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- Herausgeber: Little Tiger Press
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
For the first time ever Daisy isn't looking forward to the school holidays. She's worried about her best friend Mara, who's ill in hospital. But then, walking her dog in the wood, Daisy spots a group of wild ponies quietly grazing. She is especially drawn to a young silvery-white pony and, as she spends time watching the pony, she starts to feel less alone.Visiting the pony one day, Daisy runs into James from school. She's worried he'll tease her but instead he has some terrible news. The pony actually belongs to his dad and it's James' job to help look after her. Is Daisy about to lose her new friend?A heart-warming story about unlikely friendships from best-selling author Holly Webb.
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For Laura HW ~For NGHS Junior School JB
Contents
V
Chapter One
The leaves started rustling and Daisy felt the little dachshund beside her give a grateful sigh. A breeze, at last! It was so hot, even in the shade under the trees. Betsy had been slumped on the cool tiles of the kitchen floor, panting, when Daisy and the others got in from school. Daisy had thought it might be too hot for the tiny dog to want a walk in the woods. But when Daisy had picked up her lead, she had wriggled to her feet, tail wagging.
“You knew it would be cooler out here, didn’t you?” Daisy murmured, stroking Betsy’s 2hot little head. “You’re a clever girl. Want some water?” She’d put a bottle of water and a plastic bowl in her backpack – her phone was in there too. Mum and Dad didn’t mind her taking Betsy for walks on her own, as long as she always took her phone and stuck to the part of the forest she knew. They were lucky to live somewhere so wild and Daisy loved it. She had moved to the New Forest with her parents and her little sister and brother a year before, from a big town.
Dad had been offered a new job and her parents had wanted them to have a chance to grow up somewhere greener. It still felt so special, being surrounded by trees and shy deer and the wild ponies. And now they had Betsy too – she was one of the best things about their move. Although she only ever 3took Betsy through the woods and out on to the heath as far as a tiny stream, about half a mile from her house, it was far enough to feel like a proper walk.
“It’s still too hot, even out here,” Daisy muttered. She and Betsy were sitting on the brownish grass, leaning against a fallen tree. Daisy had changed into shorts after school – her summer dress felt too sticky to wear a minute longer. Now she could feel dust and bits of bark clinging to her legs. Usually it was nicely damp under the trees, but today the thick cushions of velvet-green moss on the dead wood felt dry and bristly.
She poured some water from the bottle into Betsy’s bowl and the dachshund lapped at it lazily. Daisy drank some too, and then sighed and poured a bit of it over her head. 4It dribbled down between her dark curls and she shivered deliciously.
“It should be the holidays,” she said to Betsy. “How can they make us go to school when it’s this hot? There’s a whole week left of term. It’s torture.”
No one had been running around at break or lunch today. Instead everyone had flopped in the shade, moaning about how hot they were. Luckily it was Friday. No more sitting in the classroom, trying not to fall asleep in the heat, at least not for a couple of days. Daisy leaned back against the tree trunk again and yawned. “We should head back soon,” she said. “Otherwise I might go to sleep right here.”
Betsy yawned too and snuggled her chin in to Daisy’s leg. Her fur was silken, but so hot that Daisy wriggled. “Oof, do you have to, Bets?” 5But the little dog stayed squidged up against her. “I love you, but you’re roasting… Oh well, go on then. I’ll see if Mum will let me get the paddling pool out later on,” Daisy suggested. “I bet you’d like that. You’ll have to share it with Oscar and Chloe, though. They’ll splash. Actually that sounds pretty good right now.”
Oscar was seven and Chloe was three – she was at nursery. She loved her little sister but Chloe always wanted her to play and it could be a bit much. Going for walks with Betsy was a good way to escape from endlessly being made to draw mermaids or mix what Chloe called ‘science experiments’, which basically meant stirring everything her sister could find in the garden up in a bucket.
“I wish Mara would come back,” Daisy muttered to Betsy. “It’s not the same at school 6without her.” Mara was Daisy’s best friend, but she’d gone into hospital during the Easter holidays and Daisy didn’t know when she’d be back at school again.
The little dog gave a small half-snore and Daisy sighed. “Yeah, I know. It’s boring when I moan. Let’s head back. Sorry, Bets. I know it’s mean now you’re falling asleep. But this was supposed to be a quick walk before dinner. I promised Mum. I hope she’s making something cold. Come on…” She tickled Betsy under her chin, and the dachshund opened one eye and glared at her reproachfully.
“Time to go. I know, it’s not fair.” Daisy jiggled her leg to make Betsy move. “Aw, Bets… I can’t carry you home. It would be like carrying a hot-water bottle.” But Betsy stayed glued to her leg. “Oh, all right! I’ll do it. Just 7for you. Little monster. Come on then.” She scooped Betsy up in her arms and started to trudge back through the trees.
Betsy wriggled and scrambled until she had her front paws resting on Daisy’s shoulder and her nose tucked up under Daisy’s hair. “Even your nose is hot,” Daisy complained, squinting down at her. Then she frowned. She’d thought Betsy was being lazy but maybe she really was suffering. “And it’s so dry. Dogs’ noses are supposed to be damp, aren’t they? Maybe I shouldn’t have brought you out.”
She started to walk a little faster, wanting to get Betsy home and show her to Mum. When she and Betsy had set off earlier, it hadn’t felt like they’d gone far – just down the path that ran into the woods a couple of houses up from theirs. But now, hurrying back, it seemed so 8much further. Although Betsy was tiny, she seemed to be getting heavier with every step.
At last Daisy came out on to the pavement and she darted up the path at the side of the house to the back door. Betsy was still slumped against her shoulder but her tail thudded gently against Daisy’s arm as they burst into the kitchen.
“Daisy! Are you OK?” Mum said in surprise.
“I’m fine but I think I let Betsy get too hot. Her nose is dry and she wouldn’t walk back. I had to carry her.” Daisy picked Betsy up off her shoulder and held her out. The little dog sagged, like she was a limp old beanie toy. “Oh, Betsy!” Daisy gulped. “I’m sorry, Mum. I took water with me and she wanted to go out, honestly she did.”
Mum cuddled Betsy close, eyeing the tiny 9dog worriedly. “It’s OK, sweetheart, it’s not your fault. I should have thought about it and said no. But I didn’t think it would be too hot for her in the woods. Here, run a dishcloth under the cold tap for me.”
Daisy soaked the cloth and then laid it across Betsy’s glossy black fur. The dachshund peered curiously over Mum’s shoulder to see what was happening.
“Is that nice?” Daisy asked.
10“What are you doing?” Oscar demanded, coming into the kitchen to throw his lolly stick in the bin.
“Oh! Do you think Betsy would like a lolly?” Daisy asked, glancing at the freezer.
“You can’t give our lollies to the dog!” Oscar sounded horrified. “We need those!”
“So does Betsy. She’s really hot!”
“I’m not sure the sugar would be good for her,” Daisy’s mum murmured. “She’s perking up a bit though, Daisy, look. Wet the cloth again for her. Oscar, if you don’t want me to feed Betsy a lolly, you can run upstairs and get an old towel out of the cupboard on the landing for her instead.”
“Why?”
“So we can wet it for her to lie on,” Mum said patiently. “We need to cool her down.” 11
Oscar finally looked at Betsy properly. She was still lying limply in Mum’s arms and her eyes were sunken. “I’ll get it,” he said, racing out of the kitchen. He came back a minute later with a soaking-wet towel – which had obviously just dripped all the way down the stairs. “I wetted it for you in the bath,” he explained helpfully.
“Oh… Good.” Mum sighed. “Wring it out in the sink a bit. Then we’ll put it down under the table where no one’s going to trip over her.”
Oscar squeezed some water out of the towel and then laid it on the floor under the kitchen table. Betsy peered curiously at it as Mum knelt down. When she was placed on the towel, her eyes widened for a moment and then she stretched out, wriggling a little, as if to let the cool water soak into her fur. 12
“She can have a lolly if she wants one,” Oscar said, watching her. “She looks so hot.”
“I really don’t think it would be good for her. It might make her sick. Remember when she stole that slice of Daisy’s birthday cake a couple of weeks ago? She was sick everywhere.”
“Ice cubes! We could give her an ice cube!” Daisy suggested. “Please, Mum? I bet she’d love it.”
“OK. Let’s see what she thinks.” Mum pulled open the freezer door and got out the ice-cube tray.
“While you’re there, can I have another lolly?” Oscar asked hopefully.
“No. Here – shall we put them in her water bowl?” Mum squished the tray to get out the ice cubes and stood there with them in her palm. “Ooh, that feels so nice!” 13
“Let’s put one by her nose and one in her bowl.” Daisy picked up Betsy’s bowl and went to put fresh water in. “Look, she’s rolled over again. I think she’s feeling a bit better. Here, Betsy, it’s lovely and cold now.” She put down the bowl next to the little dog, who peered at the ice cube bobbing around. “And here’s another one.” Daisy laid it between Betsy’s paws and she twitched in surprise. “It’s nice – try it!”
Betsy sniffed at it suspiciously. Then she scrabbled the ice cube closer with her little ginger paws and tucked it under her chin. Daisy could see the fur slowly darkening as the ice cube melted.
14“She’ll be OK,” Mum said. “You were right to dash home with her, though. Poor Betsy. We’d better watch her carefully over the weekend and not let her stay out in the garden too long.”
“I thought we could put her in the paddling pool,” Daisy suggested. “It’s in the shed. I don’t mind pumping it up.” She looked out into the garden. “I could even get it out now.”
Mum laughed. “Betsy could probably swim in it. Let’s see what she thinks tomorrow. Right. Dinner. Your dad’ll be home in a minute.” She turned to get the plates out of the cupboard and Daisy started to find the cutlery. “It’s pasta salad and cold sausages. I couldn’t face eating anything hot. Can you get the ketchup out for me?”
Daisy grabbed the ketchup – enjoying the gust 15of cold air from the fridge – and then laughed as a small paw patted her foot insistently. Betsy was sitting at her feet, looking hard done by, and Chloe was curled up in Betsy’s wet towel, her face pink and her hair in sweaty little ringlets. She seemed to be fast asleep.
“She must have sneaked in here when we weren’t looking,” Daisy said, rolling her eyes.
“Chloe, love, that was for the dog.” Mum sighed. “Oh well. Sorry, Bets. We’ll get you another towel…”
Chapter Two
After dinner, Daisy wandered upstairs. She felt restless – at a loose end somehow. It was because it was still so hot, she decided. She glanced around the room she shared with Chloe, at her books and her colouring, the friendship bracelet she’d started knotting to send to Mara, but none of it called to her. She slumped down on her bed and heaved a sigh. Chloe was downstairs arguing with Mum about not wanting a bath but Daisy knew she wouldn’t have long on her own. She ought to make the most of the peace. 17
Daisy blinked at a thumping sound on the stairs – was that Chloe stomping up already? Then she smiled. Betsy! The little dachshund was too short for the tall steps so she had to scramble and heave herself over them one by one. She appeared in the doorway, panting, and Daisy went to scoop her up.
“You shouldn’t have,” she murmured affectionately. “You’re supposed to be taking it easy.” She ran Betsy’s silky ears through her fingers. “Did you know I was feeling lonely?”
