Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti Read Online Free Page A

Dog—heard Stripes’s doubt, they expressed similar sentiments.
    â€œIt’s too far.”
    â€œI’m too tired.”
    â€œMy legs hurt just looking at this hill.”
    Stick Dog, as you can probably guess, had a plan. He said, “It looks pretty daunting, all right. Maybe Mutt’s plan can get us to the top.”
    Stripes, Karen, and Poo-Poo turned to Mutt with hope on their faces.
    â€œOkay,” Mutt said. “The first thing we need is a hot-air—”
    Stick Dog interrupted him just then.
    â€œMutt, before you get started,” he said, “I wonder if we could just find a better place to hear about your strategy. It’s kind of rocky and uncomfortable here, and I want to settle in and really give your plan a good listen.”

    The others looked around on the ground, noticed the rocks and pebbles, and agreed with Stick Dog.
    Mutt asked, “Where should we go, Stick Dog?”
    Stick Dog looked up the hill and saw exactly what he wanted to see. There was a small plateau—a little, flat spot on the hill—about one-third of the way up.

    â€œLook at that nice spot right there,” Stick Dog said, and pointed. He made certain not to use the word “up.” He continued, “It looks perfect. I bet it’s covered with soft grass too. Let’s go there to hear your plan.”
    â€œOkay” is all Mutt said before he and the others hurried up the hill to get there. He was anxious to share his plan with the group.
    Stripes, Karen, and Poo-Poo all flopped down on their bellies when they got there. Mutt sat back on his rear legs in front of them. Stick Dog scanned the rest of the hill—he appeared to be looking for something. After a moment, he flopped down to listen to Mutt’s plan as well.

    â€œOkay,” Mutt said. “The first thing we need is a hot-air balloon.”
    â€œWait a minute, wait a minute,” Stripes said immediately.

    â€œWhat is it, Stripes?” Mutt asked.
    â€œThis whole hot-air balloon thing,” she said.
    â€œYes. What about it?”
    â€œI was wondering if it could be one of thosereally cool striped balloons,” she said. “You know, my name is Stripes, and the balloon would be covered in stripes. I just think it would be neat. Is that okay?”

    â€œSure,” answered Mutt, happy to oblige.
    â€œExcellent!” Stripes yelped.
    â€œOkay. So we get this hot-air balloon. And then—”
    â€œ Striped hot-air balloon,” reminded Stripes.
    â€œRight, right,” Mutt acknowledged. “So we get this striped hot-air balloon. Then we all climb into the basket thing. The hot-air balloon soars over the top of the hill, and we jump out. Then it’s spaghetti for everyone!”

    â€œGreat plan!” Poo-Poo said with terrific enthusiasm.
    Karen and Stripes endorsed the hot-air balloon strategy as well.
    Stick Dog asked, “Where exactly do we get the hot-air balloon, Mutt?”
    â€œYou mean striped hot-air balloon,” Stripes corrected.
    â€œExcuse me. Of course,” Stick Dog said quickly. “Where do we get the striped hot-air balloon?”
    â€œOh, we just grab one when it floats by,” Mutt answered with complete confidence. “Those things fly by all the time. You can’t throw a rock around here without hitting ahot-air balloon.”
    â€œOh, I see.”
    Karen then threw a couple of rocks.

    She didn’t hit a hot-air balloon.
    â€œWhat if one comes by that isn’t striped?” asked Stripes. “I’m not getting into just any hot-air balloon.”
    â€œNo worries,” Mutt reassured. “We’ll wait for a striped one.”
    â€œExcellent!” Stripes said. She got excited about the prospect all over again.
    They were all up off their bellies now. They scanned the darkening sky for hot-air balloons. Mutt kept saying things like “There should be one any second now” and