Sweetie Read Free Page B

house.”
    “That’ll be easy,” said Charles. “Sweetie is so small I could practically put her in my pocket.”
    Charles’s dad drove the boys over to David’s. Sweetie rode in her crate in the back of the van, but when they arrived, Charles tucked her into his backpack. At first she wriggled and whined, but when Charles petted her, she settled down. She looked so cute with her curly head poking out and her bright eyes shining.
    David met them at the front door with his finger over his lips. “Shh,” he said. “Slinky’s in the living room.” The boys tiptoed to the basement door and slipped downstairs. Only then did Charles let Sweetie out of his backpack. She leapt out, light as a feather, and shook herselfjust like Buddy always did after a bath. She blinked at the boys.
    Well, hello. A new audience for my tricks!
    “She’s tiny!” said David.
    “Tiny? She’s minuscule.” Sammy bent down to pet her. “Hi there, Sweetie.”
    “Wait’ll you see this.” Charles sat on the bottom step and patted his knee. “Up, Sweetie!” She bounded over and leapt onto his knee. “Kisses!” he said. He lowered his head so she could lick his cheek.
    “Wow!” David sat down on the weight bench. “Will she jump onto my lap?”
    “Try it,” Charles said.
    “Up, Sweetie!” David patted his lap. In a flash, Sweetie was sitting there, her ears perked up and her tail wagging. “Man!” said David. “If I could jump like that, I would be in the Olympics!”
    Then Sammy had to try. Sweetie jumped into his lap, too.
    “This dog should be in the circus,” said Sammy.
    David came over to pet Sweetie. “This dog
could
be in the circus,” he said. “If my cousin adopted her!”

CHAPTER FIVE
    “What are you talking about?” Sammy asked.
    “My cousin Ducky. He’s in the circus, and he’ll be here in two weeks!” David’s eyes sparkled. “His circus is doing a show in the city, and he’s staying with us for three whole days.”
    Sammy looked over at Charles, eyebrows raised. Charles knew what that meant. Sammy thought this was another of David’s wild stories. “The circus, huh?” Sammy asked. “What, is he an acrobat or something? A lion tamer?”
    David shook his head. “Ducky’s a juggler.”
    “Really?” asked Charles. He had always wanted to learn to juggle. His dad could juggle three oranges. He made it look easy, but when Charles tried, he always dropped the oranges so that theyrolled all over the kitchen floor and got mushy, which didn’t make Mom too happy. Dad had tried to teach Charles, but so far Charles just didn’t get it. “That’s cool.”
    “I know,” said David. “Ducky
is
cool. You should see what he can do. Once I saw him juggle seven golf balls. Or sometimes he juggles whatever is near him, like a hammer, a coffee mug, and a pillow. And he can palm a basketball in each hand, and do magic tricks, and eat fire!”
    Charles noticed that Sammy’s eyebrows shot up a little higher each time David said something about Ducky. So what if Sammy didn’t believe David? Charles couldn’t wait to hear more.
    “He’s amazing,” David finished. “And he’s really nice, too. He loves animals, and they love him. Even Slinky will sit in his lap to get petted.”
    “Do you really think he would adopt Sweetie? A circus would be the perfect place for her.” Charles could just picture Sweetie inthe spotlight, in the middle of a three-ring circus under a colorful tent. She would wear a shiny crown and maybe a sparkly costume, and she would jump through hoops, do tricks, maybe even ride bareback on a horse. Smart little Sweetie could probably learn to do anything. And the audience would clap and cheer and throw flowers to the newest star. Charles patted his knee. “Up, Sweetie!” The tiny dog ran over and jumped onto his lap. “What do you think?” he asked her. “Want to join the circus?”
    Sweetie looked up at him with bright, shiny eyes.
    Whatever you’re asking, the answer is yes,