The Smallest Welcome: story transcript
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The Smallest Welcome
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Nell wore her green dungarees for the big day. Her dark curls bounced as she hung a WELCOME, PIP! banner across the room. Beneath it waited a ball almost as big as the little golden puppy. Pip came in, ears flopping, and stopped.
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"Ta-da!" said Nell. She pulled the ribbon that held up the banner. Down it swooped, bright and fluttery. Pip backed behind the umbrella stand. Nell could see one golden paw. Perhaps, she thought, he needed to see the rest of the house.
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Nell began the grand tour. "Here is the kitchen! Here is my room! Here is the place where I keep interesting pebbles!" Pip followed as far as the kitchen mat. When Nell opened the door to her room, he slipped beneath the mat’s curly corner.
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"Maybe you’d like a game," Nell said. She fetched the enormous ball and gave it the gentlest push she could. It rolled across the floor with a rumble-rumble-rumble. Pip scooted under a chair. Only his floppy ears showed. Nell let the ball stop.
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Nell sat on the floor. She had made a banner. She had offered to show Pip her pebbles. She had even rolled the ball gently. Why didn’t he want to be near her? Under the chair, Pip’s nose appeared. Nell looked up. The nose disappeared.
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Nell stayed where she was. A moment later, the nose returned. Pip peeped out when she was still. When she reached toward him, he tucked himself away again. "Oh," Nell whispered. She put her hand in her lap and waited to see what he would do.
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The room grew quiet enough to hear the clock tick. Nell folded a small towel into a nest beside her shoe. She set a tiny cloth mouse at its edge, then rested her hands on her knees. The mouse waited. Nell waited. From under the chair came a sniff.
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Pip came out one paw at a time. He sniffed the towel. He sniffed the mouse. He sniffed Nell’s brown shoe for a very long time. Nell did not move, though her foot was beginning to tingle. Pip picked up the mouse and climbed into the nest.
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The towel was soft. Pip turned around once, then twice. At last he dropped the mouse, leaned out of the nest, and curled against Nell’s shoe instead. Nell grinned down at him. The big ball stood in the corner. The banner drooped. Her foot tingled even more.
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Someone knocked at the door. Nell opened her mouth to call out, then saw Pip’s eyes close. "Come in quietly," she whispered. She pointed to the puppy tucked against her shoe. "I can’t get up. Pip has my foot." She stayed exactly there, grinning, while the door opened.
