Andi Carter Saves the Puppy

 by Ruth G. (ages 10-13)

1

“Howdy Andi,” Corey yelled.

Andrea Carter had just reached the schoolhouse and was starting a game of “how many times you can jump” with some of the other girls. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the school bullies exit the schoolhouse. That was strange. They usually didn't enter the schoolhouse until the bell rang. Why did Johnny just come out of the schoolhouse?

As he walked away, Andi saw bacon sticking out of his back pocket. It looked pretty raw. What would he be doing with a piece of bacon sticking out of his pocket? This was extra strange. Andi was almost to thirty-two jumps when she saw Miss Hall talking to some older boys. She didn't look happy.

Slap! The rope smacked the front of her legs.

“You’re out!” a girl named Rachel called from the right side of the rope.

“I know!” Andi called. She knew seeing what was happening was a lot more fun than jumping a rope. She slowly walked over to the girls standing by the teacher.

“What’s going on?” Andi asked one of them.

“Bill broke a window,” she said.

“He was playing ball when it happened. They’re not going to play anymore,” said another.

That made sense. Maybe Johnny was in the schoolhouse because he was inspecting the damage. But why the bacon?

Andi’s thoughts were interrupted by the loud Ding! Dong! of the bell. Kids streamed into the schoolhouse like a nest of ants. They all settled at their desks and then stood and sang “America” together. Miss Hall read from the Bible and then they started their reading lessons.

Andi opened her reader, but couldn’t help noticing Johnny reaching his hand inside his desk, rocking the desk, and sticking bits of bacon inside it. Maybe there was a snake in his desk! All the time boys put snakes, lizards, and frogs in their desks to scare the teachers, but Andi soon learned why he really had bacon.

“Stop shaking your desk! Start reading!” Miss Hall yelled.

Andi heard a whimper and Johnny stuck another piece of bacon into his desk.

“Focus on your lessons!” Miss Hall said sternly.

“Yes Miss Hall,” Johnny said. His voice was unsteady. Then unexpectedly there was another whimper and then a tiny, “Woof.” The entire class turned their heads in Johnny’s direction.

“What is in your desk? Why don’t you take it outside,” Miss Hall said calmly.

“I – I can’t,” stammered Johnny.

“If it’s a reptile please bring it outside,” Miss Hall replied. “If not, please show us.” Miss Hall looked impatient. She walked slowly up to Johnny’s desk and cracked open the lid.

A golden, furry ball darted out of his desk and shot around the room. Some kids laughed, while others screamed. A boy around Johnny’s age grabbed the scrambling puppy and handed it to Miss Hall who put it in her desk.

“Johnny, tell us the reason for this puppy. Why did you bring it to school?” Miss Hall asked.

“Well, our dog, Trixaleena, had a litter of puppies about four weeks ago. My dad was tired of them because they are loud and nobody wanted them. He said that while I was gone, he would kill them and use their fur. I liked this one, but if we leave one behind my father will kill it. That’s why I brought it to school. Anyone is welcome to come get a puppy after school and hurry,” explained Johnny.

Miss Hall understood. She gave Johnny his puppy and started the spelling lesson.

I’ve got to get a puppy, Andi thought. They aren’t much work. Chad might be happy; he’d have another ranch dog. Andi wanted to ask Justin after school. Maybe he would let her have one. She knew where his house was. She had passed it before. You got this. You got to go ask him.

2

They were halfway home when Andi spotted Johnny’s house up ahead of them. “Justin, can we stop at Johnny’s house?” Andi asked.

“What for?” Justin replied.

“Well, Johnny brought a puppy to school and…well, he said…”

“Said what? Just tell me,” Justin said impatiently.

Andi then spewed the story of the afternoon to him. She explained that they needed another ranch dog and there might be a puppy left at Johnny’s house.

“Oh, well it might not be a big problem. I don’t know how mother will react to it, but it’s worth a try,” Justin answered.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Andi exclaimed as they pulled into Johnny’s drive.

Andy hopped out and raced up the front steps.

“Easy there. We don’t know how he’ll react. Take it easy,” Justin said with a chuckle. He gently knocked on the front door.

It burst open and a man holding a knife answered the door. “What do you want?” he growled.

Andi froze.

“We’re stopping by to pick up a puppy. Andi here told me about some dogs needing a home,” Justin answered, pulling out his wallet. The man eyed it, then said, “There’s no cost, but understand that if there’s one little dog not taken, I’ll—“

“Come on in Andi,” Justin yelled from the back room. Once they stepped inside, they saw a giant wooden crate which held four scrambling puppies. Andi recognized one that looked like the one Johnny had brought to school. She reached into the crate and picked it up. Johnny probably put it in so it didn’t get killed. She shivered at the thought of his father’s knife, covered in dried blood. She also saw a tiny one, standing by its mother.

“Can we get that one too?” Andi asked.

“Mother won’t let you have two,” Justin answered. “No.”

“Someone may not take the other one and that would leave one behind. I could give it to Sadie,” Andi said.

“Alright, but if they can’t keep it, it goes to somebody else.” Justin said, a bit of concern in his voice. Andi held the puppy close to her. Justin held the other one in his arm. As they headed out the door, Andi heard a “Bye!” from Johnny. He sure seemed happy to have his puppies in good homes.

3

They were older puppies; their eyes were already open. They were starting to eat solid foods. That was why Johnny had brought bacon to school. Justin set the puppies on Andi’s lap because he had to drive the horses home.

Andi already had the perfect name for Johnny’s puppy, Pumpkin. Andi thought of Goldie first, but Goldie was a popular name that a lot of people named their dogs. Pumpkin was perfect. His dark, golden coat looked like the pumpkin pies mother made. The other puppy leaped out of Andi’s arms into the corner of the wagon before she noticed it. Then she balled herself up and fell asleep.

It was almost suppertime when Andi got home. Justin helped Andi out of the buggy and put the horses away. As soon as they entered the house, Melinda spotted them and shrieked.

“What on earth is that?” asked mother, who was coming into the kitchen.

“A puppy!” Andi said cheerfully.

“I can explain. Come and sit down.” Justin assured her. As soon as they were seated Justin explained about the puppies and the knife.

“I suppose we could keep it. I don’t think Chad will mind, but the other one goes to Mr. Hollister.” Mother said, eying Chad. He nodded and went out to find a place for Pumkin to sleep.

Chad piled straw into a giant pile and settled Pumpkin onto it. Then Andi brought out a pie pan of water and a piece of beef and checked for bones so he wouldn’t choke. He ate the beef right away and settled down to sleep.

Andi was just about to head back to the house when she noticed a hole about the size of Pumpkin in the corner of the stall. She thought about moving him to a different stall, but saw that Pumpkin was fast asleep. Andi quietly piled hay in front of the hole and slipped out of the barn, closing the door behind her.

As she headed for the house, it started to rain. Then she ran. Andi was just up to the steps when it started pouring. She rushed inside and changed into her nightgown. It wasn’t long before Andi fell asleep.

4

Andi woke to the sound of crashing thunder. She stood up to see if there was lightning, but then fell back onto the bed as another blast shook the room. Andi was scared of thunder and lightning.

As she hid under the covers, she thought of Pumpkin and the other puppy. They were probably scared too. What if they got too spooked and ran away? Andi had to go check on them. She stripped off her nightgown and slipped on a shirt and overalls. She yanked on her boots and was out the door before anybody heard her and woke up.

Andi headed to the barn in the pouring rain and pulled open the barn door. “Pumpkin? Pumpkin? Are you there?” Andi yelled. She heard a bark and ran to his stall only to find Sadie’s puppy lying on the floor on top of the pile of straw.

She must have slipped out of her open stall door and went into pumpkin’s stall. But where was Pumpkin?

Andi’s eyes searched the stall only to see the hole with no straw in front, ripped and wet. Andi gasped. He must have gotten out. She should have moved him into the other puppy’s stall when she had noticed the hole! She grabbed Sadie’s puppy gently and set her on top of the dry pile of straw in the other stall.

Andi slammed the stall door closed and latched it. Grabbing her hat from the tack room, she ran out the barn door and began checking the Paddocks and fields, but she didn’t find him anywhere. Andi tried to imagine being a puppy. “If I were a wet, tired puppy, where would I go?” Andi asked out loud.

The hayloft! But how would Pumpkin get up the ladder? He is probably sheltering under a tree! Trees! Trees! Where are there big, bushy trees? Her mind was racing.

Suddenly, a place popped into her mind. The special spot! Andi stormed into the barn, yanked open Taffy’s stall door, and jumped onto her back. “There’s no time to tack up. Pumpkin could be halfway to the creek by now,” Andi told her horse. She kicked Taffy’s sides and set off at a gallop.

It was a few minutes before Andi came to her senses. Would Pumpkin know the way to the creek? Of course not! Andi hadn’t brought him there. A crash of thunder roared in the sky and Taffy took off at full gallop toward the creek.

Andi held on with all her might. Taffy didn’t slow down until they reached the special spot. She was slippery with rain and Andi hadn’t stopped for a saddle. As soon as Taffy planted her feet, Andi gave a sigh of relief. However, when another crash of thunder sent Taffy plunging into the creek, Andi lost her balance and fell. Down, down, down, until…

5

Splash! Andi felt the slap of the freezing water and it took her a minute to figure out where she was. She felt a soft pull that she thought was Taffy. Andi looked up just in time to see a flash of golden disappear into the distance. Then she realized it was the water pulling her. She scrambled to find a vine or a foothold to keep herself from being pulled away by the current.

“Help! Help me!” she cried out, but there was nobody to help her.

Andi heard a faint whine and a bark. Pumpkin! Andi reached out and grabbed a handful of tall grass on the side of the bank. She slowly yanked herself up and fell flat into a puddle of mud. Andi scrambled to her feet and started running toward the sound of the bark.

Thorns scraped against her, piercing her skin and leaving scratches. The rain just seemed to pour harder, and the thunder roared louder. Why did she set out to find Pumpkin anyway? She could have snuck into the house and fell asleep on a chair by the warm fire, but the sound of a far-off bark made her go on. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of searching, Andi collapsed on the ground and slept.

It was late morning when she awoke. Birds were chirping, and the early, hot sun was shining on Andi’s back. She pulled herself off the ground and looked to see where she was.

Andi didn’t recognize what the place was at first, but as she looked around, she saw the same tree that she had hung upside-down from just two days ago. She was at the special spot! How could it be? She must have walked toward it last night in the dark.

Andi started running, but then felt something soft against her leg. She looked down to see Duke, one of the ranch dogs! He must have followed me Andi thought and with a boost of confidence set off for home.

Andi had walked for what seemed like hours before she reached a familiar sight. A giant barn with a bunkhouse and paddocks! It was her home! She leaped up the back steps and found Pumpkin, just like the day before, sitting by the back door.

“Pumpkin!” she yelled. The door burst open to reveal a jumble of people. Her mother was the first to reach her and she swept Andi up in her arms.

Andi was then showered with questions and many people saying, “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Mother brought her into the house where she told everyone what happened and how she took off after Pumpkin. Mother then told her about how Chad had gone out to check on the horses and heard Pumpkin’s howling because he was stuck in the hole in his stall. So, Chad brought Pumpkin inside to comfort him.

Andi felt so foolish that she had not thought of all the possible places where Pumpkin could have gone.

“Taffy also came trotting up to the barn about 4 o’clock in the morning with no rider. That’s when we knew you took off,” Mitch explained.

Justin headed off to town to tell the Sheriff that Andi had been found. Chad, Mitch, and the two cowhands went out to the barn. Andi started to go change out of her muddy clothes, but mother stopped her and assured her that her clothes could wait. “After walking for hours and not eating anything, why don’t you have some breakfast,” mother suggested.

They heard a bark from the porch. “Mother, can Pumpkin come inside?” Andi asked.

“Yes, just this once,” her mother replied.