 
jennifer is small with brown and white spots and long ears. 
when libby saw her she cried, "oh, what an adorable dog!" 
"she comes with the house," daddy said. 
"she belongs to professor egran and she's ours for the summer." 
"i"m going back to the car," i said. 
daddy held my arm. 
"she can"t hurt you." 
"oh sure," i said, pulling away from him. 
"but i"ll just wait in the car until you decide what to do with her. 
because i"m not staying here if she does!" 
i ran down to the road, jumped into our car, and started to shake. 
how could they do this to me? 
their own child. 
their own younger daughter. 
didn"t they understand? 
didn"t they care? 
daddy and mom hurried to the car. 
mom stuck her head in the open window. 
"sheila," she said, "jennifer is very small. 
she's more afraid of you than you are of her." 
"did she tell you that?" i asked. 
daddy said, "she's got a doghouse and a fenced-in area. 
she's chained up. 
you don"t have to go near her." 
"suppose she gets away?" i asked. 
"suppose her chain breaks?" 
"that won"t happen," daddy said. 
"but even if it did, someone would catch her." 
"you"re just saying that!" i told daddy. 
"but you don"t mean it." 
"have we ever lied to you?" mom asked. 
"well... no." 
"then trust us," daddy said. 
i looked out the car window. 
libby was cuddling jennifer. 
"you promise she"ll never come into the house?" 
"i promise," daddy said. 
"she's got everything she needs outside." 
