Lucy on the Ball (7 page)

“Lucy seems much quieter than the last time I saw her,” Mrs. Brady noted.

“We’ve been taking her to obedience classes,” Mrs. Quinn said. “No more chewed gloves.”

Bobby thought his mother still looked embarrassed about that.

“Well, how wonderful,” replied Mrs. Brady. “I understand dogs can make a lot of progress with a good teacher.”

“Mr. Morris is both Lucy’s teacher and Bobby’s soccer coach,” Mrs. Quinn said.

Mrs. Brady turned to Bobby. “You’re on a soccer team?” When Bobby nodded, she asked, “What’s the name of your team?”

“The Beagles,” Bobby replied.

Mrs. Brady looked confused for a moment. “Beagles? Like Lucy?”

“The team saw how fast Lucy could run, and they decided they wanted to be Beagles, too!” Bobby said proudly.

Lucy gave a little bark at that. But it was a nice, polite bark.

There was a knock on the door. “That’s
Shawn. We’re going to play for a while,” Bobby said.

“Have fun,” Mrs. Quinn told him.

Bobby hopped off the chair, and Lucy followed him.

“Goodbye,” Bobby called to Mrs. Brady.

Shawn was standing outside, his soccer ball in his hand. Bobby and Shawn went around to the backyard with Lucy trotting behind.

“Let’s kick it around for a while,” Shawn said. He put the ball down and gave it a long kick.

Bobby was about to chase it down, but Lucy got there first. When she reached the ball, she pushed it with her nose. Then Lucy turned and looked at them.
C’mon, you guys
, she seemed to say.

Bobby and Shawn started laughing.

Lucy nudged the ball again. Then she danced around it.

Bobby ran over to the ball and kicked it toward Shawn. Lucy ran after it once more.

“Lucy’s a real Beagle,” Shawn said.

“She likes soccer,” Bobby agreed. “And you know what? So do I!”

Read all the books
about Bobby and Lucy!

Absolutely Lucy

Bobby’s mother smiled. “Now it’s time for your special present,” she said.

His father said, “Close your eyes.”

Bobby was glad to close his eyes. It would be easier to look surprised when he opened them.

“Okay, Bobby,” his father called, “you can look!”

Bobby opened his eyes. He didn’t have to pretend to be surprised. Or happy. In his father’s arms was a puppy. The cutest, squirmiest little dog Bobby had ever seen.

Lucy
on the
Loose

“Ben!” Shawn said. “What happened to Lucy?”

“She … she ran away!” Ben said in a shaky voice.

Bobby jumped up. “Ran away? Where?”

“That way.” Ben was confused. He pointed in one direction. “Or maybe that way.” He pointed in the other direction.

“Which way was it?” Shawn demanded.

“I’m not sure.” Ben was almost crying. “But she was chasing a big orange C-A-T!”

Look
at
Lucy!

On the way out, a large, colorful poster taller than the boys caught Bobby’s eye.

The poster had a drawing of different kinds of animals crowded together in front of a television camera. Across the top were the words
WANTED: SPOKESPET FOR PET-O-RAMA!
Under the picture of the animals it said, “Is your pet cute? Smart? Funny? Enter the Pet-O-Rama spokespet contest and your pet could be on TV!”

Bobby read the poster carefully. Cute, smart, funny? That described Lucy! She could win the spokespet contest, easy!