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- Herausgeber: Little Tiger Press
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Serie: Holly Webb Animal Stories
- Sprache: Englisch
Isabella is nervous about moving in with her mum's new husband and his son, Sam. Then she finds out that Sam has just got a gorgeous new puppy. She can't wait to play with Honey and take her on lots of long walks!When Sam goes to visit his mum, Isabella is left in charge of looking after Honey. Isabella organizes a videocall with Sam as she can tell the little dog is missing him. But the call upsets Honey and she runs away. Can Isabella find the puppy before Sam comes home?A new story from best-selling author Holly Webb, perfect for animal-loving children, and fans of ZOE'S RESCUE ZOO and MAGIC ANIMAL FRIENDS.
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Seitenzahl: 62
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Contents
For Alice
Chapter One
Isabella picked at her breakfast. She wasn’t really hungry but she knew that Gran and Grandad were keeping an eye on her. She took a bite of toast to make them feel better.
Grandad stroked her hair. “You’re ever so quiet.”
Isabella swallowed hard, trying to get the mouthful of toast to go down 5 her throat. She smiled at Grandad but it came out a bit wrong.
Gran looked at her anxiously. “It’s going to be all right, Isabella. I know it’s a strange day but it’ll be so nice to see your mum again, won’t it?”
Isabella nodded, since she couldn’t get any words to come out around the dry toast. Gran was right – she had missed Mum so much over the last two weeks and she was desperate to see her. She’d loved being at Gran and Grandad’s while Mum was on her honeymoon in Greece, but she’d never been away from Mum for so long and she wanted to go home.
The problem was, she wasn’t going home. Not really.
She was going to Mike’s house. It 7 was supposed to be Mum’s house and her house now too but it just wasn’t. It belonged to Mike and his son, Sam. Mum had explained that it made sense for them all to live there together after the wedding, because Mike’s house was bigger than theirs. There was a lovely bedroom that Isabella could have and Mum had promised she could paint it any colours she liked. Isabella liked her old bedroom. It was rather grubby and small but she didn’t care. It was hers.
She was trying so hard to be happy, because her mum was happy. Mum kept smiling all the time and she sang while she was cooking, and when she was on the phone to Mike she was always laughing. Isabella really liked Mike too. He was funny and he 8 told silly jokes, silly enough to make Isabella cry with laughter sometimes… It was just a lot – suddenly having a stepdad and a stepbrother and a new house and a new bedroom.
“Finish off your breakfast, Isabella,” Grandad said. “You haven’t got long before your mum gets here to take you to Mike’s house … I mean, your house…”
9Gran gave him a look and then turned to Isabella. “She said she’d be here about nine. Have you got everything packed?”
“Yes,” Isabella murmured at last. “I put my things in the hallway.” She’d only had a small bag of clothes and her school things with her at Gran and Grandad’s – everything else from her bedroom had already been moved.
On Monday, she’d be going to school from the new house, instead of walking with Gran and Grandad. They quite often took her to school when Mum was on a shift at her care home, and of course they’d taken her every day while Mum and Mike were away.
That was one good thing about moving – Mike and Sam’s house was close to school, and her best friend Beatrice lived next door. Her mum and Beatrice’s mum had agreed they were 10 old enough to walk to school together now, on their own.
When Isabella and Beatrice had suggested it, Mike had told their mums that Sam used to walk to school on his own in Year Five, no problem. Sam was in Year Seven now, so he went to the secondary school, in the other direction. Isabella had sort of known him even before his dad started dating her mum, since their school wasn’t very big. She’d never imagined she’d end up sharing a house with him, though. It was going to be so strange, after it had been just her and Mum for so long.
Isabella froze in her seat as she heard a car pull up. A moment later, the doorbell rang. Isabella forgot all about the weirdness, almost tipping over her chair as she rushed to answer the door.
Mum swept Isabella up into a huge 11 hug as soon as the door opened. “Oh, I’ve missed you!” she said, laughing into Isabella’s curly hair.
“Me too! Did you have a good time?”
“It was wonderful. We’ll have to go back there one day, all of us.”
12Isabella pressed her face into Mum’s shoulder. That was another weird thing – family holidays were going to be the four of them now.
“So, ready to go to the house?” Mum asked gently.
“Yes,” Isabella whispered. “I’ll get my stuff.”
Grandad was already picking up her bags and passing them out to Mike, while Gran kissed her goodbye.
“Sam’s looking forward to seeing you,” Mike said as they got in the car, but Isabella thought he was probably just being polite. Mike and Mum had arranged several days out for the new family, so she and Sam could get to know each other before the wedding, but she hadn’t seen him while her 13 mum and Mike were in Greece. He’d stayed at his house – their house, she had to try and think of it as their house – while his dad was away. His nana had come to stay and look after him.
“Oh, and you can meet Honey!” Mum said enthusiastically. “Sam’s puppy … remember I told you about her? She’s lovely.” She turned round to smile at Isabella, and Isabella nodded.
Mum had told her that Mike and Sam had adopted a puppy from the animal shelter about a month ago. Isabella hadn’t had a chance to meet her yet but she was really looking forward to it. She loved dogs but she had never had one. Mum had been worried about leaving a dog alone at home when she was at work. Living 14 at Mike and Sam’s house was going to be weird but Isabella kept on telling herself, At least now I get a dog…
“I expect she’ll look loads bigger now,” Mike said. “She was only about eight weeks old when we brought her home from the shelter. I’ve got a feeling she’s going to be huge when she’s fully grown.”
“Mum said Honey was a spaniel. Or mostly a spaniel?” Isabella said, leaning forwards a little.
“The shelter weren’t absolutely sure but they reckoned a bit of spaniel and maybe a bit of Golden Retriever. She’s a lovely golden brown colour.”
“And she’s got beautiful fluffy ears,” Mum put in. “But the most important thing is that she’s so friendly and sweet!”15
“We could all go for a walk with her this afternoon,” Mike suggested. “Here we are, look. Oh, there’s my mum watching out for us.” He parked the car and waved to a lady standing by the window at the front of the house.
Isabella slowly got out of the car, watching the front door open. Sam’s nana was waving at them but Isabella didn’t really know what to do. She didn’t feel like she could just walk into the house. She went round to the boot and picked up her bags.
“It’s OK,” Mum said, coming to stand next to her. She put an arm round Isabella’s shoulders. “I know it feels strange. Take it slowly, all right?”
Isabella nodded gratefully and then laughed out loud. Sam had suddenly 16
