can," Jenna answered for him. "We'll leave you two alone. Come on pups!" she moved them along, leaving Balto in a rather awkward position

"It was good to have you in attendance tonight," Doc began. "We were beginning to wonder if you were even still alive."

Balto laughed, nervously.

"I was just wondering why it is that you don't show up to ourmeetings anymore," Doc continued. Many of the other dogs, who were leaving, stopped to listen in.

"Well, uh..." Balto began, not sure what to say.

"Jenna told us about your troubles, and I know that you decided not to be on the sled team anymore. We are acceptant of that," Doc said. "With that in mind, I don't see why you should have a problem with just listening in on the town's general happenings, and offering your input from time to time." The other dogs around him began to nod in agreement. "You've done a lot for this town, and we'd love to have you as part of this council."

"I...appreciate that," Balto replied nervously, "but, I'm afraid I can't." He tried to walk away.

"But, why?" Doc called to him.

"Look uh, I need to go and...Take care of my pups. It was nice seeing you all," he said, as he ran towards Jenna's.

Doc and the other dogs just looked at each other in confusion, as well as disappointment.

 

***

 

"Don't worry about a thing, Jenna," Balto said, "I'll take good care of them."

"I hope so," said Jenna, walking away.

Balto had almost completely forgotten that it was his turn to watch his pups on this day, since Jenna and her girl were going on a picnic. Balto wasn't upset about it. Any chance he had to be with his puppies was a joy to him.

The pups all came running back to Balto after playing with Boris. "So, what're we gonna do today, Daddy?" asked Annie.

Before Balto could answer, Saba blurted out, "Let’s play on the beach!" They all barked in agreement, and took off for the shore.

"Hey, wait for me!" Balto laughed, as he went after them.

They jumped around a bit, until Kodi and Dingo took off down the shoreline, and the others soon followed.

Balto sighed, as he dashed to keep up with them. "Every time..." he laughed to himself. "Come on guys, slow down," he said. "I don't want anybody getting hurt or lost." But, they didn't listen. Balto had to chase them all the way to the end of the beach, and they still didn't look like they were going to stop. They certainly had a lot of energy being so young. Balto finally gave up, and decided to let them have their fun. That's when he noticed Kodi had stopped running, and was trying to catch his breath. Balto saw the disappointed look on his face as he approached him. Kodi was the smallest of the litter, and although his brothers and sisters loved him dearly, he often felt down on himself. He looked up at his father sadly.

"What's the matter, son?" Balto asked.

"I can't keep up with them, Dad," Kodi sighed. "I just wish I were bigger...and faster."

"Hey, it's okay," Balto said. "Not everybody can run that fast."

"But, I wanna be able to!" Kodi pleaded. "I wanna be a sled dog some day...just like you, Dad."

Balto was surprised to find out that he knew. "Oh, so your mother told you..."

"Yeah! You used to be one, didn't you?" Kodi said, beginning to smile.

"Well...I sort of was-for a little while," Balto replied, grinning a bit.

"And you and your team saved the whole town, right?" Kodi said excitedly.

Balto laughed lightly. "How much did your mother tell you?" he inquired.

"Well..."

"You know what, when I was your age," Balto said, changing the subject, "I wasn't that fast either. You just gotta work at it. If you give it time, you'll be faster than you've ever been before."

"You mean, I could be just as fast as you?" Kodi asked.

"You could be faster than me, if you really wanted to, but it will take time," Balto said. "Tell ya' what. Let's catch up to the others, and I'll give you a few pointers."

 

***

 

Balto and Kodi ran ahead, searching for the rest of the pups. Balto had seen them enter the woods, and sure enough, he found them there, all panting, and resting on the forest floor. They had found their way to the river that flowed into the ocean, and followed it upstream, until they just couldn't run any more. "So, a little tired, are we?" Balto laughed. "That's what you get for running off on me like that."

"We're sorry, Papa," Dingo said.

Balto looked around. "Where's Nutcase?" he asked.

"He's hiding Papa. We can't find him," spoke Aleu.

"Hmm..." Balto said. He started sniffing around, and a moment later caught the scent. Without hesitation walked over to a nearby bush. "Nutcase, I know you're in there. You better come out, or you'll be in trouble."

Nutcase crawled out ashamed. "How'd you know?" he asked

"Oh, look at you. You're covered in thorns!" Balto grumbled, picking Nutcase up with his teeth. "Just once I'd like you to stay out of trouble. Your mother is gonna kill me."

Nutcase was the mischievous one, and although he was always causing trouble, his heart was in the right place. He was looking at his feet in shame.

"Oh, it's okay, buddy" Balto said, as he tried to clean the thorns out, "Just don't do it again."

"So Dad," Kodi said, after this scene had ended, "How come you never told us about you being a sled dog before?"

"What? You used to be a sled dog?" Annie spoke.

"Yup, sure did," Balto said happily.

The pups all broke out in amazed commotion. "Really?"

"Wow! You must've been really fast."

Balto chuckled. "Okay," he said, calming them all down. "Settle down, and I'll tell you all about it." They all sat down to listen, as Balto began to tell his pups about how he came to be on the team. He told them everything, about the diphtheria scare, and how he saved the town, as well as his life before it all happened. They all were "wowed" by what he was telling them.

"So, why did the other dogs not like you, before you joined the team?" Aleu asked, after he had finished.

"Well honey, Daddy was...different from them."

"What do you mean?" Kodi spoke up.

"Well uh...it's hard to explain," Balto said, trying not to look at them for the moment. He couldn't tell them the truth. He just couldn't. He needed to protect them. "Maybe you'll understand when you're older," he said finally.

"How come you don't race anymore?" asked Saba.

"Well, I just decided I didn't like it that much, honey," Balto replied. "It wasn't what I wanted to do."

"Why not?" Kodi spoke up. "I think it'd be the coolest thing in the world to be on a sled team!"

"Yeah!" Dingo agreed. He and Kodi were the ones who loved to run, just like their father. For Kodi, it was his dream to be on a sled team some day.

"Well, maybe you'd enjoy it more than me," Balto said.

"Hey! Let's explore the forest!" said Aleu. Before Balto could say anything, she was off, and the others took off after her. Aleu was the adventurous one. She was always the first headed for the horizon. Balto groaned, as he got up, and went running after them again.

"Hey, wait up!" yelled Saba. Saba just loved to have fun, and was always looking for someone to play with.

"Wait for me!" Annie yelled out. She loved to play too. But generally, her hopes were to settle down, and find a warm loving family like her mother's. As the pups ran through the forest, Kodi sprinted to keep up, trying some of the new things his father had shown him. To everyone's surprise, Kodi dashed right past Annie and Nutcase without a problem. "I'm doing it!" he thought to himself excitedly. Unfortunately, he didn't watch where he was going, and tripped over a log. He nearly fell off a ledge into the river, but Balto caught him just in time.

"Easy there, sport," he said.

Kodi couldn't help but smile, as his father lifted him back onto land.

"That was pretty good, but make sure you know what's going on around you..." Balto said.

 

Chapter 9: Revenge

 

All six of the pups were sleeping soundly. After spending a fun and exciting day with their father, they were completely worn out. Unlike most nights, they didn't object when their mother sent them off to bed. They cuddled closely together, in the small basket in the barn, where Rosie's family kept them. They were in such a deep sleep, they never stirred when a dark figure, slowly crept into the barn. Unbeknownst to them, the figure came upon them, and with one foul swoop, Annie was snatched right out of the basket! She barely had time to let out a yelp, before she was clasped between a pair of jaws. She was so startled, she couldn't speak. With Annie in the creature's mouth, it started to make its way toward the door.

"Hey!" a tiny voice yelled from behind. Kodi had awakened, and realized what was happening. "What are you do-” Before he could say anything else, he was smacked across the body by a paw, knocking him to the floor.

"I'd keep quiet if I were you," a voice growled, sounding like its mouth was full.

Kodi

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