Wild Lily was reading a book. It was her favourite
kind of story - all about animals and adventures. She looked at the
picture on the page she was reading.
It was of a beautiful dog with long, thick fur and pale blue eyes. She
looked at her dog, Hula, sitting next to her. Hula and the dog in her
book looked very similar.
"I think that we've found your family at last!" she said to Hula. "Let's
go and see if we can find your brothers and sisters - and maybe we'll
find your Mum and Dad!"
Wild Lily got her bag. She put a lot of things in it: a big, thick
jacket, a scarf and some gloves, a blanket, some bones, a big bottle of
Coke, and the socks she got last Christmas.
She and Hula had a long way to go. And they were going to a cold place.
They were going to the land of snow.
The days and nights passed. During the day they walked and walked. When
they reached water, they sat on a boat and watched the waves. But as
they moved north, it got colder and colder, and the days got shorter and
shorter.
At night, Wild Lily and Hula lay down under a big blanket. Hula's fur
was really very thick. Lying next to him and under the blanket, Wild
Lily was as warm as toast. They looked at the sky and its many stars.
"Do you think we'll find your family, Hula? Will they be happy to see
you?"
After weeks and weeks of travelling, Wild Lily and Hula reached the
snow. That night they lay under the blanket as usual.
They looked at the sky. They saw the stars and looked again.
Suddenly, there was a bright green light. It moved across the sky, and
they watched it.
"Now we're in the land of snow, Hula. Those lights are going to help us
find your family. We just follow them."
The lights moved around, but they seemed to point in one direction. Wild
Lily and Hula followed the lights. It was very, very cold. They crossed
a frozen river and walked up and down a snowy mountain.
At last, it was daylight and they couldn't see the green lights any
more. But in the distance they could see something. What was it? They
went towards the shape. As they got closer, they saw that it was a tent.
They sat behind a small lump of snow and watched. There was a yellow
light inside the tent. Wild Lily and Hula could hear voices and smell
food. There was a pile next to the tent. What was it? It was covered in
snow.
"Woof! Woof!" Hula barked. He was excited. He ran around in circles,
wagging his tail.
"What is it, Hula?" asked Wild Lily. Then she saw. The pile was moving.
Under that snow were dogs! They had long, thick fur. They looked like
Hula. This was his family.
Wild Lily heard a noise. She looked behind her and saw a big animal
moving across the ice. A polar bear. Polar bears are dangerous animals.
Wild Lily and Hula had to move. But where was Hula? He wasn't there.
Wild Lily looked around. Hula was running towards the other dogs. Wild
Lily looked behind her again. The bear was getting closer and closer.
"Hula!" shouted Wild Lily. "Help me!"
But Hula couldn't hear.
Wild Lily decided to run. She ran towards the tent, but the polar bear
was running after her. And it was running very fast. Wild Lily was near
the tent but she couldn't run any more. The polar bear was right behind
her.
"Woof! Woof!" Hula!
She looked up, and there was Hula - with ten dogs. The bear stopped. It
moved away. Slowly, the bear walked back towards the mountains.
"Hula! Thank you! You've saved me!"
But it wasn't just Hula. His family had saved her.
Wild Lily and Hula spent some time with Hula's family. Hula met his mum
and dad, his aunt and uncles, and his grandfather. He learned how to
pull a sledge with his brothers and sisters. At night he lay together
with his family. Wild Lily learned how to hunt, prepare food and make
clothes. At night she sat in the tent and listened to stories and sang
songs. But soon it was time to go home. Wild Lily took her bag. She put
a lot of things in it: meat that she had caught and prepared, her
blanket, and clothes that she had made. They said goodbye to Hula's
family and left.
Wild Lily and Hula went up and down mountains and crossed frozen rivers.
One day, they saw something green - plants. The snow stopped. As they
moved south, it got warmer and warmer. After weeks and weeks of
travelling, Wild Lily didn't need her blanket or her thick clothes any
more.
Soon they were home. Wild Lily went upstairs and sat down. She looked at
her book again. She looked at the picture and showed it to Hula. He was
smiling. |