Our Mascot

　　In no time at all, Bruno became one of the village children; nobody was afraid of him, as he was always gentle and biddable. He'd go splashing with them in the streams; he'd romp with them in the hay barns; he'd curl himself up in a ball and roll with them helter-skelter down the hillsides. He was more than a playmate, though. He was our mascot, the pride of the village.

　　To begin with, he never strayed far from Roxanne. He would follow her anywhere, almost as if he were guarding her. Then one day - and by this time, Roxanne was maybe ten or eleven - he broke of his barn and followed her to school.

　　I was sitting at my desk sharpening pencils and the class was settled at its work, when Bruno's great panting face appeared at the window, tongue lolling out and drooling. Roxanne managed to shut him in the woodshed where he stayed till lunch, happily sharpening hes claws on the logs.

　　Not much school-work was done that day.

The Dancing Bear, P16-17
Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Christian Birmingham
ISBN 978-0-00-674511-2