Nala by Ellen Miles

Author:Ellen Miles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2016-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

What’s this? What’s this?

When he got too close, she took a few steps backward, looking around as if to find an escape route. The garage blocked her path, so again, she stood still.

Dad tossed a hunk of ham so that it landed right between her delicate front paws. Charles noticed that both front paws were white, like a continuation of her white apron of fur. She looked at the ham, sniffed it, then gobbled it up so fast Charles hardly saw her head move. Then she glanced up at Dad with a hopeful expression.

“Want more?” Dad asked. “You must be hungry if you’ve been away from home for a while.” His voice was low and calm. He tossed another piece. This one landed a little farther from the puppy and a little closer to Charles’s dad.

The puppy stared at it. She shook herself all over and sat down. She stood up again. She took one step toward the treat. Then she took two steps back. She stared at the food some more.

Charles could hardly stand it. How long was this going to take? He was dying to hold the beautiful, fluffy pup on his lap, to pet her and whisper calming words to her until she learned she could trust him.

Dad was patient. He tossed another piece, and another. All of them landed between him and the puppy. Finally, she darted forward and snatched one up, then another, and another. While she was on the move, gulping down the food, Dad threw a couple more pieces, even closer to himself. Charles saw his father bend his knees slightly and widen his stance, and knew he was about to make a move.

Charles bent down, too, ready to catch the dog if she tried to run under the truck.

“Okay, puppy, here I come,” murmured Dad as he took one quick step toward the dog, arms spread wide.

The puppy dashed around him and charged in Charles’s direction, toward the street and freedom. Quickly, Charles sidestepped and cut off her escape, chasing her back toward Dad.

It was like a wild game of tag — with two people as It. The puppy squirted out of Dad’s reach and fled back toward Charles. He waved his arms and she veered off toward the open passenger door of the truck. Leaping like a tiny deer, she flew up into Charles’s seat.

“Close the other door!” Charles yelled just as he heard the driver’s-side door slam shut. He looked through the truck windows to see Mr. Mike grinning on the other side, giving him a thumbs-up.

“Got her!” he said as Charles ran to shut the door she’d jumped through.

“Wow, you showed up just in time,” said Dad. He walked around the truck to shake hands with Mr. Mike. “Nice job.”

“I was on my way to cover my corner,” said Mr. Mike, “but I looked down the street here and saw what was going on. I figured I could help.” He grinned at Charles, and they shook hands, too. Then he picked up the crossing sign he’d tossed to the ground, and gave them a little salute.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.