Rascal's Festive Fun (2 page)

Chapter Three

Crafty Christmas

“That sounds like a really cool idea,” Christy said, as she carefully sprinkled red glitter on to the photo frame she was making. Miss Wright was letting them do lots of Christmas crafts now that it was the last week of term.

“I hope Jo says yes. It would get everyone feeling really Christmassy, and then they’d want to go and buy loads of presents and things!” Ellie smiled. “Did you get a leaflet about the shelter at the weekend?
They really need to raise some money.”

Christy nodded. “It was so sad! All those dogs with no proper homes. I showed it to Mum and Dad, but they said one dog was enough, especially when he’s as big as Bouncer.” Bouncer was Christy’s golden Labrador. He was gorgeous and very well-behaved, but there was no denying that he took up a lot of room.

“We got one too,” Lucy put in. “They must have delivered them all over town. Some of the dogs looked really sweet.”

Ellie smiled at her. Lucy wasn’t a huge dog fan – she’d been quite scared of them until she’d come to Ellie’s birthday sleepover, and Rascal had “adopted” her. It was as though he’d known Lucy was
scared, and he’d done everything he could to prove how nice dogs can be.

“Are you excited about this afternoon?” Ellie asked her, and Lucy nodded, wrinkling her nose.

“Excited but scared at the same time. I woke up in the middle of the night and I was certain it was all going to go wrong! But I felt better about my solo this morning when I saw my costume again – it’s so pretty.”

Lucy had joined their school in the summer term, and had quickly made friends with Ellie and Christy. She was a brilliant dancer, and a few weeks ago she’d been showing them one of her ballet exam pieces in the playground when Miss Wright, their new teacher for Year Four, had spotted her. 
When the rehearsals for the Christmas play started, Lucy found out that she’d been cast as a snowflake, with a solo dance to do. It was the dress rehearsal that afternoon, and the show was tomorrow evening.

Ellie was actually quite glad she was only an elf in the play. She had one line to say, “The dark forest is that way!” and lots of songs and a bit of dancing. That was quite enough. She loved being in plays, but she didn’t want to be centre-stage like Lucy, or Christy, who was an elf too, but with loads of words to say.

“Ellie, that’s beautiful!” Miss Wright was leaning over their table. “Really clever, the way you’ve built up the layers so the holly leaves look solid.”

“Thank you!” Ellie stuck another bead on to the picture frame. They were making them as presents for their parents. Miss Wright had taken photos of them in their play costumes to put inside. As Ellie was meant to be a holly elf, she’d cut out holly leaves to go all round the frame. She was using red beads as berries, and she was really pleased with it.

“There’s the bell for lunch, everyone.” Miss Wright looked round at the glittery classroom, rather worriedly. “Oh well. Just put your frames over on this table to dry. And after lunch, come straight back here to put your costumes on!”

Luckily, they were so busy with the play all afternoon that Miss Wright had decided it would be mean to give them homework too. Ellie and Christy walked home together, with Ellie’s mum and Rascal. When they got to the hill just before their road, Rascal raced ahead. He dragged Ellie, who was holding his lead, behind him, and Christy had to run alongside them.

“I am sooo tired,” Ellie panted, as they reached the top of the hill. “All I want to do is go and flop on the sofa! I hope pulling me up the hill’s tired you out too, Rascal. I’m not sure I can face another walk tonight.”

Rascal looked up hopefully at the word “walk”, and Ellie sighed.

“I need to practise my words again for tomorrow,” Christy said. “See you in the morning, Ellie!”

When she got in, Ellie took her photo frame out of her bag and sneaked upstairs to hide it in her bedroom. She slipped it into the big box under her bed, where she was keeping all the presents she’d got for everyone, and looked down at it happily. She was sure Mum and Dad would like it.

Rascal put his paws up on the edge of the box, and sniffed at the frame interestedly. It smelled of glue, and the red beads looked juicy.

“No, it’s not for eating, Rascal!” Ellie quickly put the lid back on and pushed the box back under the bed. “You like it too, mmm?” She looked down at him thoughtfully. “Maybe I could do another one for Grandad and put a photo of you inside! That would be a lovely present!”

She looked around for the camera her
mum and dad had given her for her birthday, and then shook her head. “I need to make you look really Christmassy first…” she told Rascal.

Rascal stared back at her, bright-eyed and hopeful. He was still sure those beads would have been delicious.

Chapter Four

Rascal's Photoshoot

“Mum, have you got any red material I can borrow?” Ellie hovered next to her mum's mini-office under the stairs.

“I might have, why?” Mum glanced round from her computer. She'd told Ellie she needed to get a bit of work finished off before she made the dinner.

Ellie rubbed one foot up and down her leg, and smiled. “It's sort of a secret,” she admitted.

“Oh, really…? Well, I suppose you can go and have a look through that bag of scraps in the back of my wardrobe – actually, no, hang on, I'll get it for you.” Mum jumped up hurriedly, and Ellie grinned. There were definitely things in Mum's wardrobe that she didn't want anyone to see!

“Will this do?” Mum asked her a few minutes later, waving a piece of bright red felt round the door.

“Oooh, yes!” Ellie stroked it delightedly. “That's perfect. Can I really have it?”

“It was left over from some costume Max had to have for school. Yes, you have it, Ellie. Just don't get red fluff all over your bedroom!”

“OK! Thanks, Mum.” Ellie went back to
her room, where Rascal was now curled up snoozing on her bed. Ellie had a close look at him, especially his ears. She knew exactly what she wanted to end up with, but she wasn't quite sure how to make it.

She fetched the scissors from the little sewing box that Gran and Grandpa had given her last Christmas, and spread the red fabric out on the floor. Luckily, it had a sort of plasticky backing, so she wouldn't need to hem it or do anything too complicated. She took a deep breath and started carefully cutting.

Half an hour later, she had something that really looked like a dog-sized Santa hat. With ear-holes. Ellie looked at it proudly. She'd found some cotton wool
in her sewing box that Mum had given her to use as snow on the Christmas cards she'd made last year. There was just enough to go around the brim of the hat, and make a little pompom for the top.

Rascal had woken up, and was now sitting next to her on the floor, occasionally sniffing at the white fluffy stuff. It made him sneeze.

“Want to try it on, Rascal?” Ellie suggested, holding it out.

Rascal eyed the hat doubtfully. He wasn't absolutely sure what it was, although he liked the way it dangled about. Was it a new toy?

“Sit still a minute,” Ellie told him, putting the hat on his head and gently arranging his ears in the holes. “Ohhh, Rascal, you 
look so funny! Let me take a photo of you!” She turned to grab the camera.

Rascal shook his head uncertainly. It felt very odd. The hat slipped down over one eye, and the bobble bounced in front of his nose. He seized it in his teeth and nibbled at it, looking very confused.

Ellie giggled as she took shot after shot of Rascal in his hat. She wasn't sure she'd ever get him to wear it again, once he worked out how to get it off, so she needed to be quick.

But by the time he'd tugged the hat off completely, she had lots of cute pictures. Admittedly, Rascal didn't actually have the hat on straight in a single one, but Ellie didn't think it mattered. He looked more like himself with a wonky hat and a chewed bobble, somehow…

“I'm sure we need more rehearsals,” Lucy said worriedly. “We all went the wrong way in the final dance yesterday. It's going to be a disaster!”

Ellie put an arm round her friend. “No, it isn't! It was only a little mistake.”

She glanced around. It was lunchtime, but the playground was strangely quiet.
Everyone was huddled about, looking over their words, or practising dance steps. They were doing the play for the infants that afternoon, and then all their parents were coming that evening.

“Everyone's nervous,” Christy agreed. “I keep forgetting my lines. But Miss Wright said the rehearsal was great, Lucy.”

Ellie burrowed in her coat pocket. “Here, look. I brought these to show you two.” She had printed out the photos of Rascal she'd taken the night before. They were so cute she couldn't resist showing her friends!

“He's so funny!” Lucy giggled, looking at the one where Rascal had managed to get the hat over both eyes. “Thanks, Ellie, that's really cheered me up!”

Ellie's mum and dad had even persuaded Max and Lila to come and see the play. When the curtains drew open that night, Ellie could see them all sitting in the second row, with Grandad. Mum was waving, but Ellie only gave her a quick smile back. Miss Wright had made them promise not to get distracted by anyone in the audience.

The play seemed to race along, and it was no time at all before the audience were applauding at the end. Ellie had seen
Mum and Dad beaming as she said her line, and even Max was clapping. When the dancers came on to bow, with Lucy in the middle, people cheered. Lucy looked delighted, and Ellie hugged her as they ran off stage.

“I told you it would all be OK,” cried Ellie. “You were a star!”