The Pup Who Cried Wolf Read Online Free

detect it even though he’s in the backseat.
    I don’t know why Mona hasn’t learned that you should never, EVER take a rat on a road trip. They cause multiple problems. But Mona says she won’t go anywhere without her family.
    I sigh. I press my nose against the window.
    If there was ever a time to feel sorry for myself, this is it.
    Why should Heckles even get to be part of the family? He can’t stop moving around in his cage. He gets sawdust all over the backseat. He poops inside the car whenever he feels like it with no regard for others. And he sniggers.
    It’s about time for a good pout. Even good traveling companions need to have a good pout now and then to make a point. I tuck my tail and drop down to the floor. It takes experience and skill to be a good pouter. Slump down with a sigh. Head on paws. Little whimpers. But most of all, sad, sad eyes.
    Mona has no defense against the pout. She stops the car and lifts me back on the seat. She says she’s glad to have such a strong, tough watchdog that never lets anything get by him.
    The window doesn’t go back down, though, so I keep my pouty face right where it is.
    She starts in with the fingers.
    Oh, the fingers! First she rubs my head. Then she tickles my ears. Then I roll over and she startson my tummy. If I get lucky, she’ll find the just-can’t-help-myself spot. The just-can’t-help-myself spot makes a dog’s back leg go nuts.
    It’s like a tummy party. It feels so good that the leg on the scratching side wants to join in. It just goes around and around like a windup leg until the party is over. Oooh, there it is. Mona finds the just-can’t-help-myself spot, and pretty soon there’s no more pout left in me. I look around for something to do.
    â€œ
Psst
, Heckles.” I jump into the backseat. “I’m bored. Wake up.”
    Hector opens his eyes, and I can tell he hasn’t really been asleep. “I don’t feel so good.”
    â€œLet’s play Next Top Smell,” I say.
    â€œYou go first,” he says. He can’t resist the chance to beat me at Next Top Smell.
    I sniff. “Top Smell. Hmmm.” I sniff again. “Rat pee.”
    â€œDuh,” says Hector. “What do you want me to do, hold it all the way to Yellowstone?”
    â€œYou don’t even hold it around the block,” I say. “Okay, your turn. Second to the Top Smell.”
    Hector sniffs. “Second to Top Smell … air freshener. Pine tree–type.”
    â€œDouble duh,” I say. “Been smelling that thing before we got out of the parking garage.” I look at the little cardboard tree hanging from the rear-view mirror. This isn’t working out so great.
    â€œI got an idea,” says Hector. “Let’s play go back to sleep.” He curls into a ball.
    Sleep doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Sleep builds bones. It’s good for toughening me up to prepare for life with the pack. Anyway, there’s nothing else to do now that the window is rolled up.
    I hop back up and circle round and around on the front seat. I follow my tail for two and a half turns. Then I settle down and tuck my nose in for a long ride.
    I wait for my mind to go far away to my wild place. That place isn’t so far away any longer. It’s getting closer with every turn of the tires.
    In my wild place, the wind blows across the long buffalo grass. And something is crouching down, out of sight—hiding. The buffalo eating the buffalo grass don’t suspect a thing.
    The wolf leader has brought the pack around so that they are downwind. He is wise. He is experienced. He is a good leader even if he is asmall fellow. Not too small. Just a little undersized, maybe.
    Which could be a good thing if you’re hiding in the buffalo grass and sneaking up on a herd of buffalo.

6
Top Predator Training for Distance
    Yellowstone is a long way from New York City. I have two or three