New Tricks for Rascal (6 page)

Chapter Ten

The Great Dog Clean-Up

“Wow, what happened to him?” Jack said, coming up behind Ellie. Hugo leaned over to sniff the muddy little thing in front of him.

“He ran off and went digging under the hedge. What am I going to do?” Ellie shook her head. “I’ll have to take him home. He won’t even get his certificate for the end of the course! Oh, Rascal…”

“You can’t do that.” Jack frowned. “Look, can’t we sneak him into the loos
and wash the mud off?”

Ellie looked at him hopefully. “Could we? I suppose that’s the good thing about a really small dog.” She took off her jacket, and quickly wrapped it round Rascal – with the waterproof on the outside against his muddy fur. “There’s no way we could smuggle Hugo anywhere!”

Jack grinned. “Not unless we walked him along on the far side of an elephant. Come on, Hugo and I will go and stand guard in front of the door to the ladies until Jo comes to call us for our turn.”

Ellie dashed into the toilets, carrying her wriggly, whining bundle. She removed the jacket and placed a cross-looking Rascal into a washbasin.

“Sorry,” Ellie told him, as she turned on the taps. “Bathtime.”

Ellie started rinsing off the mud. But it was getting everywhere, and Rascal wasn’t helping. He kept trying to jump out of the basin, and he was so slippery!

Ellie looked up in horror as the door opened, but it was only Lila.

“Mum sent me to look for you and I ran into your friend Jack as he was on his way into the hall. He said you were in here. Oh no! How did Rascal get like that?”

“He found a muddy hedge, you know what he’s like. Please, Lila, help me wash him!”

Lila groaned, but she nodded. “I’ll hold him. You can’t let him get you muddy too.”

She grabbed hold of Rascal, which left Ellie free to swoosh the water over him. Quite a lot of it went over Lila as well.

“What do you think?” Ellie asked at last.

“He has to be clean.” Lila grinned.

“There can’t be any more mud on him, most of it’s on me, and just look at the colour of the water.”

Ellie sighed. It did look as though she’d been trying to make mud soup in the basin, and Lila was covered, too.

“Here, you hold him under the hand dryer, I’ll rinse the basin out.” Lila handed her a wet, wriggly Rascal. “Dry your T-shirt, too!”

Rascal seemed to like the warm air from the dryer. He closed his eyes blissfully and stopped struggling.

Ellie fixed his collar and lead back on. Then she tried to give her muddy sister a hug, without getting too close. “Thanks, Lila!”

“Let’s go,” Lila said. “It’ll be your turn any minute.”

Jo was just looking for them as they went back into the main hall. “Ellie, you’re on next, OK?”

It seemed as though the emergency bath session had washed away Ellie’s butterflies, too! There was no time for nerves now. She and Rascal stood in the middle of the hall, ready to show what they could do.

“Sit!” Ellie smiled as Rascal sat beautifully. “Good boy, Rascal! Down! Down, Rascal!”

Slowly, Rascal lowered his tummy to the ground.

“Stay.” Ellie moved a couple of steps backwards.

Rascal looked up at Ellie, and wriggled after her on his tummy. Ellie tried not to laugh. “Stay.”

Rascal laid his nose on his paws.

“Good boy!” Rascal sat up again, and Ellie gave him a treat. She gazed down at him sitting there so nicely. He looked so clever… It was time for his special trick.

She took another treat and balanced it on his nose. Rascal’s little tail thumped the ground, but he didn’t eat the biscuit. He watched Ellie, his eyes hopeful.

“Eat it! Good boy, Rascal!” He finally gobbled down the treat, and Ellie threw her 
arms around him. She couldn’t believe he’d done it!

“That was great, Ellie!” Jo said, and even the judge smiled. “OK, Rascal was our last dog today, so now we’re going to give out certificates to everyone, and Anne has chosen the winners. So, can you all come and stand in a line.”

Ellie cuddled Rascal, and beamed over at her family, who were all clapping.

“Third place, Jack and Hugo!” Anne announced.

Jack gasped.

“Jack’s done so well learning to control such a big dog,” Jo commented, as she handed Jack a yellow rosette.

“Second goes to Amelia and Goldie.”

Amelia didn’t look happy, as she was given a red rosette. Obviously she’d thought she would come first.

First place went to a lady with a retriever, from one of the other classes. Ellie knew he had been the best dog in the show, and she certainly hadn’t expected to win first prize, but she still felt a bit sad. It would have been so nice if Rascal had won
something
.

“And we also have a special award – we don’t give this one out every time. It’s Most Improved – and this is for Ellie and Rascal. Ellie’s worked
so
hard with Rascal, and Jack Russells aren’t easy dogs to train. So well done, you two!”

Ellie and Rascal came to the front, and Jo handed Ellie a green rosette.

“Oh, Rascal, you little star!” Ellie hugged him, and clipped the rosette on to his collar. He was so little that the ribbons trailed on the ground, and he turned round to try and nibble them. Ellie couldn’t wait to show Christy. Hopefully, there would still be some rosette left by the end of school tomorrow.

“Well done, Ellie!” Mum hugged her. “Shall we sign up for the next set of classes? You’ve got three weeks before they start.”

“Yes, please! Jack and Hugo are doing them, too.”

“Do they teach emergency baths?” Lila whispered. “You’d be good at that.”

Back at home, Mum went to make something for a celebration supper. Dad took off his trainers and frowned at the shoes lined up by the door. “You haven’t seen my other slipper, have you?”

“Rascal?” Ellie looked down worriedly as she took off his lead. He stared back at her, wrinkling his nose. His eyes were 
sparkling naughtily, as he trotted off across the hallway. He burrowed under the shoe rack, one of his favourite hiding places, and came out with the slipper. He held it up to Dad, like the most perfectly trained
slipper-fetching
dog ever.

“Good boy, Rascal!” Dad said in a surprised voice. “You’ve done so well today.”

Ellie grinned. She decided not to point out the pattern of little teethmarks round the heel.

Like Grandad said, perfect could be a little bit boring!

Holly Webb started out as a children’s book editor, and wrote her first series for the publisher she worked for. She has been writing ever since, with over sixty books to her name. Holly lives in Berkshire, with her husband and three young sons. She has a pet cat called Marble, who is always nosying around when she’s trying to type on her laptop.