Snowball (5 page)

When they left, Charles let Sammy zip Snowball into his jacket. He had an errand to do. On the way out of The Meadows, at the reception desk, he dropped off the letter he'd written. Now he
knew
it was the right thing to do. Snowball and Mrs. Peabody belonged together.

“That was a close call!” Sammy said as he and Charles headed home with Snowball.

“But Evelyn really came through,” Charles agreed. “I don't think that nurse suspected a thing.” He looked down at Snowball, who was trotting happily beside him. “I have a feeling Mrs. Peabody is starting to make friends at The Meadows. What do you think, Snowball?”

Snowball cocked his head and wagged his tail.

The puppy had enjoyed meeting new friends. Those people seemed to understand that he should be the center of attention at all times. He liked that. He liked it a lot.

“Where have you been?” Lizzie demanded when Charles got home just in time for dinner.

“Out for a walk,” Charles replied innocently. It was the truth, after all. He was tempted to tell Lizzie what a superstar Snowball had been at The Meadows, but it seemed best to keep that visit a secret for now. “How was Christmas shopping? Did you get me something good?” he asked.

“Guess you'll have to wait and see,” Lizzie said.

Charles loved Christmas, but sometimes it drove him crazy wondering what presents he was going to get. He'd been asking for a dog every year
since he could remember. But he'd never gotten one. Still, his parents and Santa usually came through with enough great presents that Charles wasn't too disappointed.

They all sat down at the table for dinner, and Mom had just started serving the macaroni and cheese when the phone rang.

“Hello?” Dad asked. He didn't like it when people called at dinnertime. “Well, yes, he's here. Just a minute.” He put a hand over the phone and motioned to Charles. “It's for you,” he said. “A Mrs. Collins, who works at The Meadows?” Dad looked curious.

Charles gulped. Had someone found out about Snowball's visit? He took the phone his dad handed him and cleared his throat. “H-hello?” he asked. “This is Charles.” He walked into the living room so he could talk privately, in case he was in big trouble.

A few minutes later, he came back into the
kitchen, hung up the phone, and burst out with a cheer. “Yes!” he cried.

“What is it?” asked his mother. “Something about your Grandbuddy?”

“Sort of,” Charles said. “It's about Snowball, too. I think I've found him a home!”

He explained everything. It turned out that small dogs
were
allowed at The Meadows, as long as they were well-behaved. Mrs. Collins wanted to come over and meet Snowball. She wanted to make sure he was the kind of dog that would fit in at The Meadows.

“So she'll be here in half an hour!” Charles finished.

“What, tonight?” his mother asked.

Charles nodded. “I want to give Snowball to Mrs. Peabody for Christmas. There's no time to waste!”

His mother threw up her hands. “Okay, everybody. Let's finish our dinner quickly and then you can all help tidy up a bit.”

The next twenty minutes went by in a blur of
activity. Charles had never eaten dinner so quickly. Then he helped clear the table, took Snowball out for a bathroom break, and helped the Bean round up the toys and books that were scattered all over the living room. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad and Lizzie were running around, too.

When the doorbell rang, Mom smiled at Charles and gave him a high five. “Good job!” she said.

Mrs. Collins turned out to be a really friendly woman who didn't even blink when the Bean barked at her. She just patted his head and said, “Nice doggy.”

After they had talked for a while, Mrs. Collins finally said, “So, where
is
this puppy I've heard about?”

Dad looked at Mom.

Mom looked at Charles.

Charles looked at Lizzie.

They all looked at the Bean.

The Bean barked again and laughed his googly laugh. He was no help.

“Where
is
he?” Mom asked.

“I took him out after we ate,” Charles said. “But then we were all running around . . .”

“Oh, no!” Lizzie gasped. “I just remembered. I was tidying up in the den, and I saw him come in. When I went out, I must have closed the door so he wouldn't get into the Christmas wrapping stuff! Only I — I closed him in
with
it.”

Charles groaned. He could just picture what that room was going to look like. By now, Snowball had probably shredded every bit of wrapping paper into big, wild, colorful piles, and draped ribbons all over the furniture.

When Mrs. Collins saw that mess, she was
never
going to let Mrs. Peabody adopt Snowball.

“I guess we'd better go find him,” Dad said grimly. They all followed him as he led the way to the den and opened the door.

“Aww,” sighed Mrs. Collins when she looked in. “What a darling!”

There were no wild piles of shredded wrapping paper.

No ribbons draped from wall to wall.

There was just fluffy white Snowball, all curled up in a little nest of red tissue paper. He opened one eye and thumped his tail when he woke to see everyone looking at him.

Snowball couldn't understand why everyone was laughing. What was all the fuss about? He had no idea what was so funny. He was just trying to take a nap.

Charles could hardly wait until Christmas. He and Lizzie worked hard on Snowball's training. The puppy learned so fast! Now he could walk on his leash without pulling, shake hands, and fetch his toys from a basket. On Christmas Eve, they gave him another bath so that he was as white and as fluffy as he could be.

Finally, the big day arrived. Charles and his family arrived at The Meadows. This time, there was no sneaking. Snowball walked proudly along with them on his leash, with a huge bright red bow tied around his neck.

“Surprise!” Charles shouted when Mrs. Peabody answered her door. “Merry Christmas! Do you like your present?”

He knew she did, even though she was crying.

Later, when Charles gave Snowball one last hug before they left, he thought about how much he had wanted to keep the fluffy little puppy for himself. But he also knew that Snowball had found the best home in the world.

Snowball and Mrs. Peabody were a perfect match. Someday, Charles would find his
own
perfect match. Someday, the Petersons would find the right dog at the right time. But until then, there would always be puppies who needed homes. And Charles and his family would always be happy to help each puppy find the perfect place.

Dear Reader,

My dog's name is Django. (The D is silent, so you say it “Jango.”) I was so proud of him on the day he passed his Canine Good Citizen test. A well-behaved dog is a pleasure to be around. Django does not jump up on people, bark at them, or bite.

He knows how to do lots of things! He will sit, stay, be friendly with other dogs and people, and come when called. He also walks nicely on a leash, shakes hands, and waves “bye-bye.” He can even eat an ice-cream cone in ten seconds flat! What a good boy.

Yours from the Puppy Place,

Ellen Miles

P.S. For another brave pup that was nursed back to health, read LUCKY.

Don't miss any of these other stories by Ellen Miles!

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Buddy

Chewy and Chica

Cocoa

Cody

Flash

Goldie

Honey

Jack

Lucky

Maggie and Max

Moose

Muttley

Noodle

Patches

Princess

Pugsley

Rascal

Scout

Shadow

Snowball

Sweetie

Ziggy