Free Lucy the Poorly Puppy by Holly Webb Page B

not – but we have to face the fact that it might.”
    “That’s so sad.” Lauren felt tears stinging her eyes. The poor little puppy.
    “Nine healthy puppies is a great litter,” Dad reminded her.
    Lauren nodded. “I guess so. But I can’t help worrying about the little one.”
    “I know, me too. Still, it might perk up. You never know.”
    Lauren crossed her fingers behind her back. She wanted Bella to have all ten of her wonderful puppies safe and well. 

    Lauren crept in the kitchen door. She was trying very hard not to upset Bella.
    But Bella looked like she’d be impossible to disturb. She was stretched flat out on her side, fast asleep on the pile of old towels that Mum had put aside for her and the puppies to sleep on, in the special low wooden pen Dad had made for them. They’d been worried that the puppies might fall off Bella’s big cushion.
    The puppies were all snuggled up next to their mum, fast asleep in a pile of heads and paws. Lauren knelt down beside the pen and tried to count them, but she couldn’t work out where one pup ended and the next began. She couldn’t see which was the one that Dad was worried about, either.
    “They’re so tiny!” she whispered to Mum.
    “I know, aren’t they beautiful?” Mum beamed.
    Lauren frowned. “They’re all black and white! I can hardly see any brown on them at all. That’s really weird, when Bella’s brown and white.” 

    Mum shook her head. “I thought that, but then I looked it up in our beagle book, and it says they’re usually born mostly black and white. The black might change to brown over the next few weeks, or stay as it is. Most beagles are black and white with brown patches – tricolour, it’s called. Bella’s quite rare, being all brown and white.”
    “Look how pink their noses are,” Lauren breathed. “And I can hear them snuffling! They’re so gorgeous.”
    “Aren’t they?” Dad agreed. “Oh, look, Bella’s waking up.”
    Lauren watched Bella yawn and blink sleepily, and crouched closer to the pen, expecting Bella to want to lick her hand. She was such a friendly dog, and she loved to cuddle up with Lauren – preferably on the sofa watching cartoons.
    But today Bella seemed not to see her. She was only interested in her puppies. She nudged them awake, pushing them gently towards her tummy so they could start feeding.
    “She was like that with me too,” Mum murmured. “Not interested. It’s as if she’s only got eyes for her puppies now.” She put her arm round Lauren’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. She’ll only be like this for the first couple of weeks, until they open their eyes and start to move around. Then they won’t need her so much, and she’ll be our sweet Bella again.”
    Lauren nodded. “Can I pick up one of the puppies?” she asked. “Will Bella let us?” 
    “We haven’t touched them yet,” Dad said. “We didn’t want to upset Bella.”
    Lauren peered at the pile of puppies, as Bella woke them up. “Which is the little one – the one that was having trouble breathing properly?” she asked anxiously. “Oh! I think I can see – is it the one Bella’s licking?”
    Mum nodded. “Yes, that one’s definitely a lot smaller than the others.”
    “Oh, look, you can see its little brown eyebrows!” Lauren said admiringly.
    She edged closer to the pen, and Bella glanced up, as if to check that she wasn’t going to harm the puppies. Lauren shuffled back a little, and Bella quickly went back to licking and nudging at the tiny puppy. The others were all feeding already – Lauren could hear the strange, wheezy squeak as they sucked. She giggled. “Look, Mum, that puppy’s sitting on the other one’s head!”
    Mum smiled. “I don’t think they mind as long as they’re getting their mum’s milk.”
    Dad was looking at one of the others. “Hey, pup. I don’t think that’s going to do you much good,” he chuckled. “Look, that big puppy’s trying to suck Bella’s