Free Prince for a Princess by Eric Walters Page B

car, raced to open the back of the SUV and reached in for Prince’s leash. The big dog jumped down, landing right beside her. She led him, skipping and prancing, up the walkway. Christina ran up the stairs. But Prince skidded to a stop at the bottom.
    â€œOh, I forgot. You don’t know about stairs,” she said.
    That was one of the things Bert had explained. Racing greyhounds live a flat life. They have to be trained to climb stairs because they have never used them before.
    Christina walked down the stairs and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s all right, Prince. I’ll teach you.”
    â€œShould we help?” her father whispered.
    Christina’s mother shook her head. “It’s her dog. Let her do it.”
    Christina remembered what Bert had told them about showing Prince how to climb stairs. She held onto his collar with one hand. With the other, she took one of his front paws and carefully placed it on the first step. She pulled his body up. Then she reached over and placed his other front paw on the next step. She repeated this action over and over, until the two of them were standing together on the porch. Christina smiled, and it looked as if Prince was smiling too.
    Christina opened the front door of the house and led Prince inside. “Welcome to our home. Your new home,” she said.

Chapter Four
    â€œChristina, we have to leave for school right now!” her mother yelled up the stairs.
    â€œWe’ll be right down!”
    Christina ran down the stairs with Prince behind her. In the last three weeks, he’d become an expert at stairs. But going down was still harder for him than going up. Sometimes he picked up so much speed he almost bumped into the wall at the bottom.
    Christina snapped on Prince’s leash. Her mother grabbed Christina’s backpack. Every morning the three of them walked to school together. At the end of the day, Prince and Christina’s mother returned to walk her home.
    Christina and Prince had an agreement. He didn’t pull her, and she didn’t pull him. She always gave him time to stop and smell the bushes, trees and grass. Prince loved to explore his world with his nose. In his life as a racing dog, there had never been time for it. He had been a champion racer. But even champions live a life of dirt, gravel, cages, cement and kennels.
    Christina, her mother and Prince set off. The school wasn’t far. It took them twenty minutes to walk two blocks. They didn’t just stop for Prince to smell and explore. They also stopped to talk to people along the way. There was something about the sight of a big dog and a small girl together that made people stop to chat. Christina’s mother found herself smiling as she watched her daughter skip and Prince prance.
    Prince was so big he could have easily pulled Christina off her feet. But he never did. Their agreement worked. She never pulled him, and he never pulled her.

    Prince stopped at a hedge. He pressed his nose into the leaves and sniffed loudly.
    â€œI like it when he does that,” Christina said. “He’s making up for lost time, when all he had to smell was dirt.”
    When they reached the schoolyard, Prince stopped at the gate. Christina handed the leash to her mother and grabbed her backpack. She gave her mother and Prince a big hug.
    â€œYou have a good day,” her mother said.
    â€œI will. You two have a good day too. See you later.”
    Her mother and Prince watched until Christina found her friends. Then they turned toward home. Christina’s mother stopped for Prince to smell a post on the way back. She had an agreement with Prince too.

Chapter Five
    â€œTime to get ready for bed, Princess,” her father said.
    â€œFive more minutes?” she asked.
    â€œYou already had ten more minutes. It’s time.”
    Christina got up off the couch. As she stood, Prince stood too.
    Her mother laughed. “That is one big