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Authors: Beverly Cleary

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BOOK: Henry Huggins
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Scooter turned to the boy. “Say, you don't have any meat or anything in your pockets, do you?” he asked suspiciously.

“No, I don't. Cross my heart.”

“How about you, Henry?” Scooter was going to be fair.

Henry gulped. “No, me neither.”

“OK. We want to make this a fair contest.”

“Good luck, Henry!” shouted Beezus.

“Thanks,” said Henry weakly.

Scooter turned Ribsy toward the street so he was facing neither Henry nor the strange boy. “All right, you guys. Ready, get set—go!” He took his hand off Ribsy's collar.

“Here, Ribsy! Here, Ribsy! Come on, Ribs!” At least Henry's voice worked.

“Here, Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy!” The dog's former master snapped his fingers.

The dog looked at Henry. He looked at the other boy. Then he sat down to scratch behind his left ear with his left hind foot.

“Ribsy!” wailed Henry. “Come here! Here, Ribsy! Here, Ribsy!”

“Come, Dizzy! Come, Dizzy!” called the boy. Ribsy stood up and took a few steps toward the boy and wagged his tail. The children groaned.

“Ribsy!” shouted Henry with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Ribsy stopped, turned around, wagged his tail, and said, “Woof!”

“Attaboy, Ribsy!” shouted Henry.

“Go on, Ribsy!” screamed Beezus.

“No coaching from the audience!” ordered Scooter.

Ribsy took a few steps toward Henry. Then he looked back at the other boy.

“Horse meat, Ribsy, horse meat! Here, Ribsy! Here, Ribsy!” At the mention of horse meat Ribsy looked at Henry.

“Here, Dizzy, Dizzy!” Then the boy had an idea. “Here, Ribsy! Here, Ribsy!” he called.

“Hey, you're cheating!” objected Henry. “I'm supposed to call him Ribsy.”

“There wasn't any rule about what we should call him.”

“That's right, Henry,” agreed Scooter.

“Look, he's turning around!” shouted Mary Jane.

But Ribsy only turned around to chew at a spot near his tail. He bit at the flea, sat down, scratched behind his left ear again, and then stood up. The boys kept on yelling.

With a tired sigh Ribsy sank down on the sidewalk, put his head on his paws, and closed his eyes.

The children groaned. “Don't go to sleep now, Ribsy!” begged Henry, who was so scared his hands felt cold and damp.

Ribsy opened his eyes and, without moving his head, turned them first toward the strange boy and then toward Henry. “Come on, Ribsy,” they both coaxed.

Slowly Ribsy stood up, and after a backward glance at the stranger, trotted eight squares down the sidewalk toward Henry. He paused, scratched again, and trotted the remaining squares to Henry. Then he sank down with his head on Henry's foot and closed his eyes again.

Ribsy had chosen Henry!

The children cheered, but Henry couldn't say a word. He knelt and hugged his dog.

“I knew he'd choose you, Henry,” crowed Mary Jane. “I just knew it all the time.”

“My, but I was scared for a minute,” said Beezus.

The other boy looked so disappointed that Henry couldn't help feeling sorry for him. “I'm glad Ribsy wants to stay with me,” said Henry, “but I'm sorry you have to lose him. He's an awfully good dog.”

“I hate to lose him, too, but I guess I can't complain. It was a fair contest.” The boy threw his leg over his bicycle. “Say, do you suppose I could come over to see him sometimes?”

“Sure. Any time you want.”

“Thanks. I'll be around soon.” The boy rode off down the street.

The children all crowded around Ribsy to pet him. “I sure am lucky,” said Henry, “but he had me scared for a while.”

“Jeepers, I don't know what this neighborhood would have done without Ribsy,” said Beezus. “Come on. Now that Ribsy is Henry's for keeps, let's think of something we all can play.”

About the Author

BEVERLY CLEARY
is one of America's most popular authors. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, she lived on a farm in Yamhill until she was six and then moved to Portland. After college, as the children's librarian in Yakima, Washington, she was challenged to find stories for non-readers. She wrote her first book,
HENRY HUGGINS
, in response to a boy's question, “Where are the books about kids like us?”

Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Her
DEAR MR. HENSHAW
was awarded the 1984 John Newbery Medal, and both
RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE
8 and
RAMONA AND HER FATHER
have been named Newbery Honor Books. In addition, her books have won more than thirty-five statewide awards based on the votes of her young readers. Her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations. Mrs. Cleary lives in coastal California.

Visit Henry Huggins and all of his friends in The World of Beverly Cleary at www.beverlycleary.com.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Enjoy all of Beverly Cleary's books

FEATURING RAMONA QUIMBY
:

Beezus and Ramona

Ramona the Pest

Ramona the Brave

Ramona and Her Father

Ramona and Her Mother

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Ramona Forever

Ramona's World

FEATURING HENRY HUGGINS
:

Henry Huggins

Henry and Beezus

Henry and Ribsy

Henry and the Paper Route

Henry and the Clubhouse

Ribsy

FEATURING RALPH MOUSE
:

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Runaway Ralph

Ralph S. Mouse

MORE GREAT FICTION BY BEVERLY CLEARY
:

Ellen Tebbits

Otis Spofford

Fifteen

The Luckiest Girl

Jean and Johnny

Emily's Runaway Imagination

Sister of the Bride

Mitch and Amy

Socks

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Muggie Maggie

Strider

Two Times the Fun

AND DON'T MISS BEVERLY CLEARY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
:

A Girl from Yamhill

My Own Two Feet

Jacket art by Tracy Dockray

Jacket design by Amy Ryan

HENRY HUGGINS
. Introduction copyright © 2000 by Beverly Cleary. Copyright © 1950, renewed 1978 by Beverly Cleary. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061972232

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Publisher

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United Kingdom
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http://www.uk.harpercollinsebooks.com

United States
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http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

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