Balto: A New Mission
By Denise Mol
Balto looked around. Where was he? Suddenly he saw a familiar face: " Aleu?" Aleu gave him a worried look, then he heared her say: " Papa, I need your help.."
" What are you talking about?" Balto asked, while he vaguely started to realize that he was dreaming.
" I’m in trouble, please hurry!" She began to swim out of focus.
" Wait!" , Balto yelled, " How do I find you?" The answer came quickly, as though she tried to tell him as much as possible in a limited time. " Muru will guide you…" Then he wake up. He looked at Jenna, who was fast asleep. " Weird…" thought Balto. Since he couldn’t sleep anymore, he decided to go for a walk.
It was cold outside. After wandering around for half an hour, witch nowhere to go, Balto decided to go back to Jenna. Then he heared a whisper in the wind, which sounded like a song. Anxios to know what it was, Balto followed the whisper that became louder by every step he took in that direction. Just at the piont that Balto had enough of it and wanted to go back, he saw a fieldmouse, who was waiting for he. " Why is a mouse outside in this cold?" he wondered. The mouse began to talk: " I am Muru, Aleu’s spiritguide…"
" Aleu, is she all right? What happened to her?" Balto interupted him.
" I will lead you to her." answered Muru, " Prepare for the journey, but you must be back here by sunrise."
" Wait a second! How can I be sure you’re speaking the truth?" asked Balto.
" ‘Cause of your dreams," said Muru, " and this!" While he spoke, he made a gesture with his paw and in a misty cloud, the face of Aleu appeared. Balto was convinced " I’ll be here." Then he turned around and started to run back home.
It wasn’t easy to convince Jenna. " Balto, do you really think I will let you go on your onw, in a blizzard if you please!"
" But Jenna, Aleu needs me, I have to go."
" Then I’ll come with you!"
By sunrise, the two stood on the spot that Balto had pionted. Muru appeared out of thin air. " Good you’re here, let’s go!" After a few houres, they crossed the path of a polarbear. The polarbear attacked and Balto fought to protect Jenna. It wasn’t a fair match, it didn’t take long before Balto on the edgeof unconscious. Then he heared another voice that he knew well: Aniu. " The polarbear: inner courage…" The voice disappeared along with the bear. " Balto, everything alright?" It was the worried voice of Jenna.
"I’m fine."
They continued their journey. One time they lost Muru out of sight. Jenna was tired and hungry " Oh, that stupid mouse! Now what do we do?" Balto knew: " We must follow the caribu."
"Why?"
" Because following the caribu is chosing for life."
After wandering for a day they found a groupe of caribu and Muru. " Well done Balto, you still remember it."
Three days later, they reached a cave, covered with snow and the entrance blocked by thick blocks of ice. " Here ends you’re journey and begins you’re problem, but hurry or you’ll be too late!" said Muru. Balto began to scratch the ice " This is no use, there’s got to be another way in." Sniffing, scratching and biting, it was Jenna who found a way in. " In this darkness, we could be searching for hours and it’s freezing in here."
" Stop worrying Jenna, it’s not that difficult." He took a long brath and howled. There came a weak response.
They found Aleu, she was weak, had grow lean and her pelt clinged together. Jenna gave a yelp: " Oh, my poor baby!" Aleu woke up and smiled. " I’ll be fine now." she whispered. Five minutes later Balto came back with a rabbit. When Aleu had finished eating it, she began to tell what happened. " So a led the wolfpack across, but after a while they didn’t want me to be their leader anymore. A went of to proof myself and started to make this den. When a woke up one morning the entrance was blocked and I couldn’t get out, that was when I entered your dreams in a call for help and you came." She saw her mothers angry look and said: " Please don’t blame them , mum. They were right and only trying to hold the balance in the pack." She knew her mother wouldn’t understand, but her father did. Then she asked shy : " Can I come home now?" Balto smiled " Of course you can, you know you’ll always be my baby."
The next day they all went home. Suddenly Aleu said: " Oh yeah, before I forget to tell you, papa, you’re going to be a grandpa."
The End