The Snow Puppy and Other Christmas Stories

by Jenny Dale

  “Wait for us,” Emily called as she and Alex came out of the house. “We’re coming too!” Emily dashed after them, but Neil saw that Alex followed more slowly.

  “How did you persuade her to come?” Neil whispered, when Emily caught up with him.

  “I said I needed her to help me feed them.” Emily grinned.

  “Nice one!” said Neil.

  Bob came out of Kennel Block One and shook hands with Mr Charlton. “You’re interested in one of our Labrador pups, I hear,” he said warmly.

  “That’s right,” confirmed Mr Charlton.

  “Come into the office and we’ll discuss the details while Tom’s choosing the puppy he thinks he’d like. Could you take Tom into the rescue centre, Neil?”

  “Right.” Neil led the way inside. Holly and Candy trotted up to the wire netting of their pen and watched as Neil, Emily and Tom approached. Santa and Cracker, the two black puppies, were curled up in their basket, side by side. Cracker opened an eye sleepily, then lumbered to his feet. Santa yawned lazily as he stood up and stretched.

  “They’re gorgeous!” Tom cried. He crouched down and pushed his fingers through the wire. The puppies crowded round, their tails wagging with excitement. Alex watched from a distance, her face tense and pale.

  “There are two girls and two boys,” said Neil. He opened the door of the pen and went inside, followed by Emily and Tom. Alex hung back at first, but Emily eventually persuaded her to come in. To Neil’s delight, Holly rushed straight over to Alex, barking a greeting.

  “She remembers you!” Emily said.

  Alex nodded, frowning. She tried not to look at the puppy but Holly was clearly determined to be noticed. She scrambled on to Alex’s foot and pawed at her leg, whining.

  “Do you want to hold her?” asked Neil.

  Alex shook her head, but she crouched down and rumpled Holly’s silky ears. The puppy licked the inside of Alex’s wrist, her tail lashing from side to side. Alex leant forward and spoke softly to Holly. Neil couldn’t hear what she was saying but he was pleased to see that Alex’s frown had faded.

  The other three puppies wouldn’t leave Tom alone. They banged each other aside in their determination to get his full attention. Eventually he sat down and let them clamber on to his lap. “They’re fantastic!” he said, beaming at Neil and Emily. “They’re just fantastic!”

  He picked up Santa and held him against his chest. “But this one’s the best of all. Look at his cute little face.” The puppy nuzzled Tom’s neck, then stretched up and licked his ear.

  Tom laughed. “Hey, that tickles! I’d like this one, please. What’s his name?”

  “Santa,” Emily said.

  “That’s perfect,” said Tom.

  Emily picked up the other two puppies, so Tom and Santa could get to know each other properly. Holly had pressed herself against Alex’s ankle and fallen asleep. Alex was still stroking her. Neil felt frustrated. He wouldn’t dream of trying to get Alex to take Holly if he thought she couldn’t cope with her, but it was clear that a bond was growing between the two of them.

  The outer door of the rescue centre opened and Bob and Mr Charlton came in. “All the paperwork’s done,” Bob announced. “It looks like you and your family will make very good dog owners, Tom.”

  Tom grinned and stood up, holding Santa carefully. “I’ve chosen this one, Dad. He’s called Santa. Can we take him home now?”

  “I’ll fetch the dog carrier from the car,” Mr Charlton laughed.

  Santa was soon safely inside the carrier and Tom headed eagerly for the door, obviously impatient to show Santa his new home.

  “Thanks very much,” Mr Charlton said, shaking hands with Bob.

  “Happy Christmas!” Tom called as he followed his dad out into the snow, holding the carrier carefully.

  When Tom and Santa had gone, Emily and Alex fed the remaining puppies.

  Neil fetched a ball and threw it across the pen. The three puppies dashed after it, barking eagerly. Then they raced round and round their pen, chasing the ball, each other and their own tails until at last they flopped down, worn out from so much exercise. Once again, Holly chose to settle down beside Alex, with her head and front paws on Alex’s foot.

  “She’s really fond of you,” Neil pointed out.

  Alex looked down sadly at the tiny puppy. “She’s lovely,” she said, “but I just don’t want another dog. It’s no use trying to persuade me.”

  “I felt like that when my dog Sam died,” Neil began. He thought back to that terrible day when Sam’s weak heart had finally failed after he’d rescued Jake from drowning. “But—”

  “Look, Emily told me about that,” Alex interrupted. “And I’m sorry about Sam. But it’s not the same. You already had Jake. I didn’t have another dog . . .” She broke off, obviously trying to make sense of her feelings. “It wouldn’t be fair to Daisy,” she said at last. Her eyes filled with tears and she brushed them away. “She was the best dog ever.”

  Emily put her arm round her. “Daisy wouldn’t—”

  She didn’t get a chance to finish because the door of the rescue centre opened and Jake Fielding came in. He was a tall young man who wore his long hair in a ponytail. He had a camera slung round his neck and a tripod under his arm. “Your dad said I’d find you in here,” he said. “I’ve come to take some pictures of these pups of yours for the paper.”

  “Hi, Jake,” said Neil. “Thanks for coming.” He grinned at him, but inside he was feeling even more frustrated. What a shame Jake had arrived at that moment! Neil was pretty sure that he and Emily could have convinced Alex to take Holly if they hadn’t been interrupted.

  “Can you each hold one of the puppies, please?” Jake said as Neil let him into the pen. He quickly set up his tripod and attached his camera to the top.

  Emily picked up Holly and plonked her in Alex’s arms. Then she scooped up Candy, leaving Neil to hold Cracker.

  “Cor, we must be overfeeding you,” joked Neil as he picked him up. “You weigh a ton.” The puppy nudged Neil with his nose, then stared at the camera.

  “Move in closer together,” Jake said, bending over to look through the camera’s viewfinder. There was a flash as he took the picture.

  Holly whimpered. “It’s all right, girl,” Alex said soothingly.

  “I’ll just take a couple more,” said Jake. His camera flashed again. “Our readers will be pleased to see how well they’re looking.” He took a final photo then put his camera back in its case and folded up his tripod. “Thanks very much, you lot. They’ll be in this week’s paper.”

  “Let’s hope it does the trick,” Neil said as he placed Cracker in the basket.

  He watched Alex put Holly down beside her brother. She stroked Holly’s head gently. The chocolate-brown Labrador rolled over and Alex tickled her tummy.

  Neil looked at Emily and they both shook their heads. When was Alex going to realize that she and Holly were made for each other?

  6

  “Jet’s so well trained,” said Neil admiringly as Bob parked the Range Rover outside the church later that afternoon. He watched the vicar’s black Labrador nose around the snowy headstones. “He never goes out of the churchyard, you know, even when the gate’s open.”

  “Does he live here, then?” Alex asked in surprise.

  “He’s the vicar’s dog,” Neil explained. “He’s got his own dog flap so he can come and go as he pleases.” He pointed to the back door of the vicarage, which was just visible through the trees on the far side of the churchyard.

  Bob opened the car door. “Come on, you lot! No slacking! There’s work to be done.”

  Jake tried to scramble over into the front seat but Neil held him back. “Not that way, Jake,” he laughed. “Wait your turn!” He climbed out and Jake dashed after him. Emily and Alex followed with the bag of presents.

  As they went into the churchyard, Jet came bounding over. Jake sniffed Jet, then sprang away from him and disappeared behind an old weather-beaten
gravestone, barking playfully. Jet stared after him for a moment, as though he was trying to decide whether to play or not. He soon made up his mind, and bounded after the younger dog.

  Neil, Emily and Alex watched the two dogs darting in and out of a row of yew trees in a boisterous game of tag. “Jake seems to have cheered Jet up!” Emily laughed. She picked up the bag of presents. “Let’s get started on this grotto.”

  “I’ll have to leave you to it, I’m afraid,” said Bob. “I’ve got to get some shopping but I’ll be back later.”

  “Last minute Christmas presents, by any chance?” Neil said curiously.

  Bob grinned. “Never you mind. You just go and get cracking on that grotto.” He went out of the churchyard, shutting the gate behind him.

  Neil led the way through the heavy door of the church porch, which Gavin always kept unlocked in the daytime. From there they went through a side door into the stone church hall, which was hundreds of years old, but felt light and airy inside.

  Emily put the sack of presents down by the door, making sure that it was left ajar so that Jake could get in and out. They found a stepladder and an artificial Christmas tree leaning against a wall. In the middle of the polished wooden floor was a carved chair, a fold-up screen and a stack of cardboard boxes filled with Christmas decorations.

  “It looks like Gavin’s got all the gear together,” said Neil. “If we set the screen up over here, Dad can sit behind it.” He carried it to the end of the room and opened it out. “People can go in at one end, have a chat with Dad and collect their present, then come out at the other end.”

  “I’m going to start decorating the Christmas tree,” Emily said. “It’ll look nice in front of that screen.”

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Alex offered eagerly. She rummaged through one of the boxes and pulled out lengths of gold and silver foil. “Hey! These will look great fixed to the screen, Neil. We just need some drawing pins . . .”

  By the time Jake came trotting in from the churchyard, the screen and ceiling were draped with glittering foil and the Christmas tree was transformed into a magical creation of glowing lights, gleaming baubles and shimmering tinsel. Neil thought it looked fantastic.

  The Border collie stopped in the doorway and stared curiously. The Christmas tree lights were reflected in his dark eyes. “What do you think then, Jake?” Emily asked, stroking him.

  Jake barked once, as though he approved of what he saw, then he pushed past Emily and thrust his head inquisitively into one of the cardboard boxes. When he emerged, strands of silver foil hung from his ears.

  Neil laughed. “He didn’t want to be outdone by a Christmas tree, did you, Jake?” he said from the stepladder where he was fixing a star to the top of the tree.

  “I think he looks sweet,” chuckled Alex.

  Jake turned his attention to another box. It had higher sides than the first box and he couldn’t see into it. Suddenly he jumped up and rested his front paws on the edge of the box. “Don’t do that!” Neil cried. His warning came too late – the box toppled over, spilling its contents over the startled dog.

  Jake jumped back. A string of fairy lights was draped across his back now, and scattered around him there were baubles, silver bells and plastic reindeers and snowmen.

  “Here, Jake,” Neil called, climbing down from the ladder. Jake trotted across to him, trailing the lights. Laughing, Neil lifted the light cable off the young dog’s back and brushed the foil strands from his ears.

  “I wonder where Jet’s got to,” said Emily.

  “I hope he’s gone back into the vicarage,” Neil said. “If Jake can cause this much mayhem on his own, imagine what two dogs could get up to!”

  Alex stood the box upright and began to pile the decorations into it. “We could hang these snowmen and reindeer from the coat hooks,” she suggested. “And the lights could go round the door.”

  “Good idea,” Emily said, picking up two of the snowmen and hanging them on hooks. She stood back to admire the effect.

  “There’s a socket behind the door,” Neil said, “so we’ll be able to plug in the lights.”

  Suddenly they heard footsteps in the church porch and Jake darted out of the hall. “How are you getting on?” Bob called.

  “Come and see, Dad,” said Emily.

  “Fantastic,” Bob said enthusiastically as he looked around. “Have you put the presents behind that screen?”

  “No, they’re still in the porch,” said Emily. “I left them by the door because I thought they’d get in the way while we were decorating.”

  “But you’ve brought some of them in here?” Bob persisted.

  Neil shook his head. “No. We’ll bring them in now. We’re going to arrange them around your chair.”

  Bob looked concerned.

  “What’s wrong?” Neil asked anxiously.

  “Come and see,” said Bob grimly, ushering them out of the hall.

  The sack containing the presents was still beside the door where Emily had left it. But as he drew near, Neil could see that it was half empty. “Hey, what’s happened? Where have all the presents gone?”

  “I suppose someone must have taken them,” Bob said, puzzled.

  “You mean, stolen them!” said Neil angrily.

  “The thief must have come into the porch while we were working on the grotto,” Emily said miserably. “We wouldn’t have heard the door because I left it open for Jake – and we were all talking anyway.”

  “But who’d steal Christmas presents from a church?” asked Alex. “That’s a horrible thing to do.”

  “The presents might not have been stolen,” Bob said in a calm voice. “You mustn’t jump to conclusions.”

  Neil looked round. “You don’t think the thief is still here, do you?”

  “He would have run off when he heard Dad coming,” Emily said. “But maybe we can find his footprints in the snow and see which way he’s gone.”

  “It’s worth a try,” said Neil. He whistled for Jake and went outside, with Emily and Alex close behind him.

  But the path through the churchyard had been well trampled. There were several sets of footprints on it and trying to distinguish one set from another was an impossible task.

  “What I don’t understand is why the thief only took some of the presents?” Alex said thoughtfully. “If he heard your dad coming, surely he could have picked up the whole sack and run off with it.”

  Neil nodded. Alex was right. “Maybe he’s planning to come back for the rest of the presents when we’ve gone home,” he said. “He could be hiding somewhere nearby, keeping an eye on us.”

  Neil scanned the churchyard and started to make his way towards the road to see if he could spot anyone suspicious-looking there. Suddenly he heard a cough behind him. He whirled round, heart thudding. Gavin was walking towards him. “Sorry, Neil,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. How are you getting on with the grotto?”

  Neil told the vicar about the missing presents. Gavin shook his head, perplexed. “It must be a misunderstanding. I’m sure nobody would steal little presents like that.”

  When Neil had checked the road, they headed back to the church hall, lost in thought.

  “Has Neil told you about the missing presents?” Emily asked.

  Gavin nodded. “But I’m sure there’s a perfectly innocent explanation. Let’s have a look at Santa’s grotto,” he said cheerfully.

  Neil led the way back to the hall.

  “Oh, you’ve done a wonderful job,” the vicar said, clearly impressed.

  “It’s all been a waste of time, though,” Neil said glumly. “The grotto will have to be cancelled if there aren’t enough presents for Father Christmas to give out.”

  “I’ll get some more,” Gavin said. “People have been looking forward to this, and I can’t cancel it now.”

  “But you won’t make any money for the roof repairs if you have to buy more presents,” said Emily.

  “I’ll be happy to supply dog
treats, Gavin,” Bob offered.

  “Thanks, Bob. That’s kind of you. That means I only need to buy presents for the children.” Gavin smiled at Emily. “Don’t look so worried. We’ll still make a little bit of profit, it just won’t be as much as I’d hoped.”

  “I think we should hide the rest of the presents,” said Neil, “just in case the thief comes back.”

  “We could tuck some into the Christmas tree,” Alex suggested. “If we push them in far enough, they’ll be hidden in the branches.”

  “Good idea. And if we leave the hall door open, we can put some parcels behind it.” Neil scooped up an armful of presents and positioned them behind the door. Then he pushed the door back against the wall to hide the parcels, while Emily stuffed the remainder under the cushion on Father Christmas’s chair.

  “I’ve got some good news,” Gavin said, when they’d finished.

  “Oh, we forgot!” said Emily. “Has Susie had the baby?”

  Gavin beamed round at them. “A boy. Joshua.”

  “Congratulations, Gavin,” Bob cried, slapping him on the back.

  “Thanks.” Gavin looked at his watch. “I must get a move on. I only popped home to feed Jet and take him for a walk. I want to get back to the hospital as soon as I can.”

  “We could feed Jet for you, if you like,” suggested Neil. “And then we could take him for a long run.”

  Gavin’s smile broadened. “That would be wonderful, Neil. Thanks.” He handed Neil his back door key. “I’ve got a key to the front door, so post this one through the letterbox after you’ve locked up.” He hurried away.

  “I ought to go too,” Alex said. “My parents will be wondering where I’ve got to.”

  “Right, I’ll give you a lift, Alex,” said Bob. “You two can walk back after you’ve seen to Jet.”

  “OK,” Neil agreed. He whistled for Jake, and he and Emily wound their way round the gravestones to Gavin’s back door.

  “I wonder who did steal the presents,” Emily said. “They can’t be worth very much.”

  “Whoever it is will get a shock when he unwraps them,” Neil said, with a chuckle. “Imagine his face when he finds out he’s stolen a load of rubber bones and dog biscuits!”