Читать книгу Щенок Элли, или Долгая дорога домой / Ellie the Homesick Puppy онлайн на КулЛиб

Megan gently stroked Ellie’s soft golden back, and the little dog gave a sleepy whine[14] and half rolled over, inviting Megan to stroke her tummy[15]. She yawned hugely, showing her very white teeth, and opened her eyes, blinking lovingly up at Megan.

Megan smiled back at her. ‘I just can’t wait to take you for walks in those woods,’ she whispered happily. ‘It’s going to be the best thing ever!’

Ellie sprang up[16] and gave an excited, hopeful little bark[17].

Megan laughed. ‘You heard me say the W word, didn’t you, Ellie-pie[18]? I can’t believe you want to go out again, we’ve only been back home an hour!’

Ellie was wagging her tail madly now, staring up at Megan, but Megan shook her head.

‘I’m sorry, Ellie. Mum says I have to pack.’

Ellie didn’t understand exactly what Megan was saying, but she knew what that tone of voice meant. No walk. She lay back down on the bed, her head resting[19] mournfully on her paws. She knew they’d had a long walk, but now she’d had a little sleep, she felt just like another run[20].

Megan laughed at her. ‘You’re such an actress, Ellie! You’re behaving like I never take you for walks. And it’s not fair, because you know I’d love to[21]. But we have to get everything into boxes.’ She sighed. ‘And Mum’s only given me these ones. She says if I can’t get all my stuff in here, I’m going to have to sort some of it out and get rid of[22] it.’ She looked round her room worriedly. It seemed an awful lot to fit into such a small stack of boxes.

Megan went over to the window sill and started to pack her collection of toy dogs into a box. She had loads, all different breeds, but more than half of them were Labradors, like Ellie. Officially, she was a Yellow Labrador, but Megan thought yellow wasn’t the right word at all. Ellie was really a rich honey-golden colour, with pale cream fur on her tummy. Her ears were a shade darker than everywhere else, and super-silky. Mum reckoned that Ellie might get darker as she got older, to match her ears, but Megan wasn’t sure. She would be growing for ages[23], anyway; she was just four months old at the moment. But even though Ellie was only a puppy, she was always bursting with energy.