moments later.
‘He’s better at hide and
seek than me,’ Penny laughed.
‘Better than me too,’ Nathan
grinned.
After dinner, when Grey had goose again,
they played blind man’s buff and musical chairs, and sang along to
‘Mairzy Doats’ by the Merry Macs on the radio.
‘Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle
lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t
you?’
Grey looked up at Nathan and then he
looked over at Penny as their voices rang out.
‘If the words sound queer
and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey,
Sing: Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little
lambs eat ivy …’
Grey wasn’t used to singing and he
tried to join in too, which made everyone laugh. But then Nathan’s gran
started crying and Grey went over to her.
‘If only this rotten war could be
over,’ she said as she mopped up her tears. Grey laid his head on her lap and
looked up at her.
‘You take care of my
grandson,’ she told Grey. ‘Parachute jumping of all things.’ She
managed a watery smile and stood up. ‘Right, then, who’s ready for some
carrot cake? I got the recipe from the
Home Front Cookery Advice
Leaflet
.’
Grey gobbled down a slice of carrot cake
– but for him it couldn’t rival the goose he’d had for lunch and dinner.
Nothing could top that.
Nathan was still
asleep when Grey padded out of the room and down the hall the next morning.
‘Grey, Grey – come here!’
Penny called, as soon as she saw his nose peeping round her bedroom door. She patted
her bed cover. ‘Grey – come.’
Grey went over to her bed and hopped up
on to it, whereupon he was immediately enveloped in a hug and then kissed on the top
of his furry head.
‘Come and help me feed my
chickens.’
Down at the chicken coop Penny threw
corn to the birds and Grey tried another bit of corn but spat it out again. Once
Penny had collected the eggs, her grandmother made delicious scrambled eggs for them
all. Much better. Grey had his with the last of the goose leftovers.
‘Don’t want you getting
hungry on your journey to the parachute regiment,’ she said.
‘He’s a truly good
dog,’ Nathan’s grandfathersaid, on their way to the
train station. ‘You’ve trained him well.’ Grey wagged his
tail.
Nathan shook his head. ‘Mostly
he’s trained himself. I just steered him a bit. He’s a smart
dog.’
Grey saw the train drawing into the
station and his tail stopped wagging.
‘I’m proud of you,
Nathan,’ Mr Dawson said as he opened the carriage door for Nathan and Grey to
climb on board. This time Grey didn’t make a fuss. ‘Just make sure you
bring that dog and yourself home safe and well.’
Nathan settled Grey as the train set off
for Manchester and RAF Ringway. He looked out of the window until he couldn’t
see his grandfather standing on the platform any more.
Chapter 9
Although he hadn’t said so to Penny
or his grandparents, Nathan was feeling very worried about parachute jumping, as
well as starting at a new camp where he wouldn’t know anyone apart from Grey.
The War Dog Training School had been designed for dogs and dog handlers, whereas the
airbase was designed for the Army Air Corps. He hadn’t even properly finished
his basic training and now it looked like he was going to be a paratrooper, as long
as he passed, alongside some of the fittest soldiers there were.
So he was more than a
little nervous as he and Grey were checked in at the gate.
‘I thought it was a joke when they
said we might be getting a trainee paradog,’ the guard told Nathan.
‘No joke,’ Nathan said.
‘Crazy,’ the guard
muttered.
Grey wagged his tail.
Nathan could feel the guard’s eyes
watching him and Grey as they walked into the camp. It made him feel uncomfortable
but it didn’t seem to bother Grey at all.
As the dog strolled confidently by his
side through the camp, Nathan found it hard to remember him as a stray dog, and he
certainly didn’t look like one any more. He looked like a proud
‘He’s better at hide and
seek than me,’ Penny laughed.
‘Better than me too,’ Nathan
grinned.
After dinner, when Grey had goose again,
they played blind man’s buff and musical chairs, and sang along to
‘Mairzy Doats’ by the Merry Macs on the radio.
‘Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle
lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t
you?’
Grey looked up at Nathan and then he
looked over at Penny as their voices rang out.
‘If the words sound queer
and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey,
Sing: Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little
lambs eat ivy …’
Grey wasn’t used to singing and he
tried to join in too, which made everyone laugh. But then Nathan’s gran
started crying and Grey went over to her.
‘If only this rotten war could be
over,’ she said as she mopped up her tears. Grey laid his head on her lap and
looked up at her.
‘You take care of my
grandson,’ she told Grey. ‘Parachute jumping of all things.’ She
managed a watery smile and stood up. ‘Right, then, who’s ready for some
carrot cake? I got the recipe from the
Home Front Cookery Advice
Leaflet
.’
Grey gobbled down a slice of carrot cake
– but for him it couldn’t rival the goose he’d had for lunch and dinner.
Nothing could top that.
Nathan was still
asleep when Grey padded out of the room and down the hall the next morning.
‘Grey, Grey – come here!’
Penny called, as soon as she saw his nose peeping round her bedroom door. She patted
her bed cover. ‘Grey – come.’
Grey went over to her bed and hopped up
on to it, whereupon he was immediately enveloped in a hug and then kissed on the top
of his furry head.
‘Come and help me feed my
chickens.’
Down at the chicken coop Penny threw
corn to the birds and Grey tried another bit of corn but spat it out again. Once
Penny had collected the eggs, her grandmother made delicious scrambled eggs for them
all. Much better. Grey had his with the last of the goose leftovers.
‘Don’t want you getting
hungry on your journey to the parachute regiment,’ she said.
‘He’s a truly good
dog,’ Nathan’s grandfathersaid, on their way to the
train station. ‘You’ve trained him well.’ Grey wagged his
tail.
Nathan shook his head. ‘Mostly
he’s trained himself. I just steered him a bit. He’s a smart
dog.’
Grey saw the train drawing into the
station and his tail stopped wagging.
‘I’m proud of you,
Nathan,’ Mr Dawson said as he opened the carriage door for Nathan and Grey to
climb on board. This time Grey didn’t make a fuss. ‘Just make sure you
bring that dog and yourself home safe and well.’
Nathan settled Grey as the train set off
for Manchester and RAF Ringway. He looked out of the window until he couldn’t
see his grandfather standing on the platform any more.
Chapter 9
Although he hadn’t said so to Penny
or his grandparents, Nathan was feeling very worried about parachute jumping, as
well as starting at a new camp where he wouldn’t know anyone apart from Grey.
The War Dog Training School had been designed for dogs and dog handlers, whereas the
airbase was designed for the Army Air Corps. He hadn’t even properly finished
his basic training and now it looked like he was going to be a paratrooper, as long
as he passed, alongside some of the fittest soldiers there were.
So he was more than a
little nervous as he and Grey were checked in at the gate.
‘I thought it was a joke when they
said we might be getting a trainee paradog,’ the guard told Nathan.
‘No joke,’ Nathan said.
‘Crazy,’ the guard
muttered.
Grey wagged his tail.
Nathan could feel the guard’s eyes
watching him and Grey as they walked into the camp. It made him feel uncomfortable
but it didn’t seem to bother Grey at all.
As the dog strolled confidently by his
side through the camp, Nathan found it hard to remember him as a stray dog, and he
certainly didn’t look like one any more. He looked like a proud
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