by Lou Kuenzler
They were pale blue, of course … and very, very
“Horrible little dog!” she screamed and she ran down the aisle, covering herself with Tarquin’s green jacket and a bouquet of blue plastic roses.
When all the other guests had gone home, my family stood in the car park at with Uncle Max.
Yana waited a little to one side with Chip on a lead.
“I know it’s tough, Max, but you did the right thing,” said Dad, patting him on the back.
Uncle Max nodded. He stuffed the frilly bowtie into his pocket.
“What will you do now?” asked Mum.
“Where will you go?”
“You can stay with us for as long as you want,” said Dad.
“That would be lovely.” Uncle Max put his arm around my shoulders. “But after that, in a few weeks, I think I’d like to travel. Go on one of my trips. Write a new book. Bunny wanted me to stay home and work in an office, but …” Uncle Max shook his head. “… that’s just not really me.”
“But what about Chip?” I said, glancing over at Yana. “He can’t go travelling with you.”
Chip heard his name and tugged Yana closer.
“True,” said Uncle Max, bending down to stroke Chip’s ears. “I have to look after this little guy now. I can’t just go trotting off whenever I feel like it.”
“But you must go travelling,” said Mum. “You’re never happier than when you’re crawling through some snake-infested swamp or jumping out of some rickety old aeroplane.” She bent down and stroked Chip’s other ear. “I know it is hard. But perhaps it is best if Chip goes back to . He seems very fond of Yana, so—”
“But I am leaving,” Yana interrupted. “In two weeks. I am going to Siberia to work with wolves in the wild.”
“Siberia?” said Uncle Max. “Wild wolves? That sounds fascinating.” There was a in his eye I hadn’t seen for a long time. “I did some research when Violet and I adopted Boris, the wolf cub. I’ve always thought a book about the wolves and why they’re endangered could help raise a lot of money.”
“Certainly,” agreed Yana. “It would be a fantastic help to the project.”
“But Chip can’t go back to ,” I said. “Not without you there, Yana.”
“He will miss me, it is true,” said Yana. “He likes the other workers there, but…”
“But you’re special to him,” I said.
Yana nodded. “And you are special to him too, Violetta.”
“But don’t you see? That would be perfect!” said Uncle Max, turning to Mum. “Chip wouldn’t have to go back to . Not if I knew Violet could look after him for me. Just sometimes? When I am away on long trips.”
“Oh please, Mum,” I cried, scooping Chip up in my arms.
Mum looked at me. She looked at Chip. She looked at Uncle Max. She looked at Dad and she looked at Tiffany.
Then she looked at Chip again and sighed.
“Oh, I suppose so,” she said. “Poor little thing … he does deserve a family.”
“” I cried. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I flung my arms around Mum’s neck as Chip joined in the hug and her nose.
“That is so unfair,” said Tiffany. “I can’t believe Violet is getting a dog.”
“She’s not getting a dog,” said Mum. “She’s just borrowing one. When Uncle Max is away.”
“But you said I could get hair straighteners,” Tiffany sulked.
“Perhaps you can borrow some of those from somewhere, too,” giggled Dad, looking at Tiff’s sunflower hair.
“Bunny left something like that in my flat,” said Uncle Max. “Really fancy ones. But I have a feeling she won’t be coming back for them. You can borrow those, if you like.”
“Seriously?” grinned Tiffany.
“Seriously,” said Uncle Max.
As we walked towards the car, he whispered in my ear, “You might be able to borrow Chip for a very long time, if we play our cards right.”
“Really?” I said, my mouth dry with excitement.
“Yes.” Uncle Max smiled – a proper smile that spread right across his face. “I mean it about this trip to Siberia. Especially if Yana thinks a book would be helpful. I’d to live with the wolves. Perhaps I’ll even meet Boris. And I know you’ll always look after Chip.”
“Always,” I said, my heart beating against Chip’s shaggy fur as I held him in my arms. “Just one thing, Uncle Max. How do you spell Siberia?”
“S-I-B-E-R-I-A. It’s a cold, snowy state in the east of Russia,” said Uncle Max. “But why do you want to know how to spell it? Are you going to send me a postcard?”
“Maybe,” I said, muttering the letters under my breath. “I like to spell whenever I’m excited. It helps me stay calm…
I repeated the letters over and over again.
I couldn’t believe it. Chip was coming home with me. He was coming to stay.
Three weeks later, Nisha and I were sitting in my lounge. It was spinach stew for supper. But I didn’t care. Chip was here.
Everything was perfect. Well, everything except for the spinach, of course. And I did still owe Ratty-Riley a of TOFFAMEL bars. And I was still paying Mum back for the lost wellie boot. And Miss Penman had given us HEAPS of terrifically tough spellings to learn for the holidays. And I was still a bit wobbly on my seven times tables. But, I didn’t care about any of that any more. Not now that I had Chip to look after.
He was lying on my lap, exhausted from a long walk in the park.
While I stroked him, Nisha groomed his ears. She brushed and brushed till they shone like bronze.
“He almost looks smart,” laughed Mum peeping in from the hall. “Here you are, Violet. A postcard came from Uncle Max.”
“” I cried as Mum handed me a snowy picture of a wolf. Chip jumped off the chair and followed her to the kitchen as she went to finish cooking the spinach stew. Chip loves spinach. He up all the scraps … just like I always said he would.
“Read the postcard out loud,” said Nisha.
“OK.” I turned it over.
“I wish I was there! Think how exciting it would be to follow the wolves and camp near an open fire,” I said. “I can just see Uncle Max and Yana listening to the howling and staring up at the stars.”
“How romantic,” giggled Nisha.
“Yes, isn’t it?” I said. And I felt a sudden tingling in my toes.
“Not again! Honestly, Violet,” laughed Nisha as I shrank right before her eyes. “What’s so exciting now?”
“Imagine if Uncle Max and Yana fall in love and get married,” I cried, grabbing hold of the postcard and floating to the floor as if I were riding a magic carpet. “That’s one wedding I would DEFINITELY to be a bridesmaid for!”
Huge thanks to Alice Swan and all the team at Scholastic for being TOTALLY brilliant – especially Alison Padley for her fonts and design. To Kirsten Collier for the wonderful illustrations. Also Pat White and Claire Wilson at RCW for looking after me so well. And to Sophie McKenzie for yet more TERRIFIC advice. Thanks to my friends and family too, and to Willesden the dog, who snoozed by my feet while I wrote this book.
Scholastic Children’s Books
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First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2013
This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2014
Text copyright © Lou Kuenzler, 2013
Illustration copyright © Kirsten Collier, 2013
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eISBN 978 1407 14670 6
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