Lucky Dog Days (4 page)

“Rachel’s jealous, Rachel’s jealous!” sang Sonny and Roger and Tim all together.

It was very crowded at the sale. All the rummage was selling quickly. There were just a few things left.

“Now,” said Mrs. Peters. “I would like your attention please! It is time to bid for the necklace. Who can give us the largest bid to help the animal shelter?”

She held the necklace up in front of
the crowd. It sparkled and glittered in the bright sun.

“The diamonds may not be real, but they are very pretty,” Mrs. Peters said.

She began to read the bids that people had written on pieces of paper. “Ten dollars from Mrs. Dolan,” she read.

That seemed like a lot of money to Molly.

“Twenty-five dollars from Joe Smithly,” said Mrs. Peters.

Everyone cheered.

“Wow,” said Lisa. “He must be rich.”

Mrs. Peters kept reading off numbers and names. There were many bids in the box. Then all of a sudden she looked very surprised. “One thousand dollars!” she called.

“Ooh, aah,” everyone said.

Who would bid one thousand dollars at a rummage sale?

The Pee Wee Scouts looked around.

“It’s not my mom,” said Lisa. “She doesn’t have that much money.”

“My mom does,” said Rachel. “My dad’s a dentist.”

Rachel was always bragging about her dad, thought Molly.

The Pee Wees ignored Rachel.

“It must be a movie star,” said Sonny. Finally Mrs. Peters read the name on the paper. “Mrs. Noble,” she said.

The Scouts looked all around. They tried to see if Mrs. Noble looked like a movie star.

“She’ll have lots of makeup on her face,” whispered Sonny.

“And gold rings on her fingers,” said Tracy.

“Here I am!” called out a lady at the back of the crowd. “I’m Mrs. Noble.”

But this lady did not have makeup on.

She did not wear gold rings. She had jeans on. And an old blue sweater.

“She’s no movie star,” scoffed Roger.

When she came closer, Tracy said, “Do you know who that is? That’s the lady who gave us the necklace.”

Molly looked. Rat’s knees! Tracy was right. Why would a lady pay one thousand dollars for her own necklace?

Mrs. Noble gave Mrs. Peters a check. Then she took the necklace. With a big smile on her face, she looked out into the crowd at Molly and Tracy and Mary Beth.

“When these nice girls came to my house,” she said, “I was in such a hurry that I didn’t realize I had given them my real diamond necklace.”

Mrs. Peters’s eyes opened wide. “Those were real diamonds in your wagon,” she said.

“I knew that,” said Molly.

“So did we,” said Tracy and Mary Beth.

“The necklace is worth over ten thousand dollars,” Mrs. Noble said with a smile.

Kevin whistled through his teeth.

“She is as rich as a movie star,” said Tim. “Even if she isn’t one.”

“You could buy a house with ten thousand dollars. Or at least a sports car!” shouted Roger.

“It isn’t just the money,” said Mrs. Noble. “This necklace has been in my family a long time. I’m very glad to have it back. And I’m glad to donate this money to the animal shelter too.”

Miss Penn went right up to the front of the crowd. “With this money,” she said, “we can put in some new kennels with outdoor runs. Plus, we’ll be able to take in more poor homeless dogs and cats for people to adopt. Thank you very much.”

She shook Mrs. Noble’s hand.

Mrs. Noble has pretty good rummage, thought Molly. Thank goodness she and Mary Beth had gone along with bossy, drippy Tracy! If they hadn’t, they would never have gone to Lake Street or to Mrs. Noble’s house.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad to be bossy after all.

At least when it’s for a good cause.

Leftover
Puppy

T
hat night the Pee Wee Scouts fell into bed. They were very hot. They were very tired. Molly was too tired even to eat supper. She slept like a rock.

But the next morning there was work to be done.

The Scouts rushed over to Mrs. Peters’s house when they got up.

“I’ll rake!” shouted Roger.

“I’ll clean the garage,” said Molly.

“I’ll help Molly,” said Mary Beth.

“Sonny and I will pack up the leftover rummage,” said Tim.

“Yeah,” said Sonny. “We’ll do it together.”

All of the Scouts pitched in to help.

“Many hands make light work, my mom says,” said Rachel.

By noon the yard was swept and cleaned.

Mrs. Peters poured some lemonade. It was another hot day.

“Yum,” said Molly. She rubbed her stomach.

“Now,” said Mrs. Peters, sitting down at the picnic table. “I want to congratulate Troop 23. You brought lots of money to the animal shelter. You brought more than any other Scout troop. But the best thing is, you all worked very hard. You did what Pee Wee Scouts should do. You helped others.”

Molly was proud. She felt like bursting her buttons. Being a Scout made her feel good. Even if she didn’t get a badge for it.

“We have only one thing to take care of,” said Mrs. Peters.

“I know!” shouted Kevin. “The leftover puppy!”

The Pee Wees all looked at the one cage beside the driveway. Next to the cage sat one leftover puppy. All the others had been sold. Mrs. Peters had fed him and kept him in her house overnight.

Sonny brought the puppy some fresh water.

He patted him on the head.

Sonny was not afraid of puppies.

Only large dogs.

“We can’t send him back,” said Molly.

“Mrs. Peters, do we have to send this puppy back to the pound?” asked Tim.

“Well,” said Mrs. Peters, pouring more lemonade for the Scouts, “we could use a mascot for Troop 23.”

“Where would he live?” asked Molly, hoping it would be her house.

“We’ll have to see if your mothers
would take turns keeping him,” replied Mrs. Peters.

Tracy looked doubtful. She sneezed, loudly.

“Not Tracy’s mom,” added Mrs. Peters.

“Yeah!” the Scouts cheered. They all wanted a Pee Wee mascot. He was white with a black nose.

All the mothers will want him, thought Molly.

“Let’s call him Spot,” said Lisa.

“There are lots of better names than Spot,” scoffed Rachel.

Lisa looked hurt.

“I like Paws,” said Tracy.

“King,” said Roger.

“Prince,” said Kevin.

Mrs. Peters frowned. “Those are all good names,” she said. “But if we do keep him, I think we should call him Lucky
because he was lucky to be at a sale to help pets.”

Troop 23 clapped loudly.

Some of the boys whistled.

Lucky was the best name for a maybe-mascot.

“This week,” said Mrs. Peters, “I will call your mothers. If they agree to take turns keeping Lucky, we will have a mascot. I will let you know at our next meeting.”

The Pee Wees groaned. It was a long time to wait.

Roger snapped a leash on Lucky’s collar and took him for a run. Then everyone petted him. He tried to lick their hands. He wagged his tail.

“Lucky just has to be our mascot,” said Mary Beth.

“He’ll be a spoiled one,” said Mrs. Peters, smiling.

“Why will he spoil?” said Tracy. She frowned.

The Scouts laughed.

“I mean he will get too much attention,” said Mrs. Peters. “Not spoil like food. If we keep him,” she added.

Even though it was not a meeting, the Scouts joined hands and sang their Scout song. Then they said their Pee Wee Scout pledge.

Mrs. Peters looked pleased. Her troop had worked hard.

Harder than any other troop.

“Next week we will have new badges for you,” she said.

The Scouts cheered at the news. They gave Lucky one last hug, and started home.

Molly felt good all over. They had worked hard. They would get new badges. They had helped homeless animals.

And maybe, just maybe, they would get a troop mascot.

Mrs. Peters’s
Surprise

A
t last it was time for another meeting of the Pee Wees. Molly was eager to find out if the other mothers would agree to keep Lucky. Her mother had said yes.

Molly was excited about something else too. The Scouts had a surprise for Mrs. Peters.