Rascal's Festive Fun Read Online Free PDF Page A

a walk. Would he like the snow? It was probably almost up to his tummy by now, in the deep bits. She wrinkled her nose. He was going to have to like it. Who knew how long the snow would last? They couldn’t possibly keep him inside the whole time. Rascal goteven rascallier than usual if he didn’t have two good walks a day.
    She clipped on his lead and opened the front door. Rascal went to race out as usual, but then stopped dead and looked up at Ellie in confusion.

    Ellie put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing at him. Rascal looked completely shocked. But then, everything had changed since they’d popped out for an early-morning walk before breakfast, she realized.
    “It’s OK, Rascal,” she whispered. “It’s only snow. It’s fun, look.” She picked up a handful, and flung it across the garden.
    “Does he like it?” Max called.
    “I don’t think he’s sure yet,” Ellie told him. “Come on, Rascal.” She stepped out on to the path, and led him over to the gate where Max was waiting.
    With tiny, dainty steps, Rascal tiptoed into the snow. Ellie had been right. It was almost up to the top of his little legs already.
    Max watched Rascal padding along, and sighed. “This is going to take hours. Look, you sit on the sledge with him, and I’ll pull you there. That’ll give him some time to get used to it.”
    “Cool!” Ellie sat down on the sledge, and hugged Rascal tight. He was as good as a hot-water bottle in this cold. Rascal squeaked excitedly as Max set off, and the sledge ran smoothly along, bouncing here and there over dips in the snow.

    By the time they got to the park, Rascal was less confused by the cold white stuff. He chased after the sledge as Max and Ellie went down the big slope, barking excitedly and half-swimming through the snow as he hit the deep bits.
    “OK. I’m exhausted,” Max said, a while later. “We must have gone down a hundred times. And back up again.”
    Ellie nodded. “Let’s go home and ask Mum for some hot chocolate. I’m frozen. And then we could make a snowman in the garden, maybe. We don’t know how long the snow’s going to last.”
    Max nodded, and they set off home, Rascal jumping and wading through the snow beside them.
    Mum had been making mince pies, so after a couple of those each, and hot chocolate, they felt recovered enough to go out again.
    Lila had been asleep until now, but she got up and came outside just as Max and Ellie were about to start on their snowman.
    “Snowmen are boring,” she said firmly, in a very big-sister way. “Let’s make an igloo.”
    Ellie looked at the snow doubtfully. There was lots of it, but it was very squishy. She wasn’t sure it was good building snow. But Lila was determined, and she soon had Max and Ellie working on a production line, squashing the snow into hard, glittery blocks, so she could arrange them into the shape of an igloo.
    “Um, Lila…” Ellie said, after the first few rows. “It’s a very small igloo…”
    Lila stood back and looked at it. Then she giggled. “It’s going to have to be a dogloo…”
    “Uurgh, don’t tell Rascal that!” Max snorted with laughter.
    “You know what I meant!” Lila flung a snowball at him. “Stop being stupid, let’s get it finished. We just need to get the roof filled in.”
    Rascal pottered out of the house – he’d been recovering from the trip to the park with a snooze on his cushion – and admired the igloo, sniffing all round it. Ellie thought he was about to lift his leg against it, and glared at him, but luckily he decided not to.Lila might have thrown a wobbly if he had.

    “Last block!” Lila carefully wedged the final block of snow in place.
    Rascal wandered round from the back of the igloo and peered into the little doorway. He looked up at Ellie, as though he wasn’t sure he was allowed in.
    “Go on, Rascal!” she told him, and he poked his nose in thoughtfully and then went all the way inside, turning round and lying