Bella Read online

  Copyright

  First published in Great Britain by Collins in 2001

  Collins

  An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

  1 London Bridge Street,

  London SE1 9GF

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  Text copyright © Jean Ure 2001

  Illustrations by Maggie Ling 2001

  Jean Ure and illustrator assert the moral right to be identified as author and illustrator of the work.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

  Source ISBN: 9780006755104

  Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780008116729

  Version: 2014-12-16

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Keep Reading

  Also by the Author

  About the Publisher

  We are the dogs of Munchy Flats. We live here, with our people.

  I am Buster, and I am the boss dog! I was here first.

  Well, first after the cats. There are two cats in this house. They are called Whiskers and Panda. They are very small, and soft, and furry. Our people call them the Furry Purries. But they have very sharp pins hidden in their paws.

  Dogs have to beware of a cat’s pins. Sometimes they use them to prrrrink! at us as we walk by. And then they run off with their tails in the air, and we chase them! Round the house, up the stairs. Into the bedroom, on to the beds.

  We love a good chase!

  We never hurt them. Sometimes I might sit on one – by mistake, of course! But we are all the best of friends. And we all have a story to tell, about how we came to be here.

  This one is Bella’s.

  Bella came from a very posh family. Both her mother and her father were pedigrees, which means that Bella is a pedigree, too. Her real name is Princess Isadora of Bude. She has papers to prove it!

  Me, I’m just a mongrel. Some people say that mongrels are the best. Naturally, I agree with them! But Bella was always very proud of being a pedigree. She admits, now, that she was rather boastful. She used to tell all the dogs she met, “I’m a pedigree.” Of course, some of them were pedigrees, too, but they didn’t go round boasting about it.

  Bella was born into what is called ‘the lap of luxury’. Her mother was a top show dog who had won many prizes. All her pups were worth a great deal of money. Only rich people could afford to buy a pup like Bella.

  Soon after she was born, an elderly lady came to the house. She looked at the puppies – two boys and three girls – and out of them all, she chose Bella!

  “She thought I was just so adorable,” says Bella. “She couldn’t resist me!”

  Even now, you see, Bella can’t help being just a little bit vain of the way she looks. It is true that she is very pretty, with her little round face and her big melting eyes. But she doesn’t have to keep telling us! And I don’t think she ought to look in the mirror quite as often as she does.

  As soon as she was big enough to leave her mother, Bella went to live in her new home with the elderly lady. The lady’s name was Mrs Jessop, and she called Bella her little princess. She also called her Sweetykins and Booboos; and sometimes Honeybun. When Bella tells us this we all go “Bluurgh!” and pretend to be sick. Bella can’t understand it. I think, secretly, she quite enjoyed being called those silly names.

  She also enjoyed being treated like a little princess! She had her own special eating bowl and her own special drinking bowl, with her name printed on them. She had her own special towels and her own special cushion (also with her name printed on them). Her top knot was tied with a red ribbon, and her collar was studded with jewels.

  After every meal, Mrs Jessop brushed Bella’s teeth with a special brush, and every day she combed her coat with a special comb. Bella was very proud of her coat. It was always silky and shiny. It never had snaggly bits or tangles.

  Twice a day she went for a gentle stroll round the park. She was allowed to talk to other dogs, but she wasn’t allowed to get dirty. If it was cold she wore a special coat, and if it was raining she only walked round the block.

  In the evening, Bella sat on Mrs Jessop’s lap while she watched television, and at night she slept in Mrs Jessop’s bed, under the duvet.

  She only ever had the best to eat. Breast of chicken and fillet steak. Steamed fish or a poached egg. She never had bones, or common dog biscuits.

  “Only the best for Booboos!” That is what Mrs Jessop used to say.

  “Only the best, because Booboos is special. Aren’t you, my little sweetykins? My little Honeybun? A very special girly! And kissy, kissy, kissy! How her mummy loves her!”

  I’m afraid I have to say that Bella was a very spoilt little dog.

  Mrs Jessop had a daughter, whose name was Sophie. Miss Sophie is what Bella calls her. Sometimes Bella and Mrs Jessop would get into Mrs Jessop’s car and drive across town to visit her. Miss Sophie didn’t really like Mrs Jessop bringing Bella, because she had two dogs of her own. Bella and Miss Sophie’s dogs didn’t get on too well.

  The truth was, Miss Sophie’s dogs couldn’t stand the way that Bella kept boasting, and looking at herself in the mirror.

  “Of course, I’m a pedigree,” she would say, splaying out a paw to show her little pink nails, all polished and pearly. “You’re not pedigrees, are you?”

  She knew very well that they weren’t!

  “They were just ordinary mongrels,” she says. And then she remembers her manners, and claps a paw to her mouth.

  “There is nothing ordinary about a mongrel,” I tell her.

  At that, Bella looks ashamed of herself and assures me that she didn’t mean to be rude.

  I tell her that she really must stop saying these things. She hangs her head and admits that in the old days she said them all the time. No wonder Miss Sophie’s dogs didn’t like her.

  Miss Sophie’s dogs were called Millie and Kim. Kim was tall and scruffy, like a greyhound with long hair. Millie was small and spotted, with ears that stuck out sideways.

  “She looked like she was about to take off,” giggles Bella.

  “I hope you didn’t tell her that,” I say, sternly.

  But she most probably did. She had been brought up to believe that she was a little princess and could say whatever she liked.

  To begin with, Millie and Kim tried hard to be friends with Bella. They invited her into the garden for games of chase, or rough and tumble, but Bella wasn’t used to being jumped on, or rolled in the mud. She ran back indoors, with her tail between her legs, and scrabbled to get on Mrs jessop’s lap.

  “Oh, poor Booboos!” cried Mrs Jessop. “What have the nasty rough doggies done to her?”

  After that, the nasty rough doggies were told to behave themselves or they would have to be locked out. Can you imagine anything more unfair? Two poor dogs being locked out of their own home all because of a silly little spoilt thing with a ribbon in its hair?


  “Maybe it would be better,” said Miss Sophie, one day, “if you could leave Bella behind.”

  But Mrs Jessop wouldn’t hear of it. Leave Bella behind? What a thing to suggest! Bella went everywhere with Mrs Jessop – even into shops where it quite clearly said NO DOGS ALLOWED. Mrs Jessop simply tucked Bella under her arm and went sailing in. And because she was very rich, nobody dared to say anything. Other dogs – common dogs – could be left outside, tied to the railings; but not the little princess!

  “We don’t want horrid people stealing her, do we, Sweetykins? She’s her mummy’s pride and joy, and she’s worth a lot of money!”

  You can understand why Bella grew so vain and boastful.

  “I don’t think I was very nice,” she says now, looking at me, sadly. “You wouldn’t have liked me then, Buster!”

  Kim and Millie certainly didn’t like her. They used to call her rude names. Stupid Squashy Nose and Flatty Fat Face. She was rather plump, in those days. She had too many good things to eat, and not enough exercise. She would sit on Mrs Jessop’s lap on the sofa, and curl her lip at Millie and Kim, daring them to come near her.

  “You keep away from me, you’re just mongrels!”

  She felt very brave, sitting on Mrs Jessop’s lap. But if ever Mrs Jessop left the room, Bella was quick to scamper after her. She even went to the bathroom with her. One time, when she didn’t get there fast enough and Mrs Jessop had shut the door, Kim and Millie stood at the bottom of the stairs and jeered at her.

  “Better be careful, Snot Nose! We’re going to roll you in the mud!”

  Bella cowered against the bathroom door. She wasn’t nearly as brave without Mrs Jessop!

  The minute Mrs Jessop came out of the bathroom, Kim and Millie ran away. They weren’t stupid! Bella jumped up and clutched at Mrs Jessop’s legs, trying to tell her how horrid they had been; but all Mrs Jessop said was, “Don’t do that, Sweetykins! There’s a good girl. You’ll put a hole in Mummy’s tights.”

  Kim and Millie were always careful to behave themselves when people were around. Nobody knew the horrible things they said to Bella.

  “We’re going to get you, Squitty Squat Bum!”

  “I think they’re beginning to accept her,” beamed Mrs Jessop. “They know she’s a very special little doggy, don’t they? And they have to treat her extra nicely!”

  Bella sat on Mrs Jessop’s lap and looked as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She was a very special little doggy. She had to be treated extra nicely.

  Then, one day, something terrible happened. Mrs Jessop fell ill and had to go into hospital. Bella was left all by herself! She was there for a whole night, and half a day, whimpering and whining. It was the first time she had ever been left.

  Eventually, Miss Sophie came and took her away.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with us,” she said. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but it’s better than a kennel.”

  She took Bella back to live with her, and with Millie and Kim.

  That was the day that Bella’s little world fell apart.

  “Squitty Bum!”

  “Fat Face!”

  “We’re going to get you!”

  Poor Bella. I know she is vain and boastful, but you can’t help feeling sorry for her. Her little world had collapsed, and her happy life had turned into a nightmare.

  As long as Miss Sophie was there, Kim and Millie behaved themselves. But the minute Miss Sophie went out, they turned on Bella.

  “Squitty Bum!”

  “Fat Face!”

  “We’re going to get you!”

  They never did anything to hurt her; they just wanted to teach her a lesson. They tore the ribbon out of her hair and they rolled her in the mud. They told all their friends in the park that she was stuck up and vain.

  The dogs in the park were very big and rough. It wasn’t at all like the nice, neat, little clean park where she had walked so gently with Mrs Jessop. This was a big real dog park, full of trees and smells and delightful muddy puddles.

  Millie and Kim liked nothing better than to roll in the puddles and go exploring in the woods. They dared Bella to go with them, but she wouldn’t. She was frightened.

  “I might get lost.”

  “Good thing, too,” jeered Millie.

  They told all their big rough friends that she was a scaredy cat. What an insult! To call a dog a scaredy cat! But in those days Bella didn’t behave very much like a dog. She behaved more like a little pampered doll.

  The other dogs taunted her.

  “What’s the matter, Fat Face? Afraid of getting our nice shiny coat all dirty?”

  The big rough dogs didn’t care if their coats got tangled or covered in mud. But Bella was proud of her coat! Mrs Jessop had always kept it so beautifully groomed and silky. This really annoyed all the other dogs. What kind of dog was it that didn’t want to roll in the mud or go hunting?

  One day they all surrounded her, in a big circle, and drove her towards the woods.

  “You’re going in there, Fat Face!”

  Bella was terrified. There was a big fierce dog that was half German Shepherd, and a great squat black thing with little piggy eyes, and a small angry terrier that snapped at her. And, of course, Millie and Kim who were enjoying themselves. At last! They were getting their own back!

  “In you go, Sweetykins!”

  They pushed at her with their noses, and barged at her with their shoulders, until they had forced her into a patch of bramble. Long strings of prickles snagged her coat. Sharp spiky things stabbed the delicate pads of her feet. The other dogs’ pads were quite hard and horny from all the walking they had done; they hardly noticed the prickles. But Bella’s little pads were pink and soft and the prickles really hurt.

  Bella whimpered, piteously, but the others just laughed.

  “Cry baby!” they jeered.

  One by one, the dogs’ owners began to call them.

  “Florence!”

  “Juno!”

  “Brandy!”

  Florence was the German Shepherd. Juno was the squat black thing with the piggy eyes. Brandy was the little terrier. They all went racing off, leaving Bella caught in a tangle of briars.

  “Oh, dear,” said Kim. She put a paw to her mouth. “Looks like you’re stuck!”

  And then they heard Miss Sophie.

  “Bella! Millie! Kim!”

  “Time to go” said Millie. “Bye bye, Sweetykins!”

  Millie and Kim went wheeling off, side by side across the grass. Bella’s heart began to pound. Every time she tried to move, the briars wrapped themselves more firmly round her. She was trapped! She would never get out!

  Of course, Miss Sophie soon managed to rescue her. But, oh dear! Poor Bella! What a sorry sight! Her poor little pads were sore and bleeding, and her beautiful coat was all matted and snagged.

  “What a silly thing to do!” said Miss Sophie.

  Miss Sophie carried Bella home and bathed her poor feet and did her best to comb out the tangles, but Bella could feel there were still some knots and sniggly bits. Mrs Jessop would never have let her go round like that! And Millie and Kim had torn Bella’s lovely red ribbon to pieces and Miss Sophie had just laughed. She had said they were bad dogs, but she hadn’t really meant it. She had thought it was funny.

  Miss Sophie had even thought it funny when they had a tug of war with Bella’s special cushion that had her name on it. She hadn’t thought it quite so funny when they ripped a big hole in it and all the insides came out, all over the floor; but she still didn’t tell them off.

  “Oh, dear,” she said. “That was naughty! But really... a silk cushion! For a dog!”

  At bedtime, Millie and Kim went upstairs, but they wouldn’t let Bella go up there. They lay on the top landing and curled their lips at her.

  “You’re not allowed,” they said. “This is our place.”

  Bella had to stay downstairs, all by herself. She often thought of Mrs Jessop, and th
e way they had curled under the duvet together, all snug and warm. How she missed those happy times. Would they ever come back?

  One day, Miss Sophie put Bella on her lead and said, “Come along then, Bella! Let’s go and see your mum.”

  Bella’s heart beat faster. Was Miss Sophie taking her home?

  No! It was a home; but not Bella’s home. It was a home for old people. Mrs Jessop was lying in bed looking very frail. Her face lit up at the sight of Bella.

  “My little princess!” she cried.

  Bella jumped on to the bed and covered her with kisses. She was so excited! She really thought that she was going to stay there. But after a while, Miss Sophie said they had to go.

  “You will look after my little princess, won’t you?” whispered Mrs Jessop.

  Miss Sophie said, “Yes, Mum! Of course I will.”

  Bella was lifted off the bed and taken back across the park to Miss Sophie’s house, where Millie and Kim were waiting for her.

  “Oh,” they said, “so you’re back, are you? We’d hoped she might leave you somewhere.”

  “Like in a dustbin,” said Kim; and they both sniggered.

  “I shan’t be here for long,” said Bella.

  She really believed it. She really believed that any day soon she would be going back to her Mrs Jessop. For good, this time.

  “You won’t ever be going back,” said Millie. She had heard Miss Sophie speaking on the telephone. “We’re stuck with you. Unfortunately.”

  Bella tried very hard not to believe what Millie had said. Never going back to her old lady? Of course she was going back! Mrs Jessop loved her! She called her Sweetykins and Booboos and My Very Own Precious. It couldn’t be true, what Millie had said. Mrs Jessop couldn’t live without her little princess!

  All the same, little niggles of doubt began creeping in.

  One day when the others were being extra specially mean to her, Miss Sophie told them quite sharply to behave themselves.