Free You Lucky Dog by Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters, Daniel Vasconcellos Page B

sounded, the game ended in a tie.
    “We should have won that game,” Lou fumed to Roy. “It’s all that stupid mutt’s fault.” The fan had let the dog go, and he
     was running around the field again. Lou turned in disgust, picked up his lucky soccer ball, and started for home.

Chapter 4

    L ou hadn’t gone more than two blocks when he heard a bark. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the dog running toward him. A
     moment later, he was by Lou’s side.
    “What do you want?” Lou yelled, stopping. “Get out of here!”
    The dog sat down and looked up at him. His eyes were soft brown. One pointy ear stood straight up, while the other one flopped
     to one side. His mouth was open, and it looked like he was laughing.
    “Didn’t you hear me, mutt? I said, get out of here!”
    The dog gave a bark, then jumped up and knocked the soccer ball out from under Lou’s arm. The ball landed on a crack in the
     sidewalk and bounced sideways into the street.
    “Hey!” Lou glared at the dog and started to step off the sidewalk.
    All at once, the dog lunged at him. He caught hold of Lou’s soccer shirt and began to pull.
    “What are you —” Lou started to shout. Just then, a huge truck barreled by them, blaring its horn. When the truck had passed,
     the dog let go of Lou’s shirt.
    The wind from the truck had blown Lou’s hair into his face. Heart hammering in his chest, Lou brushed it back. He stared at
     the dog.
    “You — you just saved my life, didn’t you?” he said shakily, kneeling down next to the dog. The dog licked his face.

    When his heart had slowed back to normal, Lou stood up and retrieved his ball. With a glance at the dog, he started walking
     back home again. The dog stayed at his side the whole way.
    When they reached the house, Lou put his soccer ball on the front step and sat down. “Are you a stray?” he wondered. The dog
     had no collar, but he looked too well fed to be a stray. And weren’t strays supposed to be mean?
    “Well, if you’re not a stray, then where’d you come from?” Lou asked. The dog didn’t answer, of course. Instead, he nosed
     the soccer ball closer to Lou and gave a short bark.
    “You want to play?” Lou said, grinning.
    “Okay!”
    He opened the gate to their big backyard. The dog rushed through, barking happily, and ran to the far side of the yard. He
     seemed to be waiting for something. With a shrug, Lou gave the soccer ball a kick toward him.
    The dog jumped in front of it, trapping it with his paws. Then he quickly nosed it back to Lou before hurrying back to the
     other end of the yard.
    Lou was astonished. “Hey, where’d you learn to dribble like that?” He kicked the ball a second time. Again, the dog lunged
     for it. This time, he batted the ball around with his paws a little longer before bringing it back to Lou.
    “I don’t believe it,” Lou said, shaking his head. “Let’s see what else you can do!” He kicked the ball up in the air.
    The ball arced toward the dog. The dog watched it carefully. As it started to drop, he ran underneath it.
    “Watch out!” Lou cried.

Chapter 5

    B ut Lou needn’t have worried. Moments before the ball hit him, the dog jumped up, caught the ball on his head, and sent it
     rocketing back toward Lou. It came so fast, Lou couldn’t catch it.
    “A perfect header!” Lou shouted as he ran to retrieve it. The dog chased him. “Oh, no you don’t!” Lou said, picking up speed.
     “I’m going to get it first!”
    Lou did get to the ball first, but the dog was close behind. Lou fell on the ball, and the dog fell on Lou. They tussled for
     a moment. Thenthe dog started licking Lou’s face. Lou collapsed in giggles and finally let go of the ball.
    “You won’t hurt my ball, will you?” he cried as the dog pawed it, growling. “It’s lucky!”
    The dog looked up suddenly and gave a bark.
    “What is it, boy?” Lou asked. “Is it something I said? Was it the word ‘lucky’?” The dog barked again. Lou