“Well, that’s good news,” Mrs. McCoy said.
“And unexpected,” Mr. McCoy added. “What’s the new project?”
Henry drew in a big breath. It had felt surprisingly good to hear Abby call him her partner. He wondered if one day they might even be friends. Henry quickly brought himself back to reality and answered his dad’s question. “We’re going to do an experiment with Boo,” he said. “We are going to see if he has a favorite color.”
“Does he like to drink out of a blue or a red bowl better?” Abby said. Now Boo jogged around the table to where Abby was sitting. Abby gave him a long pet.
“Will he choose the red or the blue squeeze toy?” Henry offered. Boo quickly moved over to Henry and nudged his leg. Henry reached down and scratched the puppy behind the ears. Boo snuffled his hand and gave him a sloppy lick.
“I think he’ll go for blue,” Abby said.
“No way,” insisted Henry. “He likes red.”
“Maybe he likes both,” their mom suggested.
“He might,” said Henry. He looked over at Abby. They shared an amazing puppy, and they would always agree on that. Henry gave his sister a sly smile. “But I think our science fair experiment will prove that he likes red best.”
Read about the first puppy adopted at Power’s Pets in this special sneak peek!
Lexi crossed the street. When she got to Power’s Pets, she gasped. The old toy store looked totally different. Yesterday, it had been empty. Today, it was full of animals and people.
As Lexi stepped inside, she saw a row of large cages lining one wall. They housed deluxe jungle gyms for hamsters, gerbils, and other tiny critters. Above Lexi’s head, a jungle-green parrot perched on a swinging bar. There was a gigantic tank at the back of the store with bold red and electric-blue fish. The fish did loops and swirls together in perfect time. Three tabby kittens romped in a play area near the front window. The store felt festive, alive with happy chirps, squeaks, and chatter.
Lexi felt something cold and wet on her hand. She pulled her gaze from the kittens and looked down. There, at her feet, was the dog from the day before. He had something in his mouth. It was an envelope with her name written on it in green ink.
The dog sat down and looked up at Lexi with big brown eyes. His tail whipped back and forth in glee.
“He’s excited to see you.”
Lexi looked up. Mr. Power was walking toward her. He smiled. “Chance, I think you have something to give this young lady,” he said. “Are you Lexi?” he asked, reading the name off her school envelope.
“Yes, I am,” she said.
Chance whined and opened his mouth. Lexi took the envelope. “Thank you, Chance,” she said, patting his head. “Where’s your friend?”
“Oh, Lucky’s watching the fish,” Mr. Power explained. Lexi spotted the black cat sitting on top of the fish tank, staring down.
“Don’t worry. Gus will make sure she keeps her paws to herself,” the store’s owner said with a smile.
Lexi looked more closely, and she saw a long-whiskered gray mouse plopped down next to the cat. She recognized him as the little mouse that had been in Mr. Power’s pocket the day before.
“Welcome back to the store,” Mr. Power said. “Would you like to meet a puppy?”
Mr. Power walked toward a large pen with a wooden gate. It was filled with shredded newspaper. Lexi saw lots of toys, but she didn’t see a puppy.
Just then, a shiny black nose poked out from a pile of pillows. A fluffy puppy crawled out from under a red cushion. The puppy was mostly black with golden-brown markings above her eyes, across her chest, and on her legs. She gave herself a good shake, so her fuzzy fur puffed out even more.
“She’s so cute!” Lexi said. It was true. She was the cutest puppy Lexi had ever seen.
Rrruff, ruff, the puppy barked. She trotted toward Lexi and put her front legs up on the side of the pen. Rrruff, ruff!
Lexi looked up at Mr. Power.
“I think she wants you to pick her up,” he said.
Lexi quickly bent down and swooped the puppy into her arms. She was so soft! “Hey, you,” Lexi whispered, and the puppy responded with a sloppy lick of Lexi’s nose. Lexi giggled. As she pulled away, she noticed a shiny brass tag hanging from the puppy’s collar. It read LUNA.
Text copyright © 2014 by Kristin Earhart
Cover and interior art copyright © 2014 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. SCHOLASTIC, PUPPY POWERS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, November 2014
Cover art by Vivienne To
Cover design by Jeannine Riske
e-ISBN 978-0-545-62073-4
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
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