Superstar Watch Read Free

wondering why a big star like Ninja needs to audition for this commercial. What’s a Hollywood dog doing in our little town of Greenfield?”
    “Want to know what I’m wondering?” Benny asked his siblings.
    “What?” Henry, Violet, and Jessie asked at once.
    Benny pointed at Watch who was sniffing the bowl of dog food in front of him. “Wundermutt food is Watch’s favorite. But he’s not eating it. Why not?” Benny took a step back and looked down the line. “Look,” he told his brother and sisters. “None of the dogs are eating the food.”
    Jessie, Henry, and Violet glanced up and down the audition line. “Benny is right,” Jessie said. “Not even one dog in the whole line is eating the food. The bowls are all still full.”
    “Strange,” Henry said, rubbing his chin. “Most dogs will eat almost anything … It looks like we’ve stumbled onto a mystery.”

CHAPTER 3
Audition Action
    Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
    Suddenly the Aldens could hear the unmistakable sound of a dog eating. The children looked at each other. The sound was coming from near the end of the line.
    “Hold on!” Jessie said. “That dog is eating the food.” Jessie pointed to a black and white speckled sheepdog. A boy about Jessie’s age was standing with the dog as it chomped away at his bowl of food.
    “Why is that dog the only one in the whole line eating the food?” Henry wanted to know.
    “Maybe the other dogs aren’t hungry,” Violet suggested.
    “But Violet, they’re dogs ,” Benny said. “Grandfather once told me that dogs are always a little hungry.” He patted his tummy and added, “Sometimes, I think I might be part dog.”
    Henry and Violet laughed.
    “Woof,” Jessie teased, patting him on the head.
    From where they stood, the Aldens could hear Ms. Werner talking to the boy with the speckled dog.
    “What is your name?” Ms. Werner asked.
    “Dante Oliver,” the boy replied. “And this is Buffalo.”
    Benny giggled and whispered to Violet, “That dog looks nothing like a buffalo.”
    “Well, Buffalo sure seems to be a nice dog,” Ms. Werner said kindly to Dante. She put out her hand and Buffalo licked it. Suddenly Buffalo leapt forward. He pulled against his leash and tried to get closer to Ms. Werner.
    “Down,” she said firmly, stepping away. “I’m going to put a star next to Buffalo’s name,” Ms. Werner told Dante. “We’re going to keep an eye on your dog.” Then she walked away.
    “Oh no,” Benny said to his siblings, “Ms. Werner already likes Buffalo best of all because he ate the Wundermutt food!”
    “Don’t worry,” Jessie assured her little brother. “The auditions have barely begun.”
    Twenty dogs and their owners had made it through the first round. Ms. Werner and Lisa led them all to a special room in the mall reserved for the Wundermutt Company.
    It was a large room. On one side there was an obstacle course, which was a little path with things for a dog to jump over or through—a wooden log, a small bench, a hoop. At the end of the course was a tall slide with thick stairs. On the other side of the room was a small stage with a set made up to look like a kitchen. Finally, at the back of the room, there was a little desk, a table with a coffee pot on it, and a few chairs. It looked like a makeshift office.
    “Now we will pick the top three dogs,” Ms. Werner told everyone. “All the dogs will have to do a few tricks—lie down, play dead, roll over, fetch, and bark.”
    When it was Watch’s turn to do the tricks, he did everything right! He lay down like a carpet and didn’t move. He played dead very well, and he rolled like a log, over and over until Jessie told him to stop. Watch jumped high to catch a ball in his mouth before returning it to Ms. Werner. And best of all, when Jessie told Watch to speak, he barked, loud and sharp.
    “You sure trained him well,” Henry told Jessie. She beamed happily.
    Watch rested while the Aldens watched the other dogs. Ms. Werner