The 12 Dogs of Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

the school.

7

Puppy Love
    Music greeted Emma as Mrs. Walsh escorted her into the school assembly hall. The class she was to join was rehearsing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” for an upcoming school program. The students, including Mike, were standing around a piano singing. “Eleven pipers piping,” the voices rang out over the piano, played by their teacher, Mrs. Clancy, a pretty young woman whom Emma could see was very pregnant.
    â€œClass,” Mrs. Walsh said, “I would like you to meet Emma O’Connor.”
    The class looked at this new student very curiously, for they had rarely seen a girl in boy’s clothes before.
    â€œAnd where are you from, Emma O’Connor?” Mrs. Walsh asked.
    â€œPitts—” Emma started to say. But after the last couple of days of upsets and rejections, Emma really wanted to make a good impression. And besides, was there ever an adventure hero from Pittsburgh? “I live in New York—the greatest city in the world.”
    â€œWell,” Mrs. Clancy said, getting up from the piano bench with some difficulty, “welcome to Doverville, Emma. This is just perfect, because we’ve been looking, looking, looking for a partridge in a pear tree.” “
    I don’t sing,” Emma told her truthfully. “Anyway, I won’t be here that long. My dad—my dad and my mom are coming to get me before Christmas.”
    Mrs. Walsh was shocked by Emma’s brassy tone, but her attention was averted by the burst of a whole range of notes on the piano when Mrs. Clancy flumped down on the keys overcome by the sudden onset of labor!
    Mrs. Clancy started breathing hard, and two of the girls, who had been rehearsed in more than just “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” ran up to her and, each taking an arm, walked her out of the assembly hall. Mrs. Walsh, who really didn’t like little matters like childbirth to upset her school day, had no choice but to cancel the rehearsal and, indeed, class for the rest of the day—which made not one student unhappy.
    Emma had wanted to run out right away to check on the puppy, but Mrs. Walsh kept her behind to answer a few question about her previous school and other “facts” about her life. By the time Emma got out to the shed, she found the box empty!
    â€œIs this who you’re looking for?” came a voice from behind her. It was the boy from yesterday who had called her useless. “Look, you cannot keep a puppy in a dark box,” Mike lectured. “He was crying. I could hear him from all the way in the front.”
    â€œWell, they took his mother!” Emma said, trying to explain her actions.
    â€œThe new dogcatcher?” Mike asked. Emma shrugged her shoulders, for she really didn’t know. She took the puppy into her arms, and Mike could see that she was truly concerned about it. Maybe she wasn’t so useless after all. “Look, do you want to take him to my house? We’ll get him something to eat. We have lots of dogs.”
    When they got to the Stevens farm, despite the snow on the ground and the chill in the air, Emma felt nothing but warmth. Maybe it was because Mike was now being nice to her and was, Emma had to admit, kind of cute with his red hair and freckled face. Or maybe it was because Mrs. Stevens seemed genuinely happy to see her and welcomed her to their home. Or possibly it was because she found on the farm many happy dogs.
    There were Dalmatians and Sheepdogs, and Boxers and Bassett Hounds. There were big dogs like St. Bernards, and little ones like Chihuahuas. There were Cocker Spaniels like the puppy, some Golden Retrievers, and even a Poodle in a doghouse. But the Poodle was different—the Poodle did not seem happy.
    â€œThis is Max,” the boy said to the girl. It was the girl who had jostled his cage. Max was a little scared of her, but she was holding a puppy and loving it, so she must be okay. “Hey,