Oscar's Lonely Christmas (6 page)

Sniffing suspiciously, Oscar walked all round the tree, which was surrounded by rustly parcels. The twirly ribbon on one of them caught around his paw, and he shook it. It sprang back. Oscar patted the ribbon with his paw. It was trying to escape!

He seized the parcel in his teeth, shaking it to and fro fiercely – he loved
the feel of the paper tearing. Then he settled down happily to chew the long, pink woolly thing that was inside.

When Hannah, Zak and their parents and Auntie Jess walked in from their Christmas shopping trip a little while later, Oscar was fast asleep on the living-room floor. He was surrounded by shreds of silver wrapping paper and twirly ribbon, and the ruins of the pretty, fluffy pink scarf that had been Auntie Jess’s Christmas present for Hannah.

“Oh! Look what that naughty dog’s done!” Auntie Jess cried. “You really need to get him to behave. He’s ruined Hannah’s present!”

Oscar woke up and slunk guiltily over to Hannah, trailing pink ribbons.
“Bad dog, Oscar!” Mum said crossly.

“You aren’t!” Hannah whispered, cuddling him. She looked up at Mum. “It isn’t really his fault. We left him alone all day. I know he was naughty, but it’s because he’s bored!” Then she added very quietly, “And I didn’t like that scarf anyway, Oscar…”

Chapter Seven

Everyone woke early on Christmas Day. Hannah and Zak were desperate to open their stockings, and Mum and Dad had to start cooking the Christmas lunch. Gran was coming, and their other grandma and grandad, and Uncle Mark and his family – Hannah and Zak’s three little cousins. Dad had bought an enormous turkey.
Oscar was sitting by the oven looking hopeful – it smelled so good!

Hannah was really looking forward to seeing her cousins again, but she was worried about Oscar. Jamie, Tara and Phoebe were all quite young – Phoebe was only two like Zak – and they weren’t really used to dogs. Hannah had a horrible feeling they would be chasing round trying to hug Oscar all day, and he wasn’t going to like it.

Luckily, Oscar loved his Christmas present from her, a really big chewy bone, and that distracted him for a little while, even when Uncle Mark and all the children arrived. But then they spotted Oscar lying on his cushion.

“Hello, doggie!” Phoebe squealed.

“Oooohh!” Tara cried excitedly.
“Can I play with him?” Tara didn’t even wait for an answer, she ran straight at Oscar, and sat down on his cushion next to him.

Oscar jumped back in horrified surprise. One minute he’d been happily chewing his lovely new bone, and the next minute somebody was trying to grab it off him! He looked up at Hannah pleadingly, begging her to rescue him.

“Tara, Oscar’s cushion is his special place,” Hannah started to explain. “He doesn’t like other people sitting on it.”

Tara’s face went sulky. “Don’t boss me about!” she told Hannah crossly.

“I’m not,” Hannah sighed. She gave Oscar a gentle pat, and he clambered off his cushion and scuttled out into the hallway.

Everywhere Oscar went that morning Auntie Jess kept glancing nervously at him, or one of the cousins was grabbing at him. And then Uncle Mark accidentally kicked him when he was sitting under the table hoping for a treat during Christmas lunch. Oscar dashed out from under the table with a howl, and Hannah scooped him up and cuddled him.

“You’re having a bad day, aren’t you, Oscar?” she murmured. “Poor sweetie. Mum, can I give Oscar a little bit of turkey? Please? Just to cheer him up?”

Mum looked doubtful, but then she said, “Oh, I suppose as a Christmas treat. But in his food bowl in the kitchen, Hannah, so he doesn’t think he’s being fed from the table.”

Hannah nodded and tried not to look guilty. She quite often slipped Oscar bits of food under the table. She knew she shouldn’t, but he had such good eyes for begging with.

The turkey was the best bit of the day for Oscar. It was delicious, and he forgot about the noisy, grabby children while he was wolfing it down. But as soon as the Christmas lunch was
finished, he saw Jamie slipping down from his chair and reaching out to stroke him. Oscar made a dash for it out of the living room, where Mum and Dad had set up a folding table for lunch.

Out in the hallway he made for his hiding place under the stairs, wriggling right to the back under a pile of coats.

“Where’s your dog gone?” Jamie asked Hannah.

Hannah crossed her fingers behind her back. “I don’t know,” she told him. She didn’t actually; it wasn’t a total lie. But she very much suspected he was hiding under the stairs.

Dad called Jamie to come back into the living room, telling everyone that a really good film was about to start, and
the little boy ran off. Hannah gave a relieved sigh. If she helped Mum finish off clearing the table and everyone else was watching the film, perhaps she could sneak off and give Oscar a cuddle on his own – without any cousins or little brothers wanting to join in.

Oscar lay there in the dark, remembering the taste of the turkey, and wishing Hannah was there. But he didn’t dare come out of his hiding place to find her.

Hannah carried the last of the empty pudding bowls into the kitchen, and piled them up next to all the other plates. “I’m just going to check on Oscar,” she told her mum.

“Oh yes,” Mum said. “He’s not really enjoying all these people, is he? Do you
want to stay in here with him for a bit? I don’t think he’ll want to go in the living room.”

“Won’t Auntie Jess and Granny and Gran and everyone think I’m being rude?” Hannah asked.

Mum laughed. “I think they’re all going to fall asleep watching this film, Hannah, everyone’s so full of food. It’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Mum.” Hannah hugged her.

Her mum hugged her back, but then let go quickly. “Oh no! What’s Zak screaming about?” And she hurried off to the living room to sort it out.

Hannah sighed. Zak again, just when she’d been having a nice moment with Mum. She padded out into the
hallway, spotting Mum cuddling a still-wailing Zak. Jamie and Tara were moaning that they couldn’t hear the film, and Phoebe looked like she might join in the howling.

Hannah squeezed herself into the alcove under the stairs, and giggled as a chilly little nose dabbed at her hand. “You’ve got the right idea, Oscar,” she murmured. “It’s a nightmare out there!”

Oscar nuzzled her gratefully, feeling sure that she would protect him from the other children. He climbed into her lap and huffed out a satisfied little yawn. He was safe now Hannah was with him.

Hannah stroked him thoughtfully. “It’s a bit squished for me under here, Oscar.” She sighed. “But I really don’t
want to go and watch that film with all the others.” She could still hear Zak moaning, and Mum was sounding as though she was losing patience. Then Hannah brightened, a smile curving her lips. “Let’s go for a walk, Oscar! A special Christmas walk.”

Oscar scrambled down from her lap, his tail wagging. He knew what walk meant, and he definitely approved of the idea.

“Let’s go and ask Mum.” Hannah hauled herself out of the gap under the stairs.

But when she peeped round the living-room door, with Oscar peeping round her legs in turn, Zak’s moans had progressed into a full-blown wobbly. Mum and Dad strode past her
– Dad carrying Zak, and Mum looking embarrassed and cross. It wasn’t the time to go asking about walks.

But Oscar was looking up at her so hopefully. Hannah frowned. “I know. We’ll leave a note for Mum on the kitchen table. I’m sure it’ll be OK.”

She fetched Oscar’s lead, and wrapped herself in her warmest things, putting on an extra pair of socks before stepping into her wellies. The snow was quite thick out there.

The living-room door was part open and she could see Gran was asleep on the sofa, with little Phoebe asleep on her. Hannah didn’t want to wake them, or disturb the others watching the film. She wrote a quick note, promising to be back soon, and left it on the kitchen table. With a sudden excited smile, she took a couple of carrots from the vegetable basket. Then she and Oscar slipped quietly out of the front door.

A few minutes later, Mum came down after settling Zak for a sleep. She fetched the mince pies out of the living room, just in case Oscar tried to nibble them, and put down the plate on the kitchen table. Right on top of Hannah’s note.

Chapter Eight

Oscar padded happily through the crisp snow, his paws crunching at every step. It felt good and he wanted to run. He looked up hopefully at Hannah. She laughed, and they raced down the road.

“I’ve got some carrots,” Hannah told Oscar, when they stopped, panting, the cold air burning their throats. “Shall we go and see the horses?”

They walked past Hannah’s school, where the playground was a sheet of snow, without a single footprint. At last, they reached the riding school fields. The horses were standing clustered together, looking rather mournful.

“The carrots will cheer them up,” Hannah told Oscar. As they reached the fence, she boosted Oscar up so that he had his paws on the top rail, and she rested his bottom against her. “Ooh, Oscar, I’m not sure how long I can do this,” she told him. “You’re definitely getting heavier!”

She held the carrots out invitingly, and the horses came trotting over.

Oscar wagged his tail delightedly and stretched out his nose to nuzzle at the horses as they gobbled the carrots.

“Mind they don’t accidentally nibble you too,” Hannah warned him, laughing as she pulled him away. They watched happily as the horses nosed around, looking for more carrots. Finally, they gave up and wandered off.

Hannah sighed. “I suppose we should go home. It’s starting to snow again, look!”

Oscar gazed up at her. He could tell from her tone that she didn’t really want to, and he wagged his tail hopefully.

“I suppose we could stay out a little longer,” Hannah said slowly. “It isn’t getting dark yet, and I shouldn’t think anyone will have missed us.” She sighed again and hugged Oscar close, feeling suddenly lonely.

But her sad mood was quickly broken as Oscar licked her face lavishly, making her splutter and giggle. “OK. Let’s go to the woods, shall we? We can walk down to the stream. It might even be frozen!”

They tramped along the snowy path, Hannah admiring the layer of crystal snow decorating the branches as they drew closer to the woods. It had drifted
deeply under the trees, and Hannah and Oscar ran along kicking up the snow, Oscar barking happily. His barks echoed around the empty woodland, and Hannah chased him in and out of the dark trees.

Oscar felt better than he had in ages. All the grumpiness had gone. He shook his ears and barked, then barked again as a load of snow fell down from a branch with a shivery thump.

At last, they settled down for a rest on a fallen tree by the edge of the stream. It was so beautiful – the stream was just starting to ice over at the edges. Hannah sighed happily. This was much better than sitting in the stuffy house. But they should probably go back soon, or it would be getting dark. She looked up at
the sky and realized with a sharp shock that the sun was out again, but it was low in the sky, and the shadows had grown longer and darker. They must have been out longer than she had thought. She sprang up anxiously. “We need to go home, Oscar. It’s late.”

Oscar looked up at her, and wagged his tail uncertainly. Hannah sounded upset.

She looked around, her eyes wide. “Oscar, which way did we come? I can only see our footsteps just here by the fallen tree, the snow’s covered the rest of them.” She shook herself angrily. “Oh, this is stupid, we can’t be lost.” She walked around the tree trunk, looking carefully at the little paths leading off between the trees.
Which one had they come along? Panic was growing inside her, and her heart was racing. Every time she looked up, the sky was a deeper shade of eerie night-time blue.

“It’s this one, I think,” she muttered uncertainly. “Come on, Oscar.” She didn’t notice Oscar looking back as they set off down the path. He sniffed at the tree trunks thoughtfully as they walked. Why were they going this way?

“This isn’t right,” Hannah said anxiously, after a few minutes. “We ought to be coming out of the trees by now. We’ll have to go back.” She led Oscar down the path again, stumbling over the snow in the gathering dark. Back at the clearing by the stream, Hannah sat down again, for her legs
were shaking. She had to admit that she didn’t know the way.

They were lost.

Oscar looked up at Hannah, confused. She was crying, and he didn’t know why. He leaned his head against her leg lovingly, and she looked down and patted him.

“I’m scared, Oscar,” she murmured. “And it’s so cold. I just want to go home.”

Oscar bounced up, wagging his tail. He knew home, and he could get there. Was that all Hannah wanted? He pulled gently on his lead, and gave a little whine. When she looked up, he barked, telling her to follow.

Hannah blinked. “Home?” she asked. “Can you get us home, Oscar?”

Oscar tugged his lead, and Hannah stumbled after him. The path he chose looked just like all the others to her, but he seemed so sure. Every so often he would stop to sniff at the bushes, then he’d wag his tail and pull her on.

Hannah looked around doubtfully, but Oscar knew exactly where he was going. He trotted on through the wood, and at last she saw the riding school fields at the end of the pathway.

“Oh, Oscar, you little star!” she murmured, crouching down to give him a hug. “But we have to hurry up and get home.” Then her shoulders drooped. “Actually, I suppose it doesn’t matter, except that I’m getting really cold, and I bet you are too. I shouldn’t think anyone will have noticed we’ve been gone.”

They trudged home, past the school, and turned at last into their road. Oscar pricked up his ears as they came round the corner, and Hannah stopped in surprise. Someone was
calling her name. And there it was again. It sounded like Gran.

“Hannah! Hannah!” And that was her dad.

Hannah started walking again, Oscar pulling her down the road. Gran, and Granny and Grandpa, Dad and Uncle Mark, and even Auntie Jess were out in her road, all calling for her.

They
had
missed her then! Her dad looked really worried, and Hannah slowed down a little, realizing that he was probably going to be furious.

“Hannah!” Dad caught sight of her and ran up the road, swinging her into his arms and squeezing her tight. “Where were you? We were so worried, we had no idea where you were!”

“I left a note!” Hannah said,
surprised. “You and Mum were busy with Zak, and Oscar was so miserable… I’m sorry,” she added. “I didn’t mean to be so late. I got lost in the wood, and Oscar found the way home. He was really clever.”

Dad was still holding her as though he thought she might disappear. “We didn’t find a note. Oh, Hannah, you should have told us.”

“But Zak was screaming…”

“It’s OK – we’re not cross. We were scared, Hannah. Please promise you’ll never go off like that again.”

“I won’t. Promise.” Hannah nodded.

Dad crouched down to make a fuss of Oscar. “He brought Hannah home,” he told everyone, as they came up the garden path. “Get inside, Hannah, you must be frozen.”

“Oscar brought you back?” Auntie Jess asked in surprise. “But he’s still just a puppy! Clever boy, Oscar!” And she reached down and patted him gently.

Hannah beamed – Auntie Jess had never stroked Oscar before.

“Hannah!” Zak came running to hug her, and then he hugged Oscar too.

“We were so worried about you!” Mum told her.

“Sorry,” Hannah whispered, but she was watching Zak and Oscar worriedly. Then she realized that Oscar didn’t have his ears laid back, and he was thumping his tail on the hall floor.

“Wow!” Mum murmured. “Oscar’s not being nervous around Zak.” She looked at Oscar thoughtfully. “I suppose he’s just had a really good long walk. You’ve exercised some of his nerves away, Hannah.” Then she frowned as Zak tried to pick Oscar up. “No, Zak. You can stroke Oscar, but you don’t pull him around, OK.”

Hannah looked at Mum in amazement, as she gently pulled Zak away. “Come on, Oscar’s tired and he
wants to go and lie on his cushion now. You play with your new aeroplane. Granny and Grandpa want to see it.” Zak made a face, but he did as he was told, and Mum looked over at Hannah. “What is it?”

“You
never
make Zak leave Oscar alone!” Hannah gasped.

Mum sighed. “Well, we probably should have done. Oscar’s a patient dog, but Zak needs to be a bit more gentle. We’ve been letting him get away with stuff because he’s only little, but this is important. Sorry, Hannah. I know it’s hard being the big sister sometimes.”

“Thanks, Mum!” Hannah threw her arms round her. Then she let go, looking thoughtfully through the
living-room door at Zak playing with their grandparents. “Oscar is Zak’s dog too, though, I suppose. I probably ought to let him join in more.” She sighed, and then brightened up. “When we start dog-training, do you think Zak can come too? He might learn to be more gentle with Oscar if he saw everybody at dog-training being really careful with their dogs.”

Mum laughed. “We need to get on and book those classes after Christmas. But right now Oscar deserves a bit more turkey, don’t you think? Come on, Oscar!”

Hannah nodded, then she put her head round the living-room door. “Zak! Do you want to come and give Oscar some turkey?”

Zak jumped up and took Hannah’s hand. They followed Oscar as he trotted eagerly into the kitchen, and watched him gobble up the turkey. He pushed the bowl round the floor, licking round the sides, making sure he hadn’t missed any. Then he sighed happily, licked Hannah’s foot and slumped down on his cushion.