on id="u03c66734-c470-5d35-b0bd-a50bf5e4cc8c">
For Jack Jenkinson, who has already written a book
AM
For Harry and Thomas H
SH
First published in Great Britain 2018
by Egmont UK Limited
The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN
Text copyright © 2018 Alan MacDonald
Illustrations copyright © 2018 Sarah Horne
The moral rights of the author and illustrators have been asserted
First e-book edition 2018
ISBN 978 1 4052 8724 1
Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1797 7
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 4: Diamond and Carrots
CHAPTER 5: Stop Thief!
CHAPTER 6: Dangerous Dogs
CHAPTER 7: Counting Cats
CHAPTER 8: Short Cuts
CHAPTER 9: Paw Prints
CHAPTER 10: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Cat
CHAPTER 11: The Bottom of the Matter
On the first floor of 18 Beach Road a boy and his dog stood looking out of a window. The boy was wearing blue patterned pyjamas while the dog wasn’t wearing anything, apart from a collar and a worried frown. The dog’s name was Oscar and his boy was called Sam. Anyone passing by on the road wouldn’t have suspected there was anything out of the ordinary about them.
‘It’s okay, Oscar, it’s only a furniture van,’ said Sam. ‘I think someone’s moving in next door.’
Oscar pressed his nose closer to the window. He didn’t trust vans, not since a black one had carried off two of his friends and they’d had to rescue them from a dog pound. This van, however, was large and blue with Heaver and Sons Removals written on the side. It was parked outside number 20, the house next door that had a SOLD sign in the front garden. The workmen were unloading the furniture onto the pavement.
‘Look, there’s a pet basket,’ said Sam. ‘You never know, they might have a dog.’
Oscar gave him a look as if to say there was only one dog in the neighbourhood and that was him.
Downstairs a heady smell of coffee, toast and sausages filled the kitchen as Mr Shilling made breakfast. The coffee was for him, the toast for everyone, and the sausages were for Oscar, who claimed tinned dog food was not fit to eat.
‘It looks like someone’s moving in next door,’ said Sam, pouring himself some cereal.
Dad nodded. ‘Yes, I saw the van,’ he said, closing the kitchen door. He lowered his voice. ‘Before your mum gets down, you haven’t forgotten, have you?’
‘Forgotten what?’ asked Sam.
‘Her birthday of course – it’s next Saturday. I wrote it on the calendar so you wouldn’t forget.’
Sam had forgotten. He rarely looked at the calendar because most of the time it recorded things like ‘dentist appointment’ or ‘parents evening’. Saturday still gave him a week to get a present but he had no idea what to get. As it was almost the end of the summer holidays, he’d spent most of his pocket money too.
‘What are you giving her?’ he asked.
‘Me? I’m working on a little idea,’ said Dad. ‘I’ll show you when it’s ready.’
Sam nodded. He hoped it wasn’t one of his dad’s less successful inventions like the Hercules Speedy Pop-up Toaster, which had almost set fire to the kitchen.
Dad set Oscar’s food bowl down on the floor. ‘There’s a birthday list on the fridge,’ he said.
