ne Christmas morning, Jim Dear gave his wife, Darling, a very special present. It was wrapped in a box and tied with a pink ribbon.

    When Darling opened it, a tiny cocker spaniel puppy peeped out at her.

    “How sweet!” cried Darling, “what a perfectly beautiful little lady.”

    And that was how Lady got her name.

        hen Lady was six months old, she was given a beautiful blue collar. She was so proud, she rushed out to show it to her friends Jock and Trusty. Jock was a small black Scottish terrier. Trusty was a big brown bloodhound. He had once been a famous police dog, but now he was old and he’d lost most of his sense of smell.

    “My, you’re a full-grown lady now!” said Jock.

    Lady felt that she was the luckiest, happiest dog in the whole world.

         few weeks later, Jock and Trusty found Lady lying by her water bowl. She looked very sad.

    “What’s wrong, lassie?” asked Jock.

    Lady explained that Jim Dear and Darling seemed upset with her—but she didn’t know why.

    “I wouldn’t worry,” Jock said. “Darling is expecting a wee bairn.”

    Lady looked confused.

    “He means a baby,” Trusty explained.

    “Oh!” said Lady, still confused. “What’s a baby?”

    “A baby,” Jock began, “is a cute little bundle of—”

    But before he could finish, a voice behind him said, “. . . trouble.”

    Lady turned around to see who had spoken. Walking toward her was a scruffy but handsome dog called Tramp. “Remember, when a baby moves in, the dog moves out!” he warned.

       t last the baby came. The whole family gathered around the cradle, including Lady, who thought the baby was wonderful.

    “We’re going to be all right,” she said to herself. “Tramp was wrong. Nothing has really changed.”

    A few months later, Jim and Darling went away to visit friends. Aunt Sarah came to look after the baby, and she brought her two Siamese cats with her.

        he cats were sly and mischievous. They raced through the house frightening the canary, ripping the curtains, and tipping over the goldfish bowl!

    “What’s all this?” cried Aunt Sarah, when she saw the mess. “It must have been that dog!”

    The cats rolled on the floor, pretending Lady had attacked them.

    “Bad dog!” Aunt Sarah said to Lady. “Just you wait!”

        unt Sarah took Lady straight to the pet shop to have a muzzle put on.

    Lady struggled as the shopkeeper fastened it over her face. Panicking, she tore out of the shop and raced down the street. She had to get away from Aunt Sarah!

    As Lady dashed across the road, she was nearly knocked down by a car. Terrified, she ran into a side street. Suddenly, a pack of stray dogs jumped out and began chasing her.

    Lady fled down the alley to escape, but a huge fence blocked her way. She was trapped!

    Just as the dogs were about to attack her, Tramp jumped over the fence. He was a fierce fighter and quickly scared off the other dogs.

    Tramp walked back to Lady, who was shaking with fear.

    “Oh! You poor kid,” he said, looking at her muzzle. “We’ve got to get that thing off.”

        ramp led Lady to a nearby zoo, where they soon spotted a beaver who happily bit through Lady’s muzzle. In a second, it dropped off and Lady was free again!

    As the stars began to twinkle in the sky, Tramp said, “Come on, it’s supper time.”

    He led Lady to the back door of Tony’s Italian restaurant. Tony’s chef, Joe, was a friend of Tramp’s, and brought the couple a plate of spaghetti.

    While Tony and Joe played soft romantic music, Lady and Tramp shared a delicious meal.

    What a wonderful night, Lady thought. Suddenly, her lips met Tramp’s. They were both eating the same strand of spaghetti! Lady blushed and the two dogs gazed dreamily at each other. They were falling in love.

        fter supper, Tramp took Lady for a stroll in the park. Soon, the two dogs fell asleep together under the stars.

    The next morning, Lady awoke with a start. She had forgotten about the baby. She needed to go home to care for him!

        s they approached Lady’s home, Tramp spotted a henhouse. “Follow me,” he shouted.

    Tramp began chasing the chickens around the farmyard. Feathers flew everywhere! Suddenly, there was a loud bang.

    “Come on!” shouted Tramp as he squeezed under a fence. “That’s the signal to get going!”

        ramp and Lady dashed round the corner. They splashed through a stream and jumped over ditches. Tramp raced ahead. When he turned around, Lady was nowhere to be seen. She had been caught by a dogcatcher!

    Poor Lady was taken to the dog pound. Lady’s eyes filled with tears as the door of her cell clanged shut behind her.

        efore long, Aunt Sarah picked Lady up from the dog pound. She was very upset with Lady for running away. When they got home, she chained Lady to a doghouse in the backyard and yelled, “Stay there! Don’t you make any noise, or I’ll send you back to that pound!”

    Lady was too miserable to do anything but lie there. Even her good friends, Trusty and Jock, couldn’t make her feel better.