Mark Spark in the Dark Read online

  PUFFIN BOOK

  Mark Spark in the Dark

  Jacqueline Wilson writes for children of all ages. The Suitcase Kid won the Children’s Book Award, Double Act won the Smarties Prize, and The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Book of the Year Award.

  Jacqueline lives near London in a small house crammed with 10,000 books.

  Some other books by Jacqueline Wilson

  For older readers

  TAKE A GOOD LOOK

  VIDEO ROSE

  THE WEREPUPPY

  THE WEREPUPPY ON HOLIDAY

  JACQUELINE WILSON

  Mark Spark in the Dark

  Illustrated by Bethan Matthews

  PUFFIN

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

  Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2

  Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India

  Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  www.penguin.com

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

  First published by Hamish Hamilton 1993

  Published in Puffin Books 1994

  30

  Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 1993

  Illustrations copyright © Bethan Matthews, 1993

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN: 978-0-14-192665-0

  Contents

  Mark Spark

  Mark Spark in the Dark

  Mark Spark

  Chapter One

  “Hands up all of you with a dog at home,” said Miss Moss.

  Mark’s friend Jason put his hand up. Jason had a spaniel called Ben who had once eaten a whole box of chocolates in ten minutes flat. Louise from down the road had her hand up. Louise had a poodle called Puffball who whined a lot. Mark felt he would whine too if he had to wear a red ribbon and a silly tartan coat. That was no way to treat a dog. It wasn’t fair. Mark would have loved a dog but he couldn’t have one.

  Mark’s mum and dad were out at work all day so there would be no one to look after a dog. There was no one to look after Mark when he came home from school so Mark always went round to Great Gran’s for his tea. Then he got another tea when Mum came to fetch him home. Mark was very nearly as greedy as Jason’s spaniel Ben.

  “Tell me all the different things your dogs can do,” said Miss Moss.

  “Jason’s dog can eat heaps,” said Mark. “And then he’s sick heaps too.”

  “Mark Spark!” (He was really called Mark Spencer, but everyone called him Mark Spark. Even Miss Moss).

  “And Louise’s dog whines and whimpers like this,” said Mark, imitating Puffball.

  “Mark Spark!” said Miss Moss.

  “Give some of the others a chance to answer, please.”

  Mark slumped in his seat. He listened to the other children telling long stories about Woofer and Bruce and Rover. He wasn’t impressed.

  “So your dogs can fetch their own leads and open doors and bark at strangers. But I’m going to show you a picture of a very clever dog who can do something else. Something very important indeed,” said Miss Moss.

  Mark looked at the big picture Miss Moss was holding. He saw a cream labrador in a special harness leading a woman with dark glasses.

  “This lady’s blind. She can’t see at all. Try closing your eyes for a moment. Now imagine you’ve got to get yourself out of the classroom, across the playground, out of the gate and all the way home without once opening your eyes. It would be very difficult, wouldn’t it?”

  Mark’s eyes were open, not shut. He had his hand up and was bouncing around in his seat.

  “I know what it’s like, Miss. My Great Gran’s blind. She can’t go out, well, not much.”

  “Don’t shout, Mark. It can’t be easy to be your Great Granny. Now, this dog is a specially trained guide dog. He’s leading the lady along, helping her safely across the road.

  Guide dogs like this one do a wonderful job. But it takes lots of money to train them. Our school is going to try to raise enough money to train a special guide dog. Now, how can our class make some money?”

  “I’ve got an idea, Miss,” said Mark.

  “Let’s hear from someone else for a change,” said Miss Moss. “Louise?”

  “We could have a bring and buy sale, Miss Moss,” said Louise. She liked bringing and was very good at buying.

  “We could have a sponsored run,” said Jason, who always came first at running.

  “I’ve got a better idea,” said Mark, who simply couldn’t keep quiet. “Let’s have a parade with all of us dressed up as guide dogs with collecting tins round our necks and we could have my Great Gran at the back of the parade and we could be leading her. We could all go woof, woof woof and –”

  “That’s enough, Mark. It’s certainly an original idea but I don’t think it’s very practical. Still, I’m glad you’re showing such an interest.”

  Chapter Two

  No wonder Mark was interested. He boasted to Jason and Louise all the way home.

  “Just wait till you see my Great Gran out with her guide dog! He’ll have to go very slowly so my Great Gran can keep up. I’ll train him to be ever so careful.”

  “Don’t talk daft, Mark Spark,” said Louise. “They have proper trainers for the guide dogs.”

  “And Miss Moss didn’t say your Great Gran was getting this guide dog,” said Jason.

  “She’s blind so of course she’ll get one,” said Mark. “Wait till my Great Gran hears.”

  “I think the whole street can hear,” said Jason, wincing away from Mark. “You don’t half bellow sometimes, Mark.”

  Mark was used to talking in a loud voice for Great Gran because she was a little deaf as well as blind. She couldn’t hear when Mark knocked at her door so he had his own key.

  “Great Gran!” Mark yelled, flying through her hall.

  Great Gran wasn’t great at all. She was a very little lady and when Mark went bounding straight on top of her she nearly got squashed.

  “What’s this, the human whirlwind?” she said. “Get off of me, you great lump!” but she laughed and tickled Mark.

  “D-o-o-o-n’t!” Mark squealed. He was very ticklish, especially under the arms. “Give over, Great Gran. Listen!”

  “I can’t help but listen, Mr Squirm-and-Squiggle. You hungry? The teapot’s brewing and there’s marmite and crisp sandwiches and jammy buns.”

  “Wow, great. But do listen, Great Gran. You’re going to get a dog!”

  “No, I’m not!”

  “Yes, you are. My school’s saving up to get you a dog.”