Shrinking Violet Definitely Needs A Dog

by Lou Kuenzler

  “Well, at least my breath doesn’t of onion,” she giggled, holding her nose.

  As we ate supper (it was onion soup!) Nisha helped persuade Mum and Dad we should visit as soon as possible.

  “While the idea is fresh in our minds,” she said shyly to them. She sounded all scientific and serious. Like she was talking about an important piece of homework or something. That’s one of the reasons Mum and Dad like Nisha so much. She’s clever – top of our class – and her handwriting is even neater than our teacher Miss Penman’s!

  “Hmm.” Mum ladled chunks of onion and sloppy brown water into our bowls. “Helping out at the centre might just stop Violet from thinking about a dog of her own,” she said.

  That was NOT part of the plan.

  “It will show you how responsible I can be,” I said, trying to copy Nisha’s best-most-sensible-serious face (I think it just looked as if I’d swallowed a chunk of onion the wrong way). “Helping out at the centre is a very important job.”

  “I’m sure it is,” said Dad.

  “I can be trusted,” I said.

  “Some chance!” spluttered Tiffany.

  “Oh dear.” I patted her on the back. “Don’t choke on your onion, Tiff.”

  “See,” I said, looking sweetly at Mum. “Responsible Act Number 1. Saving my sister from choking to death.”

  Mum raised her eyebrows. “I suppose helping at the centre might make you realize how much work is involved keeping a puppy,” she said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Dad. “I could run you up there tomorrow. I want to pop to the electrical shop anyway. I think I’ve blown a fuse on that toaster.”

  “Thank you! You won’t regret it.” I swallowed great gulps of onion soup to keep the excitement squished down inside me.

  “Operation Get a Dog: Stage Two is under way,” I whispered to Nish. Then I leapt up and cleared away the plates – slowly, carefully and very responsibly.

  First thing next morning, Dad dropped us at on the outskirts of Swanchester.

  He had to sign a permission form saying we were allowed to help the staff. This meant we could feed the animals and take them for walks in the big orchard behind the kennels.

  “See you later,” said Dad when he’d signed the last piece of paper. “Don’t get into any mischief. And bring home any dogs.”

  “You’ll need to find Yana,” smiled a man in a blue vet’s coat. “She’s in the kennels. A Russian lady. You can’t miss her. Through the door at the end.”

  “Come on, Violet.” Nisha skipped ahead and pushed open the door.

  “Wait!” I cried.

  This was it. The moment I would actually get to see the dogs. I breathed deeply.

  “Please don’t shrink,” I whispered under my breath. If only I had some pepper … or an onion. Or a copy of my spellings here…

  “Hold on.” There was a small gift stand beside the reception counter. I spotted a pocket notebook and pencil with Paw Things Pet Rescue written across the cover. “Are those for sale?”

  Nisha looked at me as if I really was mad now. But through the half-open door, I could hear the sound of barking. were swirling in my tummy.

  “They cost a pound,” said the vet as I took a notebook and dropped my pocket money into the donation tin.

  “Times tables,” I explained, scribbling madly.

  My hand was shaking as I gripped the little pencil and wrote:

  “Why are you doing that now?” hissed Nisha. “I thought you wanted to see the dogs?”

  The vet was drumming his fingers impatiently on the counter.

  “Come on,” begged Nisha. “Let’s go!”

  “I’m hopeless at my seven times table,” I said. “It’s my worst one. Miss Penman is so strict if we don’t know all the way up to our twelves.”

  “Really strict,” agreed Nisha as I scribbled another sum.

  What does seven times four equal? I screwed up my eyebrows trying to concentrate. This was perfect. Times tables were nearly as good as spellings for making sure I didn’t get too excited.

  If I shrank to the size of the pocket pencil I was writing with, there was anybody would ever let me look after a dog. Not even the smallest chihuahua in the world.

  “Got it … twenty-eight.” I smiled at the vet.

  “You seem a little reluctant to go through to the kennel,” he said. “If you’re scared of dogs, you can always help with the kittens instead.”

  “Scared? No!” I gasped. “I love dogs! BIG ones, small ones, ones…”

  “We double-choc-sprinkle love them,” agreed Nisha, backing me up.

  “We can’t wait to get in there,” I said. “Come on!” I pushed Nisha through the door to the kennels.

  “Wow!” The sound of barking was deafening.

  I caught glimpse of a spotty Dalmatian. My heart gave a GIANT leap.

  And my toes began to tingle…

  Oh no! Had all those times tables been for nothing?

  Nisha was skipping along ahead of me.

  “Look,” she said, pointing to the nearest cage, where the Dalmatian was sleeping with its head on its paws.

  I shrank faster than I’ve ever shrunk before – like a yo-yo shooting down a string.

  “Whoa!” I gasped. My head was spinning. I dived sideways as the notebook clattered to the ground beside me. The pocket pencil followed, crashing past me like a falling tree. “Yikes!”

  Nisha spun round.

  “Violet?” She looked round helplessly. “Violet? Where are you?”

  I couldn’t let her see me. Not now.

  I dived under the notebook, pulling it over my head like a tiny tent.

  “Hello?” A Russian-sounding voice called from inside the cage next to the Dalmatian. “It is the girls, yes?”

  I peeped out through the doorway of my notebook tent.

  “I am so glad you are here to help me,” said the voice. “I am Yana.”

  Cool! A young woman with a pierced nose and green hair poked her head out of the cage.

  “Er … h-hello!” Nisha took a tiny step back. The vet had said that Yana would be easy to find. He never mentioned that her hair was the shape and colour of a prickly cactus.

  I thought. If only Mum would let me do that to mine.

  “I was expecting two children?” Yana glanced around. “Two girls. No?” Her head disappeared inside the cage again.

  “No … I mean, yes,” spluttered Nisha. “I … er… There are two of us. I mean, there were.”

  Poor Nish. She hates getting in a muddle. But of course she had no idea where I had gone.

  “My friend Violet was worried about her times tables,” she explained. “So perhaps she… Oh?” Nisha spotted my notebook on the floor.

  Hide! I thought. But it was too late. Nisha scooped up the pad with one hand. I was left crouching on the ground as if a

  had blown my tent away.

  Normally I am exactly the same height as Nisha, but now she towered above me.

  “Violet?” Her hands flew to her mouth.

  All the colour drained from her face.

  “Is that you?” she gasped, bending down.

  “Shhh.” I pressed a tiny finger to my lips, hoping she’d understand and keep quiet.

  “Yes, Nish. It’s me,” I said. There was nothing else for it. She had seen me now. There was nowhere I could hide.

  “ What’s happened to you?” Nisha screamed so loud the Dalmatian started to howl.

  “ ”

  I dived behind a sack of dog biscuits and covered my tiny ears. It did no good. All the other dogs started too.

  Something really big had joined in.

  With all the howling and Nisha’s screaming, I thought my little eardrums would burst.

  “What is the matter?” cried Yana, dashing out of the cage to see what was going on.

  “My friend!” screamed Nisha. “My friend has shrun—”

  I peeped out from behind the dog biscuits and shook my head.

 
“Shhh!” I put my miniature finger to my lips again.

  “Don’t say anything,” I begged as the sound of howling drowned my small voice. “PLEASE!”

  It was bad enough that Nisha had seen me, but if I was spotted by a total stranger, everyone would know my shrinking secret.

  “What is wrong?” asked Yana kindly. “Your friend is what?”

  I poked my head quickly round the edge of the dog biscuits. I saw Yana lay her hand on Nisha’s shoulder.

  “She’s…” Nisha glanced towards the bag, her dark eyes as HUGE as saucers. “She’s…”

  I took another tiny step forward. I was still hidden in the shadows but I tried to beam up good thoughts. Nisha and I once told our arch enemy, Ratty-Riley, that we could read each other’s minds. Nish got a football and covered it with one of her mum’s scarves to pretend it was a crystal ball. If only she really could read my mind. This would be the moment for it to work.

  “She’s … she’s gone to the toilet,” said Nisha, at last.

  “Yes! THANK YOU, NISH!” I knew she wouldn’t let me down. She couldn’t really read my mind, of course. But that’s the good thing about being best friends – we always know what the other one wants.

  I crept back behind the dog biscuits. As I peered out of the shadows I could see that Nisha’s legs were shaking. She was chewing her bottom lip. I wished I could just run over to her and tell her everything would be OK. She’d screamed so loud when she saw that I was tiny. Perhaps she wouldn’t even want to be my friend any more? The thought jolted me like What if she didn’t want me to hide in her pocket and go for adventures? What if she was too scared to come near me ever again?

  “Your friend has gone to the toilet?” Yana was laughing. “Is that all?” She scratched between the spikes of her green hair and shrugged. “Then why were you shouting? You were scaring the dogs.” For the first time, she sounded stern.

  “I’m so sorry.” A blush spread across Nisha’s dark skin. Even from behind the sack of biscuits, I could see her eyes filling up with tears. She hates being told off.

  I had to do something to help her explain why she had screamed.

  “Eeeek! Eeeek! Eeeek!” I squeaked as LOUD as I could, hoping Nisha would pick up the clue.

  “Eeeek!” I scuttled away, slipping behind a roll of hosepipe.

  “I screamed because … because I thought I saw a mouse,” said Nisha, taking the hint. “I really didn’t mean to scare the dogs.”

  “A mouse?” Yana smiled, sounding friendly again. “They make me jump, too. They come sometimes looking for Now, I will fetch a cat,” she said.

  “A cat?” gasped Nisha. She glanced helplessly towards the roll of hose.

  “A big stray tomcat,” said Yana. “He will catch the mouse. ” She clapped her hands. “Just like that.”

  “Oh dear,” quivered Nisha.

  My knees felt weak. Suddenly, pretending to be a mouse didn’t seem like such a totally brilliant idea.

  “Please, Yana. Don’t bring a cat into the kennels,” begged Nisha, edging towards the roll of hosepipe, where I was crouched like a tiny terrified mouse.

  “No cat?” said Yana, stopping by the door. “Why? Are you allergic?”

  “Well … no,” struggled Nisha. “But wouldn’t a cat be frightened in here?” Some of the dogs were still barking and howling from when Nisha had screamed.

  Quick thinking, Nish! I really did not want to be chased by a BIG kitty.

  “You are right,” nodded Yana. “I will fetch a cat later when the dogs have calmed down.”

  “Great,” breathed Nisha.

  “Phew!” I leant back against the hosepipe with a sigh of relief. Being eaten alive was definitely on my list of Top Ten Things To Do Today.

  “Come on, Nisha. I’ll show you the special dog you are going to help with. Your friend can catch up,” said Yana, hurrying round the corner.

  “Just coming,” said Nisha. But she bent down next to the roll of hosepipe and pretended to tie her shoelace.

  “Violet?” she whispered. Everything was going to be all right. I could see it in Nisha’s eyes at once. She wasn’t scared any more and she wasn’t angry I’d got her into trouble. In fact, from the way she was grinning, I think she wanted to pop me in her pocket and add me to the china fairy collection on her window sill at home.

  Her eyes as she held out her hand towards me.

  “Thank you!” I scrambled out of the hosepipe and into her palm.

  “I’m sorry if I gave you a fright,” I said. She held me close to her ear so she could hear my tiny voice.

  “This is like something from a storybook,” she whispered. “Like Thumbelina, or The Borrowers, or—”

  “Nish,” I hissed. “It’s secret. I mustn’t be seen by anybody else. I’ll explain everything later, I promise.”

  “Right! Of course,” she said, closing her hand gently around me.

  Nisha slipped me into her cardigan pocket and I peered out over the top as we hurried round the corner.

  “Come quietly, Nisha,” said Yana, pointing to a tall cage at the end of the row.

  Nish crept forward.

  Pressed against the bars was a MASSIVE black dog. I could have ridden on his back if I had been As it was, his sharp front teeth looked longer than I was now. Each paw was the size of a dinner plate, with claws like scissor blades poking out.

  “This is Tiny,” grinned Yana.

  “Tiny?” Nisha gasped.

  Whoever named him must have had a sense of humour – either that, or he’d grown since he was a puppy.

  Tiny sprung at the bars of the cage. He was taller than Yana as he leapt up on his hind legs and snarled at Nisha.

  Yikes! Not exactly a lapdog, I thought, clinging to the edge of Nisha’s pocket as she jumped back.

  “Sorry! He is not very friendly,” said Yana.

  Not very friendly? Tiny looked like he wanted to eat Nisha alive. If he knew I was in her pocket he’d snap me in half like a dog biscuit and gobble me up with one of his Surely this wasn’t the dog we were supposed to look after?

  “His owners could not afford to feed him,” said Yana. “He has only been at for two weeks. He will settle down soon and become our friend.”

  “I hope so,” said Nisha. “He’s very …”

  Fierce? I thought.

  “… dribbly!” said Nisha as pools of sticky doggy drool dripped over Tiny’s ENORMOUS gums and splashed on to the tiled floor beneath him.

  “ ” Tiny leapt forward to snarl at Nisha again.

  A glob of drool as big as an egg yolk

  “Eww!” shrieked Nisha. She dived sideways as the giant spitball missed her elbow by a millimetre. I ducked down inside her pocket. But I was too late. The glob of drool landed on my head and on my hair like a gooey water bomb.

  “Agh!” I shuddered as warm slime dribbled down the back of my neck. It made a deep, sticky pool in the bottom of Nisha’s pocket.

  Thank goodness I’m wearing wellies, I thought. But Tiny was dangerous! Even if he didn’t get to chomp me to death, I might drown in a pool of his doggy

  “So, Nisha?” said Yana, brightly. “You want to walk a dog. Yes?”

  “You mean this dog?” gulped Nisha, staring at Tiny with her mouth wide open.

  “No!” Yana laughed. “I just wanted to show you Tiny. But I’ll find something a bit smaller for you and your friend. Come on.”

  She set off along the row of cages.

  “Phew!” Peeping out of Nisha’s soggy pocket, I breathed GIANT sigh of relief. While I was shorter than a chihuahua’s tail, a nice small dog was definitely a good idea.

  Nisha must have felt the same because, as we hurried along, she slipped her hand in her pocket. I think she was trying to tell me that everything was OK.

  she yelped as she plunged her fingers straight into the sticky pool of drool.

  “Oh dear,” I giggled as she waved her gooey hand in the air. Yana had turned the corner ahead of us now. But the smile froze on m
y face as I felt a sudden jolt in my stomach and…

  There I was. Back to I was lying in a heap on the floor with Nisha squashed underneath me.

  “Sorry,” I whispered as Nish stared up at me, totally dazed. “Shrinking and growing always happens fast. I never know how long it’s going to last or when I’m going to grow back.”

  Nisha put her fingers through the hole in her cardigan pocket where I had burst out of it like a human cannonball.

  “Hello there…” Yana’s head appeared as she came back round the corner.

  I was sure she hadn’t actually seen me grow, but she was staring at us lying in a heap on the floor.

  “I – er – just came from the toilet,” I said, struggling to my feet.

  Nisha jumped up too and flung her arms around my neck. “Violet! I’m so glad you’re…”

  “…here,” I said quickly. “Yes. So am I.”

  Yana opened her mouth and closed it again.

  “You girls are a little bit crazy, I think?!”

  “A little, tiny bit,” I said. Nisha giggled.

  Yana smiled at me.

  “But it’s nice to meet you, Violet,” she said. “You have such a pretty name. In Russia we would say Violetta, I think.”

  “Then you can call me that,” I said. I liked the way it sounded in her strong accent. Now I was tall enough to look at her properly, I could see that as well as having super-cool green hair, Yana was really pretty and young. She had hazel eyes and pale white skin.

  “I’m sorry I was … late,” I said. “But I’m here now and ready to work really hard.”

  “Good,” said Yana. “Then follow me. I will show you the dog you will look after. He is very special, I think.”

  As Yana led us down a row of dog kennels, I squeezed Nisha’s hand and did a little skip of joy. I realized how long I had wanted to tell her about my shrinking and how it felt to share the secret at last. I could see she was with questions … but that would have to wait until we were alone.

  “Look!” I cried, pointing all around us. Now I was back to full size, I could see the dogs properly for the first time.

  I peered into each cage as we passed. There was a mother with her pups in the first. A yappy brown mongrel with three legs in another. Then five Staffordshire bull terriers all in a row and an old black Labrador with a grey nose.