The Golden Doubloon

A low gap under the back gate called to me. I squeezed my shoulders flat against the soil and pushed through into the alley hedge. Damp mulch scraped my flanks. Right ahead, something flashed—a crumpled gold metal bottle cap, wedged between two thick pine roots like buried pirate loot! Haunches down. I drove my front paw into the dirt, hooked the jagged rim, and wrenched. Snap! It broke loose. I shoved it with two heavy slaps, rolling the prize deep into a hidden knot in the wood. Stash secured. My first pirate hoard is officially open.