. 

Suddenly, the sound of excitement and gasping filled the air as the other dogs crowded around a gray Bassett Hound as she pricked her long right ear up to the floor vent, listening for the latest news of the sled team’s future.

“Wait, wait. I think I’m getting something here . . .” She mumbled out loud, while at the same time, trying to stretch her ear closer to the vent. “Ah! Oh my! This is . . . this is an interesting turn of events!” 

“What, Dipsy?” The dogs all spoke in unison, suddenly hushed, eager to hear the latest news. “What is it?”

“The mushers and the pilot have agreed on a race to see which way is faster: the dogs or the bush plane! The winner gets to deliver the mail!” The hound dog turned to see the faces of her companions light up with the sound of the news. 

“We’re the fastest team here in this town!” Kirby declared. “There’s no way that we could lose!”

“Yeah, we can take ‘em!” Ralph jumped up from his sitting position with glee, but stopped with a gasp, turning to his female friend in gray. “Can’t we?” 

“Of course we can!” Dusty pricked her ears up, nuzzling the big-boned male (which caused his cheeks to blush bright red as he began to giggle embarrassedly). “If we have the right dog to lead us to victory, we’ll have nothing to fear!”

“But we do have the right leader!” The red and white male stood up and looked at his brown canine companion. “Kirby has led us through every obstacle that we’ve had to face! He won’t let us down now . . . Right?” 

“Well,” Kirby began to pace back and forth within the center of the group with a straight face of seriousness as he gazed at his team. “I know we can do it, and it’s time to let our true strength show . . .” The male stopped at the quarter-wolf. “This time, we’ll win with Kodi in the lead.”

The rest of the huskies were amazed, but none were as amazed as the young dog in burgundy. He sat in a bewildered state for a moment, letting the sudden announcement sink in. 

“Who, me?” The quarter-wolf saw Kirby nod his head. The young pup’s face was flushed pink in surprise. He couldn’t believe his ears.

Could this be it? Could this be my chance to live my dream and make Dad proud?  

“Me? As the leader?” Red asked Brown. “Are you sure? I – I know my dad was a sled dog, but I’ve never led before! How do you know I won’t mess up?”

“As your partner on the team, I trust that you will do the right thing.” Kirby placed his left paw onto his friend’s white chest until he could feel the husky-mix’s heart pulsating quickly against his toes. “Your heart and intuition will lead us to a great win. I know that you can do it.” 

“Yeah! You said it, Kirby! Go for it, Kodi! You can do it!” The other dogs chimed in, cheering him on. “Take the chance, Kodi!”

They’re right! We can do it! I know we can! 

“All right! Let’s do it!” He stood tall and led his team outside, where they headed for the boiler room to get rested up for the next day’s race.

We can do it . . . as long as you’re with me, Dad . . . 

Right?

The red quarter-wolf left the boiler room during the night; he couldn’t wait to tell his mother the great news. When he arrived at the home of his birth, he let out a low howl to signal his mother. 

The burgundy female was in her owner’s bedroom when she heard the call. She lifted her head from her sleeping rug and her hazel eyes looked out the window. She noticed that it was her youngest son and suddenly headed out of the room where young Rosy, who had just recently reached the age of nine, was fast asleep and quietly snoring. When she arrived the front door, she slipped through the dog-door and ran to her son’s side.

“Kodi? Kodi!” The female nuzzled him, hushing him. “Shh! Keep it down, son! Rosy’s fast asleep and I don’t want her to wake up and get worried about me not being in her room.” 

“Oh, sorry, Mom,” He said in a quieter tone, lowering his ears in shame for a moment, then lifted them in glee. “Guess what, Mom? You know that plane that arrived here a couple of days ago?” She nodded as he continued. “Well, there’s going to be a race between our sled team and the bush plane tomorrow and . . .” His mouth curved into a large grin. “I’m going to lead them!”

She let out a gasp.  

Oh my God . . . I can’t even believe it . . .

“Kodi . . . I’m so proud of you!” Mother and Son joined together in an embrace of joy. Then moments later, they parted as her face suddenly showed a hint of worry. “Kodi, . . . do you really think you’re ready for this? I mean, you’re still just a young pup, only three years old! Leading a sled team is difficult work!” 

“I’m almost four!” The red and white son corrected and after letting out a quick cough, he continued. “Mom, I can handle it,” He reassured her. “The team trusts me! And I’ve learned from some of the best dogs in town! Not to mention, I’ve got something that only five others have . . .” He gave his mother a wink. “And I won’t give up now.”

A thin stream of tears fell from her hazel eyes, understanding her son’s words. Oh, I know you’d be proud of him if you were listening to your son right now . . .“I know, I know. Oh, Kodi. You really have changed your life ever since last year. I’m glad to hear that you’re remembering your dream again.” 

“Yeah, me too, Mom,” He said as the two of them sat down for the next couple of minutes and watched the Northern Lights dance and wave above them in the navy sky. “Me too.”

Little did either red dog notice a shooting star streak across the aurora’s path, and then suddenly fade into the night. 

Morning came and everyone went outside to watch the start of the big showdown. All of the dogs cheered on the sled team as the final hour before the start drew nearer.

“Are you nervous, Kodi?” The burgundy female in the red-orange bandanna walked up to the lead dog, whose face was nothing but smiles from ear to ear. “It’s almost time.” 

“Oh, Mom,” he nuzzled her for luck. “I’m not nervous; just anxiously excited, I suppose. But I know I’ll be all right. Don’t worry, Mom.” He gave her a warm, comforting grin, wagging his tail happily as other dogs, including his four other brothers and sisters, also came by to wish him luck on his first run at the lead.

Ah, he’s so much like his father . . . No matter what happens, I’ll still be proud of him . . . . 

You will be too, won’t you, dear?

At last, the time arrived to take off. The musher, Mr. Simpson, and the bush plane pilot, Duke, shook hands for a good race, no matter what the outcome was to be. 

“Good luck to you,” The dark-haired Inuit dressed in his traditional musher attire told the pilot before returning to his team of seven. “May you have a good and safe flight.”

“And the same to you, sir,” Duke gave the musher a wink as he swept back a stray lock of blond hair from his face. “I’ll be sure to watch you from the skies!” He left the area with a quick salute, returning to his plane, The Tundra Express, and began to check it all over; he made sure that every part of his machine was in perfect condition for such a big race. 

Mr. Simpson heard the cheers of the townspeople as he reached his hand to his new lead dog and smothered the fur on top of his head. “I trust you, Kodiak. I believe you can lead the way. Make your father proud.”

He barked happily and jumped up, licking him quickly. The musher laughed at the tickling sensation he felt against his face as he calmed the now-playful sled dog down. His black eyes saw the rest of his team also barking with anticipation as their leader, in his well-groomed coat of dark burgundy and ivory, let out a hopeful howl, as if ready to start the race . . . and prove his strength, at last. 

I am so excited! I feel so energized! I . . . am ready to run!

Hmm, I wonder if this feeling is how you would feel whenever you would run, Dad . . . 

The brown-haired postmaster, Mr. Conner, began to hush the crowd. “Now, quiet. Quiet, everybody . . . the race is about to begin!” He placed his hands to his mouth, amplifying his voice so all could hear. “All right, everybody. Here are the rules for the race:” The dogs and the people stood silent as they waited to hear the announcement. “Here’s a sack of mail for you,” He handed it to Mr. Simpson, who strapped it into his sled. “And a sack of mail to you,” Another sack was given to Duke, who placed it inside his plane, near the engine. “All right, each team has a sack of U.S. Mail onboard. At the sound of the flare gun, both the sled team and the bush plane will take off and head to the town of White Mountain to deliver their sack of mail. When they reach the town, they must exchange their mail bag for another full sack, and then return back here to Nome. Whichever team arrives here with their new mail will be the winner!”

The jubilant energy from the crowd seemed to sink into the harnessed team; they leaped in place and barked, eagerly awaiting the gunshot signal to start. 

“All right, everybody! May the best team win! On your mark, . . . ,” Mr. Conner lifted his gun in the air.

“Get set, . . . ,” 

The dogs lowered themselves, sinking their paws into the melting snow of early spring, ready to take off from their starting mark.

Let’s show our best out here, okay, and we’ll win this race . . . together . . . . 

“GO!”

The gunshot echoed from the postmaster’s hands as the team took off with a barking start. The red leader’s sight was only about the path ahead of them; he didn’t even notice that the flying machine hadn’t left the ground by the time the dog team left the town limits. 

Hours passed by, and the sled team was clearing ground quite quickly. The winding snow-covered terrain of the Alaskan wilderness was now plastered with the paw-prints of six dogs, their quarter-wolf leader, and a