One summer day, when the ice was becoming thinner, a new family of three polar bears played together on the mainland of the north. The mother was known as Ahtena by the other polar bears, and her two male cubs were named Muk and Luk, after their disappeared father. Muk was older, even if he was much smaller than his obese brother. Ahtena and her cubs weren't liked very much by the other polar bears, because she supposedly took another female's mate. That was fine with her, because she was happy with her new family and her goal, along with searching for her mate, was to take care of Muk and Luk.

"Mum! Look! I made a snowball!" cried Muk, his voice high-pitched with a peculiar accent.

Ahtena looked back at him and smiled. "That's great, kiddo!" She had an accent like her son. She looked at her younger cub. "Luk, what do you think of the snowball your brother made?"

Luk just wimpered happily in responce.

Ahtena shook her head wondering why Luk never talked. Muk was just as old as he was and was quite the little chatter box. She guessed that it wouldn't matter. She wasn't expecting them to associate with other polar bears besides themselves anyway. She and Muk understood his wimpers just fine.

There was a cry from Muk and Ahtena instantly focused her attention on her sons, thinking something bad happened.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"MUUUUUM! Luk ate my snowball!" pouted Muk, shoving his brother, his pushes not phasing the bigger cub. Ahtena giggled to herself.

"Luk, that wasn't very nice," she said. "If you boys were hungry, why didn't you say so? We'll look for a seal's fishing hole and get some food."

The cubs bounded with joy. They sure loved fish, but not nearly as much as snowball fights.

The family continued walking on the huge mass of ice they were on, looking for any crack in the ice to break a hole into to fish. Ahtena eventually found a hole in the ice, formed into a perfect circle.

"Here's a hole, Mum! I found it!" said Muk, proud. Luk shook his head at his mother, making small wimpers to let Ahtena know that he was lying and that he himself found the hole.

"Good job, you two." Ahtena smiled. "But I don't think it's safe to fish here."

"Aww, why not!"

"Because a human made this hole," she said. "And if they come back while I'm under the water fishing, I won't be able to protect you from them."

"Human?" Muk asked. The cubs were thinking that humans were some sort of scary, ferocious, saber-toothed monster. "Yeah, it's best we don't stay, then! Let's go find a hole a human won't go to!" The two cubs tugged at their mother's fur to urge her to continue searching.

The sun reached the highest point in the sky and Ahtena had yet to find a seal hole to fish in. The family searched all over, and eventually found themselves on an icy cliff that hung over the dark blue sea.

"Wow! That's a big water!" Muk exclaimed, Luk wimpering in aggreement. "Can we go play in it? We've never played in water before! Please, Mum, please!"

"No, that water's much too deep, boys," Ahtena advised. "It's too dangerous for cubs your age, yet."

"Aww, that's not fair," Muk complained. He felt a snowball hit the back of his head. He looked in the direction it came form and seen an guilty-looking Luk standing there. Muk dug his claws into the ground. "Hey! The ice is softer now!" He rolled the snow into a ball and threw it at his brother. They continued having snowball fights while their mother watched.

She shook her head and chuckled. How could her cubs not eat and have so much energy? Their father wasn't nearly as energetic.

There was a big cracking noise and then a splash.

"What was that?" Ahtena asked herself out loud. She padded over to the edge of the cliff they were on and seen parts of the ice break off and fall into the water and make huge waves. She was so amazed at the sight, she didn't notice that the ice she was on was breaking too.

"Ok, Mum, we're hungry now," Muk announced. The two cubs looked in their mother's direction and seen her and the ice she was on collapse and disappear. "MUM!" Muk and Luk ran to the edge of the cliff where it hadn't broke off and scrutinized the berg that held their mother plunge into the water below. They watched the water, wide-eyed, waiting for their mother to come back up. It seemed like ages before the berg she was on floated back to the surface. She was barely hanging from it.

"Mum!" Muk cried.

Ahtena groggily pulled herself onto the ice berg better and collapsed onto it from exhaustion. Muk kept calling for her, but she was unconscious. The two brothers watched their mother's ice berg float away from the main land until she was out of sight.

Luk started crying. Muk said, "The water took Mum away."

Muk and Luk layed near the cliff, waiting for any sign of their mother. They waited two days, but she never came back.

Muk finally decided that the two should make a move.

"Sitting here isn't going to bring our Mum back, Luk." he said. "We best go find more polar bears." He looked around for his brother. Where was he?

Luk was further on the mainland chasing after some gulls for food.

"Luk, why would you want to eat those?" Muk asked. Luk pointed at them. "We need to find our father, that's it! If we find him, he'll give us food! Because...cause he's our Dad! C'mon! Let's go!"

Muk and Luk made their way south to where they thought they'd find other polar bears. They traveled far in the next few days and they found what they were looking for. A lone male polar bear walking along the ice.

"There's someone, Luk!" said Muk. "Maybe he's our Dad!" They bounced up to the male bear and introduced themselves.

"Muk and Luk, huh?" the bear said. "You're Ahtena's kids."

"Yep! That's us!"

"Well, then, bugger off!" he said. "I've got fishing to do! Now leave me alone!" He started walking, but the cubs continued to follow him. He payed no attention to them, hoping that they'd leave on their own, but they didn't. Without saying anything, he broke a hole in the ice. He looked back at the cubs. "Well, here, I made a hole for you to fish in. Use it now, before I change my mind."

"We...uh...we don't swim, I'm afraid." said Muk, looking at his brother.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Polar bears who can't swim?!" He scoffed. "What a disgrace! Not only are you cubs of a harlot, you also can't swim! Things are definately wrong with you! Now, I'm not gonna say it again, get outta here!"

Without hesitation, Muk and Luk ran away from the lone bear, further south.

While traveling Luk wimpered in sadness and embarrassment.

"What a jerk!" said Muk, trying to enourage Luk. "Don't worry, we'll be sure to avoid losers like him!"

They continued the search for their father, both of them very hungry, until they heard a strange squeaking noise.

"What is that?" Muk asked. Luk wimpered in confusion. They continued to walk towards the noise, until they came up to a weird-structured place. Muk and Luk didn't know of any animal that could build homes like this, but they sure were amazing. The cubs continued to walk through the town, where the sound was louder. They discreetly wandered around the town, making their way around a large group of strange two-legged animals who payed them no attention. The sound was more clear now and had a bit of a rhythm to it. Muk didn't like it, but Luk was sure attracted to the noise. Luk began mimicing the noises, annoying Muk to no end.

Muk did find somethig interesting in the area, however. The scent of something sweet lured him in, and it led him up to a platform on which it was. Muk had no idea what this sweet thing was, but he began to eat it anyway and it tasted marvelous. Much better than fish. Luk, still making his squeaking noises, tried eating some, but Muk wasn't allowing it. One of the two-legged animals seen them and started roaring at the two cubs. They were frightened and ran far away from the town.

"Well, that was an event!" Muk exclaimed. "But I'm still hungry." Luk wimpered in agreement. Luk paused for a moment and sniffed the air. He smelt another kind of food, but it didn't lead into the town. It led into another kind of structure that was possibly built by the same kind of animals they encountered. But this one didn't look at nice as the other. It looked rather wrecked. Still, Luk continued following his nose. The cubs stopped when they heard squawking.

"And what is this?!" squawked a funny-sounding voice.

"It's called, sausage." said a younger male voice. "It's meat."

"Do I look like I eat meat?!" exclaimed the first voice. "I'm a bird! Birds don't eat meat!"

"You probably would've eaten it if I didn't tell you it was meat," muttered the younger voice, irritated.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," the younger voice chuckled. "Why don't you go into town with me next time?"

"Because, Balto, I don't like people! They're loud and annoying and make terrible music!"

"It's not like anything bad's gonna happen, they pretty much leave us alone." said Balto.

"Well, I--HEY!" exclamied the source of the first squawking, funny-sounding voice, when two little (well one little, one big) polar bears approached him, sniffing the sausage he possessed. "What? You bears hungry? Here." and he threw it over the boat's edge. "You can have it, just don't eat me." And he turned around to face the being that was Balto. Luk chased after the sausage and ate it, while Muk gave the food-giver a big bear hug.

"Daddy!" Muk cried, squeazing him tight. Luk appeared from behind and hugged the food-giver as well.

"Daddy?" Balto snickered. "What were you doing a year ago?" Balto asked, chuckling.

"You don't possibly think these two are mine! Now let go!" And he flew out of the cubs' grip.

Muk and Luk were confused. He must be their father, otherwise, why would he give them food? A food-giver means caretaker!

"But...aren't you our Dad?" asked Muk.

"No, I am not! You are polar bears! I am not a polar bear!"

"You're white like a polar bear." Muk said, poking his "father's" plump belly.

"No, he's just an old goose." Balto said, playfully nudging him. "His name is Boris. I'm Balto. What are your guys' names?"

"I'm Muk! And this is my younger brother Luk!"

"Younger brother, huh?" Boris laughed. "That's different."

"You called Boris your Dad...what's your Dad's name?"

"Mukluk!" Muk exclaimed.

Boris and Balto blinked in unison. Then chuckled.

Muk whispered in Luk's ear, "But Boris still gave us food. So he MUST be our Uncle!" Luk agreed and made his whooping noises in excitement.

"Why does Luk sound like a squeaky bugle?" Boris asked, covering his ears.

"Bugle? Is that what that was?" Muk asked. "Luk liked the nosie so much, and now he won't stop sounding like it!"

Balto laughed. "Hey! You guys wanna play in the water?" Without missing a beat, Balto jumped over Boris and out of the boat and ran to the water. He made a big splash and laughed, but he didn't hear the two cubs follow him. He looked back at the beach and seen the two just standing there.

"What's wrong?" Balto asked.

"We don't much like the water." Muk said.

"But it's fun!" Balto replied, splashing them with his paws. Luk gave in and splashed in the water from the beach. The two were reluctant to going in the water, but as long as they were splashing with Balto, it was still fun. Boris watched from the boat. Balto and the cubs played with each other for hours, and he also showed them the area around the boat.

"Hey, Boris! Play with these guys will ya? I almost forgot that I haven't seen Jenna in a while, and I wanna tell her about Muk and Luk!" Balto ran off before Boris could even speak.

"You go ahead, but I won't guarantee I'll be playing with them!" Boris called. He was tackled to the ground by the two bear cubs.

"Play with us, Uncle Boris!" Muk giggled.

"Uncle...?" Boris' eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Steele was roaming Nome by himself. He was much bigger now, since his master trained him really hard to become the best sled dog ever. But lately, his master was ignoring him and tending to other (unimportant) matters. Steele didnt like not being payed attention to. Ever since he was little, he needed to be in the middle of everything. He wanted to go visit Jenna, but she was off with her human child in the fair, which was a very annoying place. Humans found the weirdest of reasons to celebrate.

It wasn't long before Steele got bored wandering the town, so he decided to go back home to see what his master was up to. But he didn't hee his master anywhere. Instead, he seen three younger dogs hooked outside of the house. One was a blonde-ish color, another was brown and more plump than the others, and one was grey and was skinnier than both of them. They were all talking to each other.

"Who are you guys!" Steele demanded to know. "And what are you doing here?"

"Well, we--" started the brown dog before he was rudely intterupted by the blonde dog.

"We were bought and payed for by that hefty, hulking, voluminous man!" he said.

"So, we live here." said the brown dog again.

"Yeah, ok, now WHO are you?" Steeled asked.

The blonde one introduced them. "I'm Kaltag! These are my friends Niki and Star!"

"Who're you, there?" Niki asked.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of me!" Steele exclaimed. The three dogs remained silent. Steele sighed. "I'm Steele! And I'm going to be the best sled dog in the world!"

"Wow! Really? That is the most notable, the most fantastic, the most incredible, the most--"

"That's cool!" barked Star, happily. Kaltag struck Star across the head. Steele was taken aback.

"Gotta watch out for Star," Kaltag warned. "If you're not careful, he'll just keep blabbing on and on!" Just then a brown blur ran right passed the group, kicking up snow onto them. "Whoa!" Kaltag exclaimed.

"Who was that, there, boss?" Niki asked Steele.

"Boss?" Steele questioned. He smirked to himself. "That was Balto...a wolf-dog." Niki, Kaltag, and Star all looked at him wide-eyed.

"A wolf-dog?" They said in unison.

Balto ran around the town as fast as he could. He wasn't worried about any human catching him because he knew that they all knew that he never really bothered anyone. He made his way through the crowd of people and found Jenna. He figured that she would have been weith Rosie, but she wasn't. She was with two other girl dogs. A puny white dog and a tall, slender light brown dog.

"Jenna!" Balto exclaimed, through a forest of legs. Jenna looked at him and Balto tired making his way towards her. "What's up?" He asked, his voice a little louder, to be heard over the music and talking.

"I can't hear you!" Jenna shouted.

"Let's get out of here! Follow me!" Balto walked out of the crowd, letting Jenna follow him. She told the dogs she was with that she would be right back and she followed Balto to the edge of town where it was quieter.

"Were those your friends?" Balto asked.

"Yeah," Jenna said, looking back.

"Oops..." Balto lowered his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take you away from them."

"It's ok," Jenna replied, smiling. "It was pretty loud in there anyway."

"I'm glad you're making friends now."

"Yeah, they were pretty popular before I came to Nome. They're giving me some recognition." Jenna told him that their names were Dixie and Silvie and that they were from New York, which was a long ways south from Nome.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Jenna asked.

"Nothing much," Balto said. "I just haven't seen you in a while, and I wanted to catch up."

"Aw, that's nice." Jenna smiled. "So, what's been going on with you?"

Balto told her about how he and Boris had two new additions to their family: two polar bear cubs named Muk and Luk, who must have been separated from their mother.

"Jenna!" called two voices. Balto and Jenna looked behind them and seen Dixie and Silvie. "Let's go! The festival isn't over yet!"

Jenna turned to Balto. "Well, I should be getting back to them. Maybe I can meet Muk and Luk some other time." she said, as she walked away.

"Bye, Jenna." Balto said as he watched her go back to her friends. He hoped that Dixie and Silvie weren't the type like Steele who believed anything they hear. He wasn't so sure because they were from a long way away and he didn't know how New York was, as a place. He had faith in Jenna, though. He knew that she wouldn't believe in everything she heard. He knew that she wasn't going to not be his friend. And now he was looking mroe forward to her visitation for Muk and Luk. He trotted back home to play with his new friends.

Boris was utterly fed up with the cubs rough sense of play and he sent them away from the boat until nightfall. Muk and Luk didn't mind, though. It gave them more time to explore their new home. They didnt want to go anywhere near the town, however, because the two-legged animals were pretty scary.

"Well, Luk," said Muk. "It looks like we're going to be staying with Uncle Boris forever!"