Chapter 22—Roth and Ruth

    Lady sat in the locked in bedroom, alone with Lucky and Penny. They looked at Lady, who stated, “Well… should we leave?”
    “Who are you?” Lucky asked.
    “I’m Lady,” she told them. “Scamp’s and Angel’s mother.”
    “Oh, those two,” Lucky stated. “I don’t see why they don’t have sense… nor does Patch.”
    “Yeah…I’m worried about them,” Penny added. “My name’s Penny… and he’s Lucky.”
    “Pleased to meet you,” Lady told them. “Well, I suppose we have to leave…”
    She jumped onto the window ledge, and Lady beckoned Lucky and Penny to follow her. “Your parents are down there… as is my husband and Angel’s mother.” She then called through the door, “Meet us outside! Penny and Lucky are with me right now!”
    “Thank heavens,” came Perdita’s voice through the door.
Lucky and Penny joined Lady on the window ledge, and Penny asked, “You mean… we’re going to jump down there again?”
    Lady nodded. “Ready for this?” she asked.
    Lucky and Penny nodded, and Lady managed to land gently onto the rooftop, with Lucky and Penny following her. She then managed to jump neatly onto the grass, and Lucky and Penny followed. The other four parents came to see Lady as she walked over to them.
    “Oh, Lucky, Penny, good to see you back!” Pongo told them.
    “Yes,” Perdita asked. “But… where’s Patch?”
    “He ran off with the other two,” Lucky told them. “I don’t know why he did it.”
    “They… still have problems with us,” Lady told them with a quiver in her voice. “I don’t understand… Scamp thinks… as though I want him to be something he’s not… I don’t… I only want him to be happy…”
    Lady then cried, “Oh… how come they had to run away from us?”
    “Well,” Tramp stated, trying to be evasive. “We… we can find them on the way home.”
    “She… called me horrid,” Peg stated softly. “I heard her from next door. My little girl… I… I can’t believe it.”
    “Oh, she wasn’t talking about you,” Lady told Peg. “She didn’t see you in the room… she only saw me. And… she probably knew that Tramp was with me.”
    “Mother, we have to get out of here,” Lucky told Perdita. “Now. I want to watch TV.”
    “Yes, but shouldn’t we have a plan?” Perdita asked.
    Lucky shook his head. “Cruella could turn on her electric fence in any moment.”
    “Oh yes,” Pongo stated. “Let’s leave… now!”
    Tramp rushed ahead, with Pongo following. Perdita then followed with Lucky and Penny, with Lady and Peg bringing up the rear.
    “Well, we’ll find them,” Tramp stated. “Come on.”
    And with that, the parents made their way out of the fence with no problems.

Meanwhile, running down a street path, Scamp, Angel, and Patch triumphantly giggled. “We did it!” Scamp stated.
    “Do you know where any homes are near here?” Patch asked.
    “Cruella did us one favor, I think,” Angel explained. “They aren’t too far from here at all.”
    The three puppies managed to get to a small bench where they took a brief rest.
    “I think we can take a break,” Scamp whispered. “Cruella probably won’t find us under here.”
    “Yeah,” Angel stated. “You know, I’m starving… let’s go find some food.”
    However, they were cut off with a sound… another car approached them, this one bright blue and shiny.
    The car stopped, and inside, a woman opened up the door.
    “Careful,” Scamp told Angel. “Remember what happened with the last car?”
    “But this can’t be Cruella’s,” Angel whispered. “Hers is red.”
    Inside, a young, attractive woman with a flowing red dress and short, blonde hair walked up to them. “Hello,” she stated. “You must be all alone on the streets, aren’t you?”
    Angel, Scamp, and Patch nodded. “Aw, that’s all right… why don’t you come to my house? You can be part of my family.”
    Angel looked delighted. “Maybe… I think she’s real!”
    “But no!” Scamp told her, but it was too late. As the woman opened the car, Angel jumped inside. Scamp and Patch had no choice but to follow her, and she shut the car door. The woman cheerfully walked up to the front seat and turned on the car.
    “My name’s Duchess Lauren,” she stated brightly. “You will have all sorts of fun in my house,” she stated as she slowly turned on her car, and the wheels slowly began to move. “You’ll have a living room with all sorts of pillows for you to rip up… and a nice, large yard. And I am rich,” she explained. “So I can feed you all you want.”
    “Wow, she sounds good!” Scamp stated gleefully.
    “See, I told you she’d be a good family!” Angel added delightedly.
    “Maybe you are right,” Patch told her.
    The car stopped, and Lauren picked the three puppies up and they entered her house. Unlike Cruella’s, her house was very beautiful. Flowers decorated the perimeter of the house, and rather looking creepy and beat-up, Lauren’s house was freshly painted with a gleaming coat of paint.
    “Here you are,” Lauren cheerfully stated. “Enter.”
    “All right!” Scamp exclaimed as Lauren happily opened the door up. “Now it’s time for you to meet your friends,” she cheerfully bustled.
    Lauren’s hallway quickly led to a kitchen filled with gleaming silverware and shining china and plates. “My parents are millionaires,” she exclaimed, as she batted with her silver necklace. “Now, here you go…it’s your room,” she explained to Scamp, Angel, and Patch.
    The three puppies entered the next room, which was a fancy living room with a red rug, two white couches on either end, and a fireplace at the end. On the rug, between the carpet, were two grey dogs, lying down on it exhaustedly.
    “Roth, Ruth, here are some new puppies… oh, what are their names? How about… let’s see, oh, I don’t know… well, I’ll think of something anyhow. Yes, I think that’s nice. Have fun!”
    Roth and Ruth did not move or respond. They continued to lie down on the carpet. “Oh well, you’ll wake up at some point,” Lauren stated cheerfully, before shutting the door. Roth and Ruth still did not move.
    “Well, here’s our new home, I guess,” Patch stated.
    “Not too shabby,” Scamp stated.
    “It’s… pretty,” Angel declared.
    “Hey!” Scamp stated. “Look at these pillows!” He jumped up onto the couch. “Let’s tug on them!”
    “Great idea!” Angel stated, following.
    But just as the two of them began to tug…
    “Excuse me, but who are you?” came a low, drawling voice. The grey dog on the left lifted his head from the ground.
    “Oh, hi, uh, my name’s Scamp,” Scamp introduced himself.
    “Indeed,” the grey dog stated. His tone was not encouraging. “You do need to speak more articulately. It is essential to speak properly. For example, speak like this…”
    “Who are you to tell him how to talk?” Patch asked bluntly.
    “You are being very rude,” stated his female counterpart. “Well, my name is Ruth and his name is Roth.”
    “It is a pleasure to meet you,” Roth told them.
    “You don’t sound too pleased,” Angel told them.
    Roth and Ruth glared at Scamp, Angel, and Patch. “Manners, if you would not mind,” Roth told them.
    “Well, you don’t have them!” Patch responded.
    “May I ask, why are you in our house?” Ruth asked.
    “Lauren adopted us,” Angel explained.
    “Indeed,” Roth stated skeptically, rolling his eyes. “Clearly, you need to learn manners. If you think ripping up pillows is fun, you still are a long way from becoming ladies and gentlemen.”
    “Well, so what?” Scamp stated.
    “So you are not worthy of living in this house,” Ruth answered. “This house needs to have manners and is exclusively for the most refined individuals.”
    “Well, go on being old grouches,” Patch told them. “We’ll have fun.”
    The three of them went to fighting over the pillow, and began causing it to rip.
    “You are being very rude,” Roth told them.
    The three puppies ignored him.
    “I said, you are being very rude,” Roth repeated.
    The puppies continued to ignore him.
    “I will not be insulted with being ignored. It is offensive!” Roth declared.
    “I think… it is time for expulsion,” Ruth suggested. “What do you think?”
    “I think so,” Roth answered. All of a sudden, Roth started to moan piteously.
    Ruth howled as well, and then she grabbed the pillow away from the three puppies.
    “I don’t understand,” Patch began, but Roth and Ruth smirked at each other.
    At once, Lauren, now wearing a kitchen apron, went into the room. “Oh dear,” she stated. “It seems as though… oh, poor Roth… poor Ruth… you sound unhappy. Can’t you just be friends, all of you?”
    They all growled at each other, before Lauren stated, “Ah, well,” she explained. “Maybe we can find a new home for you three…” Then all of a sudden, she smiled. “Oh, I know! There’s a woman nearby who is lonely at her big mansion… only with a couple of assistants. Her name’s Shirley Smith. She’s nice, a little bit large in the middle… red hair… oh, you might have seen her?”
    Angel whispered, “Cruella…”
    Scamp and Patch gasped. Lauren unfortunately drastically misunderstood their reaction. “Oh, you do want to live with her!” Lauren explained. “Very well… let’s go!”
    “Stop her!” Patch exclaimed. “You don’t understand…”
    “Too bad, children,” Roth yawned. “Now leave us in peace.”
    Lauren placed the three puppies, squirming out of protest in the car, and then stated, “Here you go…”
    The drive to Cruella’s was frustrating, and eventually, Lauren stopped. She rung the doorbell. At once, Horace and Jasper reappeared.
    “What is it, Ma’am?” Horace asked. “Cru…”
    “Miss Smith,” Jasper stated, “Is busy. Looking for lost puppies.”
    “Well, I found some,” Lauren exclaimed. “They look like they need a nice home… is this the place?”
    “Blimey, those are Miss Smith’s,” Jasper exclaimed. “Thank you!”
    “Bless your soul for taking them in,” Lauren stated. “How could I ever thank you! Thank you so very, very much! Have a happy time with Miss Smith!”
    Lauren then drove away, and as she did, Horace and Jasper leered at the puppies. They opened up the door.
    “Cruella’s gone now,” Horace exclaimed. “But she’ll be back. Then we’ll get our money!”
    Jasper and Horace threw the puppies into the same room where they broke out.
    “We can get out of this,” Angel told them. “Listen… let’s hide under the bed until Cruella comes in to the room. She’ll see we’re not under there, and then let’s break out again. She’ll be confused, and she’ll be looking through the rest of the house when we leave.”
    “Good idea!” Scamp stated. The three puppies were ready to escape. They had a plan.