New Tricks for Rascal by Holly Webb

Chapter One
Rascal in Trouble
    “Ellie! ELLIE!”
    Ellie jumped, losing her place in the book she was reading. Max was yelling and he sounded furious.
    She heard Max’s bedroom door bang and then the sound of him thundering across the landing. “I haven’t even been in his room,” she muttered to Rascal, who was lying on the bed next to her while she read her book for school. Rascal’s ears were prickedup, and he was staring at her bedroom door. Ellie looked worriedly down at the puppy. “I haven’t been in his room, but… Oh, Rascal, I hope you haven’t gone in there and——”
    Her bedroom door burst open, and her brother marched in, his face bright red with anger. He was waving something black and white, and squished-looking at her. “Look!”

    “What is it?” Ellie’s voice wobbled. Max was ten, two years older than she was, and he was usually very easy-going. But when he was angry, he could be really scary.
    “You see! You can’t even tell what it is! Because that stupid dog’s eaten it! It’s my football, Ellie! My signed Walchester United one that I queued for three hours to get!” Max chucked the football on the floor. “Or it was. It’s just rubbish now.”
    “I’m really sorry…” Ellie felt her eyes filling with tears. “Did you leave your bedroom door open?”
    “Don’t try and make it my fault!” Max yelled. “It’s your dog that chewed it up! I’m going to tell Mum, and you know what, Ellie? I’m going to say we should sendRascal back to the dog breeder. He’s the worst-behaved puppy in the world!”
    Max stormed out, and Ellie stared after him, horrified.
    Rascal whimpered, frightened by the shouting, and Ellie hugged him tight. “He didn’t mean it,” she whispered. “And Mum and Dad would never send you back.”
    But as she heard Max downstairs, telling Mum about why Rascal should go back to the breeder’s, and Mum answer that she would think about it, Ellie didn’t feel quite so sure.

    The next morning, Ellie sat at the bottom of the stairs, pulling on her school shoes.She wriggled her toes sadly. These shoes weren’t nearly as comfy as the trainers she’d been wearing all through the Easter holidays. The time off seemed to have gone so quickly, with all the excitement of getting their new puppy.
    Rascal sniffed at her feet curiously, and nibbled the end of the velcro strap with his sharp little white teeth.
    Ellie gently pushed him off. “No, Rascal! Mum’ll go mad if you eat my school shoes. You ate half of her sock yesterday, remember? And she still hasn’t forgiven you for chewing her trainers.”
    Rascal looked up at Ellie, his eyes sparkling with mischief. There was just something about shoes!
    “Are you ready, Ellie?” Mum asked, coming downstairs with Ellie’s PE bag. Max and Ellie usually walked together. Their big sister Lila went in the other direction to go to her secondary school.
    “Can you come too, so we can bring Rascal?” Ellie asked Mum hopefully, as she got to her feet. “I bet he’d love a walk. He’s going to miss us.”
    “I’m not going to miss him,” Max growled, as he stomped down the stairs. He was still really cross with Rascal.
    Rascal had heard the word “walk” and was dancing around underneath the hook where his lead hung, barking excitedly.
    “Oh, please…” Ellie begged. “Look at him, Mum!”
    “Not now. Look at the time! You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry. But I’ll bring him to meet you after school, OK?”

    Ellie’s best friend Christy was waiting for her at the school gate. “Oh, I was hoping you’d have Rascal!” she said, when she saw Ellie and Max running down the road.
    “Mum said no, because we were late,” Ellie panted. “But she’s bringing him this afternoon so I can show him off to everyone!”
    She told Christy all about Rascal and Max’s football as they were putting their bags away in the classroom. “He still isn’t talking to me, he didn’t say one word allthe way