Free Snow Dog by Malorie Blackman Page A

“The very thing.”
    “What is it?” Nicky couldn’t resist going closer to see.

    “It’s a snow dome kit. It’s got a dome and the base and glitter and bits of plastic we can use for snow and it’s got extra-special clay that we can use to make your dog.”
    “What’s extra-special about it?” asked Nicky.
    “I found this clay at the end of the most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Grandad. “I dug it up myself. And everyone knows rainbows are made of wishes and are very special. So any dog made with this clay will be extra-special. Maybe even magic …”

    “A clay dog isn’t the same as having a real dog.” Nicky sighed.
    “We’ll see,” winked Grandad. “We’ll see.”

    For the next hour, Grandad and Nicky sat at the table making a snow dome dog.

    Nicky made the body and the face and Grandad made the tail and the legs. Nicky gave her dog big, floppy ears and, very carefully, she turned up the corners of the puppy’s mouth. And she turned his tail up too, to show that he was wagging it.

    “That’s better. He looks like a happy dog now.” Nicky sat back, satisfied.
    At last it was finished.
    “Now we have to bake it until it’s quite hard,” said Grandad. “And then we can paint it.”

    When at last the dog had baked and was cool enough to paint, Nicky did that all by herself. She painted her dog a golden brown with dark brown eyes and silver paws.

    “Perfect!” said Grandad. “Now we just have to wait for the paint to dry,”

    As soon as the paint was dry, Nicky very carefully attached the puppy to the base of the dome. Grandad filled the glass dome with water and asked, “Shall we put in the snow or some glitter?”

    “The snow,” Nicky replied at once.
    “Snow it is then,” said Grandad. And he tipped the packet of white plastic snow into the water in the dome.
    Grandad turned the base upside down and screwed it onto the dome, before clicking it into place.

    He turned the dome the right way round and handed it over to his granddaughter. “And here it is! Your very own snow dog!”

    “I’m going to call him Harry,” Nicky decided with a smile. “Hello, Harry. Aren’t you pretty?” She gave her snow dome a shake. The plastic snow fell all around Harry and looked just like real snow.
    “Can I take him into the garden?” Nicky asked.
    “Of course. Take a jumper though. It’s a bit chilly out there.”
    “Chilly! It’s baking out there!” Nicky glanced out of the window. There wasn’t a cloud in the summer sky and the sun was blazing down.

    “Jumper, please!” Grandad insisted.
    Nicky ran upstairs to get a jumper. She tied it around her waist rather than put it on.

    Grandad might be cold, but she certainly wasn’t. She ran back downstairs to the kitchen.
    “Out you go then,” nodded Grandad when he saw Nicky had her jumper. “I’ll call you when it’s lunch-time.”
    So off Nicky went. She sat on her swing, twisting her legs this way, then that. She shook the snow dome again.

    Harry was indeed the most beautiful dog in the world. Nicky sighed, a deep, unhappy sigh.
    “I wish you were real, then I could play in there with you,” she whispered.

    A very strange thing began to happen. The snow dome grew colder and colder as Nicky held it, until it felt like she was holding a snowball at the North Pole! But that was impossible. It was the middle of summer and the sun was shining like a brand new coin. Nicky put the snow dome down on the grass and blew on her fingers. They were almost numb. She frowned down at the dome. What was going on?

    “Oh my goodness!” Nicky exclaimed.
    Harry was wagging his tail. He was actually wagging his tail! And now he was barking. A very tiny, faint sound but it was definitely a bark.

Chapter Three
    Harry

    NICKY BLINKED ONCE , blinked twice and then it happened. The third time she blinked, she opened her eyes to find herself standing in front of a real, live, furry Harry. And there was snow falling