Late one night, a cute little puppy named Joshua woke up to hear noises in the night. Thumps and bumps were heard coming from downstairs. He feared there might be intruders. He sat up in bed and listened. What was causing such a racket? 

Soon the noises stopped, and Joshua dismissed the disturbances. He lied back down in bed.

But then the noises started back up. The thumps and bumps were louder then ever before. Joshua couldn't stand it any longer. What was going on down there? He flung off the covers and proceeded to investigate. 

But as soon as he jumped out of bed, he fell straight through the floor. Joshua disappeared in an instant. 

He tumbled slowly, almost gracefully, down, down, through the darkness. 

"Oh," he cried, in surprise. "What on earth is happening?" 

It was dark in the slow fall, but he could make out where he was. He floated down gently, silently, almost like a balloon. 

Joshua suddenly rolled forward and slipped right out of his pajamas. 

"Oh my! Oh, dear!" 

He tried to reach them, but they disappeared like a ghost. 

Then his underwear slipped itself down from his waist and off his legs, disappearing the instant they came off. 

Now, Joshua was naked, exposing his naked puppy butt, and his floppy little penis and balls.

Joshua continued to float downward, through his dark house. All was still and quiet. Joshua called out to his mama, “Mama!” and his papa who were both sleeping right, “Papa!” 

The little puppy rolled and tumbled in the slow fall. He turned upside down and right side up. Spinning around and sliding down. It made him dizzy. And while Joshua was slowly tumbling, his little cubby penis was flopping up and down, left and right.

Suddenly he spied the moon through a window. It shone down on his fully naked body. He looked in awe at the enormous silver orb. It was so beautiful. A smile broke across his face. 

"Wow, " he whispered. 


The window was open and a cool breeze blew in on his body. The little pup boy closed his eyes and sighed. 

Joshua, now completely comfortable, floated down to the bottom. When he reached the floor, bottom first, he disappeared straight through without a sound. 

There he entered the light of the Night Kitchen. 

He landed softly into a large tub of cake batter, going completely under. After emerging, he looked around in awe at the city lights of the Night Kitchen. The stars shone brightly up above. He wanted to get out, but it suddenly felt good to lie in. The batter was soft and cool. And it smelled wonderful. The aroma of chocolate filled his nose. He stretched his legs and wiggled his big toes as they poked through. 

Joshua couldn't resist tasting. He scooped up a handful of batter. 

"Mmm! Yum!" 

It was delicious. He licked his lips as it went straight down into his belly. 

Joshua had a thought. Why bother getting out? The soft, cool batter felt so good on his body. Especially with no clothes on! He burst into giggles and kicked with joy. He could almost hear music. 

He then started singing very softly to himself: 

"I'm in the batter
And the batter is in me
God bless the batter 
And God bless me." 

Joshua closed his eyes laid his head down. He slowly slipped back down into the batter, until his head completely disappeared.

Then, a trio of bakers (one being a dog, the other a cat, and the third a pig) arrive so they arrived to mix the batter and prepare it for baking, unaware (or unconcerned) that Joshua is inside!

As they mixed, the bakers sang and chanted:

“Milk in the batter!
Milk in the batter!
Stir it! Scrape it!
Make it! Bake it!"

Shortly after the tub is placed into the oven, Joshua pushes through the oven and emerges from the tub, protesting that he is not the batter's milk. The little puppy exclaims, "I'm not the milk for the cake! Can't you see that I'm a little boy puppy, and my name is Joshua?"

Now covered in batter from the neck down, the little puppy jumps out of the tub and into bread dough, already to rise in the Night Kitchen. He then constructs an airplane out of the dough, then flies into the air to help the bakers get milk for the cake. Little Joshua grabs a measuring cup as he flew up in the night sky, straight for the mouth of a gigantic milk bottle.

 Joshua the little boy puppy dived down to the bottom singing:

"I'm in the milk
And the milk’s in me
God bless the milk 
And God bless me." 

During his time in the milk bottle, Joshua's covering of batter disintegrates, making him naked again and revealing his adorable little soft penis and scrotum. Then, he swam back to the top and he pours the needed milk from the measuring cup...into the tub of batter below.

The bakers joyfully finish making their cake, the scent of chocolate fills their nostrils. Finally, they can bake the cake in the oven!

As they danced to the lively happy music, the bakers sang their song one more time:

“Milk in the batter!
Milk in the batter!
We bake cake 
and nothin's the matter!"

As the bakers leave, Joshua was giggling with joy, "I'm a little nakie puppy, and I'm showing my pee-pee!" The little nakie puppy spreads his legs and looks down at his little penis, for making wee-wee, then looks up to see dawn approaching. Now wearing the measuring cup on his head, Joshua the adorable little puppy stood naked and proud, showing his little pee-pee, and cried: "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Finally, he slides down the side of the bottle and slowly falls down, down, down…

As he fell, Joshua suddenly became very sleepy. He yawned and closed his eyes. Then, he was fast asleep.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in his bedroom. Back in his warm bed. Back in his pajamas. Joshua sat up and looked around. He burst into giggles and kicked his feet. 
"Oh, goodness." he laughed. "Silly me." 

With a yawn, he rolled back over and drifted back to sleep, all snug, cozy and cake free. 


In the Night Kitchen © Maurice Sendak
Joshua the little puppy © @MaxG95