The canine shall travel a great distance to prepare for a task
The clime of the grounds will bring about a change
It shall be a journey of the heart, the mind and soul
Only many changes of the season shall bring his return
This is a tough quatrain to crack because it uses the word canine followed by the word “the”. In some of the most interesting decoding assignments I’ve ever done, the word “the” is usually sandwiched by a double noun such as Richard the Lion Heart, Edward the Confessor or George the Sixth. Clearly we are looking for a dog. Of what breed or from where we have yet to determine. So, this search is in effect a fill in the blank exercise. The question is what word is most appropriate for the blank in - _______ the Canine?
It reminds me of an operation I was involved in some years back. There was a warehouse that was supposed to be housing some contraband. So, I was hired on to investigate and assist two other individuals that turned out to be a couple of amateurs. As a rule of thumb, when you see a warning sign at a property you are about to enter without permission, the nastier the warning the safer it is. Of course, there are exceptions. I found that a sign that said “We respond with deadly force” means there may be some guns involved but nobody knows how to properly use it. So when I saw the sign that said this, I didn’t know what to expect:
BEWARE OF THE VICIOUS DOG
IF YOU DON’T LISTEN, GET READY
YOU’LL LOSE A CHUNK OF YOUR ASS
It was enough to make me take notice, but I knew we had to get in somehow so we can find out what was going on. The wall that we had to scale was about two stories high and reminded me of a walled city with clusters of structures inside four walls. We chose to jump the wall after midnight to make sure we had the advantage of darkness. Also, around that time, the guards are usually pretty tired. So, after donning black clothing and black face paint, we were off with our scaling equipment.
It started off well until we finally landed on the other side. And that’s when the ugliness hit the fan. Usually, when dogs are guarding a perimeter, there are warning sounds like barking – loud boisterous barking. Sometimes it gives you enough time to get away, and sometimes it doesn’t. It turns out that my two other companions had forgotten the sign about the vicious dog. We didn’t know it at the time but the dog involved was the quiet type who would sneak up on you like a Ninja, maul you and then bark after just to let you know he got you. The one guy in the group was the first to surrender a sizable part of his posterior. He actually yelled out with a pathetic OUCHIE before the dog even let out a bark. The flesh that the dog detached from this guy was enough to keep it busy for a few seconds – long enough for us to run away. I made sure I went the opposite way – away from other two guys. When I finally got on the wall and turned back to look, I saw both guys up on a tree like a Totem Pole with one guy’s ass on top of the other’s head. Underneath was the dog waiting for them to make the wrong move. I thought it was pretty wacky.
In this quatrain, Yestradamus warns against having the wrong team. These two guys were the perfect example of what not to bring on an operation. I was real lucky the dog got to someone else before it got to me. Otherwise, I’d be walking with a deep crater on my butt and that wouldn’t be right.
(Analyst 147X)
