Karen's New Puppy

by Ann M. Martin

  Hmm. I rememberd that she had been doing that a lot before she ran away.

  “Stay here, Midgie,” I said. “I am going down to the basement to investigate.”

  I opened the basement door and closed it quickly so Midgie could not follow me. I checked each of the two big windows. They were shut tight. I checked the floorboards to make sure that none were loose. Then I checked the small window over the refrigerator. The latch was broken. I gently pushed the window frame. The window opened. It was just big enough for Midgie to fit through. But it was awfully high.

  I stood back and sized up the situation. If Midgie were to jump onto the chair, then onto the washing machine, then onto the top of the refrigerator …

  “Aha! Midgie would be free,” I said.

  The case of the disappearing dog was closed. I ran upstairs to tell everyone the news. (I made sure to shut the basement door behind me.)

  “You are an amazing detective!” said Seth. “I am going to fix the window lock right this minute.”

  “I will help you,” I said. “We do not want Midgie to run away ever again.”

  Special Delivery

  Me-ow! Me-ow! Woof! Woof! Woof! Me-ow!

  It was Sunday. We were trying to eat a peaceful family lunch. Mommy jumped up from her chair and headed for the living room.

  “I thought Sadie was under your chair, Seth,” she said.

  “So did I,” replied Seth, jumping up after Mommy.

  When they came back, they were carrying Sadie. They closed the door so Rocky could not get in.

  “We have to be more careful about keeping them apart,” said Mommy. “And we have to do something about finding Sadie a new home.”

  “We will put up signs and place an ad in the paper,” replied Seth.

  “No, wait! I have a better idea,” I said. “The Gillens were very good pet owners. Maybe they would like to take Sadie.”

  “Oh, no. They are too old for Sadie. She is way too much work,” Mommy replied.

  “But the Gillens do not have any other pets,” I said. “Or kids. Their yard is fenced in. And they loved having Midgie.”

  “It is certainly worth a phone call,” said Seth.

  “All right,” agreed Mommy. “Let’s give it a try.”

  Seth called Mr. and Mrs. Gillen. He told them about Sadie. But the Gillens did not want to take her. They said Midgie was one thing. A puppy was another.

  Boo and bullfrogs.

  “I think it is time to make our signs,” said Mommy. “I am sure someone in the neighborhood would love a puppy like Sadie. She is a lot of trouble now, but she will grow up to be a wonderful dog.”

  I helped clear the table. Then we made our sign. It said:

  BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN RETRIEVER PUPPY

  NEEDS LOVING HOME

  We put a picture of Sadie in the middle and our phone number at the bottom.

  Just as we finished making the sign, the phone rang. Seth answered it and came back with a big smile on his face.

  “We are not going to need that sign after all,” he said. “That was the Gillens. They have changed their minds. They would like to take Sadie. They remembered how sweet Midgie is. And how much she made them laugh. And how many new friends they made when they walked her. They really want to have a dog around. In fact, they said they wanted Sadie more than anything in the world.”

  “That is terrific news!” said Mommy.

  “Hooray!” I said.

  I looked at our beautiful sign. It was too bad no one would see it. But I was happy the Gillens were going to take Sadie.

  “I offered to drive Sadie over to their house,” said Seth. “We can all ride there together.”

  I packed up the toys Mr. and Mrs. Gillen had bought for Midgie. Now they would be Sadie’s toys. Then we piled into our car. Andrew and I hugged Sadie.

  “You will be happy with the Gillens,” I told her. “They have a fenced-in yard. And you will be their only pet.”

  When we arrived at the Gillens’ house, I held Sadie’s leash and Andrew rang the bell.

  “Special delivery!” I called.

  “She looks so sweet!” said Mrs. Gillen when she opened the door and saw Sadie.

  She reached out to pet her. Sadie was so excited she made a puddle. I was glad we were still outside.

  “This puppy will keep us young,” said Mr. Gillen.

  I handed him the leash and the bag of toys. I felt sad. But I felt relieved, too.

  “Be good, Sadie,” said Andrew.

  “Be happy, Sadie,” I said.

  We took turns hugging Sadie good-bye. Then we headed home.

  No Grown-ups Allowed

  Andrew and I gathered everyone together to work on the treehouse.

  “Let’s get this building crew working!” said Seth.

  He was in a very good mood. That is because Midgie was home and Sadie had a brand-new family.

  The first thing we did was put the roof on our treehouse. That way it would be cozy even in the rain. We made an assembly line. Seth called out what he needed. We passed it to him.

  “Board!” called Seth.

  “Board!” we all answered.

  The board went from hand to hand. (When the boards were big, two little kids had to hold them at once. I worried they might drop one on their toes and get hurt. But I was very good. I did not say one word.)

  It took awhile. But finally the roof was finished. Seth said he would paint the outside for us. We took a vote and decided on blue. It was our job to paint the inside.

  “Let’s make it look like the sky,” I said. “That would be pretty.”

  “We could paint the moon and the stars,” said Kathryn.

  “I want to paint a sun,” said Willie.

  “Let’s paint everything!” I said.

  That is what we did. We painted stars, clouds, birds, the moon, the sun, an airplane, a rocket ship, a kite, and a lost balloon. It was a very busy sky.

  By the time we finished, my hair was about six different colors. That is because I put too much paint on my brush and it dripped down on my head.

  “That ceiling looks fantastic, kids,” said Seth. “We can leave it to dry overnight and finish up tomorrow.”

  My friends and I got together again after school on Monday. Our house looked gigundoly beautiful. But it was gigundoly empty, too.

  “We need to decorate,” I said. “Who has furniture?”

  “We have a table and a few chairs in our attic,” said Jackie. “We never use them anymore.”

  “My parents just put an old trunk down in the basement,” said Nancy. “I bet we could have that.”

  There was something in our basement I wanted, too. I would have to ask Mommy if I could have it.

  We went to our houses and came back with whatever we were allowed to have. Mommy let me have the thing I wanted most. It was a big straw basket we used to use for laundry.

  “We can hang this from the treehouse with ropes,” I told my friends. “Then we can send things up and down.”

  We had the basket. We had the Bartons’ table and chairs. (They were light so it was easy to haul them up to the treehouse.) Nancy’s trunk made a great treasure chest. We had a mirror. A rug. Two old telephones. A painting of a clown and one of a cat.

  It took a long time to attach the basket so it went up and down without getting stuck. But we did it. By the time we were finished, we had a real and true treehouse.

  We ran to get our parents so they could see it. They took turns climbing up the steps.

  “It is beautiful!” said Mommy.

  “And so cozy,” said Kathryn’s mother.

  “May I hide out here sometimes?” asked Bobby’s father.

  “No!” we all replied.

  “We are sorry, Mr. Gianelli. No grownups allowed,” I said.

  I knew I was making up another rule without asking. But I do not think anyone minded. Except the grown-ups. They looked disappointed. My friends and I would have to put up a sign that said No Grown-ups All
owed. Otherwise one of the grown-ups might forget.

  Our treehouse was a special place. We had built it ourselves. Okay, Seth helped a little. But it was ours. And it was for kids only.

  Welcome Back, Midgie

  When I got home from school on Tuesday, Mommy said the Gillens had called. For a moment I felt worried. But everything was fine. The Gillens just wanted to let us know how much they were enjoying Sadie.

  Woof, woof! Meow! Woof, woof! Meow!

  Midgie was chasing Rocky around the house. But with the window fixed, we knew she could not escape again. It was time for a celebration.

  Andrew and I ate our after school snack, then went outside. Our friends were arriving at the treehouse one by one.

  “Listen up, everyone. I have an idea,” I said when they had all arrived. “I think we should have a party in our new treehouse. It could be a ‘Welcome Back, Midgie’ party.”

  I did not even have to take a vote. Everyone liked my idea.

  My friends and I are very good at throwing parties. It did not take long for us to get ready. We each went home and returned with bags filled with things for the party. We had plenty of food: apples, raisins, potato chips, pretzels, juice, and soda for us, and dog biscuits for Midgie. We had party hats and noisemakers. (Midgie did not know how to blow on a noisemaker. But there was a hat for her to wear.) We decorated our treehouse with balloons and streamers. And we had a welcome home gift for Midgie. It was an excellent stick for playing fetch.

  “Will Midgie be able to walk up our ladder?” asked Nancy.

  “She will not have to,” I replied. “She is small enough to fit in the basket. We can pull her up to the party!”

  Everything was ready. The only thing left to do was bring out the guest of honor.

  I went inside and put Midgie on her leash. I put a party hat on her head. Then I led her outside.

  Everyone clapped and cheered for Midgie.

  “Welcome back, Midgie,” said Andrew. “You will not run away again, will you?”

  Woof! replied Midgie.

  We put the basket on the ground and helped Midgie into it. The basket was just Midgie’s size. Midgie sat down inside.

  The three biggest kids in our group are Eric, Mark, and Jackie. They climbed into the treehouse and grabbed the rope.

  I followed them with Nancy and Bobby to help Midgie out when the basket came up.

  The rest of the kids stayed on the ground cheering Midgie on.

  “One, two, three, pull!” called Mark.

  The basket rose a little higher with each pull. The treehouse is not very far off the ground, so Midgie would not get hurt if she jumped out. But she liked the basket. She sat inside and enjoyed the ride.

  “One, two, three, pull!” called Mark for the last time.

  I reached in and lifted Midgie out of the basket. Nancy and Bobby helped.

  “Our guest of honor has arrived!” I announced.

  The rest of the kids climbed up, too. We presented Midgie with her stick. (I had tied a red bow on it.) Then we sang a welcome back cheer.

  “Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Midgie! Midgie! Hooray!”

  Woof! Woof! barked Midgie.

  I gave her a dog biscuit and a hug.

  “Welcome back, Midgie,” I said. “I am glad you are home.”

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1996 by Ann M. Martin

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1996

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-05903-8