I'll Always Love You
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Copyright © 1985 by Hans Wilhelm, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, New York, in 1985.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this work as follows:
Wilhelm, Hans.
I’ll always love you / by Hans Wilhelm.
p. cm.
Summary: A child’s sadness at the death of a beloved dog is tempered by the remembrance of saying to it every night, “I’ll always love you.”
ISBN 978-0-517-55648-1 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-517-57759-2 (lib. bdg.) —
ISBN 978-0-517-57265-8 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-307-79283-9 (ebook)
1. Children’s stories, American. [1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. Death—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.W64816 II 1985
[E]—19
84020060
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.1
To Lea
—H. W.
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
First Page
This is a story about Elfie—the best dog in the whole world.
We grew up together, but Elfie grew much faster than I did.
I loved resting my head on her warm coat. Then we would dream together.
My brother and sister loved Elfie very much, but she was my dog.
Every day, Elfie and I played together.
Elfie loved to chase squirrels
and to dig in my mother’s flower garden.
Sometimes my folks would get very angry with Elfie when she would get into mischief. But they still loved her, even when they scolded her.
The trouble was, no one told her except me.
The years passed quickly, and while I was growing taller and taller, Elfie was growing rounder and rounder.
The older Elfie got, the more she slept,
and the less she liked to walk. I was getting worried!
We took Elfie to the vet, but there wasn’t much he could do.
“Elfie is just growing old,” he said.
It soon became too difficult for Elfie to climb the stairs.
But she had to sleep in my room.
I gave Elfie a soft pillow to sleep on, and before we went to sleep I would say to her, “I’ll always love you.” I know she understood.
One morning I woke up and discovered that Elfie had died during the night.
We buried Elfie together. We all cried and hugged each other.
My brother and sister loved Elfie a lot, but they never told her so.
I was very sad, too, but it helped to remember that I had told her every night, “I’ll always love you.”
A neighbor offered me a puppy. I knew Elfie wouldn’t have minded, but I said no.
I gave him Elfie’s basket instead. He needed it more than I did.
Someday I’ll have another dog, or a kitten or a goldfish. But whatever it is, I’ll tell it every night: “I’ll always love you.”
Hans Wilhelm, I'll Always Love You
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