Dog Dance of Snikia — Richard Wolkomir

In this whimsical fantasy novella, Flin, son of a Snikian pear farmer, travels to the big city with Bobby Shortlegs, a smallish dog, colored honey-and-white, with perked-up ears and no tail, and highly intelligent eyes. At birth, all Snikians are assigned a lifelong animal companion. However, Flin's and Bobby Shortlegs' relationship is grumpy, mostly because Bobby is a genius and Flin is anything but. Flin hopes the Snikian ability to communicate with animals will enable him to win a major magical talent contest. However, he becomes embroiled in the feud between aristocratic twins, who despise each other. His untrustworthy guide in the big city is one warring brother's maid, Coriette, who plays her own game. Bobby Shortlegs warns Flin to watch out, but does Flin ever listen to Bobby's advice? Unfortunately, no.