Snow Dog Read online

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE: Grandad’s Idea

  CHAPTER TWO: Waiting

  CHAPTER THREE: Harry

  CHAPTER FOUR: The Final Wish

  About the Author

  Also by Malorie Blackman

  Copyright

  Series consultant: Prue Goodwin Lecturer in Literacy and Children’s Books, University of Reading

  About the Book

  “It’s going to be woof-onderful!”

  There is nothing Nicky wants more in the world than a dog to play with. But Mum and Dad don’t want one. Then Grandad has an idea – he and Nicky can MAKE a dog: a snow-dome dog. Even better, he has some special clay, found at the end of a rainbow, so that the dog will be extra-special. Maybe even magic…

  A beautifully warm tale from an award-winning author.

  Illustrated by Sami Sweeten

  For Neil and Lizzy, with love,

  and for Donnika – as promised!

  Chapter One

  Grandad’s Idea

  NICKY LIVED WITH her mum and her dad in a beautiful house with lots of rooms. The house had a big garden at the front and an even bigger garden at the back. But Nicky was miserable. She didn’t mind not having any brothers or sisters, but there was one thing she wanted more than anything else in the world.

  “Mum, please can I have a dog?”

  “You must be joking, sweet pea,” sniffed Nicky’s mum as she hunted for her handbag.

  “Why not?”

  “Because a dog would make a mess of our carpets,” said Nicky’s mum, as she searched in her handbag for her front door keys.

  “We could make a kennel for it in our back garden,” Nicky tried.

  “In the garden?” Nicky’s mum was horrified. “Where it could dig up my tulips and my pansies and my roses? Are you crazy? I don’t think so, poppet.”

  And Mum rushed off to work.

  “Dad, can I have a dog please?” Nicky pleaded, as Dad came downstairs.

  “I’m afraid not, precious.”

  “But why not?” Nicky was trying not to cry.

  “Because, my apple dumpling, your mum and I work during the day and you’re at school, so who would look after it?” said Dad.

  “I would when I got home from school,” Nicky replied eagerly. “No, honey muffin. Dogs need to be exercised regularly – through rain or shine, snow or hail. You’re too young to take a dog for regular walks and your mum and I are too busy. It just wouldn’t work.” Dad rummaged through the notes and letters on the hall table looking for the shopping list. “Ah, there it is!” Dad tucked the list into his shirt pocket.

  “Couldn’t we try, just for a while?” Nicky pleaded.

  “No, angel lips. I’m sorry, but no.” And Dad headed out of the door to do the shopping.

  Tears started to stream down Nicky’s face. Grandad, who had been watching everything from the living room, came out into the hall holding the biggest hankie she had ever seen. Grandad’s hankie was almost the size of a tablecloth!

  “Never mind, Nicky. Use my hankie to dry your eyes. Don’t worry, it’s clean!” And Grandad dropped the whole thing down on Nicky’s head. It covered her face like a huge and very floppy hat.

  “Grandad!” Nicky laughed as she pulled it off. “I haven’t got twenty eyes spread out all over my head!”

  “That’s my girl,” Grandad grinned. “Cheer up, treasure.”

  “Oh Grandad, I wish you lived closer so that we could see you more often. Then maybe Mum and Dad would let me have a dog – if you could be here to look after it,” Nicky sighed.

  “Don’t worry, sweetie. Dry your eyes and I’ll tell you about my idea.”

  “What idea?” asked Nicky, wiping her eyes.

  “Do you really and truly want a dog?” asked Grandad.

  “Mum and Dad won’t let me have one.” Nicky sniffed, her eyes itching with fresh tears.

  “They won’t buy one for you, but I know how we could get you a dog of your very own.” Grandad’s eyes were twinkling.

  “How?”

  “We could make one!” said Grandad.

  Chapter Two

  Waiting

  “MAKE ONE?” NICKY stared at her grandad.

  “That’s right.”

  “How on earth can we make our own dog?” asked Nicky.

  “Come with me.” Grandad led the way into the living room. “Now then, where did I put it?”

  “Put what?”

  “My bag,” said Grandad looking around.

  “It’s over there, next to the telly.” Nicky wondered how Grandad could miss it! His bag was gigantic and Mum and Dad were always complaining that it looked like Grandad was carrying a huge scatter cushion on his shoulder.

  “Right then, stand back!” Grandad bent down and buried his head in the bag. It looked like he was diving right into it. Nicky watched as Grandad started throwing out all kinds of things, like a yellow lampshade and an electric kettle and a half-eaten packet of chocolate biscuits. Several books, a few CDs and a computer keyboard flew across the room after the biscuits.

  “Ah! Here it is!” exclaimed Grandad at last. “The very thing.”

  “What is it?” Nicky couldn’t resist going closer to see.

  “It’s a snow dome kit. It’s got a dome and the base and glitter and bits of plastic we can use for snow and it’s got extra-special clay that we can use to make your dog.”

  “What’s extra-special about it?” asked Nicky.

  “I found this clay at the end of the most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Grandad. “I dug it up myself. And everyone knows rainbows are made of wishes and are very special. So any dog made with this clay will be extra-special. Maybe even magic …”

  “A clay dog isn’t the same as having a real dog.” Nicky sighed.

  “We’ll see,” winked Grandad. “We’ll see.”

  For the next hour, Grandad and Nicky sat at the table making a snow dome dog.

  Nicky made the body and the face and Grandad made the tail and the legs. Nicky gave her dog big, floppy ears and, very carefully, she turned up the corners of the puppy’s mouth. And she turned his tail up too, to show that he was wagging it.

  “That’s better. He looks like a happy dog now.” Nicky sat back, satisfied.

  At last it was finished.

  “Now we have to bake it until it’s quite hard,” said Grandad. “And then we can paint it.”

  When at last the dog had baked and was cool enough to paint, Nicky did that all by herself. She painted her dog a golden brown with dark brown eyes and silver paws.

  “Perfect!” said Grandad. “Now we just have to wait for the paint to dry,”

  As soon as the paint was dry, Nicky very carefully attached the puppy to the base of the dome. Grandad filled the glass dome with water and asked, “Shall we put in the snow or some glitter?”

  “The snow,” Nicky replied at once.

  “Snow it is then,” said Grandad. And he tipped the packet of white plastic snow into the water in the dome.

  Grandad turned the base upside down and screwed it onto the dome, before clicking it into place.

  He turned the dome the right way round and handed it over to his granddaughter. “And here it is! Your very own snow dog!”

  “I’m going to call him Harry,” Nicky decided with a smile. “Hello, Harry. Aren’t you pretty?” She gave her snow dome a shake. The plastic snow fell all around Harry and looked just like real snow.

  “Can I take him into the garden?” Nicky asked.

  “Of course. Take a jumper though. It’s a bit chilly out there.”

  “Chilly! It’s baking out there!” Nicky glanced ou
t of the window. There wasn’t a cloud in the summer sky and the sun was blazing down.

  “Jumper, please!” Grandad insisted.

  Nicky ran upstairs to get a jumper. She tied it around her waist rather than put it on.

  Grandad might be cold, but she certainly wasn’t. She ran back downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Out you go then,” nodded Grandad when he saw Nicky had her jumper. “I’ll call you when it’s lunch-time.”

  So off Nicky went. She sat on her swing, twisting her legs this way, then that. She shook the snow dome again.

  Harry was indeed the most beautiful dog in the world. Nicky sighed, a deep, unhappy sigh.

  “I wish you were real, then I could play in there with you,” she whispered.

  A very strange thing began to happen. The snow dome grew colder and colder as Nicky held it, until it felt like she was holding a snowball at the North Pole! But that was impossible. It was the middle of summer and the sun was shining like a brand new coin. Nicky put the snow dome down on the grass and blew on her fingers. They were almost numb. She frowned down at the dome. What was going on?

  “Oh my goodness!” Nicky exclaimed.

  Harry was wagging his tail. He was actually wagging his tail! And now he was barking. A very tiny, faint sound but it was definitely a bark.

  Chapter Three

  Harry

  NICKY BLINKED ONCE, blinked twice and then it happened. The third time she blinked, she opened her eyes to find herself standing in front of a real, live, furry Harry. And there was snow falling all around them.

  “How woof-onderful!” said Harry. “You’ve come to play with me. I hoped you would!”

  “You can talk too?” Nicky asked, amazed.

  “Of course,” Harry said. “All dogs talk! At least, they do in here. Isn’t it woof-onderful?”

  Nicky couldn’t believe it. She was inside the dome and just a bit bigger than Harry. Grandad had said the clay might be magic. Nicky looked around. What a beautiful place! Somewhere, far off in the distance, lights twinkled just like fairy lights on a Christmas tree.

  And here and there were fir and pine trees, swaying to and fro in the wind as if they were waving at Nicky to welcome her. And the air smelt crisp and clean.

  Nicky took a delighted deep breath. There was just one thing wrong.

  “Brrrr! It’s freezing in here!”

  “Put on your jumper then,” Harry suggested.

  Nicky had completely forgotten about the jumper tied around her waist. She untied it and quickly pulled it on. Much, much better! She wasn’t the least bit cold now. Funny it should be so cold when the snow was only plastic. Nicky put out her hand.

  Snow fell on it, melting away just like real snowflakes.

  From the outside, the dome looked like plastic and clay and glass, but on the inside everything was real. What a weird, wonderful place!

  “So what’re we going to play first?”

  “Play?”

  “Well, that is why you made me, isn’t it? So we can play together?” said Harry.

  Nicky nodded. She wasn’t sure how to play with a snow dog but she was certainly willing to learn.

  “Throw a snowball and I’ll fetch it!” said Harry.

  “But it’ll melt in your mouth,” Nicky laughed.

  “Try it,” Harry insisted.

  So Nicky picked up a handful of snow and squeezed it together until it was ball-shaped, then she threw it as hard as she could.

  In a flash, Harry was off chasing after it. And to Nicky’s surprise, he came trotting back to her with the snowball still intact in his mouth.

  “This is a funny, fantastic place,” Nicky laughed.

  “Woof-onderful!” Harry agreed.

  Nicky and Harry spent the afternoon playing together. First they played fetch with snowballs, then they chased each other and Nicky didn’t get cold once. She didn’t even get the slightest bit chilly, even though the snow kept falling and she was only wearing a jumper and shorts and her trainers. And it didn’t matter how far or how fast they ran, they never ran into the sides of the dome. In fact, Nicky couldn’t even see the sides of the dome.

  I must be very, very small, Nicky thought to herself. Funny, but I don’t feel small. In fact, just the opposite. Now she had a friend, she felt like a giant!

  After that, they made angels in the snow. Nicky lay on her back and moved her arms up and down at her sides so she could make the pattern of wings and Harry lay on his front and moved his front paws up and down. Nicky couldn’t remember when she’d had so much fun. Having a dog was just as she’d imagined it.

  “Nicky, you’d better think about getting back. Your grandad will be wondering where you are,” Harry pointed out.

  Nicky couldn’t bear it. “Oh, Harry! I can come back and play with you again, can’t I?”

  “Of course you can.” Harry wagged his tail. “And I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

  Nicky picked up Harry and cuddled him. “Oh, it’s not fair. I wish you could come out of this dome and be with me.”

  Oh dear! The snow began to whirl around them faster and faster and it began to snow upwards instead of downwards.

  “What’s going on?” Nicky called out.

  And before she could say another word, she was back in her garden with the snow dome on the grass at her feet and the sun blazing down on her back. And Harry had grown to the size of a real dog and he was standing right in front of her, his golden brown fur and silver paws gleaming in the sun.

  “The wish came true.” Nicky clapped her hands. “It must be something to do with the rainbow clay. It’s made all my wishes come true. Now you can be with me always and for ever and we’ll never …”

  “Nicky, I don’t feel well …” Harry began, before his voice trailed off altogether. Something was wrong. Harry was in trouble.

  “It’s too hot. It hurts …” Harry cried out.

  And horrified, Nicky watched as Harry’s golden fur began to bubble like overheated porridge. And the silver fur of his paws began to chip and flake, fluttering like moonlit rain onto the grass below.

  Chapter Four

  The Final Wish

  “NO! HARRY, NO!” Nicky knelt down in front of Harry to try and protect him from the sun’s rays but it was no good. A tiny crack, no thicker than a hair, appeared on one of his ears. He was starting to crumble. “I can’t stay here. It’s too hot for me,” Harry gasped.

  “Quick! You’ve got to go back into the snow dome,” Nicky said urgently.

  “How?” asked Harry. “I don’t know how I came out of the dome, so I certainly don’t know how to get back in.”

  Nicky thought desperately.

  “I wished it,” Nicky realized. “I wished you would leave the dome and be with me for always.”

  “If you don’t unwish it and soon, there’ll be nothing left of me but dust!” Harry said, lying down. The gold of his fur was flaking faster now. Nicky had to do something. She had to. She picked up the dome and held it tightly in both hands.

  “Harry, I want you to stay with me so much but not if it’s going to make you ill or fall to pieces, so I wish you were back in the dome where you’ll be cold and safe and happy.”

  Before Nicky could blink, Harry had disappeared.

  “Harry? Harry, are you in there? Are you OK?” Nicky held the snow dome up to her face and shook it frantically. “Harry?”

  “Ah! That’s much better,” Harry barked happily. He ran around in circles chasing his wagging tail.

  “Oh Harry, thank goodness. I’m so glad you’re safe.” Nicky grinned with relief.

  “Nicky, come in for your lunch,” called Grandad from the kitchen door.

  Nicky leapt to her feet, still holding the snow dome in her hands. “Grandad, did you see …?”

  “Shush! I don’t want anyone to know that I’m real, except you,” said Harry.

  “Did I see what?” Grandad prompted.

  “Nothing!” Nicky shook her head, hiding her snow
dome behind her back.

  “Come in now, dear,” said Grandad.

  “I’ll be right there.” Nicky waited until Grandad disappeared back into the house before she turned to Harry. “Harry, I’ve just thought of something,” she said.

  “If I’m out here and you’re in there, how will we play together again? Will I be able to get back into the dome and be with you?”

  “If you hold onto the dome with both hands and really, really wish for it to happen, then it will,” said Harry.

  “D’you think so?” said Nicky anxiously. “You don’t think all your rainbow clay magic is used up yet?”

  “Nicky, I’m not the only one who’s magic,” Harry laughed. “Didn’t you know that you are too?”

  “Me?” asked Nicky, amazed.

  “You!” said Harry.

  And then Nicky understood. “So it’s not the rainbow clay that’s magic, is it? It’s you and me – together.”

  “Exactly.” And Harry started chasing his tail again.

  Nicky laughed. “Harry, you and I are going to have such fun together.”

  “Of course we are!” said Harry.

  “It’s going to be woof-onderful!” said Nicky and Harry together.

  And laughing, Nicky carried Harry back into her house. It was time for lunch!