to her, you will still make her happy.” 

The dirt path to Nome was slightly dusted with snow from days ago, but it felt quite soft, mushy and a bit cold against the pads of the wolf-dog’s feet. Snow in the mountains was nothing like this, Balto reminisced as he approached the wooden Inuit decoration. It was much thicker the higher up I went, but this snow is much better for racing. He sighed as a soft wind stroked against his back fur. He could see the faded white paint of the totem pole’s bottom link – the wolf – and only one thought came into his mind.

Mother . . . The vision of the white wolf spirit that had guided him and his daughter into the wild only a few months ago was still chiseled into his mind. He had yet to tell Jenna about his mother, Aniu, and the fact that now she was a Great Spirit to all wolves of the nearby area. I’ll tell her when she’s ready to know it . . . I’m sure she’ll understand, although I don’t understand it all myself. 

Passing by the totem pole, he ran into the snow-slushed streets of Nome where local townspeople and their beloved working dogs and pets mingled on the sides of the streets. He walked on the side of street, near the planked porches of the markets and local general stores that were awaiting the mid-day business rush.

This is still strange to me,Balto thought as he smiled at a couple of kids – a boy and a girl – that ran over to him, calling his name with glee. They rubbed his fur gently and yet without fear with their mitten-covered hands, calling him names like “hero” and “good dog,” which he never would have thought any human would ever say to him. But I guess the praise that these kids are giving me makes it all worth it.Their giggles and joyous laughter reminded him that these kids may not be here if it wasn’t for him, and that made him lick them on the cheeks as a friendly gesture. 

However, the trench-coated mother of one of the children gasped dramatically loud as saw the sight, and in protection of her daughter, she grabbed her arm, pulling the kid away from the hometown hero. “Stay away, wolf!” She yelled at the innocent mutt, kicking some mushy snow-slush in his direction. “I won’t let you take my child as your prey!” She huffed, leading the girl away from the wolf-dog in a heat of anger.

I guess some people will never change, Balto thought as he hung his head. The little boy had left him too, running back to his parents and leaving the town hero alone. I am still a wild animal to some people . . . and apparently there are humans that will continue to be ignorant of those that are different . . . He let out a sigh, lowering his ears in shame of his kind actions. 

The boy tugged on his father’s sleeve, pointing at the gray-brown dog that he had left behind. “Papa, Papa . . . why do some people not like that doggie over there?” He asked curiously. “Balto’s a nice dog. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“That’s right, son,” The boy’s father reassured him in a kind voice. “Balto is a nice dog – a very good dog. He’s a one-of-a-kind dog who saved many people two years ago, but some people just don’t like him because he is half-wolf.” 

“I don’t care what his breed is; I like him anyway,” the little boy told his father as they began to walk away. “Bye-bye, Balto!” The child’s farewell smile was faced towards the proud wolf-dog who had pricked up his ears and grinned happily back at the child.

Nice kid, Balto commented to himself. I’m glad to see not all humans are taught to hate; At least many of them changed once I returned with the serum, but it’s good to be judged by actions of bravery and courage instead of early judgment and fear. With that thought in mind, the hybrid walked deeper into town, hoping to find some inspiration for a Valentine’s Day gift for Jenna. 

All day he traveled around the town, hoping that the perfect gift lay just around the corner, but it was with no avail; Balto just couldn’t find anything that he thought Jenna would like.

Well, she did say something about treats, he told himself earlier. Maybe there’s a special food that she likes . . . Once he arrived at the general store in the middle of town, he looked inside the store through a window, only to quickly sigh as he walked away. Nah, that’s too common. Jenna deserves something better than a snack. I love her much more than that. Just the thought of an unhappy Jenna shunning him because of a bad thoughtless gift made him shudder.  

I just don’t want to make her unhappy of my gift,Balto’s head fell as night began to fall and he made his way back to the outskirts where Boris and the bears waited for him. He didn’t say much that night as he went doing his normal routine before covering himself into his slightly warm blanket and going to sleep. Not even Boris asked him about his search of a gift.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day was quiet and boring as the sun rose over the long wooden watercraft. Balto, although he didn’t want to sleep in that day, still had his beloved blanket over most of his body, mainly over his head.

It was near mid-day by the time Boris, who had been up with the sun, began to waddle over to the snoring form of the one that he had cared for almost like a child, paused, and leaned backwards to take in a deep breath. 

“WAKE UP, BALTO!” The gander honked loudly into Balto’s covered ears like a piercing siren. From the nearby forest, a large flock of birds flew upward from their respective tree-top perches, scattering throughout the mid-winter sky.

The wolf-dog’s head lifted up, still cloaked by the blanket, but he was slightly deafened by the alarm. After shaking off the fabric, a gasping Balto emerged, trying to catch his breath and recover from the instant shock. 

“Boris, . . . what are you doing?” Balto asked him once he caught his breath.

“You should be looking for that gift for Jenna,” Boris scolded him with a swinging finger in the air. “not sleeping the day away. It’s almost noon already!” 

“I know,” Balto yawned, stretching his legs as if to get up, but he remained stretched out on the ground lazily. “but I still can’t seem to find the right thing for her.” He rolled over onto his back with a groan. “I just don’t know what girls really like.” He turned to Boris. “What do you think? Do you know what the most beautiful husky in the world would love to have?”

Boris placed his wing under his chin, deep in thought. “Balto, I already gave you a suggestion, remember?” The gander reminded him. “Give Jenna a piece of your heart – sing to her everything that she means to you!” 

“I told you, I can’t sing,” Balto moaned. “Jenna would only make fun of me for sounding silly.” He let out a deep sigh. “Can you think of anything else that she would like? Something other than singing?”

“Well, I —” The gander’s comment was interrupted by a howl, one that didn’t sound wild like a wolf’s but more tame like a husky’s.  

Balto’s ears pricked up, twitching towards the noise as another howl – similar but slightly different in pitch – joined with the other. The wolf-dog smiled, recognizing the voices. “Hey, I recognize those howls!” He ran to the wooden railing, placing his front paws on the rail towards the totem pole and looked out to confirm his thoughts. “It’s Yukon and Denali!” He returned the howl, singing deep and loud as if his wild heritage had stirred up within him once more.

The gander only shook his head with a feathered palm on his brow. “That boy’s got to pay attention to what’s really important to Jenna . . .” Boris sighed as he moved to the other side of the boat where his mop and pail awaited him. 

Two red and white huskies were howling as they ran down the mushy dirt and grass path, kicking up soil with their paws. One of them was a bright red-burgundy, streaked with white markings on its face, mainly around the dog’s blue eyes. A red streak split its white face in two, like a blaze. The rest of its white markings were down its chest and belly, on its legs and under its tail. The other husky was much darker shade of burgundy than the first, and its markings were much different than the other as well. Its face was only marked with white around its muzzle, giving its soft brown eyes a bit of focus. Its chest, belly, under-tail and lower legs were also marked with white.

“Dad! Dad!” The blazed husky – a female – barked as she and her companion began to slow to a trot once their paws hit the sand. 

“Hey there, Dad!” The darker one spoke in a masculine tone, one similar to Balto’s. “How are you lately?”

Balto leaped down to the sand, greeting his children with friendly nuzzles. “I’ve been doing great, Denali,” First, he nuzzled his son, the darker Denali, before turning to do the same to his daughter Yukon. “and I know that you and your sister have been doing good as well.” 

“Yeah, Den-Den and I have been busy lately with the racing team,” Yukon commented. “With a big race coming up next week, the musher’s got us training almost daily.”

“So why are you not in the harness today?” Balto asked. “If the race is so important, why isn’t the team training hard today?” 

“Mr. Nelson felt that we deserved a break for the entire day today,” Denali stepped up to answer. “He’s a great musher – maybe one day we can get him to put you on our team for a big race one day, eh, Dad?” He lightly nudged his gray-brown patriarch with his shoulder.

“Nah,” Balto chuckled, soon finishing up with a sigh. “You’ve got already got a great lead dog in Yukon here. I don’t want to slow you guys down with my old age.” 

“Oh, stop, Dad!” Yukon turned her head to the side, nearly blushing thanks to her father’s bragging. “I may have survived the test run as a lead dog last month, but you’re the one that passed