Ben Fogle - Mr Dog and a Hedge Called Hog

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019

Published in this ebook edition in 2019

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,

HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Text copyright © Ben Fogle 2019

Illustrations copyright © Nikolas Ilic 2019

Cover design copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019

Ben Fogle and Nikolas Ilic assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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 ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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.

Source ISBN: 9780008306427

Ebook Edition © September 2019 ISBN: 9780008306434

Version: 2019-07-08

To Otto and Ivy

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019 Published in this ebook edition in 2019 HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is www.harpercollins.co.uk Text copyright © Ben Fogle 2019 Illustrations copyright © Nikolas Ilic 2019 Cover design copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019 Ben Fogle and Nikolas Ilic assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 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 ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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. Source ISBN: 9780008306427 Ebook Edition © September 2019 ISBN: 9780008306434 Version: 2019-07-08

Dedication To Otto and Ivy

Map Map

Chapter One: Crates and Cases

Chapter Two: A Hedge Called Hog

Chapter Three: A Fight in the Night!

Chapter Four: Helping Hog

Chapter Five: Egg-Stra Special

Chapter Six: Danger in the Fields

Chapter Seven: On the Road

Chapter Eight: Into the Woods

Chapter Nine: Attack from Above!

Chapter Ten: A New Start

Notes from the Author

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Books by Ben Fogle

About the Publisher

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 to one of the crew. ‘He’ll help me unload the empty crates.’