To all those who love animals!

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Grandma and Grandad decided to go on holiday to New Zealand. Because New Zealand is so far away, they asked us to babysit their dog, Banjo. Banjo is a friendly fun-loving dog with big brown eyes and soft black hair. He always gets into trouble but looks at everyone with his soppy eyes and escapes being told off. Mummy and Daddy agreed he could stay but we would need to help take care of Banjo too.

When Banjo arrived at our house, he wanted to check everything out. He ran around the house as though he was inspecting each room. He ran up the stairs and found our bedroom and jumped on Verity’s bed. Banjo snuggled into her soft toys and seemed very content.

Because it was late afternoon, Daddy suggested we take Banjo for a walk before dinner. Banjo was excited to leave the house and explore his new temporary surroundings. Banjo lived on a farm so being in a town near a quay was all new to him. He was fascinated by the sights, sounds, smells, other people and especially other dogs. Banjo pulled on his lead so he could sniff things he had never seen or smelt before. He was very happy and loved the walk. We returned home and had some supper and then it was time for bed. Banjo had become instantly attached to Verity’s soft toys and refused to move off her bed. Verity said, “It is a good thing that I am small, and Banjo and I can share my bed”. And so it was, Banjo would sleep with Verity.

We woke up the next day to Banjo being so excited. He kissed Verity’s face to wake her up and came to me for a good morning hug and kiss too. He ran around in circles not knowing where to go or what to do. We took him downstairs and found his bowls to give him breakfast. We sat at the table to eat our own breakfast, but curiosity meant that Banjo jumped up and wanted to eat what we were having. Daddy wasn’t happy and told Banjo to sit. He did but still wanted our food. In order to distract Banjo, Daddy decided to let him into the back garden. The door flung open and out ran Banjo.

We sat at the kitchen table looking out the window and saw Banjo running around. He jumped up to try to catch the butterflies and then tried to hit the dragonflies with his paws. Banjo looked happy to be in the fresh air. Banjo wandered through the long grass like a jungle cat. I said to Verity, “If you squint your eyes, Banjo looks like a puma”. Verity laughed and said, “Banjo would frighten the foxes”. We then became distracted as we tidied our breakfast dishes and had to get changed. Daddy said we could go outside to play, so we put on our play clothes ready for the day.

We put on our jackets and wellington boots, of course Verity wore her pink wellies. As we stepped outside the sun was shining but the sky was full of clouds. It was difficult to see where Banjo was as the grass was so long. Verity and I shouted his name, but he never came to us. “He is probably down in the back garden,” said Verity. I agreed. Verity grabbed hold of my hand and then said, “Let’s go!”

We made our way to the back garden but not without falling in the long grass on our way. We could see Banjo digging and seemed busy at work. When we called his name, he did not acknowledge us. Banjo had dug a very big hole. We thought Daddy would be angry with such a large hole in the garden. Banjo kept digging and digging and digging. He then started to bark. But bark at what? It was only dirt. We moved closer to check to see what it was. Our eyes widened to see that there was a small box. I said immediately, “Go get Daddy”.

Hearing a sense of urgency in Verity’s voice, Daddy slipped on his wellies and ran with Verity to the back garden. “Look!” I shouted. Daddy stood still and then rubbed his eyes. He bent down to try to get the small box from the ground. It was stuck. Daddy went to the shed to get a shovel so he could dig the box out. Banjo followed Daddy and watched everything he was doing. He would not leave Daddy.

Daddy managed to free the box from the earth and held it in his hands. We all stood still, even Banjo sat and waited, and we looked with excitement and fascination. Verity shouted, “Treasure”. Daddy tried to calm her down and said, “Not yet Verity. Let’s take this inside and try to clean the box up a little before we open it!” Verity pulled a funny face but understood what Daddy had said. We all walked quickly back to the house.

We sat at the kitchen table and Daddy placed the box on top of a clean tea towel. We were all very excited to see what was inside. Daddy said he thought he had better look first, just in case it was something not nice. That was a good idea. Daddy always knows what to do. He moved the box close to him and lifted the lid. Daddy’s eyes were like something I had never seen before. Was he surprised? Excited? Disappointed? It was very difficult to tell. “Verity and Olly you were right, it is treasure!” he said. Verity and I peered into the box to see a series of coins. Daddy took them out one by one and placed them on the tea towel.

The coins were a bit battered and worn but we could see pictures on them. Daddy said he would try to use the internet to find out more information, but we needed to take them somewhere. He wasn’t quite sure what to do and said he would make some phone calls. It was difficult to understand what was going on but we heard “Museum” and then “Charlie the Curator”. Daddy seemed excited and told us we needed to go to bed as we would be up early in the morning to go out. He would not say where, but we knew it was tied to the coins.

It was difficult to get sleep as the excitement increased. Before we knew it, morning had arrived and it was time to get up. Daddy made us a quick breakfast, and we got dressed in warm clothes to go out. Daddy wrapped the small box in the tea towel and placed it in a blue backpack. Banjo was going from one person to another as if to be asking what was going on. We had to leave him behind and we headed to the Butter Box.

We arrived at the stop and tried to look out for the old yellow blob bumping along the road. Tall Tony arrived with his headphones on. He took them off when he saw Daddy and they chatted away. Tall Tony was excited. Had Daddy told him about our treasure? Tall Tony hailed the Butter Box and we all got on. Mr Fitzgibbons was driving the bus and chatted to Daddy about the best stop to get off. We took a seat and we were on our way. The Butter Box turned left and right and went up and down over the bumps. We slid across the seat, and this included Daddy. We stopped at Market Place and Mr Fitzgibbons told us our stop would be next. Tall Tony got off and wished us luck.

We stopped at Maple Station. The noise of the trains and the announcements blasted in our ears. We took an elevator to help us reach a bridge crossing. When we crossed the bridge, we saw a very old but fancy building. Daddy announced that we needed to meet someone in the museum. When we went inside, it smelt musty and dusty. It was our first time going to the museum. Daddy made us sit on a seat while he spoke to someone at reception. Within minutes a tall man in a dark suit came to us. Together with Daddy, we said, “Hello”. The man was called Charlie; he was known as Charlie the Curator.

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