I read at least a hundred Enid Blyton titles between the ages of six and eight. They were such easy-to-read, comforting books. I could take an armful out of the library, race through them all in a week or so, and then rush back for more. I read about strange folk who lived in magic trees, girls in boarding schools, gangs of children having extraordinary adventures, and colourful circus stories.
One of my favourite Blyton books was Shadow, the Sheep-Dog. I was given it as a birthday present when I was seven and read it over and over again. It’s an ordinary enough story about a boy called Johnny who lives on a farm and has his own collie sheep-dog, but it seemed wonderfully exciting to me. I’d have given anything to live in the country in those days – and I particularly wanted my own dog.
Shadow is called a Wonder Dog in the story, and he’s almost impossibly clever, brave and loyal. That’s the whole charm of the story. You don’t ever have to worry reading an Enid Blyton book. You know that things will always work out well eventually in her reassuring fictional world. Shadow will unerringly rescue Johnny, and find the lost lamb, and chase off the rats and the fox and the eagle. When a rich American wants to buy Shadow to turn him into a film star like Lassie, and little Johnny is prepared to let him go to save his father’s farm, it gets a little tense, especially when there’s an unfortunate accident and poor Shadow is nearly blinded. However, this means he isn’t shipped off to Hollywood after all and, surprise surprise, he makes a complete recovery.
If you fancy reading the whole story when you’ve read this extract, I’m sure you’ll be able to find an old copy in a second-hand bookshop.
SHADOW, THE SHEEP-DOGJohnny Gets into Trouble
One Saturday, when Johnny had a holiday from school, he wanted to go nutting on High-Over Hill with the other boys.
‘But you can’t possibly walk there!’ said his mother.
‘I could borrow Will’s bike,’ said Johnny. ‘I can ride a bike. Let me go, Mother. It will be such fun.’
His father looked up from the newspaper he was reading.
‘High-Over Hill is dangerous,’ he said. ‘I remember your uncle falling down the steep side of it when he went nutting as a boy – and he broke his leg. If you go, you must keep on the west side – that’s not dangerous.’
‘All right, Dad,’ said Johnny, beaming. ‘Can I borrow Will’s bike, then?’
‘Yes, if you take care of it, and clean it when you come back,’ said his father. ‘You must remember that if you borrow things you must always return them clean and in good condition.’
‘Can I take Shadow with me?’ asked Johnny.
‘No,’ said his father. ‘Shadow has work to do with the sheep this morning – and anyway I don’t want him running along the roads all the way to High-Over Hill. It’s too far.’
‘But Shadow wouldn’t mind,’ said Johnny, looking sad all of a sudden, for he hated spending a day without Shadow. ‘Shadow would like it. Oh, please give him a holiday too, Dad!’
‘Shadow is already at work,’ said the farmer, nodding towards the window.
Johnny looked out. Sure enough, he could see Shadow on the far hill, running with the other dogs, separating the sheep out into little flocks for the shepherd. Some were to go to market that day, and the dogs were helping to bunch the sheep.
Johnny said no more. He had been taught not to argue with his parents. He thought he would get Will’s bike, and then he would go up to the hill where Shadow was at work, and explain to him that he couldn’t take him with him that day.
Will was one of the farm-hands. He was quite willing to lend Johnny his bike, for the boy was careful. Johnny looked to see if the brakes were all right, thanked Will, and then jumped on the bike. Off he went, cycling up the path that led to the hill where the sheep were grazing.
Shadow came bounding to meet him. He had already seen Johnny that morning, for he had slept on the boy’s bed the night before. But when he had heard the shepherd whistling to the other dogs he had licked Johnny’s sleepy face, and had run out of the door. He was Johnny’s dog – but he had to work for his living just as the other dogs did!
‘Shadow, I’m going off for the day,’ said Johnny. ‘I’m going nutting.’
Shadow looked at Johnny and the bike. He understood quite well what the boy meant. He wagged his plumy tail joyfully. How he loved going off for the day with Johnny!
‘Don’t look so pleased about it,’ said Johnny. ‘I’ve got to go without you. You can’t come today, Shadow. I’ve just come up here to say goodbye to you. I’ll be back by tea-time.’
Shadow’s tail drooped down. All the wag went out of it. What – Johnny was going off without him! He looked up at the boy with mournful brown eyes.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Shadow,’ said Johnny, ‘else I shan’t be able to go. You see, Dad says you have work to do today. So I can’t have you with me. But cheer up – I’ll be back by tea-time. I promise!’
Shadow wagged his tail just a tiny bit. He was very sad – but he didn’t want to stop Johnny from having a happy day. The shepherd whistled to the dogs, and Shadow had to bound off. He licked Johnny’s hand, barked to tell him to be sure and have a good day, and then leapt off to join Tinker and Rafe.
Johnny rode over the hill on his bicycle. He soon joined the other boys, and they shouted to one another.
‘Gorgeous day!’ yelled Ronnie.
‘What have you got for your lunch?’ shouted Harry. ‘I’ve got ham sandwiches, and the biggest bit of chocolate cake you ever saw.’
‘Have you all brought baskets for the nuts?’ said Johnny. ‘I’ve got one. I hope I get it full. My dad loves hazel nuts. He eats them with salt.’
The boys rode off together happily. It was a long way to High-Over Hill, but it was quite the best place for nutting. There were hundreds of fine nut-trees there.
One of the boys got a puncture in his back tyre. All of them jumped off to help. Johnny found a puncture-mending outfit in the saddle-bag at the back of his bike, and very soon the puncture was mended.
Then off they all went again, chattering and shouting. When they came to the place where they meant to go nutting, they jumped off their bicycles, laid them on the grass, and ran to the trees.
‘Golly! I never in my life saw so many nuts before!’ cried Harry eagerly. ‘Just look at them! My word, they are beauties! Let’s pick some to have with our lunch, shall we? Then we can set to work properly after that, and fill our baskets.’
The boys plucked the clusters of nuts. What fine ones they were! Then they sat down and undid their packets of sandwiches and cake. How they enjoyed them! Most of them had brought something to drink as well. Then they ate their nuts. Harry had actually brought a pair of nut-crackers, which everyone voted a very clever thing to do. But some of the boys, who had very strong teeth, preferred to crack the nuts in their mouths.
‘All very well for you,’ said Harry, cracking his nuts with crackers. ‘But my teeth aren’t very good – and I’m not going to risk breaking them, I can tell you.’
After lunch the boys took up their baskets and went nutting. Some of them had sticks with crooked handles so that they might pull down the higher branches.
Harry went over the top of the hill. He gave a shout. ‘I say! The trees on this side are marvellous! What about picking some of the nuts from here?’
But the other boys were too busy picking from the other trees, so Harry went to join them. Johnny was doing a funny thing. He hadn’t a stick to pull down the high branches – so he fetched his bicycle, and propped it up against a nut tree, and now he was standing on the saddle so that he could reach the fine clusters above his head.
When he had picked all he could see, he left his bicycle under the tree and went to the top of the hill. He just wanted to see over, down the other side. And, of course, when he got there, he spied the trees that Harry had seen, so full of nuts that the branches hung almost to the ground. The hillside was very steep, and nobody had dared to risk getting the nuts from the trees there. So there were hundreds and hundreds.
Johnny forgot that he had been told not to pick nuts on the steep side of the hill. His eyes shone with delight as he thought of how he could fill his basket to the brim with enormous nuts. He began to climb down the steep side of the hill towards the clump of hazels.
The earth on the hillside was loose. Stones rolled down as Johnny scrambled along. Then he slipped and clutched at a tuft of grass. But the grass was not strong enough to hold him, and came out by the roots. Johnny fell headlong down the hill, bumping into rocks and stones as he went, trying to clutch at trees and bushes, but just missing them.
He fell with a crash to the bottom, hit his head on a stone, and then lay still, with his eyes closed. He had not shouted, because he had been too frightened, so the other boys did not know he had fallen.
Harry and the others picked nuts steadily. The boys were spread out well on the other side of the hill, and nobody missed Johnny. They all thought he was somewhere with them. It was only when it was time to go home that they missed him.
‘It’s four o’clock,’ said Harry. ‘We’d better be starting back. Let’s get our bikes. Anyway, we can’t possibly get any more nuts into our baskets or our pockets either!’
Every boy had his basket full, and his pockets too. They were very pleased with their afternoon’s work. They picked up their bicycles and were about to jump on them, when Harry looked all round in surprise.
‘Where’s Johnny?’ he said.
Johnny was certainly not with them. Harry shouted loudly, ‘Johnny! Johnny! We’re going now! Hurry up!’
There was no answer. Then Ronnie spoke in surprise. ‘He must have gone home, because his bike isn’t here! There are only our bikes – not Johnny’s. He must have slipped off before us.’
‘So he must,’ said Harry. ‘Well, what a funny thing to do! He might have waited! Come on. We must hurry now.’
Off went the boys, whistling and chattering, never knowing that Johnny’s bike was under a hazel tree where he had left it – and that Johnny himself was lying with his eyes still closed at the bottom of High-Over Hill. Nobody worried about him at all.
Nobody? Yes – there was somebody worrying dreadfully! And that was Shadow. Shadow loved Johnny so much that he knew when things were going wrong with him. And poor Shadow was sitting anxiously on the hillside at the farm, watching and watching for a boy who didn’t come. What was to be done about it?
Shadow sat and waited, his eyes turned towards the lane down which Johnny should come. Rafe ran up to him.
‘What’s the matter? Why is your tail down?’
‘I’m unhappy,’ said Shadow. ‘I feel that something is wrong with Johnny. I know there is!’
Rafe knew what Shadow meant. He looked towards the lane too. ‘Maybe Johnny will come along soon,’ he said. ‘Perhaps his bicycle has broken.’
‘I wish Johnny wouldn’t go out without me,’ said Shadow. ‘I can look after him when I am with him.’
Rafe sat down to keep Shadow company. Dandy came up too, and the three dogs sat together in silence.
Then, at five o’clock, they saw Johnny’s mother come out of the farmhouse to look up the lane to see if Johnny was anywhere about.
‘Johnny! Johnny!’ she called. ‘Are you back yet?’
Will came by, carrying a pitchfork over his shoulder. ‘I don’t think Master Johnny’s home yet, Mam,’ he said. ‘He said he’d bring me my bicycle as soon as he got in, because I wanted it myself this evening – and he hasn’t come.’
‘Oh dear! I wonder what has happened,’ said Johnny’s mother anxiously. ‘It’s past tea-time now – and Johnny promised to be home.’
Shadow darted down the hill and ran up to Johnny’s mother. He looked up at her with dark, worried eyes.
‘So you are anxious too,’ said the farmer’s wife. ‘What has happened to Johnny, Shadow? Can’t you find him for me?’
Shadow barked and then whined. If only he could find Johnny!
He ran to Rafe. ‘Where is High-Over Hill, where Johnny has gone?’ he asked. ‘Have I ever been there?’
‘No,’ said Rafe. ‘But do you remember where we once took some sheep to Farmer Langdon? Well, High-Over Hill is just past there – you can see it when you pass the farm – a great big hill sticking up into the sky.’
‘I shall find it,’ said Shadow. ‘But what a long way it is! Goodbye, Rafe. I don’t know when I shall be back.’
Shadow set off. He did not go the way that Johnny had gone, up the lane and along the road. No – Shadow knew the short-cuts among the hills. He ran along swiftly, smelling the well-known scents of rabbit, fox, weasel, hare, and stoat as he went. How he wished he could suddenly smell Johnny too!
It was a long way to Langdon’s farm, even by the short-cuts. But Shadow did not once think of being tired, although he had done a hard day’s work. All his mind was full of Johnny. He must find Johnny. He must, he must. He knew in his faithful heart that Johnny was in trouble. Something had happened to Johnny. He was sure of it.
He came at last to Langdon’s farm. The sun was setting. It would soon be dark. Shadow trotted quickly down the lane past the farm. He did not dare take the short-cut through the farmyard itself, because the farm-dogs would set on him. No dog allows another on his own farm without the farmer’s permission.
Some way ahead, outlined against the evening sky, was High-Over Hill. Shadow ran even more swiftly. Something told him that Johnny was there.
The dog ran up the slope of the hill – and suddenly his heart beat quickly. He could smell Johnny’s scent! Johnny had been there, no doubt about that.
The dog nosed about the trees – and suddenly he found Johnny’s bicycle, leaning against one of the hazels. He sniffed at it. Then he nosed about to find the boy’s footprints. He found plenty of them, leading here and there. Shadow followed them with his nose – and at last he found footprints leading to the top of the hill.
Shadow followed them. He came to where Johnny had begun to climb down the hill – he came to where Johnny had slipped and fallen – and then, on the breeze, there came such a strong smell of Johnny that Shadow lifted his head and barked loudly:
‘Johnny! I’m here!’
And a feeble voice answered from the bottom of the hill: ‘Shadow! Oh, Shadow!’
Shadow leapt down that hill in a trice! He cared nothing for stones and rocks. Only one thing filled his heart and mind – he had found his beloved little master again. Johnny! Johnny!
In two seconds the big sheep-dog was beside the boy, licking his hands, his face, his legs, anywhere that he could find to lick. He whined as he licked Johnny, and the boy put both his arms round the big dog’s neck.
‘Oh, Shadow! I’m hurt and I’ve been so frightened and lonely here all by myself. Oh, Shadow, I did want you so! How did you find me? Shadow, don’t leave me.’
Shadow sat down beside Johnny. He was happy again now that he had found his master. But he was worried too. How could he get help for Johnny without leaving him? He couldn’t get anyone if he didn’t leave Johnny to fetch help. Yet the boy was so frightened and lonely. Shadow could not bear to leave him. His head was bleeding too. Shadow licked the bad place gently to make it clean. The boy curled up close to the dog for warmth, for he was very cold.
Shadow lay as close as he could. He could feel Johnny getting warmer and warmer. That was good. It was getting dark now. Shadow heard Johnny’s breathing and knew that he was asleep. Perhaps he could leave the boy for a short while and go to Langdon’s farm for help?
He slipped gradually away. Johnny was tired and still slept on. Shadow ran round the hill and went to the farm. The farm-dogs set up a tremendous barking. The farmer came into the yard to see what the noise was about. Shadow ran to him and tugged at his coat.
The farmer flashed his lantern down and saw the big sheep-dog. ‘Why, if it isn’t Johnny’s Shadow!’ he cried in amazement. ‘What do you want here, Shadow?’
Shadow barked and ran to the farm-gate. The farmer knew at once that the dog wanted him to follow. He went back to the farmhouse and fetched a coat. Then he set out behind Shadow.
‘Don’t go so fast!’ he called. ‘I can’t see my way as well as you can!’
But Shadow was impatient to get back to Johnny. Suppose the boy had awakened and had missed him? How upset he would be!
Soon he and the farmer were beside the hurt boy. Johnny awoke and shivered, puzzled to see the lantern shining down on him. Then he groaned because his head ached so badly.
‘Well, old son, so you’ve had a bit of a fall, have you?’ said Farmer Langdon. ‘I’ll carry you back to my farm. Your dog fetched me. Ah, he’s a marvel, that dog of yours!’
‘He found me,’ said Johnny. ‘Oh, I was glad when I heard him bark. It was the nicest sound in the world!’
The farmer carried the boy gently back to the farm. Mrs Langdon bathed his head and his ankle, which had been badly sprained. Then she telephoned to his mother to tell her what had happened.
‘We’ll keep him here tonight,’ she said. ‘He is quite all right now, except for a bad head and a swollen ankle. We’ve got Shadow here too.’
‘Shadow!’ said Johnny’s mother in astonishment. ‘How did he get there? He didn’t go with Johnny today.’
‘Well, he found him at the bottom of High-Over Hill,’ said Mrs Langdon. ‘He came to fetch my husband, and that’s how we got Johnny! He’s a wonderful dog.’
‘Dear old Shadow!’ said Johnny’s mother, her eyes full of tears. ‘I don’t know what we would do without him.’
Johnny stayed at the farm that night, and slept in the spare room there, with Shadow as usual stretched over his feet. It was the first time that Shadow had slept in another house, but he didn’t mind where he slept so long as he was with Johnny.
The boy was taken home the next day, and his mother hugged him. His father welcomed him too, and the boy told him how the accident happened.
‘I disobeyed you, Dad,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t mean to. I quite forgot what you had said about not going over the steep side of the hill. But I’ve been well punished for it. And if it hadn’t been for Shadow, I don’t know what would have happened to me!’
‘Good dog, Shadow!’ said Johnny’s father, and he patted the big dog. ‘Good dog! I’ll let you off your work for two or three days so that you can be with Johnny whilst he is getting better. Look after him, won’t you?’
Of course Shadow would! It was the thing he loved best in the world.
