Puli Information The Mops of Puli Manor Summer Holiday

The Mops are a family of Hungarian Pulis. Korde, Kordette, their dad officially known as Mister Kleaver Kloggs but to his friends simply as Kloggs and mum Kloe. Together with The Owners and three teenage children, they live at Puli Manor. There are times when it is difficult to know who actually runs the Manor, the Pulis being part and parcel of nearly everything that happens there. A few days ago the schools broke up for the summer holidays, and The Owners are taking their children to Egypt where they will visit many interesting places, before spending some time relaxing by the sea. Puli Manor is full of excitement, Mrs Owner is trying hard to deal with the packing. Usually The Mops would be sent to a local boarding kennel for their holidays, and they have got to know the people there very well and have a great time. Not though this year, they were being allowed to go away on their own. Bossy, the retired cart horse, who lives in the field next door, is taking them for a trip in an old gypsy caravan that Mr Owner has been renovating for many months. The Owners took quite a lot of persuading, but eventually relented, accepting Bossy’s word that he would be able to look after the Pulis. He was sure that they would have a great adventure and not get into any trouble. Suddenly as if someone had moved the clock along at alarming speed, it was departure time. There was utter confusion on the drive outside the Manor, Korde and Kordette were jumping in and out of the taxi that was waiting to take The Owners to the airport. The Pulis puppies simply wanted a hug before they left. Not to be left out, Kloggs and Kloe joined in, swishing their long corded coats around as they twisted and turned to say their farewells.

Eventually Mr Owner got things sorted out, and the taxi left followed by Bossy pulling the wagon. Kloggs took up the reigns and they also were on their way. By the time they reached the lane, the taxi had disappeared, for a fleeting moment the Pulis felt alone and unsure, but soon forgot their worries as The Mops set off on their first big adventure. Trees heavy with lush green leaves overhung the narrow country lane they had turned into, forming a dark tunnel at the end of which there could just be seen a large green field. When they emerged into the sunlight, Bossy stopped and Kloggs jumped down from the wagon to open the gate, then carefully close it again after Bossy had pulled caravan into the field. Jumping down, and dashing around in circles, the Pulis went on a quick inspection, satisfied the field would be alright Kloe set her mind to preparing a meal for them all whilst Kloggs and the younger Pulis played ball. They had a great time, running, leaping, jumping, even Bossy join in when the ball rolled to a halt close to ones of his hooves. Bossy kicked it into the air and Korde soared high to meet it, doing an impressive twist and landing gently on all four paws. Later, after their meal, Kloe settled Korde and Kordette into their small beds and read them a story, before she had reached the last words, both Mops were sound asleep. The caravan appeared small inside, but it was cosy and warm, the Mops were very content. Next morning everyone was up bright and early, and were soon on the road in the caravan again. Korde and Kordette watched from the rear open door, as the beautiful scenery unfolded itself, beneath a clear blue sky and bright golden sun. Pulis though do not take to being inactive for any length of time, and the young Mops were soon asking when they were going to stop. Luckily Bossy had planned for this, not long afterwards when he pulled the caravan to a halt, Korde and Kordette landed on the ground seconds later, ready to explore. They were by a lake, its water sparkling in the sunlight. Kloggs had soon got his fishing rods out of the wagon and set off towards the waters edge, Kloe sat down to do some knitting, and suggested the young Pulis run round the lake to see what was on the other side. They did not have to be told twice. The grasses growing around the lake were tall, and it was difficult to find a good track, Korde and Kordette played hide and seek, until finally they lost each other completely. Kordette found herself in a small woodland, and through the trees could see a grassy field. She headed that way, and suddenly found herself face to face with a sheep who gave her rather a frightened look.

"You are not going to chase me, are you?" the sheep asked hesitantly asked, looking at Kordette with a look of terror on his face.

"No" replied Kordette "our Owners have trained us not to do that. Unless we are properly supervised"

"Good, most dogs think they should, chase us, I mean. What are you doing here anyway" he inquired.

"On holiday. Dad’s by the lake fishing." replied Kordette

"Holiday? Thought you lot went into boarding kennels for holidays, there is one nearby. Sure you haven’t run away?"

"No" replied Kordette. How could the sheep possibly think they had run away.

"Come with me" suggested Kordette "I will introduce you to my family."

The sheep uncertainly followed Kordette back to the wagon, Korde had returned and was helping his mother prepare a meal, and her dad could be seen still sitting by the waters edge.

"Goodness me, what is that?" asked the sheep looking at the gypsy caravan in surprise. "you are surely not staying in that."

When they showed the sheep inside, and how comfortable it was, the sheep seemed a little more impressed. In fact, the more he got to know The Mops, the better he began to like them.

"Better get going" he said, running back towards the other side of the lake.

Later that afternoon, after The Mops had finished their meal, had cleared away the dishes and where all having a quiet afternoon nap, The Farmer appeared. He looked at The Mops and laughed, furiously declaring that he had never seen dogs like them before.

"That’s because we are not dogs, we are Pulis" Kordette proudly told him.

"And, we come from Hungary" added Korde proudly.

The Farmer quickly took in their odd looking coats, the long cords of Mr and Mrs Mop, the shorter coats of the younger Pulis beginning to show signs of twisting into braids. The obvious intelligence of the breed, and the wonderful agility just demonstrated by Korde and Kordette jumping around and do mid air about turns.

"I expect you would be good working sheep" said The Farmer.

"That’s what our parents did" Kloggs said entering the conversation for the first time "but there isn’t much of that sort of work around nowadays. Our Owners have instructed us not to chase other animals."

"That’s good" said The farmer "tell you what, come back to the farm with me, and I will show you how to herd, under supervision. You might like it and you can stay a few days if you like."

Bossy moved the caravan to the farm, and was then given a stable to himself. For the next few days the young Pulis had a fabulous time, they worked with the sheep, The Farmer really did not have to tell them a great deal, although he was always there watching, together with his own dogs and children Kloggs and Kloe said they preferred to watch, but in the end could not hold back their in built instincts and proved to be exceptionally good working Pulis.

"I wish you could all stay longer, but Bossy says you have to move on" said Farmer as they prepared to leave. "You are welcome here any time."

Feeling quite exhausted after their hard work, the young Pulis were happy to sit on the front bench with their mum and dad and let Bossy pull the wagon along. They sang songs, enjoyed the food the farmer’s wife had given them. Early evening had arrived when Bossy stopped in a small clearing in a wood.

The Pulis felt happy and contented, they sat round a camp fire that Kloggs had lit, singing and listening to their mum telling stories until very late. By the time they settled down in their beds it was very dark and the moonlight occasionally glimpsed through the fast moving clouds.Not long after The Mops had all dropped off into deep slumbers, a loud clap of thunder woke them. The Pulis hated thunder, at home they would have dived for shelter,preferably under the large wooden kitchen table. The wagon though did not have such luxuries. Klaude got them all to sit close together, hugging each other as the lightening flashed and the thunder rumbled on.

Suddenly there was an enormous bolt of lightening, followed by a very loud crack. The Pulis sensed they were in danger and all leapt out of the caravan together. Bossy, who had been standing beside the wagon, as he knew it was not safe to stay under the trees in such a storm, pushed them out of the way. They looked around to see one of the trees had been struck by the lightening, and a branch had caught fire. As the watched it fell from the tree and hit the canvas cover of the caravan, which immediately broke into flames. Horrified, The Mops stood still for a few seconds and watched, then they took off as fast as they could in the direction of the lane. Bossy followed, eventually catching them up and telling Pulis he would lead them to the nearest village.

As they started on their journey it started to rain, but the Pulis kept going following Bossy who eventually stopped outside the wooden door of an Inn. He banged hard with his hoof, and after the second go, The Landlord opened the door. Luckily he knew Bossy, as was in fact expecting him to arrive with the Pulis the following day. He held back his sudden urge to say "A bit early aren’t you?", when he saw the state of the Mops. The Landlord called his wife, who dried The Mops carefully, gave them something to eat and settled them down to sleep under warm blankets. Bossy went to the stable with the Landlord and told him the story. Next morning Bossy and The Landlord left early, they returned to the clearing and found that the sudden very heavy downfall of rain the night before had put out the fire. The caravan was badly damaged, but nothing that could not be repaired. Bossy pulled the wagon back to the Inn. Kordette burst into tears when she saw it, and Kloggs noticed Kloe’s eyes where very moist as well.

"Sorry Mops" said The Landlord "but I am afraid that is the end of your travelling holiday. You are most welcome to stay here though, until The Owners return."

Being a very picturesque village, and the Inn very popular there where loads of people coming and going. Klaude and Kloe spend a lot of their time inside making a great many new friends, some of whom volunteered to help restore the wagon. The Landlord insisted it would have to remain as it was until Mr Owner had decided what to do with it. The younger Mops played outside in the stable yard, where Bossy was enjoying his rest.

After a while Korde and Kordette became bore, as Pulis usually do. At least at The Manor they had their own play area with things to do, a large climbing frame which Kordette loved, a tunnel to go through, jumps to whiz over. The young Pulis asked Bossy to tell them a story, but he was not nearly as good as their mum and the tale was not all that interesting. Lost for something to do, Korde and Kordette started chasing each other around the yard, barking and jumping until The Landlord came out to see what was going on.

"Tell you what" he said "I’ve a box of children’s toys in the shed." There were balls and skipping ropes, tug along things on wheels and a really big bone, which glistened as if it had been polished.

"Um, I don’t know what that’s doing in there." said The Landlord as he turned to walk away.

The Pulis had a go a skipping, playing with the balls, even Bossy joined in for a while. Then Korde decided to run off with the bone. He lay down with it between his front paws and started to chew. But the bone was not like any other he had come across, it did not seem to want Korde to chew it. Baffled Korde tossed it to one side, and it landed in a muddle puddle of water.

"You had better rescue that and clean it before The Landlord comes back" said Bossy. Kordette reached the bone first and carried it to a dry part of the yard.

"Here, use this towel" suggested Bossy.

The mud had really stuck onto the bone.

"Come and help me Korde" and he pulled the other end of the towel. For several minutes they rubbed very hard, eventually the mud came off and the bone shone as it had done before.

"What are you thinking Korde?" asked his litter sister.

"Oh, nothing really" he replied "Well, except I wish we are with The Owners and their children, they would play with us." He rubbed the bone again, but even harder.

There was a sudden flash, a bang, then a crash.

"Korde! Korde! Where are you, what have you done?" Screamed Kordette.

Then a familiar voice asked in a rather surprise tone "Korde? Kordette? What are you doing here?"

The young Pulis stared in amazement at The Owners and their children.

"Are we home? How did we get here?" Korde asked.

"Good question. No we are not at The Manor, we are at the hotel enjoying our holiday." said Mr Owner "I think you have some explaining to do, and why have you got that dirty towel in your paw?"

Kordette looked at Korde who clearly thought he was going to get all the blame. Mr Owner coughed slightly, as if to remind the younger Pulis they should be explaining their sudden appearance.

"There was this bone" began Kordette, wanting to get the whole ting over and done with. "The Landlord gave us a box of children’s toys and it was in there."

"I dropped it in the mud" said Korde "Bossy gave us a towel to clean it with ….. then, errrr, we arrived here."

The children were clearly enthralled by this story and wanted to know every detail.

"Where is the bone now?" asked the small girl.

"I don’t know" said Korde "maybe I dropped it."

"There was a loud crash when we arrived" Kordette remembered "Perhaps it is here somewhere."

The Owners had a look round and noticed for the first time the large broken plant pot, and there amongst the pieces lay the bone.

"I think you had better tell us exactly what you were doing …… "

Finally completing their story, Korde and Kordette ventured to asked what was going to happen to them. Mr Owner said he would go and see the hotel manager to organize somewhere for them to sleep, then the next day they would have to find a way to send them home. Later, after they had been given food and drinks, the Owner’s two daughters, Jenny and Debbie, took Korde and Kordette to look round the hotel grounds. They were amazed at all the exciting and lovely things there. The girls promised to take photographs and bring them home for the Puli’s scrap book.

After playing on the swings and climbing frame, running furiously along the long golden beach, the Pulis finally settled down for a nights sleep. Next day, after talking about it they decided the best thing to do was to try rubbing the bone with the towel, which had now been washed and dried. Nothing happened, when one of the girls suggested maybe the Pulis should make a wish.

"Say, you wish you were back with Bossy at the Inn" said Mrs Owner. Nothing happened.

"Wait. Didn’t you say Korde, at that time you gave the bone an extra hard rub?"

"Yes, I did" replied Korde doing just that and making his wish at the same time.

There was a flash and a bang, The Mops appeared right in front of Bossy.

"Where have you been?" he asked "Your mum and dad, and Landlord are very worried"

Just then, The Landlord appeared at the Inn door "There you are" he said "You had better come and explain all to your parents".

"They have just been for a walk around the village" Bossy informed The Landlord, winking and the Pulis.

"Oh, yes, we got a bit lost" said Korde.

Back at The Manor some days later, Korde and Kordette were playing in the garden when they heard Bossy call from the nearby field.

"I’ve something for you" he said pointing his hoof towards the old towel lying on the ground.

Korde picked it up and out fell the bone. "Thought you might like to keep it." said Bossy.

"Oh, yes please" said the two young Mops together.

This story cannot be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written

permission of the Author.

The Mops of Puli Manor Stories

by Susan Hopgood

Welcome to the Magical and Mysterious World of the Hungarian Puli

Please note: we are not liable for any decisions you make, based on information contained on this site.

(c) www.puli-information.com 2009

www.puli-information.com

Site Designed and Maintained by

31/01/2009