Chapter 1
Ella Edwards poured milk on to her cereal and dreamily stirred it with a spoon. If only she didnât have to go to school this morning! Ella wanted to stay at home and play with Blue, her new husky puppy sheâd rescued from a box in the nearby country park. Ella had found Blue a whole week ago, but the excitement of owning a puppy hadnât worn off. She couldnât spend enough time with him!
âHurry up, Ella,â said Mum, putting the milk back in the fridge.
âSorry,â Ella answered, hastily spooning up cornflakes.
She glanced at Blue, dozing in his new dog bed. Suddenly he stiffened, his blue eyes flew open and he pricked up his ears. Then he jumped up and raced for the door, frantically scratching for it to be opened. Ellaâs spoon clattered into the bowl as she pushed her chair back. Her heart raced with excitement. What was wrong with Blue? Were the Starlight Snow Dogs howling to him? Quickly Ella opened the door and followed Blue into the hall.
Ella had an incredible secret. She was the leader of the Starlight Snowdogs, a magical team of huskies that included Blue. Together, she and her dogs looked after the Arctic, protecting its wildlife from man-made problems. The other five dogs lived in the Arctic and when there was a situation that needed taking care of, they let Blue know by howling. Then Ella was magically whisked away to join the Starlight Snowdogs on a flying sledge pulled by Blue. But as Ella chased Blue along the hall she realised her mistake. Their adventures always started outdoors. Blue hadnât heard the Starlight Snowdogs howling, he was investigating another noiseâ¦
Blue had heard the postman.
The letterbox flap opened and the postman jammed three letters through it. Claws skittering on the wood, Blue growled then sprang in the air, deftly catching the letters before they touched the floor.
âBlue, no!â Ella cried.
Blue growled playfully and shook the letters from side to side.
âLeave!â panted Ella, catching him up.
At first Blue refused to drop the letters. Thinking it was a game, he pulled away from Ella.
âBlue, drop!â said Ella, forcing herself to stay calm. Blue didnât mean to be naughty and often his antics were very funny, but he was still on trial; Ellaâs parents had only agreed to keep him if he behaved himself. Torn post wouldnât help his cause to stay.
âBlue,â said Ella sternly. âDrop.â
Reluctantly Blue relaxed his grip on the letters, allowing Ella to prise them from his sharp teeth and examine the damage.
âOh, Blue!â she said, sadly shaking her head.
All three letters had small holes in. Ella sorted through them. Two were junk mail so that didnât matter, but the third was in a brown envelope with a clear window for the address.
A bill, thought Ella.
Luckily the bill had been sandwiched between the other letters so the teeth-shaped holes werenât as deep as they could have been. Ella smoothed out the creased envelope, then putting it under the junk mail, she went back to the kitchen.
âPost,â she said hesitantly.
Mum was rushing round tidying the breakfast things up before she started work.
âPut it on the table. Iâll look at it in a minute,â she said absently.
Ella breathed a sigh of relief. The envelopes didnât look too bad and with any luck Mum wouldnât notice when she opened them.
Daisy, Ellaâs big sister, was in a hurry too, ramming things into her school bag.
âCan I take an extra snack? Iâve got a maths revision class after school, followed by two hours on the ice. Weâre practising for the figure-skating competition. Katieâs mum said sheâll drive us to the rink if you can bring us home.â
âThatâs fine,â said Mum. âTake some fruit and a bag of crisps.â
âThanks, Mum. Out the way, Blue,â said Daisy, stepping over him to get to the cupboard.
Ella finished her cereal and, checking the clock, saw that there were still ten minutes before her own friend Isabel called for her. Enough time to throw a few balls for Blue, who was easily bored and needed lots of entertainment to keep him out of mischief.
âIâll take Blue out in the garden for a bit,â she said.
âGood idea,â said Mum. âPlease can you let the hens out for me? I havenât had time to do it yet.â
âOK,â said Ella.
Blue gambolled after Ella as she crossed the dew-soaked grass to let Mumâs silky bantams, small fluffy hens, out of their hutch. Goldie, the bossiest, stared haughtily at Blue as she marched down the ramp and on to the grass.
âBlue, leave,â said Ella firmly, as Blue went to follow her.
Blue only wanted to make friends, but the silky bantams didnât understand and Ella couldnât blame them. Blue left Goldie alone, but put a paw on the ramp to say hello to Cluck, Whisper and Echo.