by Jenny Dale
Applause broke out all round the table. Verity looked pink and smiled.
Neil nearly choked into his drink. “That’s why he was lurking up in the Long Gallery!”
“And why he looked so hot and bothered,” said Emily. “I bet Brett Benson caught him chatting up Verity!”
Lord Ainsworth took over again. “So Verity will be leaving Prince Productions, but she’s going to set up a display of costumes here at Ainsworth Castle, for the visitors who come to see where the film was made. And I’m sure we all hope that she and Adrian will be very happy. Will you all drink a toast, please, to Adrian and Verity.”
Everyone rose to their feet and raised their glasses. “Adrian and Verity!”
Waiters came in from one end of the hall with roast turkeys on huge silver platters, dishes of vegetables, sauces and gravy boats. Neil didn’t know if it was what King Arthur would have eaten, but it looked good to him.
As he took his seat again, he could hardly believe that all their troubles were over. Prince was back safely with Max, and in the next few days the film would be finished. Meanwhile, they could all look forward to a real Arthurian Christmas.
No, he corrected himself, a real doggy Christmas. Because Christmas wouldn’t be the same without dogs to share it. Briefly he felt a pang of unhappiness that Jake’s dad Sam wasn’t with him any more, but he knew that the best thing he could do for Sam’s memory was to give everything he could to the dogs who were here.
But where’s Princess? he wondered again.
As the thought crossed his mind, he heard a high-pitched yap from across the table. Princess poked her head up from where she was sitting on Max’s lap, and put both forepaws on the white cloth as if she was waiting to be served.
“Max . . .” his mother said, laughing.
Max looked apologetic. “Well, it is Christmas. And she tracked Prince down. We wouldn’t be enjoying this now if it wasn’t for Princess. She did it all!”
“Sure she did,” said Neil. “If anybody deserves a Christmas dinner, it’s Princess. She’s a real star!”
Holly’s Wish
1
“Come on, Jake!” Neil Parker called to his young black and white Border collie as he tramped through the snow to the top of the ridgeway. He stopped to look back, and laughed at Jake’s antics. The young dog was racing to and fro, trying to catch the whirling snowflakes in his mouth. Below them lay the snowy roofs of the small country town of Compton.
“Hurry up!” Emily, Neil’s ten-year-old sister, called impatiently from further up the slope. “At this rate the snow will have melted before we get to the top.”
Neil laughed. “There’s not much chance of that,” he said as he ran to catch up with her, dragging his sledge behind him. Neil had woken up that morning to find a carpet of deep snow covering the yard and rooftops of King Street Kennels, the dog kennels and rescue centre that his parents, Bob and Carole Parker, ran. It had continued to snow steadily all morning and Neil hoped it would last until Christmas, which was only a week away.
He gazed up at the sky, narrowing his eyes against the dancing flakes, then smiled with satisfaction. The clouds looked heavy and grey, and Neil was sure there was still plenty of snow to come.
“Come on!” Emily called again. “Everyone else is there already. We don’t want to miss all the fun.” She turned and hurried up the hill with her sledge, her feet sinking into the snow at every step.
Neil whistled for Jake, then followed Emily, scanning the hillside above as he walked. It was crowded with sledgers and, even from this distance, Neil could identify quite a few of them. Chris Wilson and Hasheem Lindon, Neil’s best friends from school, were trudging along the top of the ridgeway with a sledge. Toby and Amanda Sparrow were there too, with their young Dalmatian, Scrap. Steve Tansley, Neil’s cousin, was involved in a snowball fight with a group of friends while his wayward Labrador, Ricky, charged backwards and forwards through the snow, barking with excitement.
“Look at Ben,” Emily giggled as they climbed. “There’s more snow on his coat than there is on the ground.” Ben was an Old English sheepdog who belonged to Emily’s best friend, Julie.
Neil grinned, then looked back at Jake again. The collie had almost caught up with them and his fur was caked in snow too. “Here, Jake,” Neil called, crouching down. “You look like a snow dog!”
Jake hurtled towards him, sending flurries of loose snow flying up behind him. He cannoned into Neil, knocking him over. “Get off!” chuckled Neil, gently pushing the collie off him and scrambling to his feet. He caught hold of Jake’s collar and brushed the worst of the snow off his coat while the Border collie nuzzled him with his wet nose. Neil gave him a dog treat from the supply he always carried in his pocket and Jake crunched it eagerly. Then the young dog raced ahead up the hill with an excited bark.
“Here’s the Puppy Patrol!” called Hasheem as Neil and Emily reached the top of the hill. He grinned at Neil. “Hey, haven’t you got a special doggy sledge for Jake to ride on?”
Neil laughed. “He wouldn’t bring his own sledge, Hasheem. He wanted to sit on your lap and ride down.” He whistled and Jake came bounding up, ready to play.
“No way!” cried Hasheem, backing away in mock terror. Neil scooped up a handful of snow, shaped it into a snowball and threw it at Hasheem. It hit his chest, leaving a snowy mark. Hasheem laughed and hurled one back but his aim was wide of the mark and he hit Chris instead. In moments, a full-scale snowball fight had broken out.
“Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?” asked Julie, running up with Ben at her heels.
“The more, the merrier,” laughed Emily, throwing a snowball at Julie then diving out of the way as her friend hurled one back. Ben and Jake dashed around wildly, leaping up to catch the snowballs as they rocketed over their heads.
“Yuck,” Chris panted after a while, brushing snow off his clothes so that it showered around his feet. “My gloves are soaked.” He peeled them off and shook them out.
“Does anyone want a sledge race?” Emily asked.
“You bet!” Neil whooped.
They all ran to fetch their sledges and positioned them at the top of the slope. Jake and Ben watched with interest, and Neil began to wonder whether Hasheem’s suggestion that Jake should have a sledge of his own wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The young Border collie would probably enjoy skimming down the hillside faster than he could run.
“Ready, steady, go!” cried Neil, and they pushed off.
“Last one down has to give us all a piggy back to the top!” Julie shrieked as they raced downhill.
The ridgeway was perfect for tobogganing. The slope was long enough and steep enough to allow sledges to build up speed, but it levelled out at the bottom so that it was easy to stop. As he zoomed down, Neil could hear Jake barking loudly behind him. But the Border collie couldn’t keep up with the speeding sledge and when Neil glanced back over his shoulder he saw Jake bounding after Ben instead, in a boisterous game of chase.
Julie reached the bottom of the hill first. Neil arrived a moment later, with Emily close behind him. Chris and Hasheem were last, slowed down because they were sharing a sledge.
“That was ace!” Neil cried, jumping up. “Let’s have another go.” He grinned at Chris and Hasheem. “Of course, as you two came last you’ll have to give us all a piggy back to the top.”
“No chance!” Hasheem yelled, darting a little way up hill.
They trailed back to the top of the hill, towing their sledges and talking excitedly about Christmas. Jake and Ben charged over to meet them, barking greetings.
“Come on, Chris,” said Hasheem. “If we get away quickly, we might win this time.” He and Chris jumped on to their sledge and shot away. Neil, Emily and Julie quickly pulled their sledges into position. Jake gave an excited bark, then caught the rope of Neil’s sledge in his teeth. “Let go, Jake!” Neil said. “Do you want me to be last this time?”
Jake dropped the rope, then raced aroun
d Neil’s sledge instead. By the time Neil was ready to go, Julie and Emily were already halfway down the hill and Chris and Hasheem were nearly at the bottom. “Typical! Who’d have a dog?” Neil said, ruffling Jake’s ears affectionately. Jake wagged his tail furiously and licked Neil’s cheek.
“Mind out of the way then, Jake,” said Neil, gently shoving the Border collie to one side. He pushed off with his feet and streaked away down the slope.
Suddenly Neil saw a dark shape in the snow ahead of him, directly in his path. He squinted through the snowflakes, trying to work out what it was. Then he realized, and his heart lurched. It was a Labrador puppy and, from what he could see, it was not very old.
“Look out!” Neil yelled. Frantically, he dug his heels into the snow, trying to slow his descent, but the sledge swept on as fast as ever, and the puppy didn’t move. It watched, wide-eyed with apprehension, as Neil sped towards it.
Neil hauled on the rope. He had to change direction. If he hit the pup, it would be badly hurt. The nose of the sledge inched round. Neil jerked harder and the sledge swerved to the left.
To his relief, he realized that he was just going to miss the puppy – if it stayed where it was. But now Neil was heading for a prickly holly bush. He jerked on the rope again. This time it was too late. Shutting his eyes and throwing up his arms to protect his face, he hurtled straight into the bush.
2
The branches lashed Neil as he barged into the holly bush, their prickly leaves snatching at his clothes. A branch caught in the collar of his coat and he tumbled into the snow.
He lay still for a moment, looking up at the dark glossy leaves and scarlet berries above his head. One of his gloves had been torn off in the crash and there was a long scratch on the back of his hand. Neil flexed his arms and legs, checking that he hadn’t broken any bones. Then he rolled over and sat up.
“Neil!” Emily’s frightened voice reached him from the bottom of the hill. “Are you all right?”
“Neil!” Chris yelled. “Where are you, mate?”
“Over here,” called Neil. “I’m OK.” He crawled out of the bush.
Jake hurtled down the slope, sending snow sliding ahead of him. He stood in front of Neil and looked at him enquiringly with his head on one side.
“It’s OK, boy,” Neil said, hugging the Border collie. “I’m not hurt.”
Ben arrived a moment later and flopped down in the snow beside Jake with his tongue lolling. Neil patted him too.
Emily came charging up the hill, her face pink from running, with Chris, Hasheem and Julie close behind. “Are you all right?” she panted anxiously.
“Fine,” said Neil as he got to his feet. “Apart from a few scratches and a lost glove, anyway. Is the puppy OK?” The Labrador was still standing above them on the slope, chest-deep in snow. It was watching them with huge brown eyes, its chocolate-brown coat speckled with snowflakes.
Hasheem laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re worrying about dogs again!”
“The puppy looks OK,” said Emily. “But why on earth is it on its own?”
“That’s what I’d like to know too,” Neil said hotly. “It’s too young to be out of doors in weather like this.” He set off up the slope towards the puppy, with the others trailing after him. “The poor little thing must be frozen. I’d really like to hear what the owners have got to say about—” He broke off suddenly. “Hang on! Isn’t it Holly, one of the Labrador puppies from the litter at the rescue centre? It looks exactly like her. And it’s the right size.”
“It does look like her,” Emily agreed, “though I’m not one hundred per cent sure.”
“What, she’s one of those tiny puppies that were living in a box in your kitchen for a while?” asked Chris. “I fed one of them once when I came over to your house. It was a little black one.”
Neil nodded. “That’s right.” The Parkers had hand-reared the four tiny Labradors after they had been found abandoned in the woods on the far side of Compton. They were only a few days old when they were rescued, and they had lived in the kitchen until they were big enough to move into the rescue centre.
“I fed them a couple of times too,” Julie said. “They were really sweet.” She looked at the puppy again. “Are they all as big as this one now?”
“One of the black ones, Santa, is a bit smaller,” said Neil. He signalled to everyone to slow down as they drew closer to the Labrador pup. It was important to approach her quietly so that they didn’t frighten her. He placed a restraining hand on Jake’s collar. “Can you hang on to Ben, Julie?” he asked.
Julie grabbed hold of the Old English sheepdog.
“Someone left the puppies to die,” Emily explained to Hasheem. “The owner dumped them in a bag in the middle of nowhere.”
“That’s terrible!” said Hasheem angrily. “What an awful thing to do!”
“They could easily have died of cold,” Emily went on, with a shiver.
“Or starvation,” Neil added gravely.
“I can’t imagine anyone being that cruel,” said Chris.
“We don’t get many cases as bad as that,” Emily said. “And luckily the puppies were found quite quickly by a man who was out walking his dog. He brought them straight to King Street Kennels.”
“The Puppy Patrol to the rescue again!” Hasheem said. “What on earth would dogs do without the Parkers and their rescue centre?”
“Wait here now,” Neil said over his shoulder. “The puppy will be scared if we all get too close.” He clipped on Jake’s lead and thrust it into Emily’s hand. “Stay, Jake,” he told the Border collie. Then he edged forward cautiously so that the Labrador wouldn’t run off. “Holly,” he called softly.
“Holly! Very appropriate,” Hasheem joked, “seeing as you’ve just wrecked a holly bush, Neil, with your crazy sledge run.”
They all started to laugh but Neil turned and placed a warning finger on his lips. “Don’t scare her,” he whispered, and the laughter quickly died away. “Holly,” Neil called again. “Here, Holly. Good girl.”
At the sound of her name, the Labrador puppy pricked up her ears and wagged her tiny tail feebly.
“I knew it was her,” said Neil.
“Julie and I will fetch the sledges while you get hold of Holly,” Emily said. “We’ll take Jake and Ben with us, just in case they bother her. Come on, you two, let’s go,” she called to the dogs.
Holly watched Neil with a trusting expression as he advanced. At last he was close enough to touch her. He reached out a hand, letting her sniff his bare skin, then he lifted her into his arms. “Good girl,” he said soothingly.
The puppy snuggled against him, shivering. “Poor thing, you’re frozen,” said Neil, brushing snow off Holly’s glossy coat. She was wearing a red leather collar with an identity disc. Neil twisted the collar round until he could read the disc. The name Morgan was inscribed on it, with a telephone number underneath.
“Is it definitely Holly?” Chris asked, moving forward and holding out his hand to the young Labrador. She craned forward to sniff him, then sank back against Neil’s chest again, with a weary sigh.
“Yes.” Neil unzipped his coat and tucked the shivering pup inside. “It says Morgan on her identity disc. That’s the name of the people who adopted her.”
“Is she going to be all right, mate?” asked Chris, gently stroking her chin with one finger. Holly twisted her head and licked his glove with a tiny pink tongue.
Neil was relieved to feel her tail thud against his chest – she was obviously feeling better already. “She’s just cold, scared and worn out,” he said. “But she’ll be fine when she’s warmed up and had a rest.”
Emily and Julie clambered up the hill, pulling the sledges. Jake was off the lead now and he was carrying Neil’s missing glove in his mouth. He dropped it at Neil’s feet, then sat down proudly, his wagging tail sweeping the loose snow from side to side.
“Well done, Jake,” Neil praised. He felt in his pocket for a d
og treat but the packet wasn’t there.
Emily laughed. “I don’t think Jake should have any more treats. He found the packet under the bush while he was searching for your glove and wolfed most of them!”
“Ben helped him as well,” giggled Julie.
Neil grinned and patted the Border collie’s head. Then he pulled the glove on gratefully, suddenly realizing how chilled his hand was.
“What are we going to do with her?” asked Emily, fondling Holly’s ears.
Neil scanned the hillside. “Nobody seems to be looking for her so we’d better take her back to her home. Her owners live in one of those old cottages that back on to the ridgeway. I remember thinking it was an ideal place for a dog—” He broke off, frowning. Once again, he tried to imagine what sort of people would let a young puppy wander off alone in the snow. His mum and dad always checked that rescue dogs were going to good homes but perhaps they’d made a mistake this time . . .
“Have you found homes for the other Labrador puppies?” asked Julie as they trudged along the ridgeway. She stroked the top of Holly’s head and Neil felt the puppy’s tail wagging again inside his coat.
“No, the other three are still at the rescue centre,” he said.
Julie frowned. “You’d think loads of people would want to adopt gorgeous little creatures like this.”
Holly gave a tiny high-pitched bark, as though she’d understood what Julie said and fully agreed.
“I’m sure we’ll find homes for the others soon,” said Neil. “I want to see them all settled by Christmas.”
Chris whistled. “Do you reckon you’ll do it? Homing three puppies in a week is pushing it a bit, isn’t it, mate?”
Neil squared his shoulders determinedly. “We’ll do it.”
They reached the end of the ridgeway. Low-roofed, old-fashioned cottages were clearly visible through the leafless trees ahead. Neil and Emily said goodbye to Chris, Hasheem and Julie, and set off along a narrow path that led between two of the cottages to the quiet road beyond. Jake and Ben touched noses, then Jake trotted quickly after Neil.