by Laura James
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
It was an ordinary morning at No. 10, The Crescent, and everyone was busy except Pug and his freckled companion, Lady Miranda, who were both still in bed, snoring.
Pug lay at the foot of the bed dreaming of jam tarts whilst Lady Miranda slept soundly, her eye mask firmly in place.
There was a gentle knock on the bedroom door. It was Lady Miranda’s housekeeper, Wendy, carrying the breakfast tray. Pug wagged his curly tail in greeting, then padded over to where Lady Miranda was sleeping. He put his nose as close to hers as possible and breathed on her . . .
‘Urgh, Pug!’ said Lady Miranda, waking up with a start. ‘Do you have to do that?’
‘Your breakfast, m’lady,’ said Wendy, placing the tray on Lady Miranda’s lap and patting Pug on the head.
Pug’s tummy was rumbling. Wendy had baked them some of her delicious jam tarts. Jam tarts were Pug’s favourite breakfast.
Pug drooled as Lady Miranda lifted her eye mask and inspected the breakfast tray.
‘What are we doing today, Wendy?’ Lady Miranda asked as she broke a jam tart in half and gave Pug a piece.
‘Today m’lady, you have a birthday party at the boating lake,’ Wendy replied.
‘I do?’
‘Yes, m’lady. You’re to play on the pedalos and then eat ice cream.’
Ice cream! thought Pug.
‘Peda-whats?’ asked Lady Miranda.
‘Pedalos. Little boats you power yourself by pedalling.’
Wendy did a helpful mime.
Lady Miranda burst out laughing and a small bit of jam tart fell from her mouth.
Crumbs, thought Pug.
‘You’re so funny, Wendy,’ said Lady Miranda.
‘Why’s that, dear?’ asked Wendy.
‘Because there’s NO WAY I’m pedalling anything!’ Lady Miranda replied firmly. ‘If there’s pedalling to be done, we shall have to take Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam.’
Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam also worked for Lady Miranda. They did anything that Lady Miranda wanted outside the house, whilst Wendy did whatever Lady Miranda wanted inside the house.
Lady Miranda liked her footmen to look smart. Most people thought their stockings and buckled shoes were old-fashioned and laughed at their long coats and frilly cuffs, but Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam didn’t mind. They liked dressing up.
As soon as Wendy left the room, Lady Miranda leapt out of bed and began to rummage through her very large wardrobe.
‘Oh, my Puggykins. A day at the boating lake!’ she exclaimed happily. ‘What shall we wear for our seafaring adventure?’
Seafaring adventure? thought Pug. He didn’t know much but he was sure there was a big difference between a seafaring adventure and a ride in a pedalo. He didn’t like to correct her, though. Besides, he was too busy eyeing up the remaining jam tart, which had foolishly been left unattended.
He was about to take a bite of the particularly lonely-looking jam tart, when Lady Miranda scooped him up in her arms and looked deep into his large brown eyes.
‘Pug,’ she said. ‘I’ve found you a nice little sailor suit and I’m going to make you a captain.’
Pug gave a little jam tart burp.
A captain? Captains were in charge of great big ships and away at sea for weeks on end. Pug preferred to stay at home.
He wasn’t sure if he liked water.
He always did his best to walk around puddles. And he definitely wasn’t a fan of bath time.
Most importantly, how could he be a captain when he’d never seen the sea?
Still, if it was what Lady Miranda wanted, Pug would try his best.
‘Don’t we look smart, Captain Pug?’ Lady Miranda asked.
Pug’s head bobbed up and down. He might have been agreeing with her or it may have been because of the bumpy ride. It was hard to tell.
He and Lady Miranda were heading to the boating lake in the sedan chair, carried by Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam.
Pug was worrying that he hadn’t eaten enough jam tarts at breakfast. He was also finding the ride in the sedan chair rather uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as his companion.
‘You’re putting on weight again,’ complained Lady Miranda as they arrived at the lake.
Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam dropped the sedan chair with a clunk. In their opinions both passengers were putting on weight.
Lady Miranda emerged from the sedan with Pug under her arm.
Pug eyed the water suspiciously.
A lot of children had gathered for the party. Some were putting on life jackets and others were already out on the pedalos having fun.
Lady Miranda spotted a pedalo she liked the look of. It was bigger than the others and pink. It was also stranded in the middle of the lake. The children on board were waving to them.
‘They’re waving for help!’ exclaimed Lady Miranda, putting Pug down and pointing to the pink pedalo. ‘Liam! Will! You’ve got to rescue them!’
The running footmen were only too pleased for the chance to cool off. They stripped down to their long johns and belly-flopped into the water, accidentally splashing Pug.
Oh dear! he thought, having a good shake. I really don’t like the water.
In fact, it was worse.
Pug was afraid of the water.
How can I be a good captain for Lady Miranda if I’m afraid of a boating lake? he wondered sadly.
When Pug felt sad he often got hungry, and just then his little nose detected some food close by. Sure enough, next to a parked-up tourist bus, there was an unattended picnic hamper.
Pug went over to take a closer look.
Only a look, though, he told himself. He knew that Lady Miranda would be very cross with him if he took anything without permission.
The picnic hamper certainly had a lot of good stuff in it.
There were plenty of sandwiches, sausage rolls, crisps and chicken drumsticks, as well as a quiche, some salad (which didn’t interest him) and several things in jars with labels he couldn’t read.
But where were the jam tarts?
Pug didn’t want the owner of such a picnic to be disappointed at pudding time, so he climbed in to take a closer look. As he scrambled in, the lid shut behind him.
It was dark inside the hamper.
It was so dark that he couldn’t tell what was what.
Crumbs, thought Pug. How will I ever find the jam tarts?
Then he had an idea.
I could take an ever-so-small bite of each thing to check if it’s a jam tart or not. That would be helpful.
Pug decided he would do his best.
He took his time and was very thorough. In fact he was taking things so seriously that he didn’t notice when the picnic hamper was picked up and carried on to the bus.
He wasn’t distracted by the chattering passengers taking their seats.
Nor did he hear the doors of the bus close.
It wasn’t until the bus driver started the engine that Pug noticed something was wrong. He lifted the lid of the hamper in a hurry.
‘Argh!’ screamed the lady next to him. ‘There’s a pug in my lunch!’
‘Argh!’ screamed Lady Miranda.
‘There’s my Pug in that bus!’
Pug put a sticky paw on the window and pushed his nose up against the glass.
Meanwhile at the boating lake, Lady Miranda’s screams were so loud that her running footmen immediately swam back to the shore.
‘What is it, m’lady?’ asked Running Footman Will.
‘Pug’s gone
!’ Lady Miranda exclaimed. ‘He’s been pug-napped! He’s been pug-rustled! He’s been pinched and put in a picnic!’
‘In a picnic?’ Running Footman Liam repeated, checking his ear for water.
‘There’s no time for explanations,’ said Lady Miranda, dashing towards the sedan chair. ‘Follow that bus!’
* * *
Meanwhile, Pug and the picnic lady were getting on famously.
‘I have to admit,’ the lady said as she fed Pug pieces of cake, ‘I wasn’t expecting to meet a captain today!’
This got Pug thinking, because although the food was helping tremendously, he was very worried. Where was he going? Would he ever see Lady Miranda again? Who was going to lick her face when she was sad? Who was going to help her eat the last piece of cake at teatime?
Pug helped himself to another sandwich.
Just then he had an idea. Lady Miranda had wanted him to be a captain. So, if he became a famous captain, she’d hear about him and be able to find him again. It was a brilliant plan!
How long did it take to become a famous captain? And what did a captain actually do? Pug wasn’t sure, but he knew that captains were commanding and brave and he would try his best to learn to be these things.
First, though, he’d have to get over his FEAR OF WATER.
* * *
A few minutes later the bus pulled up at the next stop on its tour. The picnic lady helped Pug out. They’d stopped next to a beautiful river.
Whilst everyone else wandered away, Pug thought he’d better start getting used to the water and went down to the riverbank. There he found some rowers getting ready for a race. There were four big tall men in each boat with a much smaller man sitting in the back.
In the boat nearest to Pug, the small man had stood up on his seat and was shouting at his team.
Perhaps he’s a captain? thought Pug. The man seemed to be in charge. He also sounded very cross.
Pug was listening carefully, in case he picked up any tips, when he heard one of the team say:
‘That pug could do a better job than you, Brian!’
Me? thought Pug. He felt rather proud, until suddenly two large hands clasped him around the middle and the next moment he was sitting in Brian’s place in the boat.
As Brian stormed off in a huff, someone else went to look up what the rules were about a pug entering a rowing race.
They didn’t have much time. The race was about to begin.
Pug couldn’t believe he was actually on a boat that was actually on water.
Just like a proper captain, he thought. He was so pleased, he almost forgot to be scared.
‘At least you’re lighter than Brian,’ one of the rowers said. Pug was glad the rower had noticed how trim he was, and wished Lady Miranda had heard, particularly as she always wanted him to go on a diet.
Once the boats were lined up, Pug could see that his team had their work cut out. The rowers in the other boats looked even bigger and much stronger than them.
A hooter sounded and Pug’s boat started powering through the water.
Pug liked that a lot less.
In fact he didn’t like it at all.
There was no food on board to calm his nerves, so he resorted to the other thing he did when he wasn’t happy.
He barked.
A lot.
Non-stop.
The oarsmen began to row in time with his barking.
Woof, woof, woof, woof.
The faster he barked, the faster they rowed and the faster the boat went.
Woof, woof, woof, woof.
The faster they went, the more scared Pug got and the more quickly he barked!
Soon they were going at a mighty speed. Pug feared his ears might flap off, they were going so fast.
Before they knew it, Pug and his team were no longer last.
They passed another boat. And another.
Now they were second in the race and the finishing line was approaching.
Was it possible? Could Pug’s team win their first race together? Just a few more strokes and they’d be in front.
That was when Pug spotted an ice-cream van by the side of the river.
I was promised ice cream at the start of the day! he remembered.
He was so busy remembering that he forgot to bark, and in the confusion that followed, his crew stopped rowing. The boat drifted over the finishing line in second place.
‘You’re certainly a bossy little skipper, aren’t you?’ commented the exhausted oarsman who’d been so kind about Pug’s weight.
Being bossy, thought Pug, is a bit like being commanding, and he called me ‘skipper’, so I must be getting closer to becoming a proper captain.
Pug left the boat happy and went to check if the ice-cream seller had any mint choc chip.
Lady Miranda was becoming increasingly desperate to find Pug.
Despite a valiant effort by Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam, they’d been held up at some traffic lights and the tourist bus, with Pug on board, had disappeared from sight.
Lady Miranda did have a brilliant idea, however, and she phoned the bus company to find out where it was stopping next.
The river was too far away for Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam to carry her in the sedan chair. They would have to take the train.
Lady Miranda had never been on a train before.
What were they going to do with the sedan chair?
* * *
Pug had finished his mint choc chip ice cream and had wandered along the riverbank until it joined up with a canal.
There, in between two big wooden gates, was a pleasure cruiser with lots of people on board. Pug recognised some of them as the tourists from the bus.
‘Captain Pug! Cooee!’ called out the Picnic Lady.
Pug was relieved to see a friendly face.
‘Come and sit by me, Captain,’ she said.
Pug wagged his tail but he wasn’t sure he wanted to go aboard. The water below him looked very dark and deep. There was a plank to help him climb on board but the plank seemed narrow and wobbly. He sat by the side of the canal and had a little think.
The Picnic Lady waited patiently for Pug. As she did so, she helped herself to the afternoon tea she had thoughtfully packed.
The smell of recently baked scones drifted down to Pug’s nose.
Pug drooled as he approached the plank.
It was still very narrow and when Pug took his first step it wobbled horribly.
Pug took a few more steps until he was in the middle of the plank. He was as close to the Picnic Lady as he was to the safety of dry land.
He looked down and shivered at the dark water below. Then he looked at the delicious cream tea.
‘There’s plenty for you!’ the Picnic Lady called out encouragingly.
That was all Pug needed to hear. Very bravely he put one paw in front of the other and wobbled his way on board.
Just then the boat began to sink.
Help! thought Pug, as dry land started to disappear from view.
Perhaps that second scoop of ice cream was a mistake, he wondered anxiously. Lady Miranda must have been right about that diet. He was too heavy for the boat.
‘Woof, woof, woof!’ barked Pug, but nobody else seemed to be worried.
As Pug’s boat sank in the lock, Lady Miranda, Running Footman Will and Running Footman Liam arrived at the canal.
They’d been having a very difficult time of it.
First their train was late, then they couldn’t find the river, then they’d had to ask an awful lot of people if they’d seen a captain. Finally, exhausted, they’d stopped for ice cream and the kindly ice-cream seller had pointed them in the direction of the canal.
Lady Miranda tried to decide which way to go next. She couldn’t see any sign of Pug.
* * *
Pug found the journey along the canal much better than the race in the rowing boat. For the first time since Lady Miranda had made him a captain,
he felt relaxed on the water. In fact he was a little disappointed when they arrived at their final destination – a seaport.
Pug was anxious to get on with becoming a famous captain so he could see Lady Miranda again. So, after barking his thanks to the Picnic Lady, he boldly walked down the plank. He was beginning to feel quite jolly when a naughty seagull swooped down and carried his sailor’s cap off in its beak.
Oh dear, thought Pug. Lady Miranda wouldn’t be happy about that. How is anyone going to know I’m a captain now? he worried.
Pug followed the smell of the sea air until he came to a harbour where there were more boats bobbing in the water than he’d ever seen in his life! Pug had never set eyes on the sea before. There was a lot of it!
Pug approached the first yacht he saw, but the crew were climbing ashore and just patted him on the head as they passed. They didn’t need a captain.