by Kristen Otte
“Hi, Zelda Bug,” she says. “What are you doing?” I look at her and then at the pug. I bark a few times.
“What is it?” she says, petting my forehead. It feels so good. I start fading into pug dreamland.
Wait a minute. I need to focus.
I start barking and stealing quick glances at the pug on the shelf. But Lucy keeps petting me, ignoring the other pug. It’s so hard to concentrate when she massages my head.
When I wake up, I am alone on the bed. I look up at the shelf.
The pug is gone!
I spring out of bed and search the room. No sign of the pug. I move through the rest of the bedrooms upstairs, but I see no trace of it. I continue my search on the bottom level. Lucy is sitting on the couch with the pug in her lap.
The pug is okay.
I breathe a sigh of relief and run downstairs. I jump on the couch next to the pug. I start barking, but the pug does nothing. Plus, I still can’t smell the pug. I can’t even tell if it’s a girl or a boy. I walk over Lucy’s lap and playfully nip at the pug. Nothing. I try one more time, this time grabbing hold of its leg. The leg is soft, like one of my toys. I grab hold and yank, but I lose my grip. The pug goes flying across the room. As it sails through the air, I realize my mistake. The pug isn’t real: it’s a toy, just like my owl. I was so excited to have another pug in the house that I missed all the signs. The pug didn’t move, bark, sneeze, or snore. I couldn’t even smell it. I pick up the pug I flung across the room and bring it to Lucy. Of course, the pug was a toy; I just wanted it to be real.
12
Zelda Meets Peach
After the incident with the fake pug, I am staying low key around the house. Honestly, I am a little embarrassed at my mistake. My family, on the other hand, is busy with activity. Hannah is covering boxes during the day and placing them under the tree. I notice Hannah and Nate talking in hushed voices about “presents.” Lucy is running around the house mumbling about “Santa Claus.” Even Ben is more talkative and playful than normal. He keeps telling me how much I am going to love my Christmas present.
I watch and listen from my perch on top of the couch. I can tell we are getting close to the big day, the day when everyone unwraps all the presents under the pine tree.
“Okay, Zelda, we will be back later,” Ben says. “Tomorrow is the big day.” The family leaves without me. I watch the white stuff fall on the grass from the window. I hope I will get a new owl. Or Milk-Bones. Or a Nylabone. Or all of them. Christmas is the best.
When my family returns home, the snow is illuminating the darkness outside. My family greets me. Hannah and Nate send Ben and Lucy to bed. I am warm and toasty in my blanket, so I stay downstairs with Hannah and Nate. After a few minutes of conversation, Nate gets up and leaves the house.
“Zelda, it’s bedtime,” Hannah says. We walk upstairs together. I jump onto Lucy’s bed while Hannah checks on Ben. When Hannah returns, she gives Lucy a kiss and pets me. She says goodnight to us and closes the door.
I wake up in the middle of the night to a scratching noise. I want to bark, but everyone is sleeping. I don’t want to get in trouble. I listen for a few more minutes to the scratching. I hear a few whispers and the scratching stops. I fall back asleep.
The next time I wake up, Lucy is moving out of bed. It must be early; only a few streams of light are peaking through the window. As we walk down the stairs, Lucy is mumbling about Christmas and Santa.
Hannah and Nate are waiting downstairs. The pine tree is lit, and the number of gifts under the tree has doubled.
“Merry Christmas,” Nate shouts to Lucy and me.
“Shhhh,” Hannah says. “You will wake up Ben.”
“It’s time for him to get up anyway. It’s Christmas morning—time for gifts!” he replies. Lucy wanders down the stairs and sits in front of the tree.
“Wow, look at all these presents Santa brought,” she says. I hear a few creaks from above, and a few minutes later, Ben appears on the stairs.
“Merry Christmas,” Nate shouts again.
“Merry Christmas,” Ben replies. He walks down the stairs and takes a seat on the couch.
The fun begins. Presents are passed around, and the family opens the gifts. I run around and investigate all the new toys and objects. So far, there isn’t much for me. Only a few gifts remain when I hear a whimper from upstairs. And then, the scratching noise returns.
What is upstairs?
I run up the stairs. The whimpering and scratching is originating from Hannah and Nate’s room, but the door is closed. Hannah and Nate appear next to me.
“You grab Zelda,” Nate says, “And I will get Peach.” Hannah bends over and picks me up. Nate opens the door, and a dog runs out.
What?
I squirm and break loose from Hannah’s arms and chase the dog down the stairs. When I arrive downstairs, the dog is licking Ben’s face. She is dark brown and white with tall ears. She is bigger than me, but not by much. She doesn’t have a long snout, but she also doesn’t have wrinkles.
“Merry Christmas, Lucy and Zelda—meet Peach, the Boston terrier, our new dog,” Nate says. Peach wanders over to Lucy and starts licking her face. I stand motionless, unsure what to do.
Did I hear Nate correctly? Is Peach here to stay?
I walk up to Peach and bark a few times. She doesn’t seem to mind. When I get close, she backs away from Lucy. I nip at her front leg, and she allows it. She reciprocates, and we start rolling on the floor together. I find my owl and she chases me, trying to get it from me. When she finally grabs hold, we play tug-of-war.
“Well, I think they will get along fine,” Hannah says.
“Lucy, do you like Peach?” Nate asks.
“Yes, she’s nice. And now Zelda has a friend.” Lucy says.
“Yes, she does,” Nate replies.
“She’s so friendly and sweet,” Ben says.
“We definitely got lucky with Peach,” Hannah replies. “And with Zelda. She’s turned out to be a pretty good dog.”
“Yes, she is,” Ben says. I take a break from tug-of-war and wander over to Hannah, who is sitting on the couch again. I jump in her lap and give her a kiss. Peach follows my lead, and we both are in Hannah’s lap and giving her kisses. I have a friend to play with all the time. Even better, I have a family who loves me enough to find me a friend. My pug life is awesome. It’s another merry Christmas!
I hope you enjoyed reading The Adventures of Zelda: The Second Saga. Zelda’s adventures continue in book three of the series: The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach. If you leave an honest review of this book, I’ll send you the next book in the series for free. When your review is live, send me an email with the title of your review ( [email protected] ), and I’ll send you the free ebook.
If you loved this book, then you will want to read Batpeach, the spinoff series to The Adventures of Zelda. Batpeach is free to those on my email list. Click here to join my email list to receive your free book and keep up to date on my latest books, contests, and giveaways. I love getting to know my fans! Thanks for your support. Happy Reading!
A Sneak Preview
The Adventures of Zelda:
Pug and Peach
I jump on Lucy’s bed and curl up under the covers with her for the night. I close my eyes and let the exhaustion take over. My pug body is tired after a long day of playing and chasing my brand new sister. My sister is my Christmas gift. She was the best gift ever—making me the happiest pug on the planet. She is a Boston terrier, and her name is Peach.
Peach is a little bigger than I am, with tall, pointy ears, droopy lips, and a pug-like smashed face. Peach doesn’t have nearly the number of wrinkles I do. She is dark, brindled-brown with patches of white, including a white stripe down her head to her nose, and a small peach spot on her nose. I think that’s why she is named Peach. Although she is a good-looking dog, Peach is not as pretty as me, especially since she doesn’t have a curly tail. Her tail is short and a bit crooked. Honestly, I don’t really ca
re what she looks like; I am just excited to have a canine friend.
When I open my eyes the next day, light shines through the window, and the spot next to me is empty. Lucy is awake already. I stand and stretch—my body isn’t used to all this exercise during the cold season. I hear movement downstairs as I go through my morning round of sneezes.
My family is gathered in the living room and eating breakfast. I see Peach nestled in a spot between Lucy and Hannah on the couch. Lucy is laughing as Peach repeatedly licks Lucy’s face. I feel a pang of envy rip through me, but I ignore it and walk into the kitchen.
I smell bacon!
Nate is cooking in the kitchen, so I sit patiently next to him. If I stay calm, I am sure he will give me a piece of bacon. But it is so hard to remain calm when bacon is at stake. I sit and stare. I can’t see the bacon, but the smell is overpowering.
Ruff. Ruff.
“Zelda, quiet,” Nate says. I sit again. I didn’t mean to bark, but I couldn’t help it. Peach wanders into the kitchen.
“Hi, Peach,” Nate says. “Do you want some bacon?” Peach trots over to Nate and starts leaping into the air.
She is springy!
“I think that means yes,” Nate says, laughing. I inch closer to him. He better not forget about me. Nate grabs a piece of bacon. I do my best sit and stare at Nate with my bulgy, brown eyes.
“Good sit, Zelda,” he says. “Peach, can you sit?” Peach continues to leap for the bacon while I wait patiently like the model pug that I am.
“No, Peach,” he says and tries to get Peach to sit.
How long will I have to wait?
Finally, Peach sits, and Nate gives her a piece of the bacon.
“Good girl, Zelda,” he says and gives me the remaining bacon. I scarf it up in a second.
“Okay, that’s it for now. You’re free,” he says. I walk to the living room. Peach follows.
I find a comfortable spot on the couch next to Lucy. Peach jumps onto the couch and squeezes into the spot next to me. I look at her, and she nips at my face in a playful manner. I bite back, aiming for her mouth, but she shifts out of the way. I try again; this time she opens her mouth as mine approaches. We lock mouths, attempting to maneuver our mouths over top each other’s.
We shift and squirm as the game continues, trying to get an advantage. Peach ends up upside down on Ben’s lap. I jump on top of Peach, confident that I have her mouth cornered.
“Mom, what’s happening?” Ben asks. I snap at Peach, but she dodges to the right. I pause for a moment to listen.
“They are playing, don’t worry about it,” Hannah says.
Oh, good. Hannah understands.
While I am distracted, Peach nips for my neck. I jerk backward just in time.
“They seem like they are trying to hurt each other,” Ben says.
“No, this is how dogs play. If they were trying to hurt each other, you would know,” Hannah says. “Although this is a funny game they are playing.” I go in for the final bite.
I have her mouth!
“It kind of seems like they are trying to figure out whose mouth is bigger,” Ben says. Hannah laughs.
“It does,” Hannah responds.
I have Peach’s mouth for only seconds before she wiggles her way out of the hold. But the moment of victory supercharges me. I leap off the couch and sprint around the coffee table, into the dining room, sliding as I go, and back to the living room. I jump to the couch and give Peach a quick nip, urging her to follow my next move. I leap again, but this time I run up the stairs and away from the slippery floor. I hear thumps behind me, and I know Peach is following. She catches up to me quickly, and I run under Lucy’s bed. She’s unable to fit, so she stops and barks at me. I lie on the floor panting for a few minutes. Peach keeps barking.
“What’s going on up here?” Nate asks. He walks into the room. Peach stands on her hind legs and licks his hand. I crawl out from the bed.
“Oh, hi, Zelda. Come on, let’s go downstairs,” he says. We follow him downstairs to the living room. I see an open blanket.
“It looks like they are done playing the ‘Whose Mouth Is Bigger’ game,” Ben says.
For now, but we will play again.
To continue reading, get your copy of The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach.
Afterword
I want to thank a few people who were big supporters of this project. First, thanks to my family for supporting my writing career and everything I do. A special thanks to my mother who constantly reminds me of the proper place to put commas and proofreads my work. Thank you to my editor, Candace Johnson, for her hard work and kind words. Thanks to Michael McFarland for designing another awesome cover. Thanks to my husband, Brian, for not thinking I am crazy for pursuing a career in writing and supporting me every step of the way. And finally, thanks to our pug, Zelda, for inspiring these stories and bringing joy and laughter into our home.
About the Author
Author Kristen Otte writes funny books for kids that parents can trust. She is also known to write books for teens. Most of the time Kristen is chasing someone around her house–her son, her dogs, even her husband. If she isn’t doing that, she is probably writing, reading, or enjoying the outdoors.
Learn more about Kristen and Zelda at
www.kristenotte.com
[email protected]
Series By Kristen Otte
The Adventures of Zelda is a laugh-out-loud chapter book series about a pug who has an appetite for adventure for ages 7 and up.
The Adventures of Zelda: A Pug Tale
The Adventures of Zelda: The Second Saga
The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach
The Adventures of Zelda: The Four Seasons
The Adventures of Zelda: The One & Only Pug
Charlie Baker is the new kid at school, and he’s from outer space. Can he keep his big secret? Alien Kid is an exciting middle grade series for ages 9 and up that love to laugh.
Alien Kid
Alien Kid 2 (Coming Fall 2017)
Eastbrook is a contemporary young adult series focused on teenagers trying to find their way with family, friends, and sports for ages 13 and up.
The Perfect Smile (Eastbrook 0.5)
The Photograph (Eastbrook 1)
The Evolution of Lillie Gable (Eastbrook 2)