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"Maggie, come here,
please," called Gran. Maggie was outside playing when she heard her gran
calling her. "Maggie," she called again.
Maggie ran into the house.
"Yes, Gran?" she asked.
"Grandpa went into town and
has a surprise for you," she said.
"For me? A surprise? Oh,
Gran. Tell me what it is," Maggie begged.
"I can’t do that but I
promise you that you’ll love it," Gran teased.
"Where’s Grandpa?" Maggie
asked.
"He’s out in the front
garden. Why don’t you go out and see?"
Maggie opened the front
door and went outside. Grandpa was standing next to a box. "Grandpa,"
Maggie called. "Is that my surprise? What is it?" she called excitedly,
running over to it.
"Open it up and see for
yourself," Grandpa said.
Maggie lifted the box.
"It’s a puppy," Maggie squealed. She reached down and picked up a small,
light brown dog with big floppy ears. "Oh, Grandpa. I love it." She
cuddled the dog tightly. It licked her face.
"He’s part cocker spaniel.
That’s why he has long ears. What are you going to call him?" Grandpa
asked.
"Is he really mine,
Grandpa? He’s so adorable. I don’t know what I’ll call him. I’ll have to
think about it," Maggie said.
She carried the puppy into
the house. "Gran, look at my new puppy. Isn’t he precious? I love him,"
she said, hugging him close.
"You have to take good care
of him, Maggie. You need to give him water and feed him every day," Gran
told her.
"I will. Oh, Gran," Maggie
said, running up and hugging her. "Thank you so much, and Grandpa, for the
puppy."
"What are you going to call
him? Gran asked.
"I don’t know yet. I’ll
have to think of a name," Maggie replied. She took the puppy outside into
the back garden. She lay down on the grass. The puppy ran all about,
coming up now and then to lick her ears and her nose. His little tail
wagged back and forth as he ran about. Maggie laughed as she watched him.
As she was watching him
play she began to think of a name for him. "Let’s see, should I call him
Spot? No, he hasn’t got any spots. Should I call him Rover? No, that’s not
a cute name." On and on she went, trying to think of a name just right for
the puppy.
The puppy discovered a
ladybug. It was fluttering about the flower garden. He chased it through
the gladiolas, iris, and hyacinths. He started barking this soft little
yap. Maggie laughed again. The ladybug landed on the ground. The puppy
stuck his nose in the ground and tried to eat the ladybug. He then took
his short little legs and started to dig a hole in the ground. Dirt went
flying everywhere.
"Here, puppy," Maggie
called. When the puppy came running back to her, it had a big clump of
deep brown dirt stuck to his nose. "I know what I’m going to call you now.
Your name is going to be Digger, because you like to dig holes."
"Gran, Grandpa, come
outside. I’ve got a name for my puppy," Maggie called.
They walked outside. "What
is it lass?" Grandpa asked.
"I’m going to call him
Digger. He likes to dig," Maggie smiled.
"Well, make sure he doesn’t
dig my flowers up," Gran said and went back in the house.
Maggie picked up the puppy
and took him in. She whispered to him, "No more digging Gran’s flowers,
Digger." He stuck his tongue out and licked her nose. Maggie laughed and
laughed and laughed.
That night she fell asleep
with Digger lying next to her. What a wonderful surprise that had been to
get a new puppy! |
