Sam and Jane were a very nice couple, liked by their friends and business associates. Their one disappointment in life was that they could not have children so they both immersed themselves in work and became very wealthy and successful.
When they came to retire they discovered that although they were very happy with each other and still in love, something was lacking in their lives.
They discussed the situation with friends who suggested they get a pet to enrich their days.
Sam and Jane were quite taken with the idea. However they had spent so much time apart at their work they were rather looking forward to travel and a that putting a pet in a boarding kennels for extended periods would not be fair to the pet.
That seemed to end that and sadly Sam and Jane decided to go on without a pet. Then, one day Sam was passing a Pet Shop owned by a man he knew so, on a whim, he stopped in to talk to his pal Jim.
After the usual catch-up chat, Sam told Jim about his and Jane's decision about a pet.
Jim looked thoughtful and said, "I may have the solution.Come to the back room with me. Sam followed Jim into the back room and there, on a shelf, was a small furry creature about the size and shape of a soccer ball humming happily to itself.
"This may be the solution," Jim said. "This creature is unique. It is happy alone or with people. It doesn't eat or drink. It is affectionate and cuddly and a great companion. It is in fact an un-named species and so rare that we call it a "Rarey. I know you and Jane would give it a good home so you can have it if you want it. There is just one thing ... you must keep it inside and not tell anyone about it because they are so rare someone might steal it or put it in a lab to study it or something horrible like that."
Sam agreed with the condition of secrecy and patted the Rarey and was rewarded with a soft gurgle of delight from the creature.
Sam was delighted and, after a price was agreed upon, took the Rarey home to Jane who was thrilled with the new addition to their lives -- even though she had to keep it secret -- and named it Puffy.
Things went along swimmingly and Sam and Jane decided to go on a trip. When they got home all was well with Puffy except for one thing. Puffy was now quite a bit larger and no longer fit on the chair that Sam and Jane had set aside for it. The solution was to let Puffy live on the King Size bed in the guest room and that worked wonderfully well ... for awhile. Sam and Jane had grown to love Puffy who would cuddle with them, sing when they were happy and croon consolingly when things went wrong ... so when they discovered that Puffy was getting too big for the King Size bed they knocked out a wall and doubled the size of the room. Puffy was fine again. Sam and Jane were delighted and all went well for a time until they went on another trip.
When they came home they discovered that Puffy was now too big for the room!
Jane said, "We have to do something, dear. It's not fair to keep Puffy all cooped up. Go talk to Jim at the Pet Shop and see if he has any suggestions."
"Good idea," said Sam and off he went.
After telling Jim how much he and Jane loved Puffy the Rarey and how the creature had enriched thier lives, Sam explained the size problem to Jim.
"Aha," Jim said, "Puffy should be set free to return to his home." He went on to explain that Rarys were great swimmers and if put into the ocean they would unerringly return to the small island that is their home. After much discussion as to how to accomplish this Sam went home and told Jane. She was very upset about losing Puffy and cried until Puffy's crooning soothed her.
SAm, Jane and Jim spent some time thinking of where Puffy could safely be put into the sea and -- when Jim assured them a small drop would not hurt Puffy -- it was finally decided the top of a small hill that dropped directly into a deep bay was the spot where Puffy could be sent off to find his way home.
Sam arranged to rent a huge flatbed truck and a winch then, covering Puffy with canvas, and in the dark of the night to avoid prying eyes, he and Jim loaded Puffy onto the truck and with Jane between them in the truck cab they drove all night, hour after grinding hour, until they finally reached the hill by the sea.
There, they said their farewells and gently pushed Puffy into the sea. All three, tears in their eyes, held their breath until they heard Puffy singing and saw Puffy swimming into the early sunrise. They watched until Puffy disappeared and thanked Jim for his help and for all the years of happiness that Puffy had brought them.
Sam and Jane never got another pet. When they spoke of Puffy they remembered all the good times but, SAm said, it had been a tough decision to let Puffy go and the trip to the sea was difficult.
"Yes, indeed dear," Jane said, It's a long way to tip a rarey."
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