Natalie Wants a Puppy Read online

  Natalie

  Wants a Puppy

  Other Books By

  Other titles in the Thats Nat Series

  Natalie and the One-of-a-Kind Wonderful Day!

  Natalie Really Very Much Wants to Be a Star

  Natalie: Schools First Day of Me

  Natalie and the Downside-Up Birthday

  Natalie and the Bestest Friend Race

  Natalie Wants a Puppy

  Dandi Daley Mackall

  ZONDERKIDZ

  Natalie Wants a Puppy

  Copyright 2009 by Dandi Daley Mackall

  Illustrations 2009 by Lys Blakeslee

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable 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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

  ePub Edition MARCH 2010 ISBN: 978-0-310-87669-4

  Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Mackall, Dandi Daley.

  Natalie wants a puppy / by Dandi Daley Mackall ; [Lys Blakeslee, illustrator]. p. cm. (Thats Nat!)

  Summary: When six-year-old Natalie learns her parents are adopting a baby from another country, she is not sure she will like being an older sister and she would much rather get a puppy.

  ISBN 978-0-310-71571-9 (softcover)

  [1. AdoptionFiction. 2. Brothers and sistersFiction. 3. Family lifeFiction. 4. Christian lifeFiction.] I. Blakeslee, Lys, 1985-ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.M1905Nr 2009

  [Fic]dc22 2008049739

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  All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

  Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

  Editor: Betsy Flikkema

  Art direction & design: Merit Kathan

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  For Grace Eberhart

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Half Title Page

  Other Books By

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1 Detective Nat

  Chapter 2 Talk, Talk, Talk

  Chapter 3 Mystery Mistakes

  Chapter 4 The Truth about Babies

  Chapter 5 Sunday Showers Cant Grow Flowers

  Chapter 6 The Truth about Brothers and Sisters

  Chapter 7 Get Ready? Get Set? Dont Go!

  Chapter 8 Try, Try, Try Again

  Chapter 9 Stormy Brains

  Chapter 10 Trading Up

  Chapter 11 Adopt-A-Pet

  Chapter 12 Name That Puppy

  Chapter 13 Percy 24 vs. Puppy 24

  Chapter 14 Not So Fun with Math

  Chapter 15 Last Days

  Chapter 16 Runaways

  Chapter 17 Adding It All Up

  About the Publisher

  Share Your Thoughts

  Chapter 1

  Detective Nat

  My name is Detective Nat. Thats what.

  Only you might know me as Natalie 24.

  Or Nat 24.

  Or Nat.

  Or maybe Natalie Elizabeth, if you heard my mom calling me when she was aggravated.

  But today I am mostly Detective Nat. On account of theres a mystery going on around here.

  Come on, Percy, I whisper to my white, fluffy cat, who is also my mom and dads cat. You can be my helper detective.

  Percy prances to my bed and jumps up. Then he curls himself into a white, fluffy ball on my pillow.

  I tiptoe out of my bedroom and look both ways down and up the hall. I can hear my mom talking on the phone in the kitchen. I cant hear her words, but she is laughing at the phone.

  This is an okay thing. Cause I am looking for clues. Clues are like hints that help detectives find out what that mystery is all about. I already have some of those clues.

  Mom got a phone call yesterday and screamed her head offin a happy way.

  She called Daddy, and I heard him scream his head off, all the way through the phone.

  When I asked why people were screaming their heads off, Mom said, We have some good news. Daddy and I will tell you later. Be patient.

  When I asked Daddy why people were screaming their heads off, Daddy said, We have some good news. Mommy and I will tell you later. Be patient.

  Daddy came home with packages and hid them.

  One of those packages is in our closet that lives in our hall. And thats the clue Im going for right now.

  If you are also a detective, you maybe thought those packages are Christmas presents. Only you are wrong about that. I have one more week of kindergarten, and then its summer. And Christmas isnt in summer.

  Or, you maybe thought those packages were secret birthday presents for me. But the two and four in my Natalie 24 name come from my birthday being on Month Number Two and Day Number Four. February four. And thats still a very, very, very, very long ways away. I promise.

  And now you get why theres a mystery.

  I open the door to our hall closet. Only I cant reach the light switch. But I am a lucky detective anyways. Cause that big, flat box Daddy hid in this closet is open. And Im guessing Mommy peeked at it before me.

  I reach inside the box and feel strings in there. Plus, there are bars holding those strings. I pull as hard as I can. It comes out a little bit. This big stringy bar thing looks like a big, funny cage. We have one of those in kindergarten for Ham the Hamster.

  This stringy bar cage is a big, fat clue. Only I dont know why.

  From the kitchen comes a very loud laugh from my mom. No! We havent told her! We thought we had months yet. I cant even imagine what shell say.

  I think Im the her nobodys told yet, and Im the she in I cant even imagine what shell say. So I close the hall closet and sneak on tiptoes up to the kitchen door.

  Now I can hear everything my mom says.

  Mom uses her softer voice. Only I am close enough to hear those soft words. I dont even know if Nat understands what it means to adopt, she says.

  Clue: Adopt.

  I do kind of know this word. My bestest friend who is a boy, Jason, got a cat from a place called Adopt-A-Pet. Only they wouldnt give him another one when that one ran away from home.

  I think shell be as excited as we are! Mommy says louder to the phone.

  Clue: I will be excited about this mystery.

  Are you kidding? Mom laughs her head off. Can you just imagine the kinds of names Nat would come up with?

  Clue: The mystery is something that needs a name.

  I am a good namer. I didnt name Percy. But I named all of my stuffed animals myself. Like Brownie. And Blackie. And Whitey. And Bunny, which is my stuffed bunny. Plus also, Steg-O my dinosaur.

  Right! Mom laughs another head off. Or Fido or Spot, or Only she doesnt finish that one cause shes still laughing too much.

 
; And I dont even need her to finish or talk anymore. On account of my head is adding up all of these clues. Like that I will be excited. And that Mom and Dad didnt tell me this surprise yet. And that there is a string cage in our closet. And I know that word adopt. And that I am going to name something. Plus, especially this last clue:

  I would name this something Fido or Spot.

  And guess what! Those are my dog names!

  So even if youre not a detective like me, you ought to have this mystery solved by now.

  Im getting a puppy!

  Chapter 2

  Talk, Talk, Talk

  Mom! Mommy! my mouth yells, and my feet run to the kitchen instead of staying hiding.

  Natalie, please. Im on the phone, Mom says. I thought you were taking a nap.

  I let her think that so I could be a detective better. I need to talk to you now! I shout. This feels like a true thing. I have to tell her I know this secret. I have a gazillion questions about my new puppy.

  Well, youre going to have to wait, Natalie, Mom says. Im on the phone with your grandmother.

  Granny wont care! I know that my granny would want me to know all about my puppy.

  Nat, Im talking to your California grandmother. This is long distance. Please wait until Im finished.

  Regular Granny is my dads mom. She lives in our same town. My mom is talking to Different Granny, who is my moms mom. And that can get mixed up in your head.

  Sorry, Mom, my mom says to the phone. Go ahead. What were you saying?

  I start to tell Mommy why I have to tell her something. But she shakes her head at me. It is really much hard not talking about my puppy. My heart is thumpy. Inside, I am talking about my puppy over and over: Im getting a puppy! Im getting a puppy!

  Shes right here, my mom says to the phone. Want to talk to her?

  I reach for the phone.

  Before she hands it over, Mom whispers to the phone, Okay, Mom. But dont tell you-know-who about you-know-what. Bill wants to be in on it.

  I know that you-know-who is me. And you-know-what is my puppy. Thats what!

  I take the phone and shout at it, Hi, Gran! California is very much farther away from here than kindergarten is, or even Florida.

  Its okay, Nat, Different Granny says. I can hear you loud and clear, honey.

  I want to spill out this whole secret that I know. Only my mom is staring at me. And my dad, who goes by the name of Bill, wants to be in on it.

  Hows the weather there? Different Granny asks.

  Okay, I say. I cant say more because that mystery secret might come out with more talking.

  I see. Different Granny isnt saying more either. Well, you have a good final week in kindergarten, Natalie.

  Okay. Bye! I shout. I hang up the phone cause I have to ask my mom about my puppy.

  Natalie, dont hang up! Mom cries. She grabs the phone. Only its too late. I wasnt finished talking to your grandmother. Shes already punching in those California numbers.

  But I want to talk to you! I say.

  We will, Nat. I just need to ask Mom something. She frowns at the phone. Busy? She punches the numbers again.

  Mommy? I try.

  Natalie, please go play in your room until your dad gets home. She gives a mean look at the phone again. Still busy? She sets the phone on the counter and goes to the fridge.

  I watch from the hall, like a detective. Mom opens the fridge and stares in. Only she doesnt get anything. Then she laughs, even though our fridge isnt so funny. She holds her head and does a little spin. My mom is dancing in our kitchen.

  Yes! she whisper-shouts. She looks up at our roof. Thank you, God!

  I really want to ask my mom about my puppy. Only she is acting pretty funny.

  Mom whizzes out of the kitchen so fast that she bumps into me. Oops! Natalie, what are you doing here?

  Im, I begin, thinking I could tell her Im Detective Nat and know about my puppy.

  But she talks too fast. Listen, Nat. Daddy and I want to have a talk with you tonight.

  You do? My heart is thumpy again. Can we do it now?

  Not until Daddy gets home.

  I dont think I can wait that long. But

  Nat, please, Mommy begs. I have a million things to do. Go play until your dad gets home, okay?

  This is not okay. I cant play. I have to talk about my puppy. Can I call Laurie? Laurie is my bestest friend who is a girl.

  Sure. Go ahead. Great idea. Call Laurie. But let me know as soon as you hear Daddy, okay? She rushes off to her bedroom.

  I sit on the kitchen stool and call Laurie.

  The phone rings two times before someone answers, Sarahs Tattoo and Bar-B-Q.

  I know this is Lauries house. And this is Brianna, one of Lauries sisters, the not-too-nice one. Sarah is the nice sister. She wears lipstick, but not tattoos. Is Laurie home? I ask.

  Oh, its you, Brianna says. She always sounds like she wants it to be anybody but me. Laurie! she screams. The phone clunks.

  Then Laurie comes on. Hi!

  Laurie, I solved a mystery!

  Cool! Laurie says.

  Plus, its a secret. Only not. Cause I know this secret.

  What, Nat? Laurie sounds all smiley-faced.

  Im getting a puppy! Thats what! Those words spurt out of my mouth and into the phone.

  A puppy! Laurie squeals. Wow, Nat! Thats so cool!

  I know! I love that my bestest friend can be excited with me.

  How come now, Nat? Laurie asks. Its not even your birthday.

  Or Christmas, I add.

  I know! Laurie says. Ill bet theyre giving you a getting-out-of-kindergarten present!

  I hadnt even thought about that. I bet youre right. We got our teacher, Miss Hines, a present for making it through kindergarten. She just gets a book. I cant believe I get a puppy.

  What kind of puppy, Nat? Laurie asks.

  I dont know.

  Didnt you ask?

  No, I answer. But I will. When Daddy comes home, theyre going to talk to me. And Ill find out everything.

  You are so lucky! Laurie says.

  And you too. Cause you can play with it, I tell her.

  Yeah!

  I hear our front door open. Laurie, Daddys home! I have to go and be talked to!

  Chapter 3

  Mystery Mistakes

  I run very fast to the front door. But my mom beats me to it. She hugs Daddy. And Daddy hugs her, even though hes carrying packages. I run up and share this hug.

  I got everything, he says, holding out his arms. They have shopping bags hanging on them.

  Mom says we get to talk! I tell him.

  Daddy dumps his shopping bags and picks me up. He twirls me around, which he never does inside the house almost. You bet well talk, he says. Have we got news for you, kiddo!

  I feel kinda grown-up, on account of I also have news for them. Their news for me is Youre getting a puppy! And my news for them is I know!

  Can we have dinner first? Mom says, laughing.

  No! I beg. I cant wait to talk!

  Im with Nat on this one, Daddy says.

  Okay, Mom agrees.

  I plop down on the floor right where we are, just inside our front door and on our living room rug.

  Cant we at least sit at the table? Mom asks.

  Daddy plops down beside me. Nope.

  Mom laughs and plops down with us. We are three sitting-down-on-the-floor people.

  My mom starts the talking. Nat, I hope you know how happy your dad and I are. We love you, and were so blessed with this family Gods given us. Its because our life is so wonderful, that sometimes we want more family.

  I know! My dog will be a part of our family forever.

  You do, huh? Daddy says, all smiley-faced. What do you know?

  I know the mystery! I cant hold this in any longer. I know the big secret. Thats what!

  Natalie! Mom is big in her eyes. But how

  I heard you. And I found stuff. Like that string cage thing in the closet />
  That stringthe pen? Mom says. The playpen?

  Yep. And Im so excited! Like you knew Id be.

  Daddy laughs. We sure hoped so.

  And Ill think up a great name! Like Foofy. Or Fido. Oror maybe Ill wait and name it when we see what kind it is.

  What kind? Mommy asks.

  You mean like a boy or a girl, right? Daddy says. I can answer that right now. A boy.

  I think about this. I know many good boy names.

  Natalie, Mommy says, do you understand that were adopting?

  I know that word, adopt, I tell them. When can we go pick him out?

  It doesnt work like that, honey, Daddy says.

  Jasons whole family went to the Adopt-A-Pet. They got to vote on their cat, I explain.

  Well, its not that easy for us, Mommy says.

  Why not?

  She pushes my hair out of my face. Because its a lot easier to adopt a cat, sweetheart.

  But not a puppy? I dont understand this part.

  A puppy? Daddy says. He looks fast at Mommy, then back to me. Nat, what do you think were talking about here?

  My puppy! I shout. On account of this is making my head hurt. I want to pick out my own puppy!

  Mom and Dad stare at me. Then they look at each other and bust out laughing. They laugh so hard they fall off the floor onto their backs.

  Its not funny! I shout. Why cant I pick out my own puppy?

  That makes them laugh all over again.

  When they finally stop laughing and sit back up, Mom puts her arm around my shoulder. Natalie, she says, were not getting a puppy. Were getting a baby!

  Chapter 4

  The Truth about Babies