made a lot of progress each day.
Nome was less than thirty miles away now, and she her pace quickened a little bit every time she thought about how close she was. She was going to reach Nome by that very night; she could almost feel it!
The beach was a pretty sight. The sun suspended itself over the southern horizon; it was about as high as it was getting today. Clouds directly overhead bounced off the sun’s light in beautiful colors, and the snow fell in shades of orange and pink—something she had never seen with her wolf pack. The ocean sparkled, with whales in the far distance majestically jumping out of the water quite often.
It was as if nature itself was begging her to return to Nome.
She let herself break into a full run, opening her mouth and letting her tongue hang out as she did. I’m going home! The thought kept repeating itself in her mind, and she was excited. How much had changed while she was gone? How much hadn’t changed? There was only one way to find out.
A small patch of sand erupted in front of Aleu, causing her to stop dead-still. A second later, she heard a sound, like that of thunder—but it wasn’t thunder.
Aleu turned to face the nearby woods, her trained eyes quickly scanning from left to right in search of the gun. She had only ever been shot at once: the last time she was in Nome. But it was a sound she would never forget.
But she became confused when she could not locate the source of the bullet. No matter how hard she looked, Aleu did not see either a gun or a human.
She decided to cautiously begin walking again, ready to dart ahead at any second.
Almost instantly, the sound of another gunshot filled the air. Aleu flinched, but not before the water behind her exploded into steam.
Not wanting to hang around any longer, Aleu darted ahead, as fast as her legs could carry her. She tried running in a zigzag pattern, hoping it would throw off the hunter’s aim in case he shot at her again.
The gun fired two more times, and with each shot the sound grew fainter. Even after she was sure she was out of range, Aleu kept running.
Her thoughts raced almost as fast as her legs. She had been gone for so long, she had completely forgotten the horrible things that she had to live with. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure if she was ready to return. Was she really ready to put up with all the horror that awaited her?
She slowed to a walk, and then finally stopped altogether. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, hoping to concentrate all her feelings toward her situation.
I never found a human to adopt me. I was shot at by a hunter. I had no friends… What can there possibly be in Nome for me?
Tears filled her eyes. I have come all this way for nothing. My pack was taken from me, and now I don’t even have a home to return to. This has been a waste. The tears began to flow freely. I am a waste.
Aleu barely noticed the snow start again. Suddenly, she didn’t care about anything. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear; what was left for her?
She did, however, notice when the snowfall ended, if only because it ended mere seconds later. Aleu opened her eyes a little bit, and then when they focused, they jerked wide open. Directly in front of her, within a distance of feet, was the “Welcome to Nome” sign.
“But I wasn’t here before,” Aleu said out loud, gasping in wonder. “How did I get here?”
In the far distance, she heard the sound of a howling wolf. She turned in the direction the howl came from: the hills outside of town. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought that, for a second, she had seen a white wolf. But when she blinked, it was gone.
Amazement filled Aleu’s heart, and she knew it had all been a sign—a sign that she belonged here after all. She looked up, and couldn’t help but smile. High up above her, as if to finally tell her she was home, the Northern Lights shone bright and vivid.

Balto adjusted his party hat that Boris had insisted that he wear, just as the goose had every year. He was outside his boat, which was now decorated with festivities in preparation for the Christmas party.
A small snowfall was beginning to form, which meant that it was definitely going to be a white Christmas—nothing new in Alaska, but still a welcome surprise. Another welcome surprise was Kodi, who was walking up at that very moment.
“Hey, Dad,” he said once he approached Balto. He looked over the ship quickly, while trying in vain to hide a chuckle. “Why’s your home pink?”
“First of all, it’s not pink, it’s cotton-candy,” Balto corrected, insisting in his head that it must have been close enough to cotton-candy for him to get away with claiming that was the color. Then, in a murmur, he added “And secondly, your Uncle Boris is color blind.” He held up a party hat. “And he insisted we all wear these.”
Kodi looked at the hat for a few seconds, before reluctantly putting it on. “This...this is awkward.”
“Welcome to my world,” Balto said in answer.
Kodi, figuring that this conversation was getting too far out of hand, walked inside the boat without further comment.
Two minutes later, Malena and Tydye came walking up the beach. “Hello, Pop!” they said in unison. Then, before they could take one step further, Tydye noticed Balto’s bandaged paws. “Whoa! What happened to you?”
“Take two nails and add a toolbox,” Balto replied, wincing in pain.
Malena turned to her sister. “Please don’t ask; I was there when it happened.” She paused. “Well, the first one, anyway.”
Tydye nodded. “If you were there,” she said sarcastically, “then I don’t want to know about it.”
Malena smiled. “A wise decision,” she said with an equal amount of sarcasm in her voice.
Balto just shook his head with a smile. Then, tossing them two hats, he said, “Your Uncle Boris wanted us all to wear these.”
“What for?” Tydye asked, putting one on. “It makes me look like a male.” She turned to Malena. “And you too, actually.”
“Oh, stop it,” Malena said with a smile.
“I was being serious,” Tydye countered.
Suddenly Malena started stammering. “Uh...uh...uh...”
Balto looked at her. “Malena, your eye is twitching.”
“Sorry,” Malena replied quickly, bolting past her father and sister in order to reach the safety of the ship. “Lack of Vitamin A.”
Tydye turned to her father, and noticed the look on his face—the look of exhaustion. “Are you all right, Pop?”
Balto smiled reassuringly. “Yeah, Pumpkin, I’m fine.” He sighed. “It’s just...been a long year. For both of us, I might add.”
Tydye sighed in return. “Yeah, it has.” She patted him on the shoulder. “But this is a whole new beginning. Let’s begin this next year with a promise. From now on, we’ll stick together.”
Balto smiled, stepping aside to let his daughter into his home. “How about...not just this year? How about forever?”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” Tydye responded. Then she walked inside.
A few minutes later, Dingo walked up. “Merry Christmas, Dad,” he greeted.
Balto smiled. “Merry Christmas, Son. I already told you that at least twice today.”
“Hey, it doesn’t kill you to say it again, does it?” Dingo replied. Then, without his father having to tell him, he walked over and put on a party hat.
“How did you know?” Balto asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Uncle Boris made us wear them last year. And the year before that...” His voice started trailing off. “And the year before that, come to think of it.”
Balto smiled. “Oh, yeah, he did. Now, you go on in there and have a great time!” He watched with joy as Dingo barked with joy and ran into the boat.
Ten minutes later, Jenna walked up, Saba at her side. “Hi, Balto,” Jenna said. “Merry Christmas, Pa,” Saba cried in giddiness; it seemed as if Balto wasn’t the only one who was excited.
“Merry Christmas to you too, Saba,” Balto replied. “You’re both just in time for the party.” He swished his tail at the hats, which both fell onto their heads, landing perfectly. “I’ve been practicing,” Balto explained. “And now that everyone’s here, let’s go inside and enjoy our party!”

 CHAPTER 10

THE PARTY WAS an all-out fun experience for Balto. Not only were his children there, but it seemed as if every other dog in town had managed to arrive as well. The games were some of the weirdest, yet most entertaining, that Balto had ever laid eyes upon; there were blow-darts, a walk-through maze, and an oversized board game—just to name a few. The refreshments were potato chips, orange juice, and, of course, dog bones.
The talking and fun and games went on. Soon it was time for gift exchanges. Since Balto had given his gifts to everyone earlier that day, he stood back and watched with glee as everyone else exchanged gifts.
After a while, Jenna walked over. “Mind if I join you?”
Balto shook his head. “I see you’re wearing the bandana I gave you,” he said with a smile.
Jenna smiled, her brown eyes twinkling. “Thanks for giving it to me.”
“Anything for you,” Balto replied with an equal twinkling in his equally brown eyes.
“Great party, isn’t it?”
“Terrific. This might be the best part we’ve ever had.”
“I agree!” Jenna exclaimed. Then she pulled a small bag out