âOver here, Louie!â Bella shouted.
Across Chestnut Park, Bellaâs little brother bent back his arm to throw the ball. Bella ran backwards, reaching up with her hands. Suddenly she stumbled and toppled over, landing on her bottom. The ball sailed over her head.
âGet off!â Bella spluttered, laughing as her little dog Pepper put his paws round her neck and tried to lick her face. âYour breath stinks!â
Louie jogged over. âItâs not his breath,â he said. âPepperâs rolled in something smelly.â
âYuck!â Bella wrinkled her nose and pushed Pepper off. She loved Pepper, but not when he rolled in things.
âYou looked funny,â Louie sniggered. âLanding on your bum like that!â
âIt was a bad throw,â Bella told him. She got up and brushed down her jeans. âHow was I supposed to catch it?â
âHavenât you ever heard of jumping?â Louie asked. âOh, I forgot. Girls canât jump.â
âCome back here and say that again!â
Bella chased Louie, laughing. Barking with excitement, Pepper followed her.
Chestnut Park was shaped like a large triangle. On one side were the backs of the shops and houses on the street where Bella and Louie lived. On another side was a busy road that Bella and Louis knew not to play near. On the third side was a row of much bigger houses, with large gardens and high hedges separated from the park by a stretch of woodland. Pepper loved the woods. Bella guessed that was where heâd found the stinky stuff to roll in.
Louie was running towards the trees. It was downhill part of the way. Bella ran faster, determined to catch him. At the last minute, Louie swerved. Bella couldnât stop. She toppled into the straggly ditch that separated the woods from Chestnut Park. There was a nasty squelch as she sank into the thick brown mud. Somewhere out of sight, she could hear Louie laughing like a hyena.
âThat is so gross!â Bella squealed, staring in dismay at the gunge on her knees and arms.
Pepper put his head through the tall grass on the top of the ditch. One of his ears pricked up and he started barking wildly.
âBe quiet, Pepper,â Bella grumbled, trying to rub the dirt off.
Pepper barked again, running up and down. His eyes were fixed on something near Bella. Bella saw what looked like a large lump of mud lying in the ditch. The lump got on to four legs and waved a long mucky tail at her.
âLouie, come quickly!â Bella shouted.
Louieâs eyes almost popped out of his head. âItâs a mud monster!â he shouted.
âWoof!â Pepper barked, almost beside himself.
âDonât be silly,â said Bella. âItâs a dog. The poor thing must have fallen in the ditch and it couldnât get out again!â
The dog was so caked in mud that it was having trouble opening its eyes. Louie kept a safe distance as Bella cautiously reached out her hand. The dog sniffed her fingers.
âSteady now,â said Bella gently. âIâm not going to hurt you.â
The dogâs tail waved again. It was breathing quite fast, like it was in shock. Bella climbed up the bank. The dog tried to follow, but scrabbled and slid back down. It wasnât wearing a collar. Bella reached down and grabbed its muddy scruff. It was a big dog, and it was heavy. She wasnât sure she could pull it out. But she was determined to try.
The dog panted hard. Its sides were heaving. Bella dug her heels in and pulled. Scrabbling and whining, the dog tried to climb the bank again. This time, it succeeded. It jumped clumsily up at Bella and licked her. This made Bella even muddier, but she didnât care.
Pepper growled and hid behind Louie as the exhausted dog flopped down on the grass. Bella looked around for the dogâs owner. Apart from her and Louie, there was no one else in Chestnut Park.
âWhere did it come from?â Louie asked, coming a little closer.
âMud Monster Land,â said Bella, rolling her eyes. âOh, and thanks for all your help. I couldnât have done it without you.â
âI didnât know it was a dog, did I?â Louie muttered. âIt looked scary.â
âLetâs take it back to Mum,â said Bella. âWe can wash it at Dream Dogs.â
She felt a little skip in her stomach at the thought of her mumâs dog parlour. Dream Dogs was Bellaâs favourite place, with its pink walls and hanging plants and the smell of wet dog in the air. Washing the muck off to find out what kind of dog theyâd found would be really exciting.