First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019
Published in this ebook edition in 2019
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Text copyright © Ben Fogle 2019
Illustrations copyright © Nikolas Ilic 2019
Cover design copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Ben Fogle and Nikolas Ilic assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively.
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Source ISBN: 9780008306427
Ebook Edition © September 2019 ISBN: 9780008306434
Version: 2019-07-08
To Otto and Ivy
Contents
Chapter Two: A Hedge Called Hog
Chapter Three: A Fight in the Night!
Chapter Five: Egg-Stra Special
Chapter Six: Danger in the Fields
Chapter Nine: Attack from Above!
It was a bright but chilly April afternoon. A hard sea wind huffed at the ferryboat as it braved the waves off the craggy coast of Scotland.
The people on board had no idea that a stowaway had crept on. A furry, four-legged, rather scruffy stowaway, who was now hiding below deck in the cargo hold! Aside from his white beard and front paws, his fur was dark and shaggy. A ragged red-and-white hanky was tied about his neck. His ears were floppy, his nose was large and his brown eyes sparkled even in the gloom.
He wasn’t just a dog. He was Mr Dog.
Mr Dog was a big fan of adventures, so he’d been roaming all over, from the south of England way up to the highlands of Scotland. It was there that he’d spied a group of people in a pretty little town catching the ferryboat to some islands off the coast, so he had crept into the cargo hold to go with them – and now, here he was!
To his surprise, he had found the hold mostly full of animal crates and carriers – at least forty of them. From the smell, he could tell that they had been used very recently. Some of them still had a few crushed dog biscuits inside (although with a hungry Mr Dog around, not for long). The funny thing, though, was that the crates didn’t smell of dogs or cats or even of rabbits or rats, but of another animal – one that Mr Dog couldn’t quite recognise. Someone had left a little fresh water in some of the bowls, so Mr Dog was glad of that.
Finally, the ferryboat slowed as it neared its destination, and Mr Dog felt the usual thrill of excitement at being about to explore somewhere new. ‘Now, how to get off without being seen?’ he mused.
Just then, the door to the hold was thrown open. Mr Dog ducked inside a pet carrier with solid plastic sides as a lady with frizzy blonde hair, wearing a bright red coat, bustled inside.
‘I can see Jed’s pick-up truck waiting,’ the lady called