Cocoa Read Free Page A

here and snuffling there. Charles loved to watch the way she got to know this new place. She was friendly to Buddy and she licked the Bean all over his face, making him laugh his googly laugh. She took every single toy out of Buddy’s toy basket and left them strewn all over the living room, but at least she didn’t tear any of them up. Then, after she ate her own dinner, she lay down on the bed they had put out for her and went back to sleep.
    For the rest of the weekend, the Petersons made sure that Cocoa was never alone. Charles and Lizzie walked her and threw balls forher and played games with her, keeping her busy. Plus, she played with Buddy.
    Buddy loved Cocoa. From the second they met, they were like best friends. They even looked as if they might be related, despite the way the long-legged Lab towered over the smaller brown pup. They played all the time, every minute that they were both awake. They raced around the house, chasing each other. They played tug with Buddy’s toys. They wrestled on the living room rug. And when Charles took them outside they galloped around happily, chasing balls and each other and barking at squirrels.
    By Sunday afternoon, Cocoa had already begun to calm down — a little. Charles decided that this was a good time to teach her a few things, especially since Dad and Lizzie had taken Buddy to the dog park to give him and Cocoa some time on their own.
    Charles was in the living room, working on teaching Cocoa how to lie down on command, but he was having a hard time concentrating. The Bean had decided to practice his WinterFest songs in the same room. This year the Bean’s preschool was going to be starting off the festival’s caroling, and lately he went around singing all the time. Charles had never imagined that he could get tired of hearing “Deck the Halls,” but now that he had heard it for the millionth time he was starting to think maybe he could.
    “Deck the halls with bells of jolly,” sang the Bean. He stood near the fireplace, holding his hands up in front of him like little paws. “Fa la la la la, la la la la.”
    Charles laughed. There was no point in correcting his little brother. The Bean could be very stubborn about things, and if he thought you decked halls with bells of jolly instead of boughsof holly, there would be no changing his mind. Anyway, Charles wasn’t a hundred percent sure what a bough of holly really was, so he didn’t want to get into a discussion about it.
    “Deck the halls with bells of jolly,” sang the Bean again. He was still holding up his little paws.
    “What are you supposed to be,” Charles asked. “A squirrel?”
    The Bean made googly-eyes at him. “No, silly!” He tossed his head. “Didn’t you see my antlers? I’m a reindeer! My whole class is reindeers!”
    Sure enough, the Bean was wearing a headband that supported two velvety brown antlers, decorated with sparkly white snowflakes. “I am a silly,” Charles admitted. “Those antlers are very cool. Can I try them on?”
    The Bean hesitated, touching his antlers.
    “Just for a few minutes?” Charles asked.
    The Bean folded his arms, thinking about it.
    “I’ll let you play with my Legos,” said Charles. “You can build anything you want. You can even use the wheel thingies.”
    The Bean smiled. “Okay,” he said. He took off the headband and handed the antlers to Charles.
    Charles put on the antlers, checking in the hall mirror to make sure they were adjusted just right. He grinned at himself. They looked pretty good. He liked the way they felt, too. He lifted his chin and squared his shoulders. He felt strong and … noble , that was the word. He felt noble. He could picture himself sailing through the air, pulling Santa’s sleigh tirelessly all through the starry night.
    The Bean had gone off to find Mom, so Charles kept the antlers on as he went back to working with Cocoa. If you could get her to calm down a little and focus, she really was a fast learner. He