Free My Hairiest Adventure by R. L. Stine

sunny
sky.
    “Hi, Mom,” I greeted her. “This dog followed me home.”
    The dog sniffed at the low evergreen shrubs that lined the front walk.
    “She’s kind of pretty,” Mom said. “What a nice color. Who does she belong
to?”
    I shrugged. “Beats me. I’ve never seen her before.”
    The dog came over and stared up at Mom.
    “At least she’s friendly,” I said, setting my heavy backpack down on the
driveway. “Maybe we should keep her.”
    “No way,” Mom replied sharply. “No dogs. Not with Jasper in the house.”
    I bent down and petted the top of the dog’s head.
    “She has a tag on her collar,” Mom said, pointing. “Check it out, Larry.
Maybe it says the owner’s name.”
    The dog’s tail wagged furiously as I petted her head. “Good dog,” I said
softly.
    “Come on, Larry. See what the tag says,” Mom insisted.
    “Okay, okay.” I reached for the round, gold tag hanging down from the dog’s
collar. Then I dropped to my knees and lowered my face so that I could see it
clearly.
    “Huh?”
    I recognized it instantly.
    It wasn’t a dog tag. It was Lily’s gold pirate coin.

 
 
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    I nearly fell over. I felt as if someone had kicked me in the stomach.
    “M-mom!” I stammered. But my voice came out as a gasp.
    “Larry—what are you doing?” Mom called. She had wandered to the side of the
driveway and was pulling up some dead weeds. “What does the tag say?”
    “It—it isn’t a tag,” I finally managed to choke out.
    She turned her head back to me. “Huh?”
    “It isn’t a dog tag,” I repeated, still holding it between my fingers. “It’s
Lily’s gold pirate coin.”
    Mom laughed. “Why would Lily give her coin to a dog? Didn’t her grandfather
give her that coin?”
    “I—I don’t know why,” I stammered. “I don’t get it, Mom.”
    The dog’s hot breath brushed over my hand. She pulled away from me, settled
back, and started scratching her long, floppy ear with her back paw.
    “Are you sure it’s a gold coin, Larry?” Mom asked, crossing the drive,
standing right behind me.
    I nodded and reached for the coin again. “Yeah. It’s Lily’s gold coin, Mom.”
    “It must be some other gold coin,” Mom suggested. “I’m sure it isn’t
the same coin.”
    Mom must be right, I decided.
    I let go of the coin and raised my hand to pet the dog’s head.
    But my hand stopped in midair when I saw the dog’s eyes.
    She had one blue eye and one green eye.

 
 
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    “It’s Lily! It’s Lily!” I shrieked, jumping to my feet.
    My shouts frightened the dog. She uttered a shrill yip, turned, and
bolted from the front yard.
    “Lily—come back!” I called after her. “Come back! Lily!”
    “Larry—wait!” Mom cried. “Please—!”
    I didn’t hear the rest of what she said. Jumping over my backpack, I darted
toward the street. I hurtled across without slowing to look for cars—and kept
running toward Lily’s house.
    It is Lily! I told myself. That dog has a green eye and a blue eye.
And it’s wearing Lily’s coin!
    It is Lily! I know it!
    I could hear my mom calling for me to come back. But I ignored her and kept
running.
    Lily’s house was three blocks away. I ran at full speed the whole way. By the
time her house came into view, I was gasping for breath, and I had a sharp pain
in my side.
    But I didn’t care.
    I had to see Lily. I had to know for sure that the dog wasn’t Lily.
    Such a crazy thought! As I crossed the street, I started to realize how crazy
it was.
    Lily, a dog?
    Larry, are you totally losing it? I asked myself. Mom must think I’m totally
wacko! I realized.
    Lily, a dog?
    I slowed down, rubbing the pain at my side, trying to massage it away.
    I spotted Lily’s parents in the driveway. The trunk of their blue Chevy was
open. Mr. Vonn was lifting a suitcase into it.
    “Hi!” I called breathlessly. “Hey—hi!”
    “Hello, Larry,” Mrs. Vonn said as I stepped up to the car. I saw two other
suitcases and some