Free Ellie the Homesick Puppy by Holly Webb Page A

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 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, anyway; she was just four months old at the moment. But even though Ellie was only a puppy, she was always bursting with energy.
    Ellie stared soulfully at Megan, watching her tape up the box. It looked fun. Her ears twitched, and her tail wagged a little. Perhaps she could jump at that tape? She was never quite sure what was naughty, and sometimes jumping at things got her told off…
    Suddenly, Ellie’s ears pricked up. She could hear someone coming downthe path. Tail wagging, she stood up on the bed to look out of the window, and gave Megan a little warning bark. It was Bella!
    Before Bella even had the chance to ring the bell, Megan and Ellie raced out of the room and down the stairs, making for the front door. Ellie won easily. She always did. She was amazingly fast. She scrabbled at the front door with her paws, barking excitedly, until Megan caught up.
    “Ssshh! Ellie, ssshh! Come back, look, I can’t open the door when you’ve got your paws on it, can I?”
    Ellie scampered back, panting excitedly. She knew Megan’s friend Bella, and she hoped this meant a walk after all. She was used to walkingwith Bella, as Megan and her mum usually picked Bella up on the way to school. Ellie and Megan often walked round the corner to Bella’s house when they went to the park too, as Megan’s parents didn’t like her going on her own, even when she had Ellie with her.
    “Hi, Megan! Mum said I could come round and help you pack, if that’s OK with your mum and dad?” Bella looked hopefully at Megan’s dad, who was struggling into the hall carrying a massive box of china from the kitchen.
    “Umph! Fine by me,” Dad said, putting down the box carefully. “But make sure you do pack, girls, OK? Not just chatting.”

    Bella stared around Megan’s room. “All these boxes!” She slumped down on Megan’s bed sadly, and Ellie scrambled up after her to lick her face. “Oof, not so much, Ellie! Oh, Megan, I’ve known for ages you were going, but it seems so real now.”
    Megan sat down beside her, and Ellie wriggled happily between them. “I know. Packing makes it seem as though it really is happening. The day after tomorrow…” Megan’s voice wobbled, and Ellie turned to lick her too. What was the matter with them both? She looked worriedly from Megan to Bella and back again, making her big puppy ears swing. Something was definitely wrong. Ellie stood up with her paws on Megan’sshoulder, and stuffed her cold black nose firmly into Megan’s ear. That always made her laugh.
    Megan did laugh this time too, and so did Bella, but somehow they still sounded sad.
    “I suppose at least we can send each other emails,” Bella said, reaching out to stroke Ellie, and Megan nodded.

    “And we can phone.” Megan laughed. “Mum said she thought they might have to get me my own phone line, or they’d never get to use the phone themselves! It won’t be the same as taking Ellie to the park with you, though.”
    Ellie stood on the bed, listening to them with her head on one side. Something was definitely going on.
    “I’m going to miss her too,” Bella agreed, tickling Ellie’s ears. “You know