Moose Read Free Page B

cards.” Charles scooped up as many as he could reach. He wasn’t ready to tell anyone that he was learning magic. He wanted to surprise everyone once he had some great tricks ready. He split the deck into two parts and tried shoving them together, but most of them fell into his lap. He scooped them up again and tried shuffling another way, the way Sammy did it where he flipped the corners together. That was even worse. The ace of spades, the queen of hearts, and the four of diamonds ended up inside Moose’s crate. Moose was so fast asleep that he did not even twitch.
    Charles kept picking up the cards andpracticing. But by the time Aunt Amanda turned off the main highway and drove up a long, bumpy dirt road, he had still not learned to shuffle. When the van came to a stop, he shoved the cards into his backpack and zipped it shut. “Is this it?” he asked. “Is this Camp Bowser?”
    “That’s right,” said Aunt Amanda. “Welcome.”
    In the middle of a clearing in the woods, a tiny cabin peeked out from behind two tall pine trees, reminding Charles of the way Moose had peeked out from behind Aunt Amanda at the Petersons’ front door the night before.
    Birdsong drifted out from the woods, and a sweet, piney smell filled the air. Charles took a long, deep breath and smiled. Camp Bowser was all right.
    “I like to take all the dogs down to play in the stream first thing when we get here,” said Aunt Amanda as she opened up the back of the van, “so they can stretch their legs.” Sheunlatched Moose’s crate and led him out on his leash. Charles unbuckled his seat belt and got out, too.
    Moose yawned and shook himself, setting his floppy ears flapping. Then he lay down and began to roll in the grass, happily stretching his legs this way and that as he squirmed and scratched his whole long back on the ground.
    This feels so good, it makes me forget about being scared!
    Then he jumped up, with a jingle of collar tags, and began to sniff all around.
    I smell other dogs here. I hope they’re not those little ones who like to nip at my ankles
.
    Aunt Amanda stood holding the leash, smiling at Moose. “This is how he gets to know a newplace,” she said to Charles. “It’s only fair to let him sniff a little.” After he had rolled and sniffed for a while longer, she said, “Moose, come.” Moose whirled around at the end of the leash and came right over to sit as still as a statue, in front of and facing Aunt Amanda, with his ears perked up and his eyes focused on her eyes. “Good boy,” she said.
    “Wow,” said Charles. “He sure does listen to you.”
    “Bowser wasn’t this well trained until he was at least three years old,” Aunt Amanda told Charles. “All the obedience training the Brewers have done has really paid off.” She looked down at Moose and made a hand signal, tapping her left thigh. “Heel, Moose,” she said.
    Moose practically leapt into the air in his eagerness to obey, landing in another perfect sit at Aunt Amanda’s side. “Let’s go,” she said to Moose as she took a step forward. Moose stuck to herside like glue, looking up at her face to watch for any clues about which way they were going.
    Charles was impressed. Buddy was a good dog, and he could sit and shake hands and stuff like that, but Moose was amazing. Aunt Amanda handed Moose’s leash over to Charles and began to get the other dogs out of the van.
    At first, Charles was a little nervous. Moose was almost taller than he was, and he looked like he could pull somebody over in a second. Charles cleared his throat. “Um . . . heel, Moose,” he said. And Moose heeled! He stuck right to Charles’s left side as Charles practiced walking the big puppy up and down. He didn’t even have to give the commands; Moose walked calmly next to him without one bit of pulling or jumping or lagging behind, all the things Buddy usually did on a leash.
    They all walked down to the stream together. Bowser led the way through the tall