Dear Hound

By Jill Murphy

Alfie's your average deer hound puppy-curious about the world around him, happy to chase the cat and laze around in his favorite beanbag bed, and very loyal to his boy, Charlie. So he's extremely upset when Charlie goes away and leaves him with a sitter-upset enough that he escapes into the woods. With the help of some friendly foxes, Alfie learns to live in the wild, but he never stops thinking of Charlie and trying to find his way home. And Charlie, of course, never stops thinking of Alfie, either. Will these two be able to find each other before it's too late? Featuring irresistible black-and-white line drawings on every spread, Dear Hound is both an accessible, heartwarming story and the perfect choice for readers graduating out of early chapter books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Sep 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9780802723635

Jill Murphy

Jill Murphy is one of the UK’s most treasured author-illustrators and was the creator of many bestselling books for children, including the Bear Family picture books Peace at Last, Whatever Next! and Just One of Those Days which together have sold over four million copies worldwide. Born and raised in London, Jill spent her childhood writing and illustrating stories. She left school at sixteen and attended Chelsea, Croydon and Camberwell Schools of Art, writing her first novel, The Worst Witch, when she was just eighteen. It became an instant bestseller, launching an extraordinary publishing career that spanned almost five decades and over thirty children’s books. These include the Worst Witch novels and the award-winning Large Family series, which have each sold over five million copies, and the acclaimed Bear Family series, which includes both her first and last picture books, Peace at Last and Just One of Those Days, published by Macmillan Children’s Books. Jill’s books have won many major awards including The Smarties Prize and two commendations for the Kate Greenaway Medal and her work has been adapted for film and television, with the Large Family series becoming a successful animated series. The Worst Witch has also been adapted for television, film and theatre, becoming an Olivier Award-winning stage show. Jill lived and worked from her home studio in North Cornwall, where she drew inspiration from her life, her friends and her family.

Book preview

Jill Murphy

Dear Hound

CONTENTS

Deerhound Details

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

For dear Sue King from all our dear hounds

DEERHOUND DETAILS

There are a few things you should know about deerhounds before you read this story about Alfie.

1. EARSTYLES

They have the most expressive ears in the dog world. See the picture Deerhound Earstyles.

2. SPEED

They can outrun a car at speeds of up to forty miles per hour.

3. DEAR HOUNDS

They are the sweetest, most gentle of hounds, always anxious not to offend their owners.

4. FOOD

Their favorite dinner is beef and their favorite snack is cheese—any type, the smellier the better. They can detect someone opening a bag of potato chips two doors away!

5. NOSE PERISCOPE

They can bend the tips of their noses around a corner.

6. SMILER

Some of them smile when pleased to see you.

7. NEAT EARS

Deerhounds are supposed to have the outer layer of gray fur stripped from the ears, revealing the soft, short black hair beneath.

8. LEANING

They like to lean on people—especially people they love.

9. GARDENING

They are great hole-diggers. Once they’ve started a hole, they don’t stop till Australia.

10. COUCH POTATOES

They are comfort freaks. Only a sofa or bed will do—see picture Favorite Deerhound Fairy Tale.

11. THE SERPENTINE GROVEL

When especially pleased to see you, or anxious that they’ve done something wrong, they go into a serpentine grovel, almost tying themselves in a knot. They sometimes twist their head so far toward their tail that they overbalance and fall over.

CHAPTER ONE

It was the start of a perfect autumn day. The sort of day that called you to be up and outside. The sort of day when only good things should happen.

Two cats were hunched on top of the garden wall between their houses. One was a brown-and-cream Ragdoll cat named Florence, and the other was a black-and-white no particular breed named Humbug. Both cats sat perfectly still, faces turned to the rising sun, their fur ruffling in the gentle breeze.

How’s it going with the monster? asked Humbug.

Better, said Florence, blinking her swimming-pool-blue eyes. I had a chat with him last week—made a sort of bargain—and now he’s a changed dog. Just as well, really. It was beginning to drive me nuts, all that noise and chasing me around the yard.

How did you do it? asked Humbug, intrigued. I can’t imagine what bargain you could possibly make with a deerhound.

It was very easy, actually, explained Florence. "He’s scared of thunder, and I mean really scared, so I promised I’d always snuggle up with him in the kitchen when there’s a storm if he promised never to chase me ever again—or anyone else for that matter—and it worked like magic."

Cool, said Humbug admiringly.

The sun had made its way up above the roofs and treetops and the two cats heard the first people getting into their cars and going off to work. Florence stood up and stretched herself thoroughly. I think I’ll go home for some breakfast, she said.

Hope it’s something nice, said Humbug.

It’s always the same dried stuff, called Florence over her shoulder. "But it is nice. See you around."

Mmm, purred Humbug.

CHAPTER TWO

In the kitchen, Alfie the deerhound puppy was curled up in a tight ball, fast asleep on an enormous, squishy beanbag. He was in the middle of a delightful dream in which he had just chased Florence to the top of a very bendy tree at the end of the yard. Alfie was standing on his hind legs and pushing the tree with his front paws so that Florence was beginning to lose her grip among the sparse branches.

Surrender! barked Alfie.

Never! yowled Florence.

The cat-flap banged as Florence arrived in search of her breakfast, and Alfie awoke with a start. For a moment he forgot his bargain and scrambled off the beanbag, barking wildly and sliding around on the tiled floor. Florence jumped up onto the nearest counter.

Steady, kiddo, she said sternly. Haven’t you heard the weather forecast? We’re in for a freak storm over the next couple of days. We made a deal, remember?

Alfie remembered and slunk

Reviews for Dear Hound

[shanon2sval5976 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a dog, Alfie. His owner, Charlie leaves a Alfie. Alfie escapes and runs away from the dog care center. Alfie left because he is upset and misses Charlie. Alfie leaves into the woods. Charlie trys to find Alfie. Alfie gets help to try to find his way home while Charlie is busy finding Alfie.This book is not for my age group but it is a nice book about a cute deerhound.