Prince for a Princess (3 page)
“I guess because he was raised with all those other dogs around, he's not used to being alone.”
“He barks or whines when I go out. He doesn't like to be alone in the house. Look what he's done to the doors!”
Both the front and back doors had claw marks where Prince had pawed at them when he was left alone.
“I try not to leave him alone for long, but there are things I have to do during the day,” she said.
“A few marks on the doors aren't a problem. And he is getting better.”
“Much better. Besides it's awfully hard to get mad at him. He is such a good dog.” She paused. “So whose turn is it to read to Christina tonight?”
“I think it's yours, but how about if I come along and you read to all of us.”
They climbed the stairs. At the top, they could hear Christina reading. When they peeked in the room, they saw Christina in bed reading to Prince. He was so big he stretched from the top of the bed to the bottom. Christina was snuggled up against him. They were surrounded by dozens and dozens of stuffed dogs. All the dogs, the stuffed ones and Prince, looked as if they were listening to the story.
Christina looked up at her parents. She knew her parents didn't like Prince getting up on the furniture. “I
invited
him to come up,” Christina said.
“That's okay. He looks pretty comfy,” her mother said.
Her father smiled. “I think we're going to have to get you either a bigger bed or a smaller dog.”
“I don't want either,” Christina said. “My bed and my dog are the perfect size just the way they are.”
In the weeks that Prince had been part of their home, they had developed a routine. While Christina's parents finished up the dinner dishes, Christina spent time alone with Prince. Her father washed and her mother dried and put the dishes away. As they worked, they looked out the kitchen window into the backyard. Prince was laying on the grass, and Christina sat nestled against him.
“They really are like two peas in a pod,” her mother said.
“Two very different-sized peas,” her father said.
“I know it hasn't really been that long, but it seems like Prince has always been part of our family,” she said.
“I just wish our backyard was bigger,” her father said.
It was a small yard. Much of it was taken up by a small patio and a swing set. There was a small patch of grass and some bushes surrounded by a wire fence. It wasn't much, but Prince seemed happy wandering or lying on the grass, his nose in the air, his ears perked, listening to the sounds of the city.
“It doesn't look like Prince minds the yard being so small,” her mother said.
“I guess you're right. Especially right now. He's just happy to be anywhere Christina is.”
“He gets his walks every day and a chance to run in the park in the evening,” she said.
“Speaking of which, let's finish up these dishes so we can go to the park.”
Every night after dinner, Christina's family took Prince for a walk. If there was time, they went to the park so Prince could run. He loved to run, and they loved to watch him. He was so graceful and so fast it was like watching a racehorse or a cheetah.
It was hard to tell just how fast Prince really was until he ran with other dogs. Prince was always so much faster than them. It took him a few strides to get his long legs going and then his instincts would kick in. Prince would race past the other dogs, running in big circles, curving around the park, the way he would have on a racetrack.
Prince rolled on the grass and stretched his long legs up in the air. Christina and her parents sat beside him, enjoying the shade and watching Prince. The park was fenced in, so it was safe for Prince to be off his leash.
Christina got to her feet slowly. Prince was so occupied with the smell and feel of the grass, he didn't notice her moving away. Halfway across the park she turned and yelled, “Prince, come, Prince!” Then she turned and ran.
The dog spun around, his ears perked up. When he saw her running across the grass, he jumped to his feet and started chasing her! Dog and girl raced across the field. Christina ran as fast as she could, but it was as if she wasn't moving at all. Prince's gigantic strides ate up the distance between them until he shot past her. He was moving so fast he couldn't stop easily. He spun his long tail around to try and slow himself down. Christina skidded to a stop, turned and ran back the other way. Prince chased after her again.
Back and forth they ran, with Christina changing
directions and Prince running circles around her
until they both were too tired to run anymore.
Christina bent over. She was out of breath. Prince
pressed against her and pushed his nose under her
arm until she scratched his ears.
Together they walked back to where Christina's
parents waited. Prince was more than a dog. He was
a much-loved family member.
“And our next speech will be from Christina,” Mrs. Martin said.
Christina got up from her desk. Usually she was scared to speak in front of the class. She didn't like all those eyes on her. But today she hoped they wouldn't be looking at just her.
“Come on, Prince,” she said.
Prince followed her to the front of the room. As he passed the other students, they reached out and gave him a pat. Everybody knew Prince and liked the gentle giant. Even kids who were nervous around dogs weren't nervous around him.
When Christina wanted to bring Prince to school for her speech, her parents wondered if Mrs. Martin would allow it. But Mrs. Martin agreed right away. She said, “What better thing could Christina bring in to talk about greyhounds than her own greyhound?”
“You can start whenever you're ready,” Mrs. Martin said.
Christina nodded. She suddenly felt very nervous. All of the other students had read their speeches, but Christina had memorized hers. She hoped she could remember it all now.
Prince nudged her hand with his head. He didn't seem nervous at all. That made her feel better.
“Good afternoon, boys and girls,” she said. “My speech is about the oldest breed of dogs, greyhounds. Pictures of greyhounds were painted and carved on the walls of pyramids that are five thousand years old. They are the only dogs mentioned in the Bible. The famous Greek writer, Homer, has a greyhound named Argus in his story
Odysseus
, and Shakespeare has a greyhound in one of his plays. In 1016, an English king liked them so much he made a law that said if you killed a greyhound, you got the same punishment as if you had killed a person.”
