Once there was a town called Doxieville. In Doxieville, you could find dachshunds of different sizes and colors. All of them were very grand indeed, strutting around

with their families at the local park. All were grand except for one small, plain looking dachshund. On top of being plain, he wasn't purple or red or blue. He was the

color of the ground. As a result, he was always getting trampled on by the other dogs. That was a typical day in the life of Snuggle. Poor Snuggle was very sad

because he wasn't pretty like his mother or sister, or handsome like his father. To make matters worse, his parents were the Duke and Duchess of Doxieville! On

top of all that, his father told him that he would become Prince of Doxieville very soon. Poor Snuggle! He didn't think he or his family could live down having a plain

looking Prince. He knew that his parents would be so embarrassed about him, so he decided to talk to his sister about it. Kassi thought that Snuggle should go on

a quest for the perfect coat. So, with her help, he snuck out of the palace, leaving a note for his parents that said: Dear Mom and Dad, I'm leaving Doxieville for a

few days. The reason is because I need to find a new coat so I won't be a plain looking prince. Don't worry about me, I'll be back soon. Love, Snuggle Little did he

know that Kassi and her best friend, Little Levi, had followed him out. Kassi thought that, since it was HER idea, she should get to go with him. Little Levi tried to

talk her out of it, but failed. So, off they went in search of Snuggle. They searched and searched until Kassi was convinced that he either covered his scent well or

he vanished into thin air. She finally gave up and the pair started home. When Little Levi pointed out that she had led him on a wild goose chase, Kassi quickly

retorted, "Well, if you hadn't taken it upon yourself to follow me around everywhere, then you wouldn't have been on this wild goose chase!". They traveled the rest

of the way in silence. Meanwhile, Snuggle had traveled far beyond Doxieville in his quest. In fact, he had already passed the interstate hours ago. As he walked on,

he came to a sign on the sidewalk that said, "Viva Bark Vegas! Home of the famous and extremely talented Barktina Dogbride!". Snuggle hoped that someone in

Bark Vegas could help him find the perfect coat. Sure enough, he came to a coat store. "Gretchen's Coats of Many Colors!", the sign proclaimed. As Snuggle

looked inside, he saw the brightest coats he had ever seen. But then something else caught his eye. Inside the store was a very pretty purple dachshund. He

immediately walked in and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Snuggle. I was wondering if you could help me find a coat in my size.", he said. "Well, hi Snuggle! I'm

Gretchen!", the smiling dachshund said, "And of course I can help you find a coat! Now, what size are you? A large, maybe?". Soon, Snuggle was trying on every

coat in reach. Then, he tried on "The Coat". The Coat was a dark blue and very beautiful. Snuggle tried it on, took one look in the mirror, and bought it immediately.

"Thanks so much for helping me Gretchen!", he said. "No problem!", Gretchen replied. "So, are you new in town?" "No, just passing through. I'm from Doxieville."

"Oh no!", Gretchen gasped. "What is it?", Snuggle asked. "You shouldn't be here! Don't you know that Doxieville and Bark Vegas are sworn enemies?". Snuggle

frowned, deep in thought. What had his tutor said about this? "But that was thirty years ago! Surely they can't still be fighting?". "Yes, they are.", Gretchen replied.

"Does it help that I'm the Duke's son?", he asked. "Actually that makes it worse. Shhh! Someone's coming!", Gretchen whispered. She crept over to the window,

looked out, and gasped. "What now?", Snuggle asked. "You have to leave now!", Gretchen cried, "It's the Duke of Bark Vegas! If he sees you, who knows what he'll

do to you!" She took Snuggle to the storage room, handed him a piece of paper, and said, "This is the Bark Vegas Hotel. My mama works there. Just go to the front

desk and ask for Barbara. I'm sure she'll help you until the Duke goes back to his Castle. Now GO!". With that, she pushed him out the door. Snuggle was in such a

hurry, he didn't see Kassi until they were both on the ground. "Snuggle?", Kassi gasped, "Is that you?". He grabbed her and pulled her into an alley. "What are

you doing here?", he growled, "I told you to stay home!". "Lookin' for you! Mama's convinced that you've run away and never comin' back!", she replied. "Did you

come alone?", Snuggle asked. "Of course not! Dad sent some soldiers with me to find you and bring you home!", Kassi replied. She tried to drag him out of the

alley, but he wouldn't budge. "What's wrong? Dontcha wanna go home? And how come you have a blue coat?", she asked anxiously. "One at a time, Kassi!", he

snapped. "What's wrong? Didn't you know that Doxieville and Bark Vegas are sworn enemies?", Snuggle asked. Kassi's shocked expression told him that she

didn't know either. "And of course I want to go home! But I can't! The Duke of Bark Vegas is in town, so my new friend Gretchen, that's where my new coat came

from, told me to go and hide at the Bark Vegas Hotel where her mama works." Kassi stood there with a shocked expression and her mouth wide open in disbelief.

"Are you going to stand there and catch flies all day or help me get to the Bark Vegas hotel?", Snuggle asked. She quickly closed her mouth and nodded. "It's this

way.", she said. Within mintues, they were at the hotel. "I need to speak with Barbara, please.", Snuggle said to the lady at the front desk. "Third floor, third door on

the right. You'll have to take the stairs, the elevator's broke.", she said, pointing to a door on the left. Quickly thanking her, the two hurried upstairs and stopped at

the third door. Taking a deep breath, Snuggle knocked on the door. As it opened, he was surprised to see two soldiers at the door. As he turned to run away, he

saw that Kassi had already been captured, as had Barbara. "Give it up boy!", the soldier snarled. "Your friends have already been captured. What'll it be, boy? Will

you surrender to protect them? Or will you forsake them to try and save your own skin?". As Snuggle looked around at the soldiers surrounding them, he realized

that he had a choice to make: He could try to run away and probably be killed, or he could surrender and be taken to the Duke of Bark Vegas, where he might be

able to talk to him about this old war. "What'll it be boy? We don't have all day, you know!", the soldier snapped impatiently. Snuggle immediately walked over and

sat down by his friends, paws up in defeat. "Ok, Ok, you win!" he said, "I surrender! Just please, please don't hurt my friends!". Satisfied that their job was done,

the soldiers tied them up and turned to leave. "Wait! Where are you going? Aren't you taking us to the Duke?", Snuggle cried. "Heck no!", the soldier replied. "The

Duke couldn't care less about seeing you! He just wants you gone! Vanished!". "So, what are you going to do with us?", Kassi asked nervously. "We're not going

to do anything but leave.", the soldier snapped, "However, it just so happens that the Duke has decreed that this very building be burned today." "But you wouldn't

do that with us in it...would you?", Kassi asked. With a muffled command, the soldier's comrades began pouring gasoline around the room, stopping at the group.

With that, the soldiers marched out of the room, leaving the three alone. Suddenly, a soldier popped back in with a bundle in his arms. "Here's your friend.",he said,

tossing the bundle at them. Then he lit a match, dropped it, and walked out locking the door behind him. Looking closely at the bundle in front of him, Snuggle

realized it was Gretchen. At that moment, the whole room burst into flames. Kassi started crying as the fire crept closer to them. Snuggle racked his brain as he

struggled to get the ropes off his paws. Suddenly, he had an idea. "If I can use my back paws to get the ropes off my front paws, then I can free everyone and we'll

escape!", he thought. Working with renewed vigor, he was able to free himself. He crept over to Gretchen and began to untie her when she came to and gasped,

"Snuggle! What happened? Where are we? Did the soldiers capture you?". "I'll explain later.", he replied. "Right now, I want you to help me untie your mother so

we can get out of here." "My MOTHER?!?, what is she doing here?". "No time for questions.",Snuggle said firmly. As the pair untied Barbara he asked, "How high

up are we?" "We're on the third floor, so I'd say about twenty feet.", she replied. Snuggle looked out the window and took off his coat. "There's a balcony three

feet down.", he said. "Tie my coat to the windowsill and jump the rest of the way." Once they were safely on the balcony, the girls were able to jump to the

balconies below until they reached the ground. As Snuggle prepared to jump, he heard a voice. "Snuggle, help me!", it cried. "Kassi, where are you?", Snuggle

cried. "Over here! Hurry Snuggle, come and help me!",she screamed. When he finally found her, she was unconscious. Snuggle slung her over his shoulder and

ran to the window. Much to his dismay, the balconies had collapsed and the fire was getting closer to them. He took a deep breath and jumped. When they hit the

ground, the jolt tore them apart. Kassi jumped up and ran over to him. "Snuggle! Wake up! We're ok!", she shouted, shaking his shoulder. "OW Kassi! Stop it!", he

moaned. Snuggle slowly got up and shook himself off. The group was approached by doctors who said they needed to go to the hospital and get checked out.

Gretchen and Barbara were fine, Kassi had a sprained paw, and Snuggle had a broken paw, a sprained shoulder, and bruises all over his body. Not five minutes

after they were discharged, two soldiers came up to them and said that the Duke and Duchess of Bark Vegas demanded their presence at their royal court in thirty

minutes. The battered and bruised group were forced to walk all the way there. When they arrived, the girls gasped in awe while Snuggle stood there with his

mouth open, for in front of them stood the biggest castle they had ever seen. They were ushered inside to the Duke's private quarters and thrust to the floor. Only

when the soldiers had gone did they dare look up. There they were, Duke Flecken and Duchess Texas Belle in all their glory. "So, you're the Duke of Doxieville's

son." , Duke Flecken said. After a moment, Snuggle nodded. "And this is your sister?",Duchess Texas Belle asked. When he nodded again, she said, "Never in all

my life have I seen such bravery Prince Snuggle. Duke Flecken won't admit it, but that's what our fued with your parents was about. We had different views on what

bravery was then, but now I see that they were right." She nudged the Duke and he said, "Yes, well, as a result of this bravery, we will end the fued with Doxieville

and send you and your sister home." "Oh, thank you sir!", Kassi cried. "There is one condition.",Texas Belle said. "If it is within my power, then I will fulfill your

wish, Your Highness.", Snuggle said. "That you invite us to and the town of Bark Vegas to any parties you have when you return!", she said. After promising them

that they would do just that, Snuggle and Kassi began their long journey home. They finally reached home two days later and ran straight into the arms of their

parents. Naturally, their parents wanted to start World War III with Bark Vegas, but when Snuggle told their story, they proudly declared that the thirty year fued with

Bark Vegas was over. Then, they declared that the next day was "Snuggle and Kassi Day" and invited everyone, including the town of Bark Vegas, to a feast the

next day in their honor. When morning came, Kassi and Snuggle ran downstairs and were surprised to see Gretchen and Little Levi there to greet them. That day,

Little Levi asked Kassi to be his girlfriend, Snuggle asked Gretchen to marry him, the fued was publically ended between Doxieville and Bark Vegas, and Kassi,

Gretchen, and Snuggle were awarded medals for their bravery. Then, Gretchen gave Snuggle a brand new coat, which he wore the day he was crowned Prince. If

you visit Doxieville, you can see the original coat in the Doxieville museum, and you will be told the story of Prince Snuggle the Brave.