by Nancy Krulik
“I don’t know,” I admit. “It just came to me.”
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spot a tall, thin two-leg walking out of the lodge. He has dark fur on top of his head, like my Josh. He walks really fast on his two legs, like my Josh. And he has a long furry leash around his neck, like my Josh wears when it gets cold.
How did my Josh get all the way to Zermatt? Does he have a magic bone, too?
“Josh! Josh! Josh!” I bark excitedly. I take off after him, forgetting all about Lena and the cheese.
“Sparky! Where are you going?” Lena calls out.
I don’t answer her.
“Josh! Josh! Josh!” I bark again.
Josh doesn’t turn around. So I keep following him.
Josh turns right. I turn right.
Josh turns left. I turn left.
Josh sits on a cold bench. I sit on a cold bench.
I look over and smile at Josh. He gives me a funny look and moves away from me on the bench.
I give him a funny look. Wait a minute. He’s not my Josh.
Whoa! Suddenly the bench I’m sitting on starts to move. Before I know what’s happening, the not-Josh and I fly up in the air.
“AAAAAHHHHH!” I yelp.
I look down. The not-Josh and I are flying high over the snow. Up over the lodge. High over the trees. I shut my eyes. I can’t look.
Wiggle, waggle, gulp!
CHAPTER 5
“Let me down! Let me down!” I bark, as the not-Josh and I fly over the trees.
The not-Josh is shouting, too. I don’t understand what he’s saying. But I can tell he’s not happy. In fact, the not-Josh is so not happy that if he had a tail, he would tuck in between his legs.
That’s what my tail is doing right now. It’s tucked so far under me, I don’t know if it will ever come out.
“Let me down! Let me down!” I bark again.
The not-Josh shouts louder. So do some of the other two-legs flying high in the sky. None of us are happy up here.
Wiggle, waggle, wow! Our barking and shouting is working! We start to go down. The tops of the trees are higher than I am again.
Bump, thump, thump.
I leap off the bench and onto the snow. It’s still cold and wet, but I don’t care. I’m just happy to be on the ground.
I look down. Oops. There is a puddle of yellow snow at my feet. That kind of thing happens when I’m scared.
The not-Josh walks away from me as fast as he can. The other two-legs scramble to get away from me, too.
“Wait for me, not-Josh!” I call out. “Wait for me, other two-legs!”
But they don’t wait. Now I’m all alone.
I don’t like it here. I want to go back to the lodge where Lena is. But how? I don’t want to have to be rescued by Lena’s mean brothers and sister.
Wait a minute. I am thinking a really great thinkety-think thought! Some of these two-legs might be heading to the lodge! After all, that’s where the food is. And two-legs like to eat just as much as dogs. If I follow the two-legs, I bet I’ll find my way back to the lodge, Lena, and the Swiss cheese!
I walk over to a crowd of two legs and wait for them to start walking. But the two-legs just stand there.
I look down. Wow! Those two-legs have the weirdest paws I’ve ever seen. Their paws are long and skinny. And they don’t have any toes or claws. I wonder if they can even walk with paws like that.
“Hello, two-legs. Are you going to the lodge?” I bark excitedly.
“Aaaah!”
I must have scared one of them. She screams and falls backward. And then, suddenly, her long, skinny, clawless paws pop off!
“Aaaah!” Now it’s my turn to scream.
The two-leg hits another two-leg as she falls. That two-leg falls. And his paws pop off!
That two-leg knocks over a third two-leg. And his paws pop off, too! Suddenly, all around me, two-legs are falling to the ground. Their paws are popping off all over the place. And they’re all shouting at the same time.
I don’t blame them. I’d shout, too, if my paws popped off.
But the pawless two-legs are all shouting at me, like it’s my fault. And it’s not my fault. I never touched their long, skinny, clawless paws.
I don’t like the shouting. And it’s scary watching their paws pop off. I have to get out of here.
Suddenly, I spy some two-legs with regular-size paws. They aren’t shouting. They’re near a row of long, flat chew toys. The toys remind me of the long toy my friend Lolani stood on to ride the waves in Maui. But instead of standing on the toy, these two-legs are sitting.
I watch as a two-leg sits down and another two-leg pushes him toward the hill. Whoosh! The toy and the two-leg zip down the side of the hill.
I race over to another long wooden toy. Quickly, I push it to the edge of the hill with my nose. The toy starts to slide downhill. I leap on top of it.
Wiggle, waggle, whoosh! I’m sliding down the mountain. The wind is blowing my fur. My ears are pressed back against my head. My teeth are chattering as I bumpity, bump, bump down the hill.
I whoosh past a group of green trees. I whiz past a brown house with smoke coming out the top. I swish past three two-legs with no legs.
My tail tucks itself way, way under me. I don’t blame it. I’d hide under me, too, if I could figure out how.
Swish! A two-leg with long skinny paws zooms past me. She’s going even faster than I am. But she doesn’t seem scared. What a brave two-leg!
Look! I’m nearing the bottom of the hill!
Thump, thump, bump! The fast-sliding toy throws me into the snow. The snow is cold and wet, but I’m sure glad it’s soft.
Uh-oh! Another two-leg with long skinny paws is zooming right toward me.“Watch out!” I bark at him.
The two-leg moves around me. Then, plop! He is on the ground. And he’s shouting at me. I don’t know why. I didn’t make him fall.
Shakity, shake, shake! I shake the snow from my fur.
“Sparky! There you are!” I hear Lena call. “Why did you leave?”
I don’t want to tell Lena about following the not-Josh up in the air. It’s too embarrassing. So instead I say, “I was exploring. But I’m back. And I’m still hungry. Let’s get more cheese.”
Lena shakes her head. “The cheese is all gone.”
“All of it?” I ask her.
Lena nods. “But there is another place we can get some treats,” she continues.
“Where? Where?” I ask. My tail starts wagging. My paws bounce up and down.
“A two-leg in town has a store filled with dog food, toys, and treats. He gives the treats to dogs to thank them for rescuing two-legs. He gives treats to me, too. Even though I never . . .” Lena’s voice drifts off.
I know Lena is sad that she’s never saved anyone. But I’m glad to hear that this nice two-leg gives treats to dogs who have never rescued anyone. That means I’ll get some! My tail wags harder. My paws bounce higher.
My mouth gets watery, and my tongue pops out. “I want treats!” I bark. “Let’s go!”
CHAPTER 6
“I was sure the shop was right around that corner,” Lena says. “I don’t know how we missed it. Unless . . .”
“Unless what?” I ask her. Lena and I have been walking through the village for a long, long time. We’ve seen lots of horses and plenty of two-legs. But we haven’t seen or sniffed a single dog treat.
“Unless we were supposed to turn left,” Lena says. “Oh, I don’t know. I usually follow Luca, Jonas, and Charlotte to the shop. I have no idea how to get there on my own. I have no idea how to get anywhere on my own. I don’t even know where we are now.”
“Come on, Lena,” I say. “You have to recognize this place. You live in Zermatt. Look around.”
Lena looks around. I look around.
“I think we have to go this way,” Lena says finally. She doesn’t sound very sure, but she starts walking uphill anyway.
We pass shops and houses. I smell something sweet coming from the trees and see smoke rising from the roofs of the houses. The smoke smells like it did at our house that time Josh let his bread turn black. He didn’t eat that blackened bread. He just fed it to the round can in the kitchen.
Josh. The more I think about him, the more I miss him. The more I want to go back and take a big bite of my bone so I can go home.
But I don’t think we’re heading back to my bone. We keep walking higher and higher up a mountain. There’s nothing here but snow. Lots and lots of snow. Some snow is lying flat on the ground. Some snow is sitting in the trees. And some of the snow is packed together into lumpy, bumpy balls.
But not little balls like Josh uses when we play fetch. Huge balls. Giant balls. Snowballs as big as houses!
Lena looks around. “How did we wind up in Iglu-Dorf?” she wonders aloud.
Why is she asking me? I don’t even know what Iglu-Dorf is. “How did we wind up where?” I ask.
“Iglu-Dorf,” Lena repeats. “This village. It’s made up of snow houses called igloos.”
“Do two-legs live in these igloos?” I ask her. “The same way Josh and I live in our house?”
“I think the two-legs just visit,” Lena says. “My brothers and sister have led me up here lots of times, and it’s always different two-legs staying here. They sleep and eat inside the igloos, and when they leave, different two-legs come and sleep and eat inside them.”
Eating and sleeping in a snow house? Wiggle, waggle, weird. Two-legs do the strangest things.
I walk around to get a better look at the snow houses. There’s a hole in the giant snowball. A dog could wander right inside.
“AAAAAHHHHH!” A two-leg shouts as I walk inside the giant snowball.
“AAAHHHHH!” I bark back at the two-leg. Actually at the two-legs. There are a whole bunch of them inside the giant snowball.
Sniffety, sniff, sniff. It smells like they’re eating something cheesy in here. I gotta have some!
I race over to a big pot of cheese. It’s all gooey. Mmmm. I love gooey cheese.
The two legs start shouting. I don’t think they want to share their cheese.
“No, Sparky! Don’t lick the cheese fondue!” Lena warns. She doesn’t want me to share the cheese, either.
But it is too late. My tongue is already sticking itself into the pot of gooey cheese.
“Owie, ow, ow, ow!” I shout. The cheese is hot. It burns my tongue. “Owie, ow, ow!”
I’m not the only one shouting. The two-legs are shouting, too. They are really angry that I tried to share their cheese.
That’s okay. I don’t want any more of that hottie, hot, hot cheese, anyway.
One of the two-legs waves his hands at me. He’s trying to shoo me out of the igloo.
The shouting is loud. My tongue is hurting. My tail is scared. My paws start running toward the door. Fast. Faster. Fastest.
“Sparky, wait up!” Lena shouts. I can hear her breathing heavily as she runs after me. “Don’t leave without me. Please. I don’t want to be lost and all alone . . . again.”
I stop for a minute. Lena sounds scared. Just like I am.
“Don’t worry, Lena,” I tell her. “I wouldn’t leave you lost and all alone. I know exactly how you feel.”
Lena shakes her head. “You can’t understand how I feel. I’m a Saint Bernard. I was born to rescue people. But I always wind up getting lost and having to be rescued myself. It’s embarrassing.”
“I know what it feels like to be lost, because my magic . . .” I stop talking for moment. I don’t know if I should tell Lena about my magic bone. What if she decides she wants to use it to get out of Zermatt and away from her brothers and sister? She might go find my bone and steal it.
No. That would never happen. Lena is too nice to steal my bone. And besides, she probably wouldn’t be able to find it. I don’t mean that in a mean way. It’s just that she has a lot of trouble finding things.
“I have a magic bone,” I explain. “When I take a bite out of it, there’s a giant kaboom. And the next thing I know, I’m somewhere I’ve never been before. I don’t know where I am or where to go. I have to depend on other dogs to help me.”
Lena looks like she isn’t sure whether or not to believe me. I don’t blame her. A kabooming magic bone is pretty hard to believe in.
Finally she asks, “Where’s your bone now?”
“Back where you first met me,” I tell her. “Near the green trees and the two-leg with no legs. I buried it under the snow and dirt so it would be safe. I hope I can find my way there soon. I’m ready to go back to my house.”
“You have your own house?” Lena asks me.
“I share it with my two-leg, Josh,” I tell her. “He’s really nice. He gives me kibble and scratches me behind the ears . . .
That’s it!” I shout out excitedly.
Lena gives me a funny look. “What’s it?”
“You can come live with Josh and me,” I say. “You and I will find my bone. Then we’ll take a bite at the exact same time. We can kaboom back to my house together.”
“Would Josh want another dog?” Lena asks me.
I nod. “Josh loves dogs. We have lots of room in our house. And our yard is big. But not so big that you could get lost,” I add quickly.
Lena cocks her head to one side. I can tell she is thinking. “I would like that,” she says finally.
“Great!” I say. “Come on, Lena. Let’s go. We have a magic bone to find.”
CHAPTER 7
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” I ask Lena.
I’m so tired. Lena and I have been walking for a long time. But we still haven’t found the two-leg with no legs who is standing near my bone.
“I hope so,” Lena says. “I don’t really know,” she admits.
My heart starts thumpety, thump, thumping. It doesn’t like being lost.
Suddenly, my ears perk up. I hear something.
“Two-legs!” I bark. “Lots of them. Just like at the lodge.”
“I hear them, too,” Lena barks back.
“Maybe if we follow the two-legs, we’ll get back to the lodge,” I tell Lena. “And once we’re there we can hopefully find the place where I buried my bone.”
My paws start running toward the sound of two-legs talking. “Wait for us, two-legs!” I bark to them.
A minute later, Lena and I are right in the middle of a big group of two-legs’ legs. All we can see are two-leg knees and two-leg feet.
“I don’t think this is the lodge, Sparky,” Lena says.
I don’t think so, either. The lodge smells like cheese, bread, and sweet trees. But this place doesn’t smell like food or trees. And the lodge . . .
Wiggle, waggle, uh-oh!
The lodge is on the ground. But we’re not on the ground anymore. We’re sitting in a metal machine, kind of like the one Josh drives. Only this metal machine doesn’t have four round paws. And it isn’t in the street. It’s flying in the sky.
I don’t like it up in the sky.
“Let me out of here!” I bark.
The two-legs all move away from me. They all seem to be talking at once. I can’t understand what they’re saying, but they sound scared. I don’t know why. I’m not scary. Neither is Lena.
I can tell that the two-legs don’t want us here. But they don’t open a door to let us out of the metal machine.
At least not at first. But a few minutes later, the door to the machine opens. I wiggle my way through the two-leg legs and out into the cold air.
Wiggle, waggle, wahoo! I feel snow on my paws. I bend down and g
ive it a big lick. “I love you, snow. I love you!” I bark happily.
Lena pads her way over to me. “I’ve never seen this place before,” she tells me. “This is the most lost I’ve ever been.”
I’m not so happy anymore.
My ears perk up again. I hear a two-leg shouting. My eyes open wide. There’s a two-leg running right for Lena and me.
My tail slips between my legs. My heart starts thumpety, thump, thumping. That two-leg looks like he’s trying to catch us. I don’t like when two-legs try to catch me. The last time a two-leg caught me, he threw me into the back of a metal machine with four round paws and drove me straight to the pound in London! I don’t see any metal machines here. Which means this two-leg probably isn’t a dogcatcher. But I’m not taking any chances!
“Come on, Lena,” I bark. “We’ve gotta get out of here!”
My paws start running. Fast. Faster. Whoops! I slide across the ground on my rear end. Wow! That’s cold.
Slam! Lena slides right into me.
Lena and I crash into the knees of the two-legs around us. They fall to the ground and slide into the walls. Then they start shouting.
But Lena and I don’t stop to listen to their shouting. We hop back up on our four legs and keep running. We can’t let that dogcatcher catch us!
“It’s r-r-really c-c-c-cold in here,” I say through my chattering teeth.
“Glaciers are cold,” Lena says. “I think we’re inside Glacier Palace.”
“You think?” I ask her. “Don’t you know?”
“I heard Charlotte talking about Glacier Palace once,” Lena says. “She rescued some two-legs who got stuck up here during a snowstorm. She said it was cold and slippery and all made of ice.”
That sure sounds like where Lena and I are right now. The walls and the ground are all made of slippery, cold ice.
“Look,” I say, pointing my snout toward a horse and some funny-looking birds. “Those are statues,” I tell Lena. I know all about statues. I saw a lot of them in Rome. But these statues are different. I can see right through them.
