, he finally earned his dream job as head chocolate maker at his uncle's world-famous chocolate factory.

Every day he wakes up extra early and goes to work, where he ties on his apron and spends hours decorating the company's best-selling bonbons, sampling every sixth one for "quality control.”

Despite this, he's never had a cavity. He is passionate about flossing, and he uses his electric toothbrush in the morning, at night, and after every bonbon.

Chloe the Corgi Falls Head Over Tails

If you were to meet Chloe the Corgi, you would think she had it all. Yet, despite her large circle of friends, luxuriously silky coat, and high-profile career that afforded her all the treats she could ever eat, she always felt like a puzzle with a missing piece.

Every morning, she would stare sadly into the mirror and wish for something she didn't have.

“How I wish I had a tail,” she would whisper. "Nothing would make me happier than to wag it.”

One day, when she was feeling especially down in the dumps, she sat and stared at the spot where her missing tail should have been and began to cry. Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. She turned and saw Francis the Fox carrying something long and fluffy in his mouth.

“You always tell me how jealous you are of my long, long tail, so I decided to make you one,” he said, taking a brief pause. “...But I want you to know that I think you're perfect without one.”

Chloe snatched the tail, put it on, and gave it a great big wag. “Oh Francis, you complete me,” she yelped with a tear in her eye.

Penny the Penguin and Barton the Brachiosaurus Go Above and Beyond

A natural entertainer, Penny the Penguin spends her evenings entertaining an icy pool of seal pups with her spectacular flip-filled iceberg dive show. Slipping and sliding, she would clamber with great speed to reach the top of the highest iceberg in town before performing her death-defying flips, but today something was off.

“The iceberg is all melty, and I just can’t muster my flipper grip,” Penny sighed as the pups started to become restless.

Exhausted and about to give up, she heard a slow and low crunch over the surrounding ice, she looked up, up, up and at the top of a very, very long neck a distant “HELLO,” boomed out. “I’M BARTON THE BRACHIOSAURUS. WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE MATTER?”

“What are you doing up here? I’m Penny, and all I want to do is show those seals my spectacular flips, but I’ve lost all my flipper gripping power”.

“YOU’RE JUMPING FROM THAT TINY ICEBERG?”, Barton chuckled. “I CAN SEE CLEAR OVER IT. WHY DON’T YOU JUMP FROM ME?”

Penny nervously boarded Barton’s broad back and looked up at his warm and reassuring smile. She gasped, “Barton, I’ve never been up this high!”, to which Barton replied, “JUST WAIT UNTIL I STAND ON MY TIPPY TOES!”

Penny climbed all the way to Barton’s head and could see for miles around. She gave Barton a great big kiss to cheers from the crowd below. Drawing a deep and icy breath, she sprung from Barton’s head and soared through the sky with extra pizazz.

The seals were thoroughly entertained once again. What a great pair!

Pascual the Panda Finds Love In All the Wrong Places

This is Pascual the Panda. Despite the best efforts of all of his friends, he is spending another Singles Day alone.

"Have you asked my friend Renee the Red Panda?" chimed Giovanni the Giraffe with his head in the clouds.

"I did. We just didn't see eye to eye." sighed Pascual.

"Did you try making her your famous bamboo souffle?" Bernard the Bunny inquired.

"Yes. She didn't like it." Pascual replied, deflated. "But it's not all bad. With all of my free time, I've finally taken up knitting!"

Pascual presented two handsome sweaters from his knapsack and handed them to Giovanni and Bernard. "Plus I made some extra souffle!"

With full bellies, the three friends pulled out their knitting needles and knit the day away.

Cassius the Capybara Goes to a Party

Due to budget cuts in the animal kingdom, today's World Wildlife Day party is being held at the local Y.

After a bit of coaxing, Cassius the Capybara begrudgingly left his swamp and set off for the party. After getting lost in a bog, he heard someone shout "DUCK!" and he instinctively buried his nose into the mud, not knowing that that's just how Dorothy the Duck likes to announce her presence.
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"Why the longer-than-usual face, Cassius?" inquired Dorothy.

"I hate parties," Cassius snorted. "Everybody teases me for being the largest rodent in the world."

"Don't get so down on yourself! Your Wikipedia page says you can run as fast as a horse and can hold your breath for up to five minutes!" Dorothy quacked, staring at her new smartwatch around her ankle.

"Gee, thanks Dorothy, I really needed that. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have GPS on that thing, would you?" Cassius said optimistically.

"Yep, and I haven't hit my step goal yet. Can we walk together?" Dorothy mumbled, still staring at her smartwatch.
"I'd love that," replied Cassius, and they marched off to dance the night away.

Scotty the Sloth and Henry the Hippo Learn the Value of Teamwork

This is Scotty the Sloth and Henry the Hippo. Even though they look like they wouldn't get along, they've been best friends since the day that Scotty spotted Henry sitting sadly under an apple tree.

"Are you a dinosaur?" said Scotty, dangling from the apple tree branch closest to him.

"No," sighed Henry, "I'm a hippo."

Scotty fought the urge to take a nap and asked him what he was doing there.

"I'm hungry," said Henry sadly. "Apples are my favorite treat. But I'm too short to reach them."

"Well, that's easy," said Scotty, and began shaking the branches. A dozen apples fell in front of Henry, who cheered so loudly that the ground shook and made Scotty lose his balance.

He fell back and landed safely on Henry's back- which quickly became his favorite napping spot. They've been thick as thieves ever since.

We caught the pair celebrating International Friendship Day the way they spend most of their days- with Scotty taking a nap on Henry's back while Henry goes in search of apples. Here's to unlikely friends and supportive pals: May you all enjoy today as much as these buddies did!

Perry the Porcupine Becomes a Balloon Man

This is Perry the Porcupine. Even though he's a porcupine, it has always been his life's dream to be a balloon man.

To make the balloons, Perry jumps on an air pump over and over until each balloon is filled up. With the help of Giovanni, his giraffe friend, he ties a few balloons to his spikes until he begins to float. Then, he flies to the giraffe neighborhood, where he sells his balloons throughout the day.

As the tallest giraffes buy his balloons, Perry's body gets lower and lower, until at the end of the day he's back on the ground, flightless but satisfied.

Giovanni the Giraffe Picks Up Badminton

This is Giovanni the Giraffe. Every day after school his giraffe friends would get together and play basketball outside.

Even though he was very tall, Giovanni's aim wasn't very good, and he would knock into his friends so often that he spent more time on the bench than on the court. One day, Giovanni was on his way to the gym when he ran into a group of penguins who were walking in the same direction.

“What's that?” he asked them, pointing with his head at the long sports bag one penguin was carrying.

“It's a racket,” said the penguin, “We're going to play badminton.”

“What's that?” asked Giovanni again.

The penguin shrugged. “It's like tennis, but with a taller net.”

Giovanni thought about it. “Can I come?” he asked. The penguins all nodded and shuffled forward together with Giovanni into the court.

Standing almost three times as tall as his teammates, Giovanni soon found out that he could swat the birdie down directly into the ground.

By the end of the game, he had scored 50 points for his team and a new group of penguin friends, who all surrounded him and cheered. That night, Giovanni went home with a trophy, a smile, and a new favorite sport.

Bernard the Bunny Takes a Nap

This is Bernard the bunny. He is one of 38 brothers and sisters.

Even though his siblings are always running races, Bernard prefers to nap whenever he can. His favorite spot is a cozy patch of moss right behind their house.

Sometimes his brother Gerald tries to get him to go running, but Bernard always falls asleep. When this happens, Gerald helps him onto a little cart and rolls him along, running faster to catch up with the others.

Carmen the Camel Walks to Peru

This is Carmen the Camel. She loves traveling, and has spent every summer in a new country.

Today, she’s going to Machu Pichu in Peru. She doesn’t like airplane food, so she's going to walk there. Thankfully she doesn't get thirsty very often.

When she sets off, she always takes her blanket with her on the road. You never know when or where you’ll need to take a nap.

Roger the Raccoon Takes the Opera By Storm

This is Roger the Raccoon. Although he can't play an instrument, he loves music and especially loves to sing opera. His favorite singer is Pavarotti, and he lives next to a man who plays many of his records.

Roger considers himself a great opera singer too, so he practices along with the recording every night underneath the man's window. Sometimes the man yells out things that Roger can't understand, since he doesn't speak English. He assumes the man is a fan, though, and blows him a kiss before running off.

Roger is always incognito to his fans, because he is always wearing a mask behind his whiskers. When you're an opera star, it's very important to maintain an air of mystery.

Carlos the Cat Loves His Tapas

This is Carlos the cat. Carlos is Spanish and loves tapas, especially when they're followed by churros.

He can eat ten tapas in one sitting - except he pronounces them “tapath.” He's got an accent with a slight lisp, and sometimes his fellow cats make fun of him.

But Carlos doesn't care, because he always gets perfect scores on his Spanish tests.

Sharon the Shiba Is Always Stylish

This is Sharon the Shiba. Sharon is very stylish and wears a different bandana every day. Her current bandana is black, because it’s slimming and very French.

Even though she’s very clean, baths and haircuts stress her out, so she avoids puddles as much as possible.

Some dogs think she's a drama queen, but in truth, Sharon is tough. She loves to go for runs in the park and is always on the hunt… for a good deal!

Lucille the Seal Heads Out to Sea

This is Lucille the Seal. Lucille loves to nap, so every day she folds her fins into her whiskers for a couple of hours and drifts off in the ocean. Sometimes, when she naps, she’ll bump into another napping seal, but they both stay asleep.

When she’s not napping, she spends her time eating sushi and having contests with her friend Sheila to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest. Her record is two hours - and she was sleeping at the time!

Edward the Elephant Goes Bananas

This is Edward the Elephant. His favorite food is banana pie. He's got a great memory, so he does pretty well in school.

After a pie lunch, Edward goes for a walk outside, where he sniffs around for more treats. When he finds a banana, he tucks it under his trunk so his mom doesn't find out.

When she does, he just recites his latest math test from memory. She usually lets him have it after that.

Story Time: The Adventures of Our T-Lab. Friends