LITMIR.BIZ

      One day Ginger plopped so far that he got lost and couldn’t find his way back. He sat in a corner, a little blind heap, whimpering for his mum. But it was all right! His mum knew where he was. He hadn’t gone nearly as far as he thought – just across the room, in fact. But it seemed like a really long journey to such a small-sized pup.

      His mum pushed him back to his brother and sisters, who all pounced on him, sniffing at him, trying to work out where he had been. Ginger was just glad to be back in his basket! He had given himself a bit of a fright.

      When the pups were just over a week old, their eyes opened. They could see! Ginger could see all the way across the room, to the corner where he had sat and whimpered. It still seemed quite a long journey.

      And now the pups began to play. They played rolling games and tugging games. They played chasing games and chewing games. They scampered and they romped, and every now and again they got a bit rough and had to be told off by their mum. She wouldn’t stand for being bitten by a mere scrap of a pup!

      Sometimes, a great fluffy thing called a cat came to visit them. It got into their basket and sat there, all puffed up and making purring noises while Ginger and his brother and sisters dabbed at its tail and looked in its ears and munched at its fur.

      The cat didn’t mind. It even rolled over onto its back and let them settle down on top of it.

      Life was fun for Lucy’s puppies!

      Life wasn’t such fun for James Colin.

      It had been fun, once. That was before his baby brother had come along. Now it was simply horrid!

      James Colin had been James Colin right from the very beginning. His mum and dad had chosen his name even before he was born. They had been certain they were going to have a boy, and they did! Just James, all on his own. Which was the way that he liked it.

      He had been the most wonderful baby there ever was. He knew this, because his mum and dad had told him so. Lots and lots of times! They had cooed over him and gurgled over him and waggled their fingers into his pram. They had asked him, “Who is Mummy’s beautiful boy?” “Who is Daddy’s favourite man?” And the answer had always been… James Colin!

      For eight whole years he had been ‘Mummy’s beautiful boy’ and ‘Daddy’s favourite man’. Now a horrible new thing had arrived. It was called Alexander and it was all red and crumpled and not in the least bit beautiful. Sometimes it smelt. This was because it sicked itself or messed in its nappy. But Mum still cooed over it and gurgled, just as she had with James Colin. Ugh! James didn’t know how she could bear to touch it.

      The worst thing was that she expected him to touch it, as well.

      “Come on, James!” she kept saying. “Come and give your little brother a kiss!”

      But James wouldn’t. He didn’t want a little brother! He hadn’t asked for one. He had been quite happy being James, all on his own.

      “Oh, now, don’t be like that!” begged his mum. “You know we still love you just as much.”

      Being loved just as much wasn’t enough. James wanted to be loved more. He wanted to be number one, the same as he had always been.

      In any case, he didn’t believe that his mum did love him just as much. If she still loved him, then why didn’t she take any proper notice of him any more? Why did she spend all her time with the baby? Feeding it, changing it, slobbering over it. She obviously loved the baby far more than she loved James.

      James ran into the kitchen and pulled open the back door. He was going to do something bad. Something really bad.

      He stomped down the path and found a big stick. Then he stomped back up again and slashed with the stick at Mum’s flowers. That would teach her! Now she would have to take notice of him.

Скачать книгу