Snow Dog (4 page)

“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 out 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?”