Under the words was a picture of a very grumpy dog Ori said I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog frown before What day is it Jasper asked Monday Ori said What time They burst into the library and looked around for the clock It was high on the wall above the desk where the librarian sat like a hen on a nest Jasper didn’t like time with hands He liked time with just numbers Is it three thirty he asked the librarian She looked at the clock It’s a little past four She
smiled at Jasper and Ori and pointed to the long long line behind them It snaked from the children’s area almost to the computers So so so many kids wanted to read to Molly the Dog Are we too late Ori asked Everybody reads for five minutes the librarian told them Unless some readers get tired of waiting you’ll have a better chance on Wednesday So some kids might get tired of waiting Jasper asked I suppose they might the librarian said Let’s get in line Jasper told Ori First they needed to see Molly the Dog up close They peeked around the shelves into the children’s area Zoë from their class was sitting in the big comfy chair with the flower splotches There was a pile of hair beside her Is that Molly Ori asked The two of them crept closer to get a better look When they were almost beside Zoë Jasper recognized the book in her hands It was the ballerina book Ms Tosh had started reading aloud at school the one about Cheeky the Squirrel
Cheeky Cheeky Cheeky Zoë droned on The pile of hair beside Zoë looked like a wig that had blown off somebody’s head until the wig lifted its funny pushed-in face and stared straight at Jasper with its huge brown eyes Her tail wagged but her face was still frowning She didn’t like that book at all Jasper reached out to pat Molly Then Ori did Finally Zoë noticed the boys crouched beside her Jasper John Dooley Ori Spivak Wait your turn Jasper and Ori scurried back around the bookshelf
Molly hates Zoë’s book Jasper told Ori It’s about ballerinas She probably doesn’t even know what a ballerina is The thing is we need a dog book not a ballerina book Or a book about things dogs like What do dogs like Ori asked They went back to the librarian It really doesn’t matter what you read the librarian told them She just enjoys sitting on your lap and listening to the sound of your voice Jasper found that hard to believe It was probably listening to boring books from three thirty to four thirty Monday Wednesday and Friday that made Molly so grumpy Jasper felt grumpy too whenever Ms Tosh read them books about ballerinas What kind of dog is Molly Ori asked Pekingese I believe the librarian said But I’m not one-hundred-percent sure I’m a Cat Person Ori asked where the dog books were The librarian got up and led them over to the shelf There weren’t any books about Pekingese dogs What about this Ori asked Jasper holding out a book
