Look at Lucy! Read Online Free PDF Page A

over town.
    Lucy gave a happy yip when she saw Ginger. She pulled at her leash as if she wanted to start chasing Ginger all over again.
    Ginger, however, gave Lucy a disdainful look. She turned away from the beagle, her tail up in the air.
    “Ginger looks pretty today,” Candy said.
    “Her collar makes her look like a queen.”
    “She’s not as cute as Twitch,” Shawn said loyally.
    “She’s not as cute as Lucy, either,” Bobby said.
    Candy looked down at the drooling Butch. He was snoring. “She’s probably cuter than Butch.” Candy was very honest. She added, “There are plenty of cute pets here.”
    Just then, a woman with lots of brown hair piled on top of her head blew a silver whistle. Everyone stopped talking and paid attention.
    “Pets and pet owners, welcome. I am Lydia Jones, the manager of this Pet-O-Rama. In a few moments our contest will start. As you know, the winner gets free pet food for a year. Our winner will also go on tocompete with the winners from the other Pet-O-Rama stores throughout the state.”
    The crowd buzzed.
    Ms. Jones blew on her whistle again. “I would like everyone to line up with their pets. Then you and your pet will walk past the judges’ table.”
    Ms. Jones introduced them. One worked at Pet-O-Rama. He looked important. Another was a dog trainer. The third was the editor of the local newspaper.
    There was a bit of a rush to line up. Bobby was worried that Lucy wouldn’t like all the confusion, but she took it in stride. In fact, she seemed to like being in the middle of all the hubbub.
    An accordion player began a lively tune. Ms. Jones gave the go-ahead, and the animals and their owners started parading in front ofthe judges. A photographer from the paper snapped pictures as the pets marched by.
    Bobby, Shawn, and Candy were in the middle of the line. It was moving a little slowly. One of their dogs was getting restless and started barking. Then that dog tried to race to the front of the line. But it wasn’t Lucy. It was Butch.
    “Butch, cool it,” Candy said. She must have said it five times.
    Butch, however, wasn’t in the mood to cool it. Instead he stood in front of the judges’ table, barking. That got some of the other dogs in the contest barking, too. Candy tried to pull him back in line.
    Ms. Jones came over to Candy and whispered in her ear. Candy looked sad, but she nodded. She walked Butch over to her mom, who gave her a hug.
    “Wow,” Shawn said. “Candy and Butch got kicked out of the contest.”
    Bobby shook his head. “What a time for Butch finally to get excited about something.” He glanced down at Lucy. She seemed as cool as a cucumber. When she got to the front of the line, she strolled slowly past the judges. The photographer kneeled down to get a picture of Lucy. She stopped and posed for him. Bobby was surprised. What a time for Lucy to calm down!
    All the other animals marched past the judges. Then Ms. Jones said, “We have cake and punch for you and treats for the pets. Please enjoy them while the judges make their decision.”
    Bobby, Shawn, and Candy ate cake and waited for the judges. Bobby thought Candy would be upset about Butch, but nothingbothered her for long. “At least I got some cake out of the deal,” she said.

    Bobby looked over at the judges. They were going through the animals’ pictures and talking. Bobby wished he were close enough to hear them.
    He kneeled down next to his dog. “Whether you win or lose, Lucy, you did good,” he said. Lucy licked Bobby’s cheek. Maybe she was just licking off some frosting that had landed there, but Bobby didn’t think so.
    Finally Ms. Jones went to the microphone. She had a piece of paper and a photograph in her hand. “Our winner is the little beagle, Lucy Quinn.”
    Lucy! Bobby jumped up and gave a whoop. Lucy won. This was absolutely the best news ever!

Uh-oh!
    T his was absolutely the worst news ever!
    Everything was fine when Lucy had won her blue ribbon. And when the