The Ballad of Balto: Part TWO

(started 3/13/06 - Part Two finished 4/26/06)

Summary: A poetic retelling of the Balto trilogy in rhyme. Part Two of Four.

Rating: G for General Audiences.

Note: This was mainly done after hearing the announcement that there won't be a Balto 4 anytime soon. This is dedicated to Balto fans everywhere! Here's to you!

Disclaimer: Balto, Balto: Wolf Quest, Balto: Wings of Change, and all Balto characters belong to Universal Studios. Umm . . . that's all. Enjoy!

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Part TWO: Wolf Quest

A new adventure is about to begin

months after Balto's heroic deed,

but a raven and a nightmarish dream -

an explanation was something to need.

Ice, cracks, and a dark pack of wolves

awoke Balto in a thick sweat.

His worried guardian Boris knew

these dreams meant something he shouldn't forget.

Walking towards the town of Nome,

the two stopped at the totem pole.

"Those fierce carvings mean something," Boris said.

Yet the real truth was about to unroll.

Suddenly a yipping terrier

sent a message, noisy for what it's worth:

"The stock has landed!" Balto gasped.

Jenna had just given birth!

Now Balto was the proud papa

of six puppies, limb from limb

Five maintained their mother's looks

while one pup resembled him!

The six-pack of pups were growing strong

and Balto's visions continued on cue.

Soon it was shown that Aleu was unique:

she was more wolf-like than "you-know-who!"

The time came for the pups to go on their own,

although letting go was hard for the heart.

Jenna knew that they were old enough now -

it was their time for a brand-new start.

Young Dingo was the first to go

then his siblings soon had homes of their own.

Until the sunset ended the adoption

and left Aleu in the box alone.

Her father sighed, yet still Jenna tried,

waiting until a home for her was found.

But Balto knew she wouldn't have a human;

it was all due to her wild background.

Thus the seasons changed and time flew by

making Aleu over one year old.

She still hoped for a human's love

for her father's secret, she wasn't told.

While playing one day in the woods,

she noticed a human's face.

"He wants to adopt me!" she cheered happily;

Unfortunately, this was not the case.

The man was a hunter, rifle in hand

with a raven's image on his knapsack.

The human loaded the gun and aimed at Aleu -

seeing a wolf - and was about to attack.

Just in time, Balto defended his child

soon Boris and bears followed closely behind.

They got away safely, with Aleu quite confused;

Time came for peace of mind.

"What's going on? I thought he could be mine!"

Aleu spoke like an innocent, little child.

"He was a hunter," Balto broke the news.

"That human thought you were born wild."

"This cannot be true! I'm a husky too!"

Her hope would not last long.

"It's time you knew the truth, Aleu -

It's me; I was born only half-dog."

"My dad was husky, my mom was a wolf.

I guess I'm a mix of the two.

Your siblings have wolf yet have husky looks,

but sadly, the wolf shows more strongly in you."

"This isn't fair!" Aleu shouted back

as she headed for the untamed wood.

Balto knew she needed some time alone;

"She'll come back like a good pup should."

During a nap, Balto's dream returned anew

mentioning animals that entered the scene

Wolf, Fox, Wolverine, Bear and Caribou

To him, what did they all really mean?

He awoke from the dream, with Aleu still not home.

"Maybe with her mother, she's safe and sound."

He went to Jenna's, both were surprised by the fact

that Aleu was currently running wild.

"I'll go look for her!" Jenna volunteered,

but Balto told her to stand aside.

"It's my fault she got angry and ran away.

The responsibility to find our daughter is mine."

So off he went into the woods

to seek his daughter's scent.

The raven from his dream appeared to him

so he asked it where she went.

"Help me find my daughter!"

The raven flew to a tree bridge connected by rocks.

With a waterfall underneath him,

the fog cleared revealing a sly, sneaky fox.

"I can help you find the little runaway,"

she said. "But I'll do it for a price.

Help me out of this hunter's snare,

and I'll give you your useful advice."

Balto set the small fox free,

but she pushed him into the brink.

The cunning trickster, she was

but he flowed with the current, unable to think.

He landed on a patch of land at the water,

where Boris and the cubs looked around.

They saw him at last, and ran to his side,

but a sudden thick fog made him nowhere to be found.

Balto was aroused from his short nap

by a whiff of his child's scent nearby.

"Don't worry about me, I'll bring her home!"

came the hybrid's positive reply.

"But we want to help find Aleu too!"

Said the bears and Jenna in a worried tone.

Boris told them, "I'm sorry; this is their journey.

The part-wolves have to travel on their own."

While Balto dealt with a trio of wolverines

that made him face his fear,

Aleu was following the raven too

and wondering what she was doing here.

She went inside a cave to rest,

but then heard a lovely sound.

She met her spirit guide, Muru,

a mouse that left her spellbound.

"It's time to find out who you are,

your true purpose, that's what you seek.

The journey will be difficult, but

I'm sure you're not too weak."

Aleu left the cave after her spiritual chat,

now dealing with a grizzly bear.

Her father again arrived to save the day,

but a purpose for this, they were not aware.

The young she-dog looked at those golden eyes,

and she could see into the bear's mind.

"We have to jump or else be killed!"

Aleu warned and then pushed Balto from behind.

Both father and daughter were saved,

finally together after that hairy slam.

"We're going home to Nome," but Aleu refused.

"I need to find out who I am."

Onward they traveled to salty waters,

but wild trouble was close at hand.

A clan of wolves lived nearby

And the two were trespassing on their land.

Three rough-looking cronies approached,

Sent to scare them from the ledge.

"We can take them, Papa!" Aleu spoke up,

Yet the lupines had upper edge.

Father and daughter were in trouble now,

until a voice boomed: "STOP!"

It was their pack leader, one named Nava;

as his magic, he used to splash water drops.

"Welcome, you two; I sent for you here,"

The mystical shaman alpha spoke.

"The spirit Aniu tells me soon we will have no food;

We must cross the water to follow it. No joke."

"But this is our land! The home of our birth!"

His rival, Niju, growled in rage.

"Your plan will lead us to our demise!

I'll be a leader that suffers not from old age!"

Nava told his pack that the time was near

for a new alpha to join the show.

"My replacement shall only be

one who is wolf and does not know."

Everyone gasped and stared at the half-breed.

"Papa, is Nava talking about you?"

He was honored to lead, but unfortunately

this was one thing that was brand-new.

"He's off his rocker! He's lost his mind!"

Niju lunged towards the aging mystic.

But Nava was hidden, the young wolf fled.

the leader reappeared from within a tree - how unrealistic!

"How will you lead us, Balto?" Nava asked.

"You know, I'm not quite sure." the hybrid said.

At the same time, Aleu's eyes glowed gold

as visions of caribou flashed through her head.

The young female was confused, she had a plan:

"Let's help them," yet his response he had sworn.

"Your mom is worried, this isn't our problem.

We leave for home tomorrow morn!"

A saddened Aleu wandered that night

as she joined Nava on a rocky cliff.

"Why does Niju want to stay here?

Is he cowardly, scared completely stiff?"

"No, little one," Nava answered with wisdom.

"Niju is not a chicken, just scared of change.

This is his home, the land he knows well.

But food here is out of close range."

Then Aleu thought of what was best,

for the clan, her family and herself.

The morning arrived and Balto was ready

to lead - his worries were on the shelf.

"Crossing is choosing life!"

The half-breed spoke, then a loud CRACK!

"It's a bridge to the caribou!" Aleu realized.

"Once they crossed, they never came back."

"We don't have much time, it's time to go!"

As Balto cried out, "Mush!"

The wolf pack followed, two by two

leaving Niju behind the rush.

"You're heading to your deaths!"

The dark wolf growled. "That will be your doom!"

Suddenly Nava drifted from the pack,

Aleu leaped to help him, but water would soon consume.

In the water, she did swim

escaping a watery cave.

The pup dried off on the ice block,

but trouble was near like a rapid tidal wave.

Niju struck the elder one, about to kill . . .

"Stop!" Aleu let out a fierce growl.

"I'll show you your place, little girl!"

Niju pounced on the female, ready to finish his