All of Dingus
a Tiny Kingdom story about knowing and loving a stubborn little prince
Prince Dingus came into the King and Queen’s life as perhaps the most stubborn little creature they had ever met. He was a Cairn Terrier with opinions about everything and absolutely no interest in what she thought about that.
And when Dingus had an opinion, everyone knew.
It took the Queen a while to learn how to be with him. She had to discover that the noise, the barking and the attitude were only part of the little dog in front of her. Underneath all of it was one of the most sensitive and loyal souls she would ever know.
Dingus simply made her work a little harder to find him.
Over the years, she did.
She learned his ways, his moods and his particular ideas about how the Kingdom ought to be run. She learned how deeply he felt things, how closely he watched the people he loved, and how much could be hidden behind all that Cairn Terrier noise.
And Dingus grew older.
These days, he sleeps more. When Princess Guusje runs, Dingus often supervises from the sidelines, barking with such enthusiasm that one might easily think he was doing most of the work himself.
He still goes into the water, although never much beyond his chest. The Queen knows why. As a puppy, Dingus fell into the water twice, and apparently two unexpected swims were quite enough for one lifetime.
His knees have slowed him down, and there is more silver in his coat now. Age has softened some of his edges, although certainly not all of them.
The Queen would not want it to.
Because underneath the older prince is still the same Dingus who arrived all those years ago: stubborn, noisy, sensitive, loyal, and entirely himself.
The Queen knows him now.
She knows the softness behind the noise and the enormous heart beneath all those opinions. She knows that loving Dingus has always meant loving all of him, including the parts that announce themselves rather loudly.
And after thirteen years, he is still Dingus.
He still makes her and the King work for it a little.