The numbering of the paragraphs corresponds with the page numbers of the book
TOAST GETS
HIS NAME
1 A
long time ago on some far away islands there lived a small dog with a brown and black coat and a soft nose
2
When he was a puppy he liked to lean against the side of a warm oven and when he did his coat would smell like a slice of
newly toasted bread
3 This is the story of how Toast got his name and how a teacher found a friend
4
Toast was born in a space under a house in a village and for many weeks no one knew he was there
5 Then one
day some boys saw him as they walked past the house on their way to the school bus. A big boy in the group thought it would
be fun to make the little dog run around and he threw sticks and stones at him. The other boys stood and watched and said
nothing
6 But a girl who was also on her way to the bus came along and she stood between the boy and the dog. This
made the boy walk away and when he did the girl picked up the dog
7 She wanted to save him but if she took him to
a safe place now she would miss the bus and be late for school so she hid him inside her coat and took him with her
8
The puppy was shivering and cold and she held him very close to keep him as warm as she could
9 When she
got to school her teacher said there was no place for a puppy in the classroom and that he could not stay there. But when
the girl took him out of her coat the teacher saw how frightened he was and her heart melted
10 There was only
one thing to do. The village was too far away for the dog to be taken there. The teacher would take him to her house which
was closer to the school. And while she was away the children would begin their work and another teacher would watch over
them
11 In her house the teacher put out a bowl of milk and found the cardboard box in which she had carried her
groceries the previous day. She put a piece of blanket in the bottom and placed it near the stove on which she did her cooking
12
The teacher put the puppy into the box but he climbed out and leaned against the stove. It was never hot during the day and
he would be safe but she put him back in the box where she thought he would be more comfortable. He climbed back out and leaned
against the stove again
13 By now it was time for the teacher to return to school. She felt sad about leaving him
there alone in the kitchen but she would hurry home for lunch and buy him some food on the way
14 The children in her class wanted to know where she had taken the dog and how he was. Even the boy who had
been cruel wanted to know - and not only because the others did. He was ashamed now that he had been so unkind
15
When the children heard that the puppy had his own bed in a cardboard box and liked to lean against the stove they settled
down and worked very hard
16 The teacher tried not to think about the puppy but she was pleased when the lunch bell
rang and she was happy at the thought of seeing him again
17 When the teacher got home and opened the door
to the kitchen he was in his box fast asleep. There was a small puddle on the tiled floor and the bowl in which she had put
the milk was empty
18 As she ate her lunch the teacher watched the puppy and was pleased that he had felt safe
enough to go to sleep in her kitchen. And the more she watched him the more tender were her feelings for him
19
Then suddenly the teacher knew that she would like to keep him and she became very excited at the thought. Then she became
very worried that he belonged to someone else and that he could not be her dog. Then she looked at the clock and saw she was
going to be late for school
20 In the afternoon the teacher spoke with the girl who had rescued the dog. It belonged
to a family the girl knew well and when she got home from school she would go to their house and explain what had happened
21
The teacher said she would take the dog back to the village in her car early that evening
22 Now the teacher became even more restless.
All afternoon she kept thinking about the dog and wondered if the owners would let her keep him
23 After school
was over for the day and the bus had taken the children back to the village the teacher walked home as fast as she could.
The puppy was out of his box and was leaning against the stove
24 When the teacher picked him up he was warm
down one side and the smell of his fur was just like the smell of newly made toast. She knew then that if he were ever to
become her dog his name would be Toast
25 The drive down the village seemed longer than it had ever been before. Toast was in the
box on the seat beside her. He was shivering again and she was nervous about asking if she could keep him
26
The girl was standing by the side of the road. She waved and directed the teacher into the driveway of a large rambling house.
Lots of dogs were playing around on the grass outside
27 Children were watching from the windows of the house
as a man came down the steps to meet her. The man said the girl had explained what had happened. The girl stood by the man's
side and smiled
28 The teacher opened the car door and leaned in to bring out the box. Toast tried to get
out of the box as he heard the sounds of the other dogs
29 This time the girl came to the rescue of the teacher
30
The girl said the man would be happy if the teacher wanted to keep the dog. And the man said that was so. And the teacher
said she would be very happy to have him. And Toast tried to get out of the box again. And the other dogs gathered around
and began to jump up at the box
31 On the drive back home the teacher felt like a different person. It was not that she had
been lonely before but now she had a friend. Toast was sitting up in his box looking straight ahead and she thought this was
a good sign
32 She would care for him in the best way she could. And when she put him down gently on the kitchen
floor he walked over to his bowl. Finding nothing there Toast turned towards her and wagged his tail
THE
END
