Barnaby the dog had a very exciting invitation! His friend, Max, whose human was a chef, said, "Come to our house tonight! My human is cooking a giant feast, and there will be so many wonderful smells!"

Barnaby's tail wagged like a happy metronome. "A feast?" he thought. "Oh, I bet there will be juicy bones and maybe even a dropped piece of sausage!" He licked his lips just thinking about it.

When evening came, Barnaby trotted over to Max's house. The kitchen door was a little bit open, and oh, the smells! They were even better than he imagined! He poked his nose in, then his head, then his whole body. He wagged his tail, hoping to see Max or find a tasty crumb.

But instead of Max, he saw the Cook! The Cook was very busy, rushing around with pots and pans. When the Cook saw Barnaby, a dog he didn't know, sniffing around his special dishes, his eyes went wide. "Hey! What's this?" he cried. Before Barnaby could even bark a friendly hello, the Cook, in a bit of a fluster, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and... whoosh! Out the open window Barnaby flew, landing with a soft thump on the grass outside.

Poor Barnaby! He was surprised and a little sore. His tail drooped. He picked himself up and limped slowly home, feeling quite embarrassed.

On his way, he met some other dogs from the neighborhood. "Hey, Barnaby!" one of them called out. "We heard you went to a big feast at the chef's house! How was it? Did you eat lots of good things?"

Barnaby didn't want to tell them he got tossed out the window. So, he tried to look very important and said, "Oh, the feast? It was... magnificent! So much... uh... delicious juice to drink! I drank so much, in fact, that I can't quite remember how I got home!" And with a little, wobbly smile, he continued his limp towards his own cozy bed.

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