Henry Huggins (6 page)

“Good old Ribsy. I don't know how I'd ever get along without you.” He took out his handkerchief and wiped green paint from his dog's tail.

Then Henry followed a set of big footprints in the snow. He took big steps and carefully put his feet into the marks someone else had made in the snow. “Jeepers!” he exclaimed. “I'm going to have a green Christmas and a white Christmas at the same time. Won't Mom be surprised?”

W
hen Henry woke up one Monday morning in the spring, the first thing he thought was, Five more days till Saturday. On Tuesday the first thing he thought was, Four more days till Saturday. By Wednesday he felt as if Saturday would never come.

It all began when Henry and Ribsy made their weekly trip to the Lucky Dog Pet Shop to buy horse meat.

“Well, if it isn't Henry and Ribs!” exclaimed Mr. Pennycuff. “Do you have your entry blank for the dog show?”

“What dog show?” asked Henry.

“Didn't you hear? The park department is having a dog show in the park next Saturday. Boys and girls up to sixteen years old may enter their dogs. The Woofies Dog Food Company is giving prizes. Better take an entry blank and fill it out. A fine dog like Ribsy is sure to win a prize.”

Ribsy wagged his tail.

“Well,” said Henry doubtfully, “he's an awfully good dog but he isn't any special kind. I mean he isn't a cocker or bulldog or anything.”

“That doesn't matter in this show. Now you just take this blank and fill it out. See, here's a place for dogs of mixed breed like Ribs.”

“Gee, thanks,” said Henry. “I think I will.”

He took his entry blank and two pounds of horse meat, and he and Ribsy ran all the way home.

When they came to Klickitat Street, Henry saw Scooter and Robert playing catch. Mary Jane and Beezus and her little sister Ramona were standing under a snowball bush, shaking petals down over themselves and pretending it was snowing.

“Hey, look!” yelled Henry, waving the paper at them.

The children gathered around him to look at his entry blank. “I'm going to enter Ribsy,” said Henry. “He'll win a prize. Mr. Pennycuff said so.”

“Aw, Ribsy's just an old mutt!” scoffed Scooter.

“He is not! He's a smart dog and besides, it says he doesn't have to be any special kind of dog. See, it says dogs of mixed breed.”

“Say, look at the list of prizes!” said Robert. “Woofies Dog Food, squeaking mice, feeding dishes, leashes, movie tickets, beanies, silver loving cups—a whole lot of stuff.”

“If they're giving silver cups, I'm going to get a blank for Princess Patricia of Tarabrook. She's a better dog than Ribsy,” said Mary Jane.

“Princess who?” demanded Scooter.

“Princess Patricia of Tarabrook. That's Patsy's real name. She has a pedigree and I know she'll win a silver cup.” Patsy was Mary Jane's cocker spaniel.

“You know,” said Robert thoughtfully, “I'm going to enter Sassy. She's getting kind of old, but she's still pretty lively and she might win a movie ticket or something.”

Beezus and Ramona didn't have a dog. They had a cat, three white rats, a turtle, and one guppy. Beezus said she knew where she could borrow a puppy named Puddles.

“Well, I guess I might as well enter Rags,” said Scooter. “He's the smartest dog around here. He can even sit up and shake hands. And he's all Airedale, too. He isn't any mixed breed like that old mutt you found.”

“Ribsy isn't old and he isn't a mutt either! And he can sit up, too. He's a better dog than your old Rags and he'll win a better prize. I'll bet he wins a silver cup!”

“Don't make me laugh!” scoffed Scooter. “If he'd been any good, his folks wouldn't have let him get away.”

At last Saturday came. Henry jumped out of bed as soon as he woke up, because he had a lot to do before the dog show at ten o'clock. At breakfast he stopped gulping his cereal to ask, “Mom, can I give Ribsy a bath in the bathtub?”

“
May
I give Ribsy a bath in the bathtub.”

“May I give Ribsy a bath in the bathtub?”

“Can't you use the laundry tub in the basement the way you usually do?” his mother asked.

“But, Mom, this is special for the dog show. I want to do an extra good job on him this time. If I get him good and clean, I know he'll win a silver cup.”

Mrs. Huggins sighed. “Yes, Henry, you may give Ribsy a bath in the bathtub if you'll promise to clean up the bathroom afterward.”

“Thanks, Mom. I'll clean it up. Excuse me, please.”

“Henry, I'm afraid you didn't eat much breakfast. I hope Ribsy does win a silver cup, but I wouldn't count on it too much if I were you. After all, he's just a mongrel.”

“He isn't a mongrel, Mom. He's a mixed breed. And I know he's a better dog than any dog around here. Come on, Ribsy.”

Ribsy followed Henry into the bathroom. When Henry began to run the water into the tub, he looked at Henry and then at the water. Then he tucked his tail between his legs and started to sneak out of the bathroom.

“Oh no you don't!” Henry grabbed him by the collar. He put his arms around Ribsy's middle and lifted him into the tub. Ribsy was heavier than he had been that day about a year ago when Henry carried him into the bus.

Because this was a special occasion, Henry didn't use flea soap. He used his mother's shampoo. Ribsy whimpered. Henry rubbed the shampoo on him and worked it into a thick lather. He rubbed and scrubbed. The suds foamed thick and white until Ribsy, except for his face, was hidden in mounds of thick lather.

“Now you ought to be good and clean,” said Henry. He scooped up handfuls of water from the tub and poured them over the dog. He poured and poured but the lather only grew thicker. If only he hadn't used so much shampoo! He tried mopping Ribsy with his washcloth. That helped but it still wasn't fast enough. He had an idea. He moved Ribsy around so that he faced the end of the tub, and turned the shower on him. Ribsy tried to jump out but Henry held him. Ribsy raised his head and howled.

“Henry!” his mother called. “What are you doing to that poor dog?”

“Just washing him,” answered Henry, and turned off the shower. Ribsy shook himself. Henry used four bath towels on him, but still he wasn't dry.

Oh well, it's a warm day. Maybe the sun will dry him off, thought Henry. He took one of the towels and hastily wiped it over the floor and tub.

“Henry, I have to go downtown this morning. I hope you and Ribsy have good luck at the dog show.” Mrs. Huggins had her hat on, ready to leave.

“Thanks, Mom. Say, have you seen the leash? It says on the entry blank all dogs must be on a leash.”

“I think you left it in the basement,” Mrs. Huggins said as she went out.

Henry ran down to the basement. At the bottom of the stairs he found the leash—at least, it had been a leash once. Now it was chewed into half a dozen pieces. Henry looked hurriedly around for something to use in its place. If only he had more time! The only thing he could find was his mother's rainy day clothesline. After climbing up on an apple box to untie it, he ran upstairs and fastened one end to Ribsy's collar. It was longer than a leash but it would have to do.

When Henry went out on the front porch, he saw Beezus and Ramona coming down the street. Beezus was carrying a squirming black puppy that kept trying to lick her face. “Puddles, you stop that!” she commanded and set him on the sidewalk. Puddles was wearing a red bow on his collar and Henry was pleased to see that Ribsy wasn't the only dog with a rope for a leash.

“Come on, Henry, we'd better hurry,” said Beezus.

Ribsy sniffed at the puppy and decided to ignore him. “Hey, look,” exclaimed Henry. “There's Mary Jane and Patsy and Robert and Sassy up there ahead. We'd better run.”

When they reached the park, Henry saw that already there were hundreds of boys and girls and dogs there ahead of them. Henry had never seen so many dogs. There were boxers, Great Danes, Pekingese, Airedales, cockers, Saint Bernards, Pomeranians, beagles, setters, pointers, and just plain dogs. Some, like Puddles, were wearing ribbons on their collars, some wore sweaters, and some had on little paper hats.

A loudspeaker on a sound truck blared out. “Take your entry blanks to the registration desk by the tennis courts.”

“Come on, Ribsy.” Henry found his way through the crowds of children and dogs to the registration desk. There he waited in line to weigh Ribsy on a big scale. At first Ribsy didn't want to be weighed, but Henry and a boy scout managed to shove him upon the scale and keep him still long enough to see that he weighed twenty-eight pounds.

“You've grown a lot heavier in a year,” said Henry. “Maybe we shouldn't call you Ribsy any more.”

After the dog was weighed, a lady gave Henry a yellow cardboard arm band. It had “Woofies Dog Food—Woofies make dogs woof for joy” printed on it. Below that there was a space for the kind of dog, weight class, and the ring in which the dog was to be shown. The lady wrote on it, “Mixed breed—25 to 40 pounds—Ring 3.”

Henry led Ribsy toward a sign with “Ring 3” printed on it over by a flower bed. Ribsy stopped to shake himself and then, before Henry knew what was happening, he dashed over to the flower bed and rolled in the dirt.

“Hey, cut that out!” yelled Henry. “You're getting all dirty.”

It was too late. Henry pulled Ribsy, streaked with mud, out of the flowers. Henry tried to brush off the dirt. Then he tried to rub it off with his handkerchief. He only smeared it. He was discouraged. Why had he bragged so much about his dog? Now he would never win a prize.

When Henry reached Ring 3, he saw that it was made of rope tied to four stakes driven into the ground. Inside was a table piled with the prizes Henry had read about. Henry looked at the silver cup and thought it would look nice on his dresser. Not that he had a chance with a muddy dog. He noticed some of the boys had brought brushes and were brushing their dogs. He wished he had thought to bring a brush.

The day was warm. Henry sat down on the grass with the rest of the boys and girls to wait for the judging to start. He kept trying to brush some of the dirt off Ribsy. In the ring next to his he saw a snow-white dog. Somebody said it was a Siberian sled dog. The dog's owner was brushing him and sprinkling white powder on him to make him look whiter.

Henry had an idea! If he only had time, he could run home for a can of talcum powder to sprinkle on the white parts of Ribsy! That would cover up the dirt. It didn't matter about the yellow and black and brown parts. The dirt didn't show there much.

Just then the voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “We are going to postpone the judging for a little while, because we have a real treat for all you kids. Maud, the trained mule, is going to entertain you.”

The children all started toward the truck to see Maud. That is, all except Henry. He was not interested in any trained mule. He wanted Ribsy to win a silver cup. Here was his chance. He could run home and back while Maud the mule performed.

“Come on, Ribsy!” he yelled. “We have to step on it.”

Followed by Ribsy, he ran as fast as he could out of the park and up the hill to his house on Klickitat Street. He rushed into his room and snatched his hairbrush. He tore into the bathroom and grabbed a can of talcum powder. Then he rushed back to the park with Ribsy. The children were still crowded around Maud.

Henry was so hot and sticky that he had to sit down on the grass to catch his breath. Ribsy was panting and his tongue hung out. Henry brushed him with the hairbrush. That helped a little. Then he sprinkled powder on the big white spot on his back.

Henry was horrified. He could scarcely believe what he saw. The talcum powder wasn't white—it was pink! Who ever heard of a dog with pink spots! Quickly he tried to brush the powder off. But Ribsy was still damp and the powder didn't brush off.

Henry decided to make all Ribsy's white parts pink so they would match. Maybe in the bright sunshine the judges wouldn't notice. He sprinkled powder on Ribsy's white ear and left hind paw. He even sprinkled some on his white tail. Yes, Ribsy did look better with all his light parts matching. Maybe the judges would wear dark glasses.

Maud finished her act and the children came back to the rings with their dogs. “Hey, look at the pink dog!” a boy exclaimed.