by Holly Webb
For everyone who’s adopted a second-chance pet from a rescue centre ~ H.W. For Sue and Geoff ~ K.P.
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
Copyright
“Your turn, Ellie!” Dad handed over the wooden spoon, and Ellie knelt on her chair to reach the huge mixing bowl. She breathed in the delicious smell of spices and orange peel. It felt like it was almost Christmas already – there were only a couple of weeks to go!
“Don’t forget to make a wish,” her big sister Lila reminded her.
Ellie frowned as she stirred the spoon slowly round and round. What should she wish for? Last year she had wished for a puppy, of course – she had wished for a puppy every time she blew out her birthday candles, or saw a shooting star, and every Christmas when she stirred the pudding mixture. But now she had Rascal. What else could Ellie possibly want?
She looked round the kitchen thoughtfully, searching for something to help her out.
“Hurry up, Ellie, it must be my turn now,” Max moaned.
“Just a minute,” Ellie murmured. “Oh!” she whispered to herself, as she spotted the leaflet that had come through the door that morning. She’d pinned it up on the kitchen noticeboard because it had a gorgeous picture of a Jack Russell on it, a wire-haired one, not a smooth-coated one like Rascal.
The leaflet was from Paws for Thought, the animal shelter a few streets away from Ellie’s school. They took in abandoned or unwanted dogs and cats – and even a python once, the leaflet said. Someone had just left the enormous snake in a cardboard box on the doorstep. The leaflet said the Jack Russell on the front was called Brady, and he was about five years old. They didn’t know exactly, because Brady had been found wandering along the riverbank, where he’d been abandoned.
Ellie had looked at his photo for a long time, and then all the other dogs with their photos inside. They all looked so sweet and so hopeful, as though the very next person who walked in might take them home and love them.
She’d put the leaflet up so she didn’t forget. Partly she wanted to remember how lucky they were to have Rascal and to be able to look after him properly, but also she wanted to do something to help the shelter. She just hadn’t worked out what yet. The back of the leaflet explained that they didn’t just need new homes for the animals, they needed donations too, to pay for the food and the vet’s bills.
Ellie closed her eyes tightly, and wished as hard as she could. Please let Brady find a home soon. And Scamper, and Lottie, and Patrick, and all the others…
She then handed the spoon to Max. “About time too,” Max said. “This smells so good, Mum. Can’t we just have Christmas pudding for tea today?”
“No, you have to keep it for a while, it tastes better that way,” Mum explained. “That’s why we make it a few weeks before Christmas. Have you made your wish, Max? Now everyone’s had a turn stirring, we can put the charms in. I’ve got a new one this year.” She opened up a tin, and unwrapped the silvery charms from their cushion of tissue paper. There was a ring for marriage, a horseshoe for good luck, a sixpence for riches, and a wishbone for a wish. “And here’s the new one,” she added, dropping a tiny silver dog into the tin. “I saw it when I was out shopping, and I couldn’t resist.”
“Oh, it’s so cute!” Ellie smiled. “It looks just like Rascal!”
“Doesn’t it?” Mum agreed. “Now we just need to tie some ribbon on to them, so no one accidentally eats one.”
“Hang on, Mum,” Lila said thoughtfully. “What does the dog charm mean? All the others have got meanings. Like the lucky horseshoe.”
Mum nodded slowly. “Yes, I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Maybe whoever gets it has to walk Rascal for a week!” Max suggested.
“Ellie always wants to walk him anyway!” Dad laughed.
“How about they have to clean up whatever mess Rascal makes for a week instead?” Mum said grimly. “Actually, where is Rascal?”
“Isn’t he asleep on his cushion?” Ellie said, turning round to look.
But Rascal’s big red dog cushion was empty. Only a few white hairs were scattered across it. No cute Jack Russell puppy.
Everyone looked around the kitchen anxiously. Rascal loved people, and he especially loved Ellie. So when he disappeared and even Ellie didn’t know where he was, it almost always meant he was doing something naughty.
“What’s that noise?” Lila asked suddenly.
It was a squelchy sort of noise. Gungy. Like someone chewing something that was very, very sticky.
Ellie sighed and bent down to peer under the table.
“Hi, Rascal,” she said, not sounding very surprised. “Um, Mum? Did we want any cherries in the Christmas pudding?”
Everyone else crouched down to look too, and Rascal stared back at them and wagged his tail. He took a guilty step back from the empty tub of glacé cherries and sat down, trying to look innocent.
He wasn’t very convincing.
“Well done, everyone! All the puppies worked really hard today.” Jo beamed around the whole class at the end of dog training the next day. Ellie bent down to pat Rascal’s head, feeling very proud. Quite often she came out of dog training knowing that they’d definitely learned lots, but wishing Rascal hadn’t weed on the floor, or eaten someone’s sandwiches, or slipped his lead and disappeared into the mop cupboard…
But today he’d been perfect. It was just as well. Mum still hadn’t forgiven him for eating all the glacé cherries. She said they were a vital part of the recipe and that the Christmas pudding would taste completely different now. Ellie wasn’t sure she remembered cherries being in it before, but she’d decided it would be best not to say so.
“Just before you go…” Ellie looked up as Jo carried on talking. “I’ve got this poster I’m putting up. Some of you might know that I volunteer at Paws for Thought, the animal shelter? I help out, take the dogs for walks, that sort of thing. They’re having a Christmas Fair here next Sunday.”
Ellie nodded. “We had a leaflet through the door at the weekend.”
“Yes, they really need to boost their funds. And, of course, they’re worried they’ll get lots more puppies soon after Christmas.” Jo sighed at the thought of dogs becoming unwanted presents. “Anyway, please come, and tell all your friends!”
Ellie led Rascal back over to Dad, who was waiting at the side of the hall. “Did you see how good Rascal was?” she asked happily.
“He was a little star today,” Dad agreed. “Especially at the sit and stay – I couldn’t believe he sat there for so long, even with Jo trying to distract him.”
“Are you going to go to this Christmas Fair, Ellie?” Jack came over with his enormous Great Dane, Hugo. Hugo was well-named – he seemed to get huger every time Ellie saw him. “I think it sounds fun. I looked at the poster and it said lots of the stalls will have cool things for dogs.”
“We can, can’t we, Dad?” Ellie asked. “I’d really like to go. And we could bring Mum and Lila and Max too. Oh! And maybe I could get Grandad a Christmas present, if there are dog pictures and things like that. He loves dogs.” Ellie’s grandad was very fond of Rascal, and he’d given Ellie lots of good advice about him. It had been Grandad who’d suggested Rascal needed to go to dog training in the first place.
Ellie and Dad walked home quickly. It was too cold to linger, and even Rascal didn’t seem to want to stop and sniff exciting smells as
often as usual.
“I wonder if it’ll snow soon!” Ellie said excitedly. It was so cold, they might even have a white Christmas.
Dad looked up at the dark, cloudy sky. “You never know,” he agreed. “It did snow last year. Though most of it came after Christmas, didn’t it?”
Ellie danced on ahead with Rascal, thinking about snow, and the Christmas holidays. Even before the holidays began, there was all the fun stuff to do at school. They were having the final rehearsals for the Christmas play, and they’d been learning lots of Christmas songs.
“‘Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh…’” Ellie sang happily, and Rascal joined in with an excited little yip. “Are you singing too, Rascal?” she said, patting him.
“That sounded really good, Ellie!” Dad laughed, as they reached their gate. “Very festive! That reminds me, we’d better go and get our Christmas tree at the weekend.”
“Oooh, yes,” Ellie agreed, as they walked up the path. Then she stopped suddenly, halfway to the front door. “Dad, I’ve just had a brilliant idea! Me and Jack and some of the others from dog training could sing carols at the Christmas Fair! That would get everyone in a Christmassy mood, wouldn’t it?”
Dad nodded. “It does sound like a good idea. Why don’t you suggest it to Jo at the Thursday class?” He looked at her hopefully. “Ellie, shall we go into the house now? My toes are about to freeze off!”
“That sounds like a really cool idea,” Christy said, as she carefully sprinkled red glitter on to the photo frame she was making. Miss Wright was letting them do lots of Christmas crafts now that it was the last week of term.
“I hope Jo says yes. It would get everyone feeling really Christmassy, and then they’d want to go and buy loads of presents and things!” Ellie smiled. “Did you get a leaflet about the shelter at the weekend? They really need to raise some money.”
Christy nodded. “It was so sad! All those dogs with no proper homes. I showed it to Mum and Dad, but they said one dog was enough, especially when he’s as big as Bouncer.” Bouncer was Christy’s golden Labrador. He was gorgeous and very well-behaved, but there was no denying that he took up a lot of room.
“We got one too,” Lucy put in. “They must have delivered them all over town. Some of the dogs looked really sweet.”
Ellie smiled at her. Lucy wasn’t a huge dog fan – she’d been quite scared of them until she’d come to Ellie’s birthday sleepover, and Rascal had “adopted” her. It was as though he’d known Lucy was scared, and he’d done everything he could to prove how nice dogs can be.
“Are you excited about this afternoon?” Ellie asked her, and Lucy nodded, wrinkling her nose.
“Excited but scared at the same time. I woke up in the middle of the night and I was certain it was all going to go wrong! But I felt better about my solo this morning when I saw my costume again – it’s so pretty.”
Lucy had joined their school in the summer term, and had quickly made friends with Ellie and Christy. She was a brilliant dancer, and a few weeks ago she’d been showing them one of her ballet exam pieces in the playground when Miss Wright, their new teacher for Year Four, had spotted her. When the rehearsals for the Christmas play started, Lucy found out that she’d been cast as a snowflake, with a solo dance to do. It was the dress rehearsal that afternoon, and the show was tomorrow evening.
Ellie was actually quite glad she was only an elf in the play. She had one line to say, “The dark forest is that way!” and lots of songs and a bit of dancing. That was quite enough. She loved being in plays, but she didn’t want to be centre-stage like Lucy, or Christy, who was an elf too, but with loads of words to say.
“Ellie, that’s beautiful!” Miss Wright was leaning over their table. “Really clever, the way you’ve built up the layers so the holly leaves look solid.”
“Thank you!” Ellie stuck another bead on to the picture frame. They were making them as presents for their parents. Miss Wright had taken photos of them in their play costumes to put inside. As Ellie was meant to be a holly elf, she’d cut out holly leaves to go all round the frame. She was using red beads as berries, and she was really pleased with it.
“There’s the bell for lunch, everyone.” Miss Wright looked round at the glittery classroom, rather worriedly. “Oh well. Just put your frames over on this table to dry. And after lunch, come straight back here to put your costumes on!”
Luckily, they were so busy with the play all afternoon that Miss Wright had decided it would be mean to give them homework too. Ellie and Christy walked home together, with Ellie’s mum and Rascal. When they got to the hill just before their road, Rascal raced ahead. He dragged Ellie, who was holding his lead, behind him, and Christy had to run alongside them.
“I am sooo tired,” Ellie panted, as they reached the top of the hill. “All I want to do is go and flop on the sofa! I hope pulling me up the hill’s tired you out too, Rascal. I’m not sure I can face another walk tonight.”
Rascal looked up hopefully at the word “walk”, and Ellie sighed.
“I need to practise my words again for tomorrow,” Christy said. “See you in the morning, Ellie!”
When she got in, Ellie took her photo frame out of her bag and sneaked upstairs to hide it in her bedroom. She slipped it into the big box under her bed, where she was keeping all the presents she’d got for everyone, and looked down at it happily. She was sure Mum and Dad would like it.
Rascal put his paws up on the edge of the box, and sniffed at the frame interestedly. It smelled of glue, and the red beads looked juicy.
“No, it’s not for eating, Rascal!” Ellie quickly put the lid back on and pushed the box back under the bed. “You like it too, mmm?” She looked down at him thoughtfully. “Maybe I could do another one for Grandad and put a photo of you inside! That would be a lovely present!”
She looked around for the camera her mum and dad had given her for her birthday, and then shook her head. “I need to make you look really Christmassy first…” she told Rascal.
Rascal stared back at her, bright-eyed and hopeful. He was still sure those beads would have been delicious.
“Mum, have you got any red material I can borrow?” Ellie hovered next to her mum’s mini-office under the stairs.
“I might have, why?” Mum glanced round from her computer. She’d told Ellie she needed to get a bit of work finished off before she made the dinner.
Ellie rubbed one foot up and down her leg, and smiled. “It’s sort of a secret,” she admitted.
“Oh, really…? Well, I suppose you can go and have a look through that bag of scraps in the back of my wardrobe – actually, no, hang on, I’ll get it for you.” Mum jumped up hurriedly, and Ellie grinned. There were definitely things in Mum’s wardrobe that she didn’t want anyone to see!
“Will this do?” Mum asked her a few minutes later, waving a piece of bright red felt round the door.
“Oooh, yes!” Ellie stroked it delightedly. “That’s perfect. Can I really have it?”
“It was left over from some costume Max had to have for school. Yes, you have it, Ellie. Just don’t get red fluff all over your bedroom!”
“OK! Thanks, Mum.” Ellie went back to her room, where Rascal was now curled up snoozing on her bed. Ellie had a close look at him, especially his ears. She knew exactly what she wanted to end up with, but she wasn’t quite sure how to make it.
She fetched the scissors from the little sewing box that Gran and Grandpa had given her last Christmas, and spread the red fabric out on the floor. Luckily, it had a sort of plasticky backing, so she wouldn’t need to hem it or do anything too complicated. She took a deep breath and started carefully cutting.
Half an hour later, she had something that really looked like a dog-sized Santa hat. With ear-holes. Ellie looked at it proudly. She’d found some cotton wool in her sewing box that Mum had given her to use as snow on the Christmas cards she’d made last year. There was just enough to go around the brim of the hat, and make a l
ittle pompom for the top.
Rascal had woken up, and was now sitting next to her on the floor, occasionally sniffing at the white fluffy stuff. It made him sneeze.
“Want to try it on, Rascal?” Ellie suggested, holding it out.
Rascal eyed the hat doubtfully. He wasn’t absolutely sure what it was, although he liked the way it dangled about. Was it a new toy?
“Sit still a minute,” Ellie told him, putting the hat on his head and gently arranging his ears in the holes. “Ohhh, Rascal, you look so funny! Let me take a photo of you!” She turned to grab the camera.
Rascal shook his head uncertainly. It felt very odd. The hat slipped down over one eye, and the bobble bounced in front of his nose. He seized it in his teeth and nibbled at it, looking very confused.
Ellie giggled as she took shot after shot of Rascal in his hat. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get him to wear it again, once he worked out how to get it off, so she needed to be quick.
But by the time he’d tugged the hat off completely, she had lots of cute pictures. Admittedly, Rascal didn’t actually have the hat on straight in a single one, but Ellie didn’t think it mattered. He looked more like himself with a wonky hat and a chewed bobble, somehow…
“I’m sure we need more rehearsals,” Lucy said worriedly. “We all went the wrong way in the final dance yesterday. It’s going to be a disaster!”
Ellie put an arm round her friend. “No, it isn’t! It was only a little mistake.”
She glanced around. It was lunchtime, but the playground was strangely quiet. Everyone was huddled about, looking over their words, or practising dance steps. They were doing the play for the infants that afternoon, and then all their parents were coming that evening.