A young girl tugged at her mother’s hand and pointed eagerly down the snowy street of Nome Alaska. She squealed excitedly and jumped up and down, glancing up at her mother and pointing.
    “Mom! Look, look, look! Dolly’s had puppies!” She said happily, jumping up and down and pointing towards an all white female husky sitting next to a large wooden crate. The sign “Free Puppies” hung across it. The mother looked down the street and smiled. She looked at her husband as he watched his daughter jumping up and down. He chuckled. The girl looked up at her parents with wide eyes.
    “Please, please, please, can I have one?” She said, tugging at her mother’s sleeve.
    “Now, Rosie.” Her father said, “A dog is a very big responsibility. You promise you’ll take care of it?”
     “I promise, I promise! Please, can I get one? I promise I’ll take good care of the puppy!”
     Rosie’s father rubbed his chin, and his wife smiled, her arm wrapped around her husbands. Finally, he lowered his hand and smiled.
    “Alright, but only one.”
    Rosie squealed again. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”
    She hugged both of her parents, and tugged at her father’s hand, pulling them towards the box. They walked along as their daughter was jumping up and down, a wide smile on her face. Rosie’s mittens swung wildly, attached only by a string on the sleeves of her coat.
     As Rosie got closer, the white husky looked up from the box, her elegant head turned towards the girl’s direction. She stood up, her curled tail wagging back and forth, and gently nudge the sleeping pups. Only one of the pups got up, a little female, with red fur. The pup turned her white face towards her mother and yipped. Dolly, looked back up towards the girl.
    Right as Rosie reached the box, a large red husky came out of an alley between two shops. He wore a red bandana tied around his broad neck and as he walked towards the crate, his ears perked up at the site of the girl. He sat down next to Dolly, and watched, as Rosie looked at all the pups.
    The red pup jumped up and down trying to lick the girls face. Rosie giggled and patted the pup’s head, which instantly began to lick the girl’s hand. This only made Rosie giggle even more.
    Rosie’s father walked over to the red husky and patted his head. The husky wagged his tail, his eyes still on the red pup.
    “How are you Butch?” The man said. The husky gently licked the man’s hand and then turned back towards the box. Rosie had picked up the red pup and was showing her mother.
    “Can I have this one? Please!” Her mother smiled and took the pup in her arms. The pup licked the woman’s face and squirmed trying to get back to Rosie. She gave Rosie back the pup, and the girl took her back eagerly, clutching her in her arms.
    “I guess you can. She seems like a sweet little girl.” Rosie squealed again, and the pup yipped happily, as if she knew what was going on.     Rosie gave the pup to her mother and ran over to the white husky and hugged the dog tightly.
    “I promise I’ll take good care of your pup!” She said, letting go of Dolly and hugging Butch. The red husky wagged his tail and nudged the girl back towards her mother.
    Rosie ran back to her mother and held the pup in her arms, which was eagerly trying to lick the girls face.  Rosie giggled and shifted the pup to an easier carrying position. Rosie carried the puppy all the way to her home, her parents following. Once inside, she set the pup on the floor and headed towards her room, the small red pup following at her heels. Rosie flopped down on her bed and watched the young pup sniffing around her new home.
    “You need a name.” She said. The pup looked up at the girls voice and barked. She ran towards her and jumped up, trying to get on the bed. She almost made it, her hind legs hanging off the edge. She whined and tried to climb up, but started to slip. Rosie grabbed the pup and lifted her onto the bed. The pup squirmed excitedly, and sat in front of Rosie. Rosie looked at the pup, trying to think up a good name for her. Finally she thought of one and bounced up and down on her bed. The pup to barked with joy, while also trying to not fall over.            “What about Missy?” Rosie asked. The pup cocked her head to the side and whined. Rosie thought again.
    “Jenny?” The pup wagged her tail, but still whined.
    “Nibbles?” The pup yelped, and curled up on the bed, hiding her head underneath her paws. Rosie laughed and patted the pup’s head.     “Alright. No Nibbles.” The pup peeked out at the girl, and waited for a little bit before sitting up again, her tail wagging. Rosie thought for a long time. The pup liked part of the name of Jenny, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She thought of something but wasn’t sure if the pup would like it.
    “What about…Jenna?” The pup leapt up and down happily, barking and rushed forward to like the girls face. Rosie fell backwards giggling as the pup licked her face.
    “Alright Jenna. Calm down girl!” She said still laughing and the pup climb off the bed, and darted from the room, off to explore the rest of the house.
    Rosie darted after her, pausing in each room to tell Jenna what it was. As they darted through the living room, Jenna spotted Rosie’s parents and darted over to them, barking happily. Rosie picked her up and sat down on her fathers lap.
    “Mom, Dad! Her name is Jenna!” She said, and Jenna climbed from the girls arm and darted back to Rosie’s bedroom. She giggled and ran after her.
    “Rosie! Why don’t you take Jenna outside?” Her father called after the girl and dog. Rosie ran into her room and saw Jenna standing up on a trunk, looking out the window, her tail wagging. Rosie looked out the window and saw snow falling to the ground. She smiled.
    “Come on Jenna!” She said and ran for the back door. Jenna barked and jumped down from the trunk following the girl. They ran outside and ran around the yard. Jenna jumped up and down, trying to snap up the snowflakes that gently floated through the sky. Rosie layed down in the snow already on the ground and started to make a snow angel.
    Jenna sat down watching the girl, then ran towards her and jumped, sending snow flying. Rosie laughed and chased the pup around the yard.
    The two played outside until the sun started to set, and Rosie’s mother called them back inside. Rosie ate her dinner, feeding scraps to Jenna under the table. When finished she and Jenna headed back into Rosie’s room. Rosie climbed up on her bed, and crawled underneath the covers. Jenna bounded up on the bed, using the trunk to get up, and curled up next to Rosie. The girl smiled and wrapped her arm around the pup.
    “Goodnight Jenna.” The pup licked the girl’s hand, and soon they were both asleep.



It wasn’t long after Jenna joined Rosie’s family that spring came, and the once small red pup had grown remarkably. She now reached up to Rosie’s elbow, and was starting to loose most of her puppy fat. Her coat seemed to have brightened as she grew, and was now a sleek and shiny red. A couple times, Rosie’s father would remark on how it was lighter than Butch’s, whose was fairly red.
    The days in Nome had become warmer, and the family enjoyed time outside, usually going for a picnic down by the shore, or perhaps by the forest. Rosie and Jenna would often play hide and seek, in which Rosie would hide, while her mother distracted Jenna. Then Rosie’s mother would send Jenna to search for the girl. There was only once when Jenna never found Rosie.
    It had been a bright sunny day out, and the family had decided to go out to the edge of the forest. Rosie’s mother packed a small basket with some food for her family, and some also for Jenna, while Rosie’s father found a blanket. Rosie and Jenna waited outside, and once the girl’s parents came out of the house, they took off for the forest.
    They found a nice shady spot, underneath a large tree, and Rosie’s father set the blanket out. Rosie ran into the woods, and Jenna sat down in front of Rosie’s mother, watching a treat balancing on her nose. The woman waited until Rosie had at least ten seconds and then told Jenna “Ok.” The red husky jumped up and snatched the treat in mid air. Then she took off into the forest, sniffing the ground for the girls scent.
    Jenna padded on through the forest, finding and losing Rosie’s scent. She had just lost the girl trail again, when she picked up a different one. It made the fur running down her back stand on end, and she moved on with great caution. She worried about the girl and had hoped that this creature had not found Rosie. She trotted into a small clearing, the new scent was very strong here, and she glanced up and froze.
     A large white wolf stood in front of her, with a brown pup about Jenna’s age. The red husky, watched them quietly, and was about to turn around and leave, when the white wolf finally noticed that someone else was there. She stepped over the pup, and stared at the red husky. The pup followed his mother’s gaze and saw Jenna. His tail wagged, but otherwise he did not move.
     “What are you doing here?” She asked. Her voice was calm and gentle, and

1 2

Next page