Waggit Again by Peter Howe

Author:Peter Howe
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

16

Felicia’s Feast

It was as if Lowdown had let a cork out of a bottle. It seemed that each dog had a story about Olang that they were dying to tell but had been too frightened to reveal until now—tales of his bullying and arrogance, and the way that he lied to Tazar, spreading false rumors, and taking credit for kills that someone else had hunted.

“I think he’s horrid,” said Lady Magica, who was the kindest of dogs and never had a bad word for anyone.

“He ain’t just horrid,” Lady Alicia complained. “He’s ugly and he smells bad.”

This was the worst thing she could say about anyone.

“It’s worse than that, Waggit,” said Gordo, who was part Labrador and constantly overweight. “I once caught him hiding food for himself instead of sharing it with the rest of the team, like we are supposed to. He said that if I ever told anyone he would bite my tongue off while I slept, and then I’d never be able to eat again.”

The thought of this sent a shudder through Gordo’s ample body. It was a threat he had taken seriously, because, as everyone knew, Gordo slept with his tongue hanging out.

Waggit suddenly realized that the reason they were all talking about these things now was that they were looking to him to do something about the situation, but what he was not quite sure.

“If you’re all so upset about Olang, why don’t you say something to Tazar about him?” he asked.

“Tazar’s a great dog and a fine leader,” said Lowdown. “He’s kept this team together through some difficult times, as you know, but like most great dogs he has a blind spot, and his is Olang. He won’t hear nothing bad said about him, and everything the miserable cur says is like law to Tazar. If he said hot was cold Tazar would believe him.”

There was a chorus of agreement.

“If you say anything that is even a little bit critical of him,” said Raz, “he comes back and tells Tazar the most awful lies about you, and even if you’ve got a dozen witnesses what says you didn’t do the thing he says you did, Tazar don’t believe you.”

“And he’s the most awful bully,” said Little One. “He’s always pushing Little Two around and snapping at him.”

“It’s true,” said Little Two shamefacedly.

“So what are you going to do about it?” asked Waggit.

There was an awkward silence again.

“Well,” said Lowdown eventually, “we was hoping you would have a talk with Tazar about it. He always had a soft spot for you, and he listens to what you say. Can’t you tell him that you noticed how unhappy we are, and how we talked about it? If you do it straightaway he’ll know that it ain’t because you’ve got a grumble against Olang, but because you’re worried about the team sticking together.”

The team breaking up was exactly what Waggit was worried about. If this went on unchecked it could split the dogs into two groups, with Tazar and Olang on one side, and the rest of the dogs on the other.

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