Read Online Mister Pepper's Secret by Marian Hailey-Moss - Free Book Online Page B

attention. Once more she swept
the garden with her gaze and let out a little “Ah, ha.” She sighed
and with a smile pointed to a stone near a lamppost. “Perfect!
Don’t you think?” Not waiting for an answer, Angelina did a little
stamp with her feet and clapped her hands in delight.
    As she turned back towards Mia, one of her
wings whisked across Mia’s face. “Oops, sorry, I forgot to take
these off.” Angelina reached behind herself, snapped off the two
wings from her coat, folded them, and put them in her pocket.
    “I’ve started drama lessons. The first
exercise is to improvise a scene as an animal. I thought I’d try
being a swan. I wear the wings as practice to get the feel of it
all.”
    “Oh, yes,” said Mia “You are so beautiful, a
swan would be perfect.”
    “I’ll give it a try,” said Angelina. “And now
I must… ‘fly.’ But before I do I wanted to give you this collar for
Mister Pepper.” Angelina brought out a bright, shiny red collar
from her coat pocket. It made Mia smile just to look at it.
    “This red collar has a bit of magic. Keep it
safe until the day of the annual barbeque. When everyone is busy
chatting and Bubbles is nearby, quietly replace the statue’s blue
collar with this one. That will let the magic begin. The statue
will tell Bubbles its secret, and you will be able to listen
in.”
    “Oh Angelina, I can’t wait! Where did you
learn all this?”
    “It runs in the family,” said Angelina. “How
many people have aunts who talk with their furniture?” Without
waiting for an answer, she gave Bubbles a little hug; a kiss on the
cheek to Mia, and—in a blink of an eye—was out the garden door.

 
    3
     

    June arrived, and we now come to the day of
the annual barbeque. Mia wondered whether the garden committee had
forgotten about Mister Pepper. But on the morning of the
celebration, Mister Pepper stood in the very place that Angelina
had foretold.
    Mia was excited. She placed the red dog
collar on her dresser before leaving for school that day. Angelina
had tucked a surprise in that collar and she didn’t want to forget
it.
    After their walk that evening, Mia and
Bubbles went to the garden as people were arriving. The strings of
lights on poles around the courtyard were lit. Although it was not
yet dark, fireflies were adding glimmer to the celebration.
Everyone was busy chatting, carrying tasty food dishes to the
tables, and children were playing in the pathways. Mia moved over
to Mister Pepper and, since no one was watching, traded the blue
collar for the red one.



As soon as she did, several friends ran up to
say hello and for a moment she forgot about the magic Angelina had
promised. Bubbles was racing around the walkway chasing a red ball
with her doggy friend Lucy, and they were soon joined by Jasper,
the new doggy from the penthouse.
    When Mrs. Goldenrod appeared, Mia went over
and asked if she might get her a plate of food. “There are
hamburgers and hot dogs,” Mia said. “Even vegan ones.”
    Mrs. Goldenrod got a pained look on her face.
She took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and opted for a salad. As
Mrs. Goldenrod sat and began chatting with her neighbors, Mia saw
that Bubbles was sitting in front of Mister Pepper. People nearby
were talking, sitting on benches or waiting in line for their
charcoal-grilled dinner.
    Bubbles seemed deep in thought, and nodded
her head every now and then. Mia stepped a bit closer and found
that she was seeing a conversation between Bubbles and Mister
Pepper in her mind’s eye. Animals think in images, and Mia was able
to understand what the two dogs were saying. It didn’t matter that
Mister Pepper was made of stone.
    “How did you get stuck in there?” asked
Bubbles.
    “Well, it’s a long story.”
    “I like stories, long or short.”
    “Promise you won’t tell?”
    “Promise—dog scout’s honor.”
    “Then I’ll begin. When I was young, I was
given to an older man Mr. Dinkus who lived alone. He was