Angus and Sadie (17 page)

“You're safe,” Missus said.

You shouldn't have run off like that, Sadie
.

“You certainly had us worried,” Mister said. “This is a real blizzard. Didn't you hear me calling you?”

I didn't think you'd be able to find your way back
.

That sheep is beside the pen
.

“She must be starving,” Missus said. She stood up. “And I'll towel you dry, too. What were you doing running off? And you might as well get away from the door, I'm not letting you back outside.”

The pen behind the barn? Okay, I'll take care of it
.

“Now what's got into Angus?” Mister said. “All right, boy, I hear you. Is something going on outside? I guess I'd better—all right, good dog, I'm coming. Sadie, you stay. Angus and I will take care of this. Just give me a chance to get my boots on, Angus.”

By the time Sadie had eaten and been toweled dry and was about to fall asleep—which wasn't very long at all—Mister and Angus had returned.

Mister was amazed, and proud. “She brought it back, honey. That's why it's been so long. I can only imagine how much trouble that sheep gave her. Good girl, Sadie. You're a real hero.”

Missus, too, was amazed and proud. “I didn't know you could be so brave. And clever, too, to herd a sheep in a storm. You really are a wonder, Sadie, aren't you?”

Sadie was so sleepy, she almost couldn't enjoy all the praise.

You should have waited for me
, Angus said.
With two of us, it wouldn't have taken so long, and they wouldn't have had to worry so much. I told you to wait
, he reminded her.

But Sadie was asleep and didn't hear.

S
adie wanted to tell Angus about it.
When I was alone, with the sheep but alone, and it was the storm
, she began.

Later
, Angus said.
I'm busy
.

Angus had his work to do with Mister, and he didn't want to be distracted. He didn't want to be disturbed. So when Sadie said,
After I found the sheep I waited—
, Angus said,
Not now. Can't you see I'm doing something important?
At night when Sadie asked,
Can I tell you now?
Angus interrupted,
No. I'm tired. I worked hard all day, Sadie
.

After a few days, Sadie stopped trying to tell him about it, as if she had forgotten, which she probably had, Angus thought. Sadie wasn't very good at remembering things. Angus knew that; they all knew that.

She wasn't the only one who wasn't good at remembering things, thought Angus. Mister and Missus seemed to have forgotten all about how Sadie didn't obey. She had gone running off into the storm, disobeying Mister, just like she had gone running off after that skunk. Nobody had praised Sadie for disobeying then. Just the opposite. Angus remembered that. But now Mister and Missus talked about what a wonder Sadie was for running off after a sheep. It was as if Angus had never gone to find a sheep in the woods, as if Sadie's sheep was ten times more important than the one Angus had found in the woods, or even the two Angus had helped Mister get back into the pen during the storm.

Angus didn't see what was so wonderful about Sadie's one sheep, when he had helped save two. Three, if you counted the first.

There was one good thing about all this, however, which was that now Sadie would have to start being braver, and better at being obedient, too. Angus could help her learn that. Everybody preferred a brave and well-trained dog, and everybody respected that dog more. He would help Sadie be more respected. He decided to do that, and he decided they would start with the cats.

The days were getting longer and warmer, even though the snow hadn't all melted away. During the days, Mister opened the barn doors to let the sun heat the inside. That meant the dogs could go into the barn by themselves.
Come on
, Angus said to Sadie one sunny day.

Where?

Just come on
.

Angus headed for the open barn door, with Sadie trailing. He went along beside the garden and down the path. Sadie followed.

Inside the barn, Angus made one complete tour, taking his time, smelling everything he felt like smelling, ignoring the cats, who watched from underneath the tractor. Sadie kept close behind him.

The cats are under the tractor
, she reported.
Watching
.

You have to stop being afraid of those cats
.

It's not afraid. Not really afraid. In the storm, in the woods—

Not now. I'm busy checking this out
.

Angus started on a second slow tour of the barn, walking through sunlight, walking through shade. This was his barn. He was in charge of this barn. Any cat that might happen to be watching could see that. He was in charge of Sadie, too. He walked all around the inside of the barn, slowly, with Sadie still following him, and then, slowly, slowly, he went back out through the open doors.

Behind him, Sadie yelped.

Angus wheeled around, barking at the cats, warning them.
Back off!

Fox, who had run out from under the tractor to jump onto Sadie's back, fled up the ladder into the loft. Sadie ran to stand close behind Angus.

Do something
, Angus told her. He didn't care how frightened she might be, he was going to make her learn to be brave.
So they'll know you're not afraid of them
.

But I don't think I am. Not afraid, not really afraid
.

Angus lost patience.
I'll show you how
. Snake was still under the tractor, so Angus ran right at it, as if when he got there he was going to crawl under it to catch Snake in his teeth, and bite him and shake him. Snake scooted out the opposite side, across the barn floor, and up into the loft.

See?
Angus asked, going back outside to join Sadie.
See how easy it is?

Yes
, Sadie answered. Then she admitted,
No. I mean not easy. Not for me
.

Angus said,
You have to learn how. That's why I'm helping you
.

Oh. All right. But—

If I'm helping, you should say thank you
.

Oh. Thank you
.

A couple of days later, Angus tried again. Once more he led Sadie down to the barn.
What if they jump at me?
she asked.

Let them try it
, Angus said.
Just let them try it
.

The two dogs walked into the barn and into the shadows. They walked around and around, Sadie just behind Angus, and the cats never made a sound, and they never made a move either.

They're up in the loft
, Sadie said.

Don't be afraid
.

Sadie thought about it.
I'm not
.

Good girl, Sadie
, said Angus, just like Mister.
Now, I want you to walk around once without me. Just once, that's all. That's not very hard
, he said, as if she had said she didn't want to do it.

In order to keep Angus near as long as possible, Sadie started her round before Angus had gone out the barn doors. She walked all around the inside, starting at the cow stalls and going along behind the tractor. She came to the stall where she and Angus slept in warmer weather. Their stall came just before the steps to the loft, and then there were just two more stalls with farm and garden tools in them, and a storeroom door before she got back to the big open doorway and the bright warm sunlight—

Something jumped at her, from out of a stall where hoes and rakes and shovels were kept leaning against the wall.

And something else jumped out at her, from out of the same stall. Shovels and rakes and hoes clattered onto the ground.

The two things screeched. They were jumping and screeching.

Sadie leaped up into the air, and she yelped, and she ran. It was only the cats. She knew it was only the cats. She knew it, but when they jumped at her she couldn't help yelping and running.

Angus asked,
What went wrong?

Sadie explained.
They jumped
.

You shouldn't yelp. They like it when you yelp. That's why they jump at you
.

I was trying not to
.

You have to not yelp
.

I can't
, Sadie explained.
They jump, and I hear them, and I know what they're doing, and they screech that way. They're jumping
AT
me
, she explained.

Angus gave up.
Well, it's too bad about you. I can't do anything with you
. Then he tried to make her feel better.
I guess you'll never be able to stand up to the cats, so let's stop trying. Because you can't do it
. Now that that was settled, Angus felt better.

Sadie didn't feel better.

We can work on training instead
, Angus promised her.
I can help you with obeying
.

All right
, Sadie said, and then she remembered.
Thank you
.

Angus began this new project by helping Sadie only when they were inside the house, because he wanted to let her get used to him training her. So every now and then, when they were together in the house, he would tell her,
Sadie, Sit!

It took her a while to learn to hear him saying that, but once she got the idea, Sadie started to obey him.

“Whatever are you doing, girl?” Missus asked. “I thought you wanted to go out.” Sadie had been heading for the door Missus was holding open, but then—plunk—she sat down on the kitchen floor. Missus laughed. “Changed your mind? You are the world's silliest dog. Come here, and let me give your neck a nice scratch.”

Sadie obeyed Missus, but Angus told her,
You're supposed to wait until I say That'll do! You should know that by now
.

I do know it. But Missus called me
.

Next time, you have to wait until I release you. You have to practice or you'll never improve
.

But you didn't say Stay! Mister says Sit! and Stay!

You're saying I'm doing it wrong?

No, not wrong. Just not right
.

It turned out that being the trainer was harder than Angus had thought. He admired Mister all the more, once he understood how hard it was. When you were the trainer, you had to think about things more, and think about them sooner.

The next time he practiced training Sadie, Angus waited until they were alone in the kitchen, after Mister and Missus had gone upstairs to bed.
Sadie, Sit!
he said.
Stay!

It took longer than Angus thought it should, but finally Sadie got up from where she was napping on the floor, and sat. Then she watched Angus, and waited. He was pleased with how well he was training her, and he made her wait just a little longer before he said,
That'll do!
As she sprang up, he added,
Good girl, Sadie
.

He liked being the trainer. He liked it so much, he stopped minding that Sadie had run off into the storm, and saved the sheep, and made everybody forget that he had saved sheep, too. It turned out that if she hadn't been disobedient, he wouldn't have known that he could train her himself.