Just Grace and the Double Surprise Read Online Free PDF Page B

flashing. It would have been nice for us to share my first night with Mr. Scruffers together. It was dumb to flash my lights if she wasn't even at her window to see them. I hoped she was having fun with her new sister, and just when I thought that, I suddenly thought of something else: Sister has the same number of letters in it as new dog. Our flashes would spell out the new special things in our lives! It was another thing that was perfect.
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    WHAT WAS NICE
    Right before I went to sleep I looked up on my shelf and saw Chip-Up. It looked like he was looking down on us. "Thank you, Chip-Up." I whispered the words out loud, not because he could hear them, but more because I really, really meant them—it was kind of like a thank-you to the world.
    WHAT I DID NOT EXPECT
    Usually on Saturdays I get to sleep in. I don't get up until eight-thirty or sometimes even nine o'clock. I'm not a morning person. What I did not know about Mr. Scruffers is that she is a morning dog.
    At six a.m. she started jumping on and off the bed.
    I pulled the covers over my head.
    At ten minutes after six she started whimpering.
    I stuck my head under the pillow.
    At six-fifteen she started barking.
    I had to get up.
    WHAT I WAS NOT
    Happy.

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    WHAT I AM GLAD ABOUT
    It's a good thing that we have a fenced yard, because it would not be exciting to stand around outside in your pajamas waiting for Mr. Scruffers to go to the bathroom. It takes her a long time to find the exact right spot. It was much better to be watching her through the window from inside the house.
    WHAT IS TRUE
    A cute dog wagging her tail at you can start to make you more of a morning person. When Mr. Scruffers came back inside we looked around for something to eat. I looked in the cupboards and she looked on the floor. I wasn't sure what she was supposed to have for breakfast. Dad hadn't told me that part yet. I got myself some cereal and milk. Sometimes on the weekends Mom makes pancakes or French toast, but I knew for sure that she was not going to be making either of these at six-thirty in the morning.
    WHAT IS REALLY FUN
    I was kind of glad that Mom and Dad were still sleeping or I would have never invented the cereal game. Turns out that Mr. Scruffers loves cereal. But, even more than just eating it she loves chasing it. At first I tried throwing pieces to her so she could catch them in her mouth, but she was terrible at catching. She didn't even know what to do.
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    I'm not the best thrower, so the times I missed her head she got all excited about chasing the cereal on the floor. That's how the game started. Mom and Dad would have definitely not been excited about me throwing cereal all over the house. But they were asleep and Mr. Scruffers was excellent at it, so they would never know.

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    WHAT IS AMAZING
    You can get a ton of stuff done if you get up at six in the morning. By the time Mom and Dad came into the kitchen at eight-thirty, I had done a whole list of things already.
Played the secret cereal game with Mr. Scruffers.
Made a list of new dog names for Mr. Scruffers.
Played pull-the-sock with Mr. Scruffers until the sock was too slimy to touch anymore.
Made a nice Welcome sign for Mimi's front door.
Practiced walking Mr. Scruffers on the leash in the backyard.
    I had used up so much energy that when Mom said, "Do you want me to make pancakes?" I said, "Yes. Yes I do." It was unusual, but true: I was hungry for a second breakfast.
    WHAT IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY
    After breakfast I got some treats for Mr. Scruffers so I could start training her for a new name. At first I tried Coco because it was one of my favorites. It was not Mr. Scruffers's favorite. She wouldn't even look at me when I called her that.
    I tried the rest of the names, but it was the same thing. She acted like she couldn't even hear me. I even tried just Scruffers, because at least that was better than having the Mr. part, but it still didn't work. Miss Scruffers wasn't any better. It was