Take a Bow-Wow

by Kristin Earhart

  “No, I’m sticking with Truffle,” Sadie insisted. When he heard his name, the puppy looked up at Sadie with kind, bright eyes. Sadie was confident that the name was perfect, just like her puppy.

  Life with a puppy was everything Sadie had imagined: fun, fun, and more fun! In some ways, he was too much fun. Truffle wanted to play as soon as Sadie woke up. He wanted to play while she ate breakfast, and he wanted to play when she was getting ready for bed. Sadie wanted to play with him all of the time, too.

  “Remember our agreement,” Sadie’s mom said across the table. It was a school day. Sadie was throwing Truffle a ball in between taking bites of cereal. “Your puppy cannot interfere with your other responsibilities,” her mom reminded her.

  Truffle bounded away and tracked down the ball in seconds. “He’s not interfering,” Sadie insisted as Truffle trotted back with the rubber ball in his mouth. Her mom sounded serious, but Sadie wasn’t worried. Her mom loved Truffle. He kept her mom company in the kitchen, lifting his nose and smelling all of the wonderful aromas of her cooking. Sadie’s dad was just waiting for Truffle to be big enough to go jogging with him. Truffle was already a member of the family.

  Still, her mom had a point. Truffle did demand a lot of her attention. It was hard enough for Sadie to get her homework done with the puppy staring at her, but practicing piano was even worse! He would bark and prance around. He seemed to spin in time with the music and wouldn’t stop until Sadie paused and gave him a good pet.

  It was several days before Sadie thought about Truffle’s special trick again. She and Truffle had walked to the local dog park with her dad.

  “It’s good that we’re getting this puppy outside before it rains,” Mr. Reynolds said to Sadie. “He needs to get rid of some of his energy. He’s way too hyper when he’s cooped up.” Then he looked at Truffle and smiled. “You don’t like being stuck inside, do you? You like to run and play and show off.”

  RRRufff!

  When Truffle heard Mr. Reynolds talk like that, his ears perked up. He jumped on his hind feet and tugged on the leash.

  “Dad, you’re getting him all excited,” Sadie said.

  “That’s fine,” her dad replied. “That’s why we’re going to the park. Isn’t it, boy?” Sadie liked to see this side of her dad. Truffle made him a little silly, like a kid.

  Once they arrived, Sadie took the leash off and let the puppy run around. She had a rubber ball that looked like a globe. She threw it, and Truffle raced after it, running at full speed. He liked to catch it in the air, or spin around after he scooped it off the ground. Lots of people pointed at him and complimented Sadie on her cute dog. The owner of another poodle started talking to her dad.

  “Hey, Sadie!” a voice called from the other side of the park.

  Sadie looked up. She was surprised to see Isa Graham waving at her. The girl hurried across the park, skirting around leashes and chew toys in her shiny purple boots. She held a clipboard tight against her chest. Sadie bit her upper lip.

  “Hey,” Isa said again when she was just steps away. “Did you bring your new puppy?”

  Sadie nodded.

  “Where is he?” Isa asked.

  “Over there.” Sadie pointed. Truffle was rolling around with a much bigger dog, nipping at his paws.

  “He’s so cute,” Isa said under her breath. She raised her clipboard and tapped a pink pen against the paper.

  Sadie could tell Isa had something on her mind.

  “Sadie,” Isa began in a serious tone, “I’m here at the dog park raising money to help save the wolves. I’m on the school talent show committee — we’re selling tickets to support wildlife organizations.”

  “Really?” Sadie asked. She was listening to Isa, but she was watching Truffle.

  “Right now, wolves are struggling,” Isa continued. “They are losing places to live in the wild. I guess that as a dog lover, you care about wolves.”

  Sadie nodded.

  “Would you like to volunteer?” Isa asked. “You could be in the talent show.”

  Sadie started to nod again, but quickly stopped. “Oh, no. I can’t do that,” she answered.

  “Please, Sadie?”

  Sadie did care about the wolves. She had read all about them. Scientists had proven that today’s dogs are related to wolves. Also, Sadie knew that wolves played an important part in the balance of nature. She wanted to help, but there was no way she was going to be in a talent show. She had already performed at the piano recital and that had been bad enough.

  Luckily, Truffle came running back to her, and both girls forgot about the talent show while they played with him. Truffle wanted to tug on a stick, and Isa put down her clipboard so she could pull with both hands.

  After a while, Isa said she should go. “I need to find some more people or we won’t have a talent show at all.” Hearing this, Sadie felt kind of bad. As Isa started to turn away, Truffle barked at Sadie. He barked and wagged his tail, sticking his curly rump in the air. He stared at Sadie the way he had at the pet center. Sadie remembered that it had been just before he did his trick.

  “Do you want to do your special trick?” she asked.

  RRRufff.

  “He’s going to do his trick?” Isa asked. “I’ve got to stay to see that.”

  “Okay,” Sadie said, pulling a treat out of her pocket. She clapped and said, “Bet you can’t catch it.”

  Truffle took off in a tight circle, chasing after his short, cottony tail. Both Sadie and Isa laughed. Suddenly, Sadie noticed silver stars swirling in the air, just like at Power’s Pets. She watched as the stars shimmered and danced. Then she looked down at Truffle and said, “Stop.” She bent over to give the puppy his treat.

  Sadie thought about her piano recital. She had sounded pretty good. And afterward, she’d felt proud. Maybe performing one more time wouldn’t be so bad. “You know, Isa, I can help. I can be in the talent show.”

  Isa was writing on her clipboard. “I knew I could count on you, Sadie!” she exclaimed. “Thank you so much. You’ll be great. Do you know what your talent will be?” Isa asked. She held her pen at the ready.

  Sadie swallowed. “Um, piano?” She said it like a question, but there was really no question about it. Playing the piano was the only talent she had.

  “Great,” Isa replied. “You’ll be just great.” With that, Isa patted Sadie on the back and headed across the lawn. She turned around when she was several strides away and yelled, “Thanks so much, Sadie!”

  Sadie could hardly believe her ears. She barely remembered agreeing to be in the talent show. What was she thinking? Truffle rubbed up against her leg and gave a happy yip.

  “Thrilled,” Mrs. Reynolds said into the phone. “We’re just thrilled that Sadie volunteered to be part of the talent show.” She paused and smiled over at her daughter. “Of course you should come. You’re her grandmother! Maybe Monica wants to come, too.”

  Sadie spun her finger around one of her tight curls. She sighed. “Come on, Truffle,” she said finally, heading to her room. “Henry and Lexi will be here soon.”

  Sadie read a book on her beanbag chair and Truffle played with a chew toy until the doorbell rang. When Sadie answered the door, she was relieved to see her friends. “Hey, let’s go to the backyard. Truffle needs some exercise.”

  Lexi and Henry shrugged and then followed her. They waved to Sadie’s mom. Mrs. Reynolds seemed to be on the phone with someone new, but she was still talking about the upcoming talent show.

  “Sadie, it’s really great that you got over your stage fright, or whatever it was,” Lexi said. “Isa is super happy that you’re doing the talent show.”

  “That’s just it. I’m not over my stage fright,” Sadie admitted. She threw a Frisbee, and Truffle took off, chasing it. “I do not want to perform at all.”

  “Then why did you volunteer?” Henry asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sadie answered.

  “Wait. Did Isa force you to say yes?” Lexi asked.<
br />
  “No,” said Sadie. She did have a hard time saying no to Isa, but the other girl did not make her say yes. “At least I don’t think so. It was weird. For like a minute, I was just sure I should do it.” She let out a long breath. “Then, just like that, I wished I hadn’t.”

  Truffle came back, and Sadie threw the Frisbee again.

  “That is weird,” Lexi agreed. “So what are you going to do?”

  “My mom is so happy. I don’t know how I’m going to back out,” Sadie said, “but I have to. I can’t play piano in front of all those people. I’ll just freeze up.”

  “How did you get through the recital?” Henry asked.

  “I practiced like crazy,” she answered.

  “Well, just do that again,” Lexi suggested with a shrug. “It can’t be that bad. Maybe it will be easier this time.”

  Sadie hoped that was true. At least at the recital, she knew she would get a puppy after she was done. For a moment, Sadie thought back to that day. She remembered the audience clapping when she had finished playing. That part had been good.

  “I didn’t really know anyone at the recital. That made it easier. Now Mom’s calling everyone. And all the kids from school will be there,” Sadie said.

  “Well, if you can’t perform in front of people, you’ll have to quit,” Henry said matter-of-factly.

  Sadie hated the word quit. She didn’t want to quit … but she did want to get out of it.

  “I have a question,” Henry announced, changing the subject. “I know you said that truffles are some kind of germ you dig up like mushrooms —”

  “Not a germ, Henry. A fungus,” Sadie corrected.

  “Oh, whatever. A fungus, like a mushroom. But I thought truffles were some kind of fancy candy. My mom always makes them around the holidays and gives them to everyone at her office. They’re pretty good. I don’t think they come out of the ground.”

  “Well, you’re right,” said Sadie. “Truffles are also a kind of chocolate. A very sweet and fancy kind of chocolate. And Truffle is a very sweet and fancy kind of puppy. So, I think the name fits either way.”

  Just then, Truffle ran up and jumped against Henry, knocking him into the mud. The puppy stepped on Henry and walked up his chest, leaving sloppy footprints on his navy jacket. When he got to Henry’s face, he gave him a long lick, from his chin to his forehead. Lexi and Sadie stood back and laughed. “I wouldn’t say he’s fancy,” Henry gasped between giggles. “But your puppy is supersweet.”

  Sadie was laughing so hard she didn’t hear her mom call her name at first.

  “Sadie, you have a phone call,” Mrs. Reynolds said from the deck. “It’s a girl named Isa.”

  Sadie froze. Why would Isa be calling? She looked at Lexi and Henry. “Watch Truffle for me?” she asked before running inside. Her mom gave her a warm smile before passing her the phone.

  “Hello?” Sadie said.

  “Hi, Sadie. It’s Isa.” Isa’s voice was soft and muffled. “Listen, I just found out that we can’t have a piano at the talent show. It’s being fixed or something that weekend.” She paused. “So, we need you to come up with another act. I hope that’s okay — I can count on you, right?” Isa prompted. After a long stretch of silence, Isa asked, “Are you there?”

  “Yeah,” Sadie mumbled.

  “Good. I really appreciate it, Sadie. See you at school tomorrow.”

  “Yeah,” Sadie replied. Then she heard the phone click.

  Sadie avoided talking to Isa the next day at school. It seemed like Isa was avoiding her, too.

  “What are you going to do?” Lexi asked at lunch.

  Sadie stared at her sandwich. “What can I do?” Sadie responded. She didn’t feel like she had any options. She would feel bad if she quit the talent show. Isa was trying to do a good thing. Telling people about the wolves was important. But there wasn’t anything else that Sadie could do for her act. Piano was her only real talent, unless you counted her ability to make a banana-and-Nutella sandwich in less than sixty seconds. But no one would want to see that. And it would make for a very short talent show performance.

  “Well, the talent show is next weekend, so you’ve got to come up with something,” Lexi said.

  Sadie didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to talk about it. She hadn’t even told her parents about it! Her mom had asked Sadie what the phone call had been about, but Sadie was too overwhelmed to explain. Isa expected her to come up with a new act? In a week? And perform it in front of an audience?

  After school, Sadie wanted some fresh air. She decided to take Truffle back to the dog park. Truffle was so happy, his tail wagged back and forth in the air as they walked.

  When they arrived, Sadie saw that someone had set up a giant obstacle course. Truffle saw it, too. His tail wagged even harder.

  “You want to give it a try?” Sadie asked.

  RRRufff! Truffle pulled against his collar before Sadie could get the leash off. “Calm down, boy. Take it easy. You’re still a puppy, you know.”

  RRRufff! Truffle raced off and started chasing a Shetland sheepdog through a tunnel and over seesaws. Sadie watched in amazement. How had he learned to do all that?

  “Hi, Sadie,” a voice said.

  Sadie turned to see Isa. She was holding her clipboard again.

  “I’m collecting more donations,” Isa said. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She tapped the clipboard with her pen twice and stopped.

  Thoughts raced through Sadie’s brain. Now was the time to tell Isa she couldn’t be in the talent show. She would do it nicely, but she had to do it now. Then she noticed Isa looked a little different — a little sad.

  Sadie took a deep breath. She wondered if, when she opened her mouth, she would find that she didn’t have enough words. Or maybe she’d have way too many.

  But Isa spoke before Sadie. “I’m really sorry, Sadie. I had no idea that there wouldn’t be a piano for the talent show.”

  Isa’s voice was low. Sadie missed her perky smile.

  “Piano is my only talent,” Sadie said. “I can’t do anything else. I can’t juggle or sing, and I definitely can’t ride a unicycle. My dad is a really good break-dancer, which is funny, but I can’t do that either —”

  “Is that Truffle?” Isa interrupted.

  Sadie looked up. Truffle was still following the long-haired sheepdog around the course. When the dogs came to the end, the sheepdog’s owner reached down and gave them both big pats. Then he held up a hoop and started waving it. The dogs took turns leaping through the hoop. Truffle seemed to sail through the air.

  “Wow,” Isa said under her breath. “Does he do that for you?”

  “I’ve never tried,” Sadie admitted. “I usually just throw a ball or a Frisbee.”

  “How did he learn to jump like that?” Isa asked.

  “I don’t know. He just does it,” explained Sadie.

  The two girls stood in silence. They watched the other owner pet the two dogs before gathering all the obstacle course equipment.

  Sadie waved a thank-you as the man left the park. “Truffle!” she called. Her fluffy pup came running, his tongue flapping out the side of his mouth.

  Sadie had been so happy watching her puppy that she almost forgot what she needed to do. She needed to get out of the talent show. Sadie bent down to welcome Truffle back. “You know,” she started, not looking Isa in the eye. “I really can’t be in the talent show. I need a piano. I’m super sorry.” When Isa didn’t reply right away, Sadie kept talking. “I could help sell tickets or something.”

  “We really need talent acts,” Isa said. “And you’ll be perfect. You don’t need a piano.”

  Sadie looked up. She was confused.

  The sad look was gone from Isa’s face. Her blue eyes were bright and her smile was back. “You can perform,” she said, writing something down on her trusty clipboard. “You and Truffle can do tricks!”

  “Oh, no,” Sadie insisted. “I don’t even know the right commands.
And he’s way too young.” When Sadie looked down, Truffle was staring at her. He barked. He gave her that hopeful expression. Sadie knew he wanted to do his trick, but now was not the time.

  “Sadie, you will be so great! Dog tricks at a talent show to help save the wolves. How fabulous is that?” Isa bit the end of her pen and studied her clipboard.

  “But we don’t have enough time,” Sadie said. “It will take tons of practice.”

  “Don’t worry. Look, Truffle is already practicing.” Isa pointed at the puppy.

  Truffle was spinning around at full speed.

  “No, Truffle,” Sadie said. “Truffle, no,” she repeated. “Not now.”

  The puppy did not stop. He didn’t even slow down. He spun around and around. He went faster and faster. He looked like he was just inches from catching his tail. Sadie saw the silver stars start to whirl into the air. They swirled around her. As she watched them, she seemed to forget all her concerns.

  She felt a burst of confidence. What had she been so worried about? This would be great! “We can practice,” Sadie heard herself say. “We can do it, for the wolves.”

  “Really?” Isa asked.

  “Really.” Sadie had never been so sure of herself. She looked down at Truffle. “Stop,” she directed, and the puppy did just that. He sat down and looked up at Sadie, his eyes twinkling.

  “I’m so excited,” said Isa. She had stopped writing and was just smiling at Sadie. “Thanks. You will be awesome. You will too, Truffle.” Isa tousled the puppy’s curls and then walked away with a skip in her step.

  “Awesome,” Sadie repeated. But as Isa walked away, doubt began to creep back in. What had she gotten herself into — again?

  Truffle’s trick. It was all Sadie could think about. She had had the perfect chance to get out of the talent show, but then Truffle had worked his magic. When he started spinning — and the stars started swirling — Sadie had changed her mind. She had, all at once, felt like she could take on the world.