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the race, but after all the practicing he was as ready as he’d ever be. “No problem, right, Cocoa?” he asked. Cocoa grinned up at him and wagged her tail.
     
    Right!
     
    “Cocoa! The famous Cocoa. I’ve been hearing so much about you!”
    It was Dee. Her wheelchair was strapped onto a toboggan and a crew of “elves” (actually some of Harry’s teammates from the basketball team) in pointy green hats hauled her across the snow. She wore a sparkly crown and a sash that proclaimed her “Queen of WinterFest.” Murphy, her beautiful chocolate Lab, trotted along beside her, keeping an eye on everything.
    Hearing her name, Cocoa pulled hard on her leash and dragged Charles over to Dee. She and Murphy sniffed at each other, tails wagging.
    “Hello, Your Majesty,” said Charles, bowing down before Dee.
    Dee grinned. “My staff made me wear this,” she said. She scratched Cocoa’s ears. “Harry was right. This pup is a real cutie. She’d be perfect for Daw —” She stopped and put her hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that. I know Cocoa belongs to someone.” She changed the subject. “What do you think of WinterFest?”
    “I think it’s great,” said Charles. He had a feeling he knew what Dee had been about to say. “I can’t wait to try snowball bingo and check out the hot cocoa stand.”
    “And the tug-of-war should be beginning soon,” said Dee. “But of course the main event is the relay race. Did you know that between the four teams you’ve already raised over two thousand dollars for people who can’t afford to heat their homes this winter?” She waved a stack of pledge forms at him.
    Charles was surprised. “I didn’t even know that the race was a fund-raiser,” he admitted. “But that’s great.”
    “I bet Harry and Dawna didn’t want you to worry about collecting pledges, since you’re so busy taking care of Cocoa,” said Dee. “But there are a lot of people out there who will be warmer this winter, and you’re part of that.”
    The whole time they’d been talking, Cocoa had been trying to get Murphy to play. But as a service dog, he was trained not to play during work hours. After that first sniff hello, he sat like a statue, barely flicking an ear, while Cocoa danced around him. Finally, she sat down and began to bark.
     
    This is frustrating! Why won’t you wrestle? I know you like to have fun.
     
    Charles and Dee laughed. “I’d better keep this pup moving,” said Charles. He waved to Dee as heand Cocoa set off across the field. It was time to find Sammy and David and check out some of the games.
     
    Later, as the afternoon shadows began to fall, Charles stood at the top of the hill, wearing his skis, his heart pounding as he waited for the race to begin. Any minute now, Dee would call “ready, set, go” over the loudspeaker, and Harry would flop down on his sled. And soon after that, Dawna would finish her snowshoe run, make the snowman smile, and tag Charles. He checked his pocket again for the carrot, then scanned the crowd, wondering if Judge Thayer would make it in time to see the race. He spotted Mom, who was holding Cocoa’s leash. Dad stood next to her, carrying the Bean piggyback. There was Lizzie with her friend Maria, with Buddy sitting between them. But where was Judge Thayer?Wait — who was that, picking his way carefully along one of the paths? A tall, thin man with a limp, leaning on a ski pole. A tiny woman walked beside him. The judge and his wife had arrived.

It seemed to take forever for the race to start. Charles thought he would jump out of his skin waiting to hear Dee say “go.” He bent down to tighten his ski boot laces, then stood up again, wobbling a bit on his skis. Would he be able to ski fast enough? Would he crash in front of everyone? Time seemed to slow down as Charles waited. But once the race began, it all went by in a blur. Charles saw Harry fly down the hill on his sled and wrap the scarf around the snowman’s neck. He