Read Online Timmy in Trouble by Holly Webb - Free Book Online Page A

Remember how cross she got when Meg from next door got under the fence? She hid up at the top of the apple tree for hours!”
    Mum nodded. “I know. Misty might not be keen. We’d have to make a lot of extra fuss over her. And who’d look after this dog when the two of you were at school? Me, I suppose!” But she was smiling.
    “Well, if we did get a puppy, we’d certainly have to be careful. We’d have to introduce the puppy to Misty slowly, so they got used to each other.” Dad smiled thoughtfully. “I had a dog when I was your age. It was great fun – we went on lots of walks together, in the park and down to the woods. And now you’re eight, Katie, I think you’re old enough to help care for a puppy, feeding it and grooming it. Having someone else to look after would help you to be more responsible.”
    “You mean we can have a puppy?” Katie cried, jumping up excitedly and nearly knocking her chair over.
    “No,” Dad said firmly. “I mean we’ll think about it. Not no, but not yes. We need to think it through very carefully, it’s not something you can just decide in a moment.”
    But Katie had seen the wistful look in Dad’s eyes when he was remembering those walks with his dog. And she was almost sure that really he meant yes.

Chapter Two
    Dad refused to say anything else about dogs that weekend. Katie tried asking a couple of times if he and Mum had had time to think about it yet, but she didn’t want to get on his nerves right now. She couldn’t believe that they actually might be getting a puppy! She’d hoped, of course, but hadn’t really expected them to say yes, or evenhalf-yes. It was so exciting!
    She spent ages on Sunday afternoon looking at her favourite dog websites on the computer, wondering what sort of puppy they might be able to get, and reading all the advice for new dog-owners . There was an awful lot to learn. Especially if you already had another pet, like Misty.
    Katie dreamed of dogs that night. She was running through the woods with a gorgeous puppy, just like Dad had described. When she woke up she had a huge smile on her face, although she couldn’t quite remember what the puppy had looked like. Brown and white, she thought vaguely, with big, floppy ears. But she could remember his happy, excited little bark, and the soft feel of his springy fur under her hand. It was a wonderful dream. And it might, just possibly, be about to come true!
    She was still smiling as she wandered downstairs for breakfast, with her school uniform on all anyhow and her curly hair still full of tangles.
    Mum took one look and sent her back upstairs again. “Brush your hair, Katie, for goodness’ sake. And put it in bunches, you’ve got PE today, remember.” She smiled. “I’d hurry up, if I were you. Dad and I have got something to tell you both!”
    Katie raced back up to the bathroom. As she galloped up the stairs, she could hear Jess asking what was going on.
    Less than two minutes later, Katie was back. Her hair was in bunches,although the bands didn’t match and one was higher than the other. “What is it?What do you want to tell us?” she gasped, as she dashed into the kitchen.
    Dad chewed a mouthful of cereal very, very slowly, and winked. He was obviously enjoying keeping them in suspense.

    Mum shook her head. “Don’t tease Katie, Gareth! It isn’t fair!” She gave Jess a slightly anxious look as she said it.
    “OK, OK!” Dad put down his cereal bowl, and beamed at Katie. “Yes.”
    “Yes? Really?” Katie jumped up and down excitedly and ran to hug her dad. “When? This Christmas? We’re getting a puppy for Christmas!”

    “But you can’t!” Jess cried. She pushed her plate away and stood up. “You just can’t, Dad! What about Misty? Katie can’t look after a dog properly, anyway! And what about all those adverts on TV about not giving dogs as presents? A dog is for life, not just for Christmas . All those poor puppies get abandoned every year, it’s