Book 1
Title: ¡Hola! ¡Stella!
Author: G. R. Calcagni
Copyright © 2012 G. R. Calcagni
All Rights Reserved
Chapter One
As I looked out the window, I saw my friend Vilma running down the street. I immediately thought to myself that I needed to get my master’s attention. My master was a tall animal with dark fur on her head. She talked a different language from me but we understood each other, most of the time.
So, I sat in front of the door patiently waiting for her to notice me. No, that didn’t work so I started to bark. No, that too didn’t get her attention. So, I quickly ran through the living room. That would undoubtedly catch her attention since it always made her laugh. I jumped from one sofa to the other and playfully scratched one of the sofas with my nails. Still nothing! Ok, it is time for drastic measures. I started to scratch at the door – something that my master didn’t like at all!
“Stella!” said my master.
My name is Stella. I’m a Cocker Spaniel and I love to play.
I wagged my tail and looked at her with sad eyes hoping that she would take me out.
“Do you want to go out, Stella?” asked my master.
“Bark, bark, bark,” yes please. I responded wagging my tail frantically.
“Ok then, let’s go!
I was finally outside running after Vilma. She didn’t notice me so I decided to call out to her. “Bark, bark, bark!” Vilma wait for me, I said to her. She turned around and wagged her tail as she saw me running towards her.
“Hi Vilma,” I said. Vilma was female like me. She had white fur with a few tan coloured spots on her chest. She had lovely brown eyes.
“Hi Stella,” she said.
“Hey, do you like my new collar?” Vilma asked me. It was a pink collar with sparkly white stones.
“It’s beautiful!” I said. “Oh, I hear my master calling me. I have to go but let’s try to meet again later.”
“Ok, I’ll see you later,” said Vilma.
My master took me for a walk in the park near our house. The park was full of birds and it was a good place to meet friends.
“Hello Stella,” said Wilfred. He was a German Shepherd. He had dark brown fur and large brown eyes. He was really friendly.
“Hello Wilfred,” I said.
“Have you seen Vilma today?” asked Wilfred.
“Yes, I have. She has a beautiful new collar. It’s pink with lots of white stones,” I said.
“Oh, I love white stones!” commented Regina. “Who has white stones?” she asked.
“Vilma has a new collar and it’s pink with white stones,” said Wilfred.
“Oh, I wish I could have something as pretty as that! I don’t even have a collar! I wish I had a master to buy me pretty things,” said Regina.
Regina didn’t really have a home. She lived on the street and everyone gave her food. Her tan coloured fur was a little darker because she needed a bath. She had beautiful crystal blue eyes.
“Regina, if you marry me, I promise to buy you a pretty collar with white stones,” said Wilfred.
“Oh Wilfred – you’re so romantic. I would really like to live with you. You don’t know how lucky you are to have a warm home, food and clean water whenever you want,” said Regina.
“Why don’t you come and stay with me?” I asked. “I’m sure my master won’t mind if you come to live with us. You can follow us home and she’ll let you in.
“Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea Stella!” said Wilfred.
“I don’t know about that. I’m dirty and smelly. I don’t think your master would be happy to have me walk in that beautiful clean home of yours,” said Regina.
“Well, at least think about it,” I said to Regina.
“Ok, I’ll think about it.”
“Stella where are you?” my master called.
“I can hear my master calling – I have to go now,” I said.
“Bark, bark, bark,” I’m coming, I said to my master.
My master was with her puppies. They were two females who were also very tall and had long light colour fur on their heads. One was called Megan and the other was called Alison. They were really nice. They usually pick me up and kiss me all over. It feels really nice when they do that. Sometimes they wrestle with me. I give them a playful bark and bite. I’d never hurt my master’s puppies.
While I was with my master and her puppies, the pack leader arrived. He was tall and didn’t have any fur anywhere. Not even on his head.
The pack leader arrived in a big moving house. He opened the door and we all got in. It was really nice. It had a table, a sofa, a bed and a bathroom (for the pack leader, my master and her puppies). I don’t know why they never let me use what they call the bathroom. I have to go outside when I need to relieve myself and do other things.
Anyhow, as I was saying, this moving house had everything. They let me run around freely inside but my favourite spot is sitting on the sofa behind the pack leader as he drove.
They brought their bags inside and then shut the door. There seemed to be lots of bags and paw covers everywhere in the moving house. Some of these paw covers were really smelly. They belonged to the puppies. These animals had really stinky paws that they kept hidden in these colourful paw covers so that they didn’t smell all the time. They call these paw covers shoes. Good thing my paws don’t smell or I would have to wear shoes too!
The pack leader got out of the moving house. I wanted to see what he was doing so I jumped onto his spot and looked out the window. I suddenly heard a loud noise and everyone was looking at me. The noise continued and my master got up and walked towards me. “Stella! You’re being silly,” she said. “Do you want to drive the camper?”
I’m not sure what she meant by that but as soon as she picked me up the loud noise stopped.
“Who beeped the horn?” asked the pack leader.
“It was Stella!” said the puppies together laughing.
“Stella! Do you want to drive the camper?” asked the pack leader. He rubbed my head and laughed. Everyone was laughing. They must have found it funny. I’m not sure what they were laughing about but I’m happy if they’re happy. I barked in affirmation of all this happiness that surrounded me.
So the pack leader got back into the moving house and we started to move again. The older puppy Meg went to lie down on the sofa and she had strings hanging from both her ears that made noise. Meg seemed to like the noise in her ears because she was smiling and singing. She grabbed me and started to kiss me all over my face. I like it when she kisses me. Her face smells nice – not like her feet!
“Mamma, can I sit in the front with Papi?” asked Ali
I don’t understand why they all have so many names but they seem to understand each other. The pack leader was known as George and Papi. My master was known as Grace, Mamma, Mummy and Raksha. The older puppy was known as Megan, Meg and Stupid. The younger puppy was known as Alison, Ali and Stupid. I’m not sure why both puppies are named Stupid but they seem to call each other by that name.
“Does anyone want to play cards?” asked my master.
“I do!” said Ali.
“I’ll play,” said Meg.
Me too! I jumped up on the sofa and grabbed the box they had with my mouth.
“Stella! You can’t play cards!” said Meg as she picked me up and scratched my belly.
“You can sit and watch us play if you’ll be good,” said my master as she handed me a biscuit.
I sat down on the sofa and watched them play. Then I noticed that the spot in front next to the pack leader was free. I jumped down and ran to the front of the moving house and jumped up next to the pack leader.
“Hello Stella,” said the pack leader. “Have you come to keep me company? Now that’s a good doggy!” he continued.
“Hey, that’s cheating!” said Meg to Ali.
“No, I didn’t cheat. I’m just smarter than you!” said Ali to Meg.
“Stupid!” said Meg to Ali
“Stupid!” said Ali to Meg.
“Girls, now stop that. You know that I don’t like it when you call each other names,” said my master.
“She started it!” said Meg.
“Oh, girls - look outside. Look at the pretty mountains. They are the Dolomites. Aren’t they beautiful?” said my master.
“Can we go outside and take a picture?” asked Ali.
“I don’t see why not? Papi can we stop for a few minutes to take a picture?” asked my master.
“Sure, I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs. I’ve been driving for hours,” said the pack leader.
Oh, we’re going outside. My master put the leash on me and we stepped outside.
“Girls, isn’t it wonderful! Look at the mountains,” my master said.
The puppies weren’t interested in looking. They were making faces at each other and the younger turned and was about to go back into the moving house.
“Ali, don’t you want a picture with the beautiful mountains?” asked the pack leader.
“Ok!” said Ali the younger puppy. She grabbed my master’s hand and forced a smile.
“Meg, why don’t you get in the picture too?” said the pack leader.
The older puppy made a face at the younger puppy and went to stand on the other side of my master.
“Wait! I have to get Stella!” said Meg. She came over to where I was sitting and picked me up. I kissed her on the neck and she kissed my head. “Oh, I love it when you give me kissy wissies,” said Meg.
We all got back into the moving house and I took my place on the sofa behind the pack leader.
Suddenly, we heard a big bang. Everyone looked around and then we saw there was a crack on the front window. The pack leader stopped the moving house and got out to look at the damage. He then got back into the moving house and said we needed to stop somewhere to have it checked. We continued on our way.
“Look girls. We’re in France now,” my master said.
“Look the sign says BIENVENUE,” said Ali. “What does that mean?” she continued.
“It means welcome – Stupid!” said Meg
“Stop calling me Stupid – Stupid! “ said Ali.
“Mamma, Meg is calling me Stupid again. Will you tell her something please?” said Ali.
The pack leader was suddenly talking while holding a little black box to his ear. I’m not sure what this little box is but my master and the puppies have one too. They do a lot of things with it. Sometimes they talk and sometimes they have those strings attached to their ears that make noise. I’m happy I’m a dog so I don’t have to use this strange black box.
“Ok, I’ve spoken to a company that will fix the wind screen. We have to find where it is. I’ll put the address in the GPS so that it will tell us where to go,” said the pack leader.
“I’m hungry Papi,” said Ali. “Can we stop somewhere to eat?”
“I saw a grocery shop a moment ago,” said my master. “Why don’t we stop to get a few things and I can make some crepes.”
“What are crepes Mamma?” said Ali.
“Yes! Mamma can you make crepes?” asked Meg.
“What are crepes?” Ali asked again.
“Crepes are flat cakes that you can eat with chocolate, jam or even ice-cream,” my master said. “They are French and since we are in France, I can’t think of a better thing we can eat right now.”
“Bark, bark, bark,” I want some too. I said while I jumped up on the table.
“Get down Stella!” said my master. “You can have a crepe too if you’re good and get off of the table,” she continued.
So the pack leader stopped the moving house in front of a big house which he called grocery shop. He got out and walked away.
“Girls, why don’t you take Stella out for a short walk while I tidy up the camper?” said my master. I jumped up as soon as I heard my name.
“Bark, bark, bark,” are we going outside? I suddenly started to run through the moving house while the younger puppy called out “Stella, sit down. I need to put the leash on you so we can take you out for a walk.”
As soon as she tied the leash to my collar, I flew out of the door in a second.
I suddenly saw the pack leader walking back to the moving house and I tried to run towards him but my leash stopped me from getting to him. So I sat down and waited for him to come closer. As soon as he was within my reach, I jumped up on him as he patted my head.
The pack leader was carrying something in a bright slippery bag and I could smell food inside this bag. I tried to jump on this slippery thing and as I did, my paw got caught on it and ripped it open. All the food fell to the ground.
“Stella!” cried out the pack leader. “You broke the plastic bag and everything fell to the ground.”
“Papi, I’ll help you to pick up the products,” said Ali.
“Meg, take Stella somewhere else so that we can clean up this mess,” said the pack leader to the older puppy.
“Come on Stella. You’ve made a fine mess and now they need to clean it up. Let’s go and sit on the grass,” said Meg.
As we sat on the grass I noticed that there were pretty flowers all around us. I got up and went around to get a closer look and smell. There were different colours and different scents. They perfumed the air and I sat among the flowers and enjoyed the scent.
“Ok, girls let’s get back into the camper and make these crepes,” said my master.
“Can I help you make them Mamma?” said the younger puppy.
“Can I help too?” said Meg.
“Yes, you can both help but you will have to watch Stella too,” said my master.
“Ok Mamma,” the puppies said together.
It didn’t take them long to make the crepes. Then they sat at the table to eat them. They gave me one too.
“Bark, bark, bark,” can I have another crepe? I said as I stood up and put my nose on the table.
“Stella!” everyone said together.
“Now that we’ve had a break and a snack, are we ready to go?” asked the pack leader.
“Yes, let’s get going,” said my master.
We started on the road again and everyone was quiet for a long time. The puppies were each listening to their black boxes with the strings and my master was sitting in the front with the pack leader. I could hear they were listening to other voices but I couldn’t see anyone else in the front with them.
“Grace, will you find something else on the radio that won’t put me to sleep?” asked the pack leader.
“Sure, how about this radio station? It is playing a song from the 1980s,”asked my master.
“Do you remember this song?” asked the pack leader. “Waiting for someone to love you when you’re all alone…” they sang together.
“This song was popular when I was in High School,” said the pack leader.
“Papi, will you stop doing that. You can’t sing!” said Ali.
“All I want is for someone to love me ….” The pack leader continued to sing while my master laughed.
“Please, Papi. Stop singing!” said Meg.
“Girls, don’t you like the way I sing?”
“No!” the puppies cried out together.
“Look girls, we’ve just entered Spain,” said my master.
They all went to the window to look outside. I went too but didn’t know what they were looking at. It looked the same to me.
“Ok girls. We need to find this place to fix the windscreen. It shouldn’t be far,” said the pack leader.
The moving house suddenly stopped and the pack leader was talking to an animal outside. He was moving his arms around while he was talking.
“Ok, so I need to turn left at the next light and then continue straight ahead for approximately 5 kilometres? Yes, si, bueno, muchas gracias,” said the pack leader to the animal outside.
“Ok girls, we’re on the right road,” he said. “We need to turn left at the next traffic light and then it shouldn’t be hard to find the shop.”
We continued to drive for a little while and then the moving house stopped.
“This is it,” said the pack leader. “Wait here while I go inside.”
As soon as I noticed the pack leader opened the door, I was ready to go out with him.
“No Stella, you wait here with the girls. I’ll be right back,” said the pack leader.
After a few moments, the pack leader came back and suddenly the puppies were putting on their paw covers and started to go outside.
“Amore, we have to go outside since we wait while the men fix our wind screen,” said Ali to me.
“Bark, bark, bark,” what is going on? Can I come too?
Suddenly, the young puppy put my leash on and I was quickly out the door.
The sun was bright and the air was warm. I put my nose up in the air and took a good sniff. It smelled really nice.
“They said there’s a bakery next door which serves coffee,” said the pack leader. “Let’s go have a coffee while we wait,” he continued.
We walked inside the bakery. They didn’t seem to say anything about me. Some places won’t let me enter. I don’t understand why. It’s not like I smell. As soon as we were inside, I realized that this is where the good smell came from.
“Mamma, look at those pastries,” said Meg as she put her head closer to the display window to get a better look at the cakes. Her eyes were glowing and she was smiling as she pointed towards a pastry that interested her.
“Girls, decide what you want to eat so we can order,” said my master.
“Bark, bark, bark,” I’d like to have the one that smells nice. I was standing upright on the display window beside the older puppy, hoping to get a taste of one of those wonderful things in the window.
“Stella, get down!” said Megan.
Everyone sat down at a table and they each had something that smelled nice to eat. I tried to get someone’s attention by scratching at their legs but they didn’t look at me. So I decided it was time to remind them of my presence before they finish every bite of those sweet smelling treats.
I noticed that one of the treats was sitting on the corner of the table and I thought to myself that if was fast enough, I could get it before anyone stops me. One, two, three …
“Stella!” they all cried out together.
“Did you see how quick she was?” said Meg laughing.
“Good girl Stella,” said Ali laughing since she still had her pastry in her hand.
“Mamma, can I get another one?” asked Meg. “Stella ate my pastry,” she said with a frown.
“Sure, do you want the same one?” asked my master.
“Yes please.”
I followed my master to the display window and stood upright leaning against the window hoping she would get me one too.
“No Stella, these are not for you,” she said as she stroked my head.
“I’m going to see at what point they are on fixing the wind screen as you finish up here,” said the pack leader.
“Bark, bark, bark,” can I come with you?
The pack leader patted me on the head and got my leash.
“I’ll take Stella with me,” said the pack leader.
We walked back to the moving house and I could see that the animals had finished the work. They were cleaning the windscreen with a cloth.
I could see the pack leader talking to one of the men. He pulled out something dark from his pants and pulled out some coloured paper. Then the pack leader handed the coloured paper to the animal with the white fur on his head and then they shook paws. “Come on Stella. Let’s go get the girls,” said the pack leader as he turned toward me.
He opened the door to the moving house and we got in. I ran to the front and jumped in the seat next to the pack leader. He ruffed my fur and then laughed. “Stella, do you want to be my navigator?” I wasn’t sure what a navigator was but I tilted my head to one side and continued to look at him hoping that he would tell me more. He grabbed the big wheel and put a shiny thing into a little hole and the moving house started to make a noise. It then started to move. I turned to the window close to me and looked outside. The moving house stopped and I could see my master and her puppies were running towards us. The back door opened and they all stepped in.
“I’m sitting in the front next to Papi,” said Alison as she sat in the front next to the pack leader.
“No, I need to sit in the front or I’ll feel sick,” said Meg.
They quickly switched seats and then my master hung their material coverings in the closet. That is another thing that I don’t understand. Why don’t they have fur to protect their body like I have? They have to wear these coverings to keep warm. I find that very strange. I’ve heard them call these coverings coats or jackets. Sometimes, they try to put a covering on me too but I bark and jump around so that it is difficult for them to fit it on me. Sometimes I win and other times they do. I feel really silly going out with two coverings.
I settled down on the sofa with Ali and looked at her. She had that little black box with the strings in her ears again. I noticed that Meg had the same in her ears so I cuddled up to the younger puppy and fell asleep.
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Title: ¡Hola! ¡Stella!
Author: G. R. Calcagni
Copyright © 2012 G. R. Calcagni
All Rights Reserved
Chapter One
As I looked out the window, I saw my friend Vilma running down the street. I immediately thought to myself that I needed to get my master’s attention. My master was a tall animal with dark fur on her head. She talked a different language from me but we understood each other, most of the time.
So, I sat in front of the door patiently waiting for her to notice me. No, that didn’t work so I started to bark. No, that too didn’t get her attention. So, I quickly ran through the living room. That would undoubtedly catch her attention since it always made her laugh. I jumped from one sofa to the other and playfully scratched one of the sofas with my nails. Still nothing! Ok, it is time for drastic measures. I started to scratch at the door – something that my master didn’t like at all!
“Stella!” said my master.
My name is Stella. I’m a Cocker Spaniel and I love to play.
I wagged my tail and looked at her with sad eyes hoping that she would take me out.
“Do you want to go out, Stella?” asked my master.
“Bark, bark, bark,” yes please. I responded wagging my tail frantically.
“Ok then, let’s go!
I was finally outside running after Vilma. She didn’t notice me so I decided to call out to her. “Bark, bark, bark!” Vilma wait for me, I said to her. She turned around and wagged her tail as she saw me running towards her.
“Hi Vilma,” I said. Vilma was female like me. She had white fur with a few tan coloured spots on her chest. She had lovely brown eyes.
“Hi Stella,” she said.
“Hey, do you like my new collar?” Vilma asked me. It was a pink collar with sparkly white stones.
“It’s beautiful!” I said. “Oh, I hear my master calling me. I have to go but let’s try to meet again later.”
“Ok, I’ll see you later,” said Vilma.
My master took me for a walk in the park near our house. The park was full of birds and it was a good place to meet friends.
“Hello Stella,” said Wilfred. He was a German Shepherd. He had dark brown fur and large brown eyes. He was really friendly.
“Hello Wilfred,” I said.
“Have you seen Vilma today?” asked Wilfred.
“Yes, I have. She has a beautiful new collar. It’s pink with lots of white stones,” I said.
“Oh, I love white stones!” commented Regina. “Who has white stones?” she asked.
“Vilma has a new collar and it’s pink with white stones,” said Wilfred.
“Oh, I wish I could have something as pretty as that! I don’t even have a collar! I wish I had a master to buy me pretty things,” said Regina.
Regina didn’t really have a home. She lived on the street and everyone gave her food. Her tan coloured fur was a little darker because she needed a bath. She had beautiful crystal blue eyes.
“Regina, if you marry me, I promise to buy you a pretty collar with white stones,” said Wilfred.
“Oh Wilfred – you’re so romantic. I would really like to live with you. You don’t know how lucky you are to have a warm home, food and clean water whenever you want,” said Regina.
“Why don’t you come and stay with me?” I asked. “I’m sure my master won’t mind if you come to live with us. You can follow us home and she’ll let you in.
“Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea Stella!” said Wilfred.
“I don’t know about that. I’m dirty and smelly. I don’t think your master would be happy to have me walk in that beautiful clean home of yours,” said Regina.
“Well, at least think about it,” I said to Regina.
“Ok, I’ll think about it.”
“Stella where are you?” my master called.
“I can hear my master calling – I have to go now,” I said.
“Bark, bark, bark,” I’m coming, I said to my master.
My master was with her puppies. They were two females who were also very tall and had long light colour fur on their heads. One was called Megan and the other was called Alison. They were really nice. They usually pick me up and kiss me all over. It feels really nice when they do that. Sometimes they wrestle with me. I give them a playful bark and bite. I’d never hurt my master’s puppies.
While I was with my master and her puppies, the pack leader arrived. He was tall and didn’t have any fur anywhere. Not even on his head.
The pack leader arrived in a big moving house. He opened the door and we all got in. It was really nice. It had a table, a sofa, a bed and a bathroom (for the pack leader, my master and her puppies). I don’t know why they never let me use what they call the bathroom. I have to go outside when I need to relieve myself and do other things.
Anyhow, as I was saying, this moving house had everything. They let me run around freely inside but my favourite spot is sitting on the sofa behind the pack leader as he drove.
They brought their bags inside and then shut the door. There seemed to be lots of bags and paw covers everywhere in the moving house. Some of these paw covers were really smelly. They belonged to the puppies. These animals had really stinky paws that they kept hidden in these colourful paw covers so that they didn’t smell all the time. They call these paw covers shoes. Good thing my paws don’t smell or I would have to wear shoes too!
The pack leader got out of the moving house. I wanted to see what he was doing so I jumped onto his spot and looked out the window. I suddenly heard a loud noise and everyone was looking at me. The noise continued and my master got up and walked towards me. “Stella! You’re being silly,” she said. “Do you want to drive the camper?”
I’m not sure what she meant by that but as soon as she picked me up the loud noise stopped.
“Who beeped the horn?” asked the pack leader.
“It was Stella!” said the puppies together laughing.
“Stella! Do you want to drive the camper?” asked the pack leader. He rubbed my head and laughed. Everyone was laughing. They must have found it funny. I’m not sure what they were laughing about but I’m happy if they’re happy. I barked in affirmation of all this happiness that surrounded me.
So the pack leader got back into the moving house and we started to move again. The older puppy Meg went to lie down on the sofa and she had strings hanging from both her ears that made noise. Meg seemed to like the noise in her ears because she was smiling and singing. She grabbed me and started to kiss me all over my face. I like it when she kisses me. Her face smells nice – not like her feet!
“Mamma, can I sit in the front with Papi?” asked Ali
I don’t understand why they all have so many names but they seem to understand each other. The pack leader was known as George and Papi. My master was known as Grace, Mamma, Mummy and Raksha. The older puppy was known as Megan, Meg and Stupid. The younger puppy was known as Alison, Ali and Stupid. I’m not sure why both puppies are named Stupid but they seem to call each other by that name.
“Does anyone want to play cards?” asked my master.
“I do!” said Ali.
“I’ll play,” said Meg.
Me too! I jumped up on the sofa and grabbed the box they had with my mouth.
“Stella! You can’t play cards!” said Meg as she picked me up and scratched my belly.
“You can sit and watch us play if you’ll be good,” said my master as she handed me a biscuit.
I sat down on the sofa and watched them play. Then I noticed that the spot in front next to the pack leader was free. I jumped down and ran to the front of the moving house and jumped up next to the pack leader.
“Hello Stella,” said the pack leader. “Have you come to keep me company? Now that’s a good doggy!” he continued.
“Hey, that’s cheating!” said Meg to Ali.
“No, I didn’t cheat. I’m just smarter than you!” said Ali to Meg.
“Stupid!” said Meg to Ali
“Stupid!” said Ali to Meg.
“Girls, now stop that. You know that I don’t like it when you call each other names,” said my master.
“She started it!” said Meg.
“Oh, girls - look outside. Look at the pretty mountains. They are the Dolomites. Aren’t they beautiful?” said my master.
“Can we go outside and take a picture?” asked Ali.
“I don’t see why not? Papi can we stop for a few minutes to take a picture?” asked my master.
“Sure, I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs. I’ve been driving for hours,” said the pack leader.
Oh, we’re going outside. My master put the leash on me and we stepped outside.
“Girls, isn’t it wonderful! Look at the mountains,” my master said.
The puppies weren’t interested in looking. They were making faces at each other and the younger turned and was about to go back into the moving house.
“Ali, don’t you want a picture with the beautiful mountains?” asked the pack leader.
“Ok!” said Ali the younger puppy. She grabbed my master’s hand and forced a smile.
“Meg, why don’t you get in the picture too?” said the pack leader.
The older puppy made a face at the younger puppy and went to stand on the other side of my master.
“Wait! I have to get Stella!” said Meg. She came over to where I was sitting and picked me up. I kissed her on the neck and she kissed my head. “Oh, I love it when you give me kissy wissies,” said Meg.
We all got back into the moving house and I took my place on the sofa behind the pack leader.
Suddenly, we heard a big bang. Everyone looked around and then we saw there was a crack on the front window. The pack leader stopped the moving house and got out to look at the damage. He then got back into the moving house and said we needed to stop somewhere to have it checked. We continued on our way.
“Look girls. We’re in France now,” my master said.
“Look the sign says BIENVENUE,” said Ali. “What does that mean?” she continued.
“It means welcome – Stupid!” said Meg
“Stop calling me Stupid – Stupid! “ said Ali.
“Mamma, Meg is calling me Stupid again. Will you tell her something please?” said Ali.
The pack leader was suddenly talking while holding a little black box to his ear. I’m not sure what this little box is but my master and the puppies have one too. They do a lot of things with it. Sometimes they talk and sometimes they have those strings attached to their ears that make noise. I’m happy I’m a dog so I don’t have to use this strange black box.
“Ok, I’ve spoken to a company that will fix the wind screen. We have to find where it is. I’ll put the address in the GPS so that it will tell us where to go,” said the pack leader.
“I’m hungry Papi,” said Ali. “Can we stop somewhere to eat?”
“I saw a grocery shop a moment ago,” said my master. “Why don’t we stop to get a few things and I can make some crepes.”
“What are crepes Mamma?” said Ali.
“Yes! Mamma can you make crepes?” asked Meg.
“What are crepes?” Ali asked again.
“Crepes are flat cakes that you can eat with chocolate, jam or even ice-cream,” my master said. “They are French and since we are in France, I can’t think of a better thing we can eat right now.”
“Bark, bark, bark,” I want some too. I said while I jumped up on the table.
“Get down Stella!” said my master. “You can have a crepe too if you’re good and get off of the table,” she continued.
So the pack leader stopped the moving house in front of a big house which he called grocery shop. He got out and walked away.
“Girls, why don’t you take Stella out for a short walk while I tidy up the camper?” said my master. I jumped up as soon as I heard my name.
“Bark, bark, bark,” are we going outside? I suddenly started to run through the moving house while the younger puppy called out “Stella, sit down. I need to put the leash on you so we can take you out for a walk.”
As soon as she tied the leash to my collar, I flew out of the door in a second.
I suddenly saw the pack leader walking back to the moving house and I tried to run towards him but my leash stopped me from getting to him. So I sat down and waited for him to come closer. As soon as he was within my reach, I jumped up on him as he patted my head.
The pack leader was carrying something in a bright slippery bag and I could smell food inside this bag. I tried to jump on this slippery thing and as I did, my paw got caught on it and ripped it open. All the food fell to the ground.
“Stella!” cried out the pack leader. “You broke the plastic bag and everything fell to the ground.”
“Papi, I’ll help you to pick up the products,” said Ali.
“Meg, take Stella somewhere else so that we can clean up this mess,” said the pack leader to the older puppy.
“Come on Stella. You’ve made a fine mess and now they need to clean it up. Let’s go and sit on the grass,” said Meg.
As we sat on the grass I noticed that there were pretty flowers all around us. I got up and went around to get a closer look and smell. There were different colours and different scents. They perfumed the air and I sat among the flowers and enjoyed the scent.
“Ok, girls let’s get back into the camper and make these crepes,” said my master.
“Can I help you make them Mamma?” said the younger puppy.
“Can I help too?” said Meg.
“Yes, you can both help but you will have to watch Stella too,” said my master.
“Ok Mamma,” the puppies said together.
It didn’t take them long to make the crepes. Then they sat at the table to eat them. They gave me one too.
“Bark, bark, bark,” can I have another crepe? I said as I stood up and put my nose on the table.
“Stella!” everyone said together.
“Now that we’ve had a break and a snack, are we ready to go?” asked the pack leader.
“Yes, let’s get going,” said my master.
We started on the road again and everyone was quiet for a long time. The puppies were each listening to their black boxes with the strings and my master was sitting in the front with the pack leader. I could hear they were listening to other voices but I couldn’t see anyone else in the front with them.
“Grace, will you find something else on the radio that won’t put me to sleep?” asked the pack leader.
“Sure, how about this radio station? It is playing a song from the 1980s,”asked my master.
“Do you remember this song?” asked the pack leader. “Waiting for someone to love you when you’re all alone…” they sang together.
“This song was popular when I was in High School,” said the pack leader.
“Papi, will you stop doing that. You can’t sing!” said Ali.
“All I want is for someone to love me ….” The pack leader continued to sing while my master laughed.
“Please, Papi. Stop singing!” said Meg.
“Girls, don’t you like the way I sing?”
“No!” the puppies cried out together.
“Look girls, we’ve just entered Spain,” said my master.
They all went to the window to look outside. I went too but didn’t know what they were looking at. It looked the same to me.
“Ok girls. We need to find this place to fix the windscreen. It shouldn’t be far,” said the pack leader.
The moving house suddenly stopped and the pack leader was talking to an animal outside. He was moving his arms around while he was talking.
“Ok, so I need to turn left at the next light and then continue straight ahead for approximately 5 kilometres? Yes, si, bueno, muchas gracias,” said the pack leader to the animal outside.
“Ok girls, we’re on the right road,” he said. “We need to turn left at the next traffic light and then it shouldn’t be hard to find the shop.”
We continued to drive for a little while and then the moving house stopped.
“This is it,” said the pack leader. “Wait here while I go inside.”
As soon as I noticed the pack leader opened the door, I was ready to go out with him.
“No Stella, you wait here with the girls. I’ll be right back,” said the pack leader.
After a few moments, the pack leader came back and suddenly the puppies were putting on their paw covers and started to go outside.
“Amore, we have to go outside since we wait while the men fix our wind screen,” said Ali to me.
“Bark, bark, bark,” what is going on? Can I come too?
Suddenly, the young puppy put my leash on and I was quickly out the door.
The sun was bright and the air was warm. I put my nose up in the air and took a good sniff. It smelled really nice.
“They said there’s a bakery next door which serves coffee,” said the pack leader. “Let’s go have a coffee while we wait,” he continued.
We walked inside the bakery. They didn’t seem to say anything about me. Some places won’t let me enter. I don’t understand why. It’s not like I smell. As soon as we were inside, I realized that this is where the good smell came from.
“Mamma, look at those pastries,” said Meg as she put her head closer to the display window to get a better look at the cakes. Her eyes were glowing and she was smiling as she pointed towards a pastry that interested her.
“Girls, decide what you want to eat so we can order,” said my master.
“Bark, bark, bark,” I’d like to have the one that smells nice. I was standing upright on the display window beside the older puppy, hoping to get a taste of one of those wonderful things in the window.
“Stella, get down!” said Megan.
Everyone sat down at a table and they each had something that smelled nice to eat. I tried to get someone’s attention by scratching at their legs but they didn’t look at me. So I decided it was time to remind them of my presence before they finish every bite of those sweet smelling treats.
I noticed that one of the treats was sitting on the corner of the table and I thought to myself that if was fast enough, I could get it before anyone stops me. One, two, three …
“Stella!” they all cried out together.
“Did you see how quick she was?” said Meg laughing.
“Good girl Stella,” said Ali laughing since she still had her pastry in her hand.
“Mamma, can I get another one?” asked Meg. “Stella ate my pastry,” she said with a frown.
“Sure, do you want the same one?” asked my master.
“Yes please.”
I followed my master to the display window and stood upright leaning against the window hoping she would get me one too.
“No Stella, these are not for you,” she said as she stroked my head.
“I’m going to see at what point they are on fixing the wind screen as you finish up here,” said the pack leader.
“Bark, bark, bark,” can I come with you?
The pack leader patted me on the head and got my leash.
“I’ll take Stella with me,” said the pack leader.
We walked back to the moving house and I could see that the animals had finished the work. They were cleaning the windscreen with a cloth.
I could see the pack leader talking to one of the men. He pulled out something dark from his pants and pulled out some coloured paper. Then the pack leader handed the coloured paper to the animal with the white fur on his head and then they shook paws. “Come on Stella. Let’s go get the girls,” said the pack leader as he turned toward me.
He opened the door to the moving house and we got in. I ran to the front and jumped in the seat next to the pack leader. He ruffed my fur and then laughed. “Stella, do you want to be my navigator?” I wasn’t sure what a navigator was but I tilted my head to one side and continued to look at him hoping that he would tell me more. He grabbed the big wheel and put a shiny thing into a little hole and the moving house started to make a noise. It then started to move. I turned to the window close to me and looked outside. The moving house stopped and I could see my master and her puppies were running towards us. The back door opened and they all stepped in.
“I’m sitting in the front next to Papi,” said Alison as she sat in the front next to the pack leader.
“No, I need to sit in the front or I’ll feel sick,” said Meg.
They quickly switched seats and then my master hung their material coverings in the closet. That is another thing that I don’t understand. Why don’t they have fur to protect their body like I have? They have to wear these coverings to keep warm. I find that very strange. I’ve heard them call these coverings coats or jackets. Sometimes, they try to put a covering on me too but I bark and jump around so that it is difficult for them to fit it on me. Sometimes I win and other times they do. I feel really silly going out with two coverings.
I settled down on the sofa with Ali and looked at her. She had that little black box with the strings in her ears again. I noticed that Meg had the same in her ears so I cuddled up to the younger puppy and fell asleep.
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