"I don't like this at all," said Noggin to Izzy in a huff. "She makes so much noise. And she keeps taking my toys. Without asking. As if she doesn't even know they're my toys and not hers. I don't like this at all."
"But she's so cute!" said Izzy. "How could you not like her?"
Noggin looked at Izzy in shock. Best friends are not supposed to think that things you don't like are cute. "That's another thing," he said. "Everybody keeps saying how cute she is. Just because she's little. I don't care how little you are, it isn't right to steal someone's toys. What kind of name is Muffin, anyway? And why did they bring her home? We were perfectly fine without her. Now everything is loud and messy and no one has time for me." Even as he was saying these things, Noggin knew they weren't completely true, but he couldn't help it, he was feeling really cross.
"I know how you feel," said Izzy, patting Noggin on the back in sympathy, "but that's just what it's like to have a little sister. There are advantages to being the big brother, though."
Noggin had been so busy thinking about the disadvantages, he hadn't thought there might be a good side of things. "Like what?" he asked.
"Well, for one thing, you'll have someone to play with even when I have to go home to my tea. She won't always be so little, you know. And you'll always be bigger than her, so you can boss her about. Even her littleness becomes an advantage, because compared to her, you're really grown up. You'll get to stay up later than her, and go places she's not allowed to go. And it'll be your job to protect her if anyone tries to hurt her."
"Hurt her? Who would try to hurt her?" said Noggin in alarm. After all, even if she was a nuisance, she was his little sister, and no one better hurt her if they know what's good for them.
Just then, they heard a tiny squeal followed by lot of very loud barking coming from the garden next door, where Alfie, the scary German Shepherd lives.
"Hep me!" came the squeal again, from the other side of the fence, and Noggin realized it was Muffin. "Oh pease hep me!"
Noggin and Izzy ran to the fence where the cries seemed to be coming from, and Noggin realised with dismay that Muffin had wiggled through the small hole he had dug, and now she was in Alfie's garden. Noggin knew he had to get her back before she got hurt. But the hole wasn't big enough for him to get through. Luckily, Noggin is very good at digging, so he set to work making the hole bigger as fast as he could.
"It's ok Muffin, I'm coming," shouted Noggin as he squeezed himself under the fence. Just as he came out the other side, Alfie came running up, barking really loudly. Normally, Noggin would have been scared, because Alfie is about ten times as big as he is, and he's a trained killer-attack-watchdog (or at least that's what the other dogs in the neighborhood said). But now Noggin could only think about protecting Muffin. So he stood up to Alfie, looked him right in the eye and barked his most ferocious bark. And miraculously, Alfie stopped barking.
"Sorry," said Alfie. "Just doing my job. If you get her out of here now, I'll look the other way."
Noggin was so surprised, he didn't know what to say, so he just nudged Muffin back through the hole, crawled through himself, and collapsed with relief against the fence.
"Yip!" said Muffin.
"You're welcome," said Noggin.
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