NPA Ch. 6: LOST!!!

Well, one thing we've realized is that the North Pole is much further away than we thought! (but we're not exactly sure how far away at this point, Mr. Phred) The arctic is very beautiful, and we've met many interesting friends along the way. Take yesterday, for instance. We were traversing crevasses & glaciers - very tricky business cause it's really easy to slip. We kept our claws dug in as much as we could. At one point we had to jump to another glacier top, and we made it, but dear little Penguin did not! I thought had him firmly in my teeth, but somehow, he slipped away mid-jump. We stood looking down at the water (which is VERY cold), and watched him slowly sink beneath the surface (toy penguins don't swim near as well as real ones). We were about to give up, cause neither of us wanted to dive in after him, when WHAM! This big sleek black shape skyrocketed out of the water, with Penguin balanced on the tip of it's muzzle! It looked like one of those Shamu things I see on the SeaWorld ads on TV. It flipped Penguin high in the air, and Jack jumped high, stretched out, & caught Penguin mid-flip! Jack is very very good at catching things that are tossed to him, it's one of his talents.

The Shamu guy crashed back into the ocean, then it was gone. We howled with delight! We had A. Penguin back!

About mid-day, a big snowstorm hit. I guess it's what they call a white-out, cause we couldn't see anything. We walked as long as we could, looking for shelter. It felt like we walked for hours, then finally we curled up into little balls and just let the snow bury us.

It sure felt good to get in a good nap! But when we woke up, we looked around and had no idea where we were! We sniffed left, we sniffed right.... we walked in circles.....but nothing smelled like the right direction. We walked around a bit, then finally admitted it, we were lost. We'd lost our trail in the snowstorm.

When you don't know where you're going, sometimes it's best to stop going nowhere. We sat down to think. We thought for a long time. We finally started howling and wooing, maybe somewhere out there, someone would hear us & find us. We did that till we were exhausted, then laid down again.

Then the most amazing thing happened! A spot on the snow began to glow brighter, and brighter, and brighter! I squinted, then sniffed the air and caught a familiar smell --- it was Sherman!!!! We huskies know that sometimes we're allowed to appear on this side of the Rainbow Bridge for a brief visit. Sherman heard us wooing and came to our rescue!

He woo'd back to us not to worry, we were doing fine, and it's not much farther to the North Pole. He said a whole team of huskies who were headed for the North Pole were right over the next ridge! He showed us which way to go. He told us he would be watching over us the whole way there & home again. Then he woo'd it was him for him to go. I woo'd my saddest woo when he faded from our sight and smell. I felt like I just lost him again, and I miss him so. Jack was very sweet, and gave me a few minutes to gather myself up. Then he picked up Penguin & nudged me. "Better get moving, Santa's waiting!" Sure enough, over the hill, we met up with a pack heading North.

"We're Santa's back-up for ground travel" they told us. "You two look tired, hop on the sled, and we'll be there in no time! Woooo-wooos!"
It won't be long now............

Wooos,
Star & Jack a-roo, Arctic Explorers