This fanciful account of a protective little dog's challenge to the aurora had its roots in a five-line nonsense poem "Northern Lights" by the great cartoonist and humorist Walt Kelly (of "Pogo" fame). There are at least two quite different versions of the poem; the initial verse of "Flora and the Aurora" is substantially identical to the lesser-known of the two. This, too, is a nonsense poem in which the point is more word-music than verisimilitude.
The photo shows Flora as a yearling in the Rossburn Manitoba kennel.)
Hooroar a roar for Flora, Flora Alice in a fright!
For she has seen Aurora Borealis burning bright.
Flora Alice! Borealis!
Borealis! Flora Alice!
An outpouring roar of malice launches Flora to the fight!
As she hastens to the battle, Flora Alice leaps up high
And she strives to tear aurora's ghostly curtains from the sky.
She would rip and tear and rend them,
Off to Hell she'd like to send them,
Where no meddling fool could mend them and return them to the sky!
Eerie light! Burning bright!
In the Manitoba night!
As she battles the aurora, Flora wishes she could fly.
With a howl of indignation, Flora takes a mighty leap
But aurora's situation is too high and far too steep.
As aurora whisks and sparkles,
Flora snaps and snarls and barkles
While from dark holes in the winter sky the tiny star-lights peep.
Jumping high, though she try,
Flora cannot reach the sky
With a growl of discontent our Flora must retire to sleep.
Though she could not stop aurora, Flora gave a gallant try.
In the annals of our dogdom she'll be rated rather high.
Flora Alice we'll remember
Every bleak and bare November
Every grim and gaunt December when aurora stalks the sky.
—oOo—