Who, Us?

They're clever little canine
sophisticates with a hunger for
knowledge, searching out wisdom
and the beauty of words, prepared
to swallow it all in their zest to
become literary academics. Modestly,
lest we marvel overmuch at their genius
they nonchalantly wander off as
we enter our home's library
wondering what the two black
scamps have been up to, the
silence ringing through the house
alerting us to mischief. But no,
our suspicions have no basis
in reality we conclude admiring
their peerless sangfroid as they
nonchalantly turn from scholarship
to wrestling on the library rug.
Days later, the vacuum sucks up
the minuscule bits of binding
we hadn't noticed earlier, nibbled
expertly in translation from a
venerable old tome our so-very
discriminating puppies discovered
on the enticingly approachable
and irresistible bottom bookshelf.