The author gratefully acknowledges
Stephanie Calmenson
for her help
with this book.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
1 Follow-the-Leader
2 Being a Two-Two
3 An Invitation
4 A Surprise Visitor
5 Dog Found!
6 The Leprechaun
7 Fetch
8 Can We Keep Him?
9 Crash! Bam! Kaboom!
10 I Told You So
11 Hiss and Growl
12 Family Talk
13 Would You Like This Dog?
14 The Rainbow
15 Follow That Rainbow
16 The Ride Home
17 Tricked
18 The Parade
19 A Present
20 Lucky’s New Home
About the Author
Also Available
Copyright
Follow-the-Leader
“It is my turn to be the leader!” I said.
My friends and I were playing follow-the-leader in front of the little house. I have two houses — I have a little house and a big house. (I will tell you about them later.)
“Can we play with you?” asked Andrew. Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five. He was with his friend, Alicia.
“Okay, come on,” I replied.
I am Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. I wear glasses. I even have two pairs. My blue pair is for reading. My pink pair is for the rest of the time. Oh, yes. There is something else you should know about me. I love being the leader.
“Ready, everyone? Follow me!” I called.
I held my arms up in the air. I spread out my fingers and curled them forward like claws.
“Roar! Roar!” I shouted.
It was a cold March day. My teacher, Ms. Colman, told us that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. That is why I was making believe I was a lion.
“Roar! Roar!” called Bobby Gianelli. Bobby lives on my street. He is also in my class at school. I used to think he was a bully. But he is not so much of a bully anymore. We are friends most of the time.
“Roar! Roar! This is fun,” said Nancy. Nancy Dawes is one of my two best friends. She lives next door to the little house. (My other best friend is Hannie Papadakis. She lives across the street from the big house. My two friends and I are in the same second-grade class at school. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers.)
Kathryn Barnes was roaring behind Nancy. Willie Barnes was roaring behind Kathryn. Kathryn is six. Willie is five. They are sister and brother. They live across the street from the little house.
Then came Andrew. Behind him was Alicia. I already told you that Andrew is my brother. Alicia is Bobby’s sister. She is four.
We marched up and down the street roaring like scary lions. Then it was Bobby’s turn to be the leader.
“Let’s have a parade,” he said. “It is almost time for St. Patrick’s Day.” (There will be a real parade in Stoneybrook then.) “I am going to be the leader of the band. Everyone follow me.”
We all lined up behind Bobby. We made believe we were playing musical instruments.
“Boom, boom, boom-boom-boom!” I said. I was beating on my make-believe drum.
“Karen! Andrew! Time for lunch,” called Mommy.
“We will be right there,” I replied.
I beat my make-believe drum a few more times. Andrew tooted a few more times on his make-believe flute.
“See you later,” I said to my friends. Then Andrew and I ran inside for lunch.
Being a Two-Two
I promised to tell you the story of my two houses. Are you ready? Here it is.
First of all, I used to live in only one house. That was when I was little. I lived with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew in a big house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Then Mommy and Daddy started to fight a lot. They tried to work things out so they would not fight so much. But they just could not do it. They told Andrew and me that they love us very much. But they did not love each other anymore. So they got a divorce.
Mommy moved with my brother and me to a little house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Daddy stayed at the big house. (It is the house he grew up in.) Now Andrew and I live at the little house for one month. The next month we switch and live at the big house. And so on all year long.
After the divorce Mommy met Seth. They got married. That makes Seth my step-father. So the people who live at the little house are Andrew, Mommy, Seth, and me. There are some pets, too. They are Rocky, Seth’s cat; Midgie, Seth’s dog; Emily Junior, my rat; and Bob, Andrew’s hermit crab.
Daddy met someone new after the divorce, too. Her name is Elizabeth. She and Daddy got married. That makes Elizabeth my stepmother. She was married once before and she has four children. They are my stepbrothers and stepsister. Here are the people who live at the big house: Andrew; me; Daddy; Elizabeth; David Michael, who is seven like me; Kristy, who is thirteen and the best stepsister ever; Sam and Charlie, who are so old they are in high school. Plus I have an adopted sister. Her name is Emily Michelle. She is two and a half. Daddy and Elizabeth adopted Emily from a faraway country called Vietnam. (I love Emily. That is why I named my rat after her.)
Wait. There is one more person living at the big house. Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother. That makes her my stepgrandmother. She came to live at the big house when Daddy and Elizabeth brought Emily home. She helps take care of Emily and everyone else.
Now I will tell you about the pets at the big house. They are Shannon, David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy; Boo-Boo, Daddy’s cranky old cat; Crystal Light the second, my goldfish; Goldfishie, Andrew’s you-know-what; and Emily Junior and Bob, who live wherever Andrew and I are living.
I have a special nickname for Andrew and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I got that name from a book Ms. Colman read to my class. It is called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) I call us those names because we have two of so many things. We have two houses, two families, two cats, and two dogs. We have two sets of clothes and toys and books. (That makes it easier for us to go back and forth between our houses. We do not have to pack much each time.) And I already told you about my two best friends, Hannie and Nancy.
Wow! I have two of a lot of things. Sometimes being a two-two is hard. But most of the time I like it. After all I have two families to love me. What could be bad about that?
An Invitation
“Mmm. That smells really good,” I said.
It was Friday afternoon. I had followed my nose into the kitchen. Mommy was at the stove stirring something in a big pot.
“I made some chicken soup,” said Mommy. “I am glad you are here. I would like you and Andrew to take some over to the Dawses and the Druckers.”
Goody. Delivering soup is an important job. I like important jobs. I ran upstairs to get Andrew. He was in his room reading a book. (Did you know that I helped Andrew learn to read? Well, I did.)
“Come on, Andrew,” I said. “We have a job to do.”
It was chilly outside. So Andrew and I put on our warm jackets, our hats, and our mittens. Mommy handed us each a small shopping bag with a container of chicken soup.
“You can stop and visit if you like. Just be home in time for dinner,” Mommy said.
Ding-dong. We rang Nancy’s bell first. I knew that Nancy and her mommy were out buying shoes. But Mr. Dawes was home.
“Hi, Karen. Hi, Andrew,” said Mr. Dawes.
“Mommy asked us to bring you this soup,” I said.
“It is chicken soup,” said Andrew.
“What a nice surprise,” said Mr. Dawes. “Thank you very much.??
?
“You are very welcome,” I said. “Say hi to Nancy.”
The next stop was the Druckers’ house. The Druckers live down the street.
Ding-dong. Mr. Drucker came to the door.
“Hi, Mr. Drucker,” I said. “We have some soup for you. Mommy made it and asked us to bring it over.”
“It is chicken soup,” said Andrew.
“Chicken soup on a chilly day. What could be nicer than that?” said Mr. Drucker.
“Hello, children,” said Mrs. Drucker. “Would you like to come in and visit? We would love the company.”
“Sure,” I replied. “We just have to be home in time for dinner.”
Mrs. Drucker brought out a tray of apple juice and some cookies. Mr. Drucker told us about his garden club. They call themselves the Green Thumbs. That is almost as good a name as the Three Musketeers.
“We are going to ride on a float in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. We will all be dressed in green plant costumes,” said Mr. Drucker.
“Each member of the club can invite their children or grandchildren to wear costumes and ride on the float with them,” said Mrs. Drucker. She looked sad when she told us that.
“Unfortunately, our grandchildren cannot come. They live too far away,” said Mr. Drucker.
“That is too bad for them. Wearing a costume and riding on a float sounds like fun,” I said.
Mr. and Mrs. Drucker looked at each other. Then they looked back at Andrew and me.
“Since our grandchildren cannot come, perhaps you and Andrew would ride on the float with us,” said Mrs. Drucker.
“Wow! That would be so cool!” I said.
“We better ask Mommy,” said Andrew.
Mr. and Mrs. Drucker let us use their phone. Guess what. Mommy said yes!
The Druckers were so happy. Andrew and I were happy, too. We were going to be in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Hurray!
A Surprise Visitor
When we got back to our house, we had a surprise visitor. I could hardly believe it. It was not a human visitor. It was a dog. He was sitting on our front stoop. As soon as he saw us, his tail started to wag.
“I wonder where he came from,” I said to Andrew.
He did not look like any of the neighborhood dogs we knew.
“I never saw him before. But I like him,” Andrew replied.
The dog was wearing a red collar. But I did not see any tags. His coat was short and curly. It was mostly black. Only his paws, his chest, and part of his face were gray. I knew they would be white if he had a bath. He was dirty. I could tell he was hungry, too.
“Mommy, Mommy!” I called. “Come outside!”
Mommy poked her head out the door. The dog turned to look at her. But he did not get up.
“Whose dog is that?” asked Mommy.
“We do not know,” I replied.
“He was just sitting here,” said Andrew.
Just then, Midgie poked her nose out the door. She started to sniff.
“Go back inside, Midgie,” said Mommy. She gently shooed Midgie into the house.
“I think he is hungry,” I said.
“We will get him some food,” said Mommy. “And we will call the animal shelter to see if anyone has reported him missing.”
We filled a bowl with some of Midgie’s food. We filled another bowl with water. Andrew and I carried the bowls outside.
“Wow! Look at him eat,” I said. “He really was hungry.”
While the dog was gobbling up his food, Seth came home. He called the animal shelter. They had not heard anything about a missing black and white dog. But they took our phone number in case someone called them.
When the dog finished eating, Seth held his hand out to him. The dog sniffed it. Then he bumped his head against Seth’s hand a few times.
“He wants you to pet him,” I said.
“He looks like a friendly dog to me,” Seth said. “We can let him sleep in the garage tonight. In the morning we will see if we can find his owner.”
“I will get some towels to make a bed,” I said. “And we have to leave him some water, too.”
“I am sure you and Andrew will make a very nice home for him,” said Mommy. “Just call Seth or me when it is ready.”
I ran upstairs and got three raggedy old towels. I laid them one on top of the other in the garage. Then I set down a fresh bowl of water. Andrew gathered up some of Midgie’s toys. (I do not think Midgie liked that very much.) He put them next to the towels.
When we were done, I got Seth.
“The guest room is ready,” I said.
Seth used Midgie’s leash to lead the dog to the garage. The dog knew right away that the bed was for him. He stepped onto it and circled around a few times. Then he lay down. He put his head on his paws and sighed.
“He is so cute!” I said. “But, wait. I want to get one more thing.”
I ran inside the house and got two dog biscuits. I put them next to the bowl of water in case our guest wanted a midnight snack.
“Good night,” I said. “I am very glad you came to visit. If you need anything at all, just howl.”
Dog Found!
On Saturday morning, I jumped out of bed and ran to Andrew’s room.
“Are you up, Andrew? We have to feed the dog,” I said.
“I am coming,” Andrew replied.
We got dressed in a flash. We ran to the garage. The dog was sitting up on his bed. Both biscuits were gone. The bowl of water was almost empty. As soon as he saw us, the dog’s tail began to wag.
“Good morning,” I said. “I hope you had a good night’s sleep.”
The dog looked at me and turned his head to one side. He was gigundoly cute.
Andrew and I brought him food and more water. When he finished eating, he ran out of the garage. I thought he would just run off to find his home. But he did not. He poked around the yard awhile. (He needed to go to the bathroom.) Then he went right back into the garage.
Mommy and Seth came out to see the dog, too.
“It is time to start looking for this dog’s owner,” said Seth. “First we will make some signs.”
“Hurray!” I said. I am a very good signmaker.
“We will post them around the neighborhood,” continued Seth.
“I will make some calls to see if anyone knows somebody who lost a dog,” said Mommy. “And we can write an ad to put in the ‘Lost and Found’ section of the newspaper.”
We all sat down together and decided what to write for the poster and the ad.
“Let’s print it in great big letters,” I said. “That way everyone will read it.”
We drew up the first one. The words jumped off the page. Anyone could see them from a mile away. That was just what we wanted.
* * *
Dog found!
Mostly black with white markings.
Red collar.
* * *
We added our phone number to the bottom of each sign. Then we made a dozen more.
Seth drove Andrew and me all around Stoneybrook. We took turns jumping out of the car and taping signs to trees and lampposts. We put them in stores and at the library and police station, too.
We were walking out of the library when Andrew said, “I really like that dog. I hope we can keep him.”
“Do not get too attached to the dog, Andrew,” I replied. “Remember what happens whenever we ask Mommy and Seth for a new pet.”
“They say no,” said Andrew. “But we did not ask for this pet. He just came along.”
“He is not ours. And even if no one calls, I do not think they will let us keep him,” I said.
I wanted the dog to be ours as much as Andrew did. But I was trying very hard to be grown-up. Sometimes that is what big sisters have to do.
The Leprechaun
That afternoon Mr. Drucker called. He invited Andrew and me to a meeting of the Green Thumbs.
“It will be at my house tomorrow at three o’clock,” said Mr. Drucker. “The
parade director will be there. He would like to meet everyone who will be on the float.”
We arrived at the Druckers’ house right on time. Five grown-ups and six other kids were already there.
Ding-dong!
“That must be the director now,” said Mr. Drucker.
When the door opened, a very unusual man walked into the room. First of all he was very, very small for a grown-up. He was not much taller than Andrew. He had a reddish beard and he was dressed all in green. He wore a funny hat with a round top and a curled-up brim. It was nothing like the hats that Daddy or Seth wear. Between his teeth was a green pipe with little people carved into the bowl. I tried not to stare too hard. I knew that was not polite.
The man began to speak. “A bright and shimmery day to you all,” he said. “I am Patrick O’Casey, the director of the St. Paddy’s Day parade.”
Wow. Even his voice was unusual. It was much higher than other grown-up voices. And he had an accent. I think it was Irish.
“I would like to hear all about your float,” said Mr. O’Casey. “Then I will answer questions about the glorious day that will soon be upon us.”
“Our float will be in the shape of a flower box,” said Mrs. Drucker. “We will wear green plant costumes.”
“That is splendid!” said Mr. O’Casey. “Now let me tell you about the parade plan. We will meet at eleven-thirty on St. Patrick’s Day outside the high school. You will be float number three.”
While Mr. O’Casey answered questions, we were fitted for our costumes. Andrew and I were both going to be four-leaf clovers.
“Four-leaf clovers are lucky,” I said to Andrew.
“Maybe we will get to keep the dog. That would be really lucky,” Andrew replied.
“Now, if the grown-ups will excuse me, I would like to talk to the children for a spell,” said Mr. O’Casey. “I have a secret for wee ears only.”
Mr. O’Casey had a twinkle in his eye and a big smile on his face. I wiggled my way up close so I could hear. I just love secrets.
When we were gathered around him, Mr. O’Casey whispered, “I am a leprechaun. A leprechaun is a real and true fairy.”