The Land of Snow by Skye Waters

Author:Skye Waters [Waters, Skye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-007-35904-2
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2010-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

The polar bear and her cubs retreated further into the wood. Ella watched them until the last flash of their white tails melted into the darkness. The Starlight Snowdogs stood in their harness — bodies tense, tails arched over their backs, as they patiently waited.

“Free,” said Ella hurriedly, remembering she needed to give them the command to step down from the sled.

The harness magically fell away and the six dogs rolled ecstatically in the snow. Blue ran round in circles, pushing the snow into a ball with his nose, then rolling it to Ella.

“You want me to throw it?” she asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” said Blue, his mouth open in a laugh.

Ella looked at Acer, who nodded.

She picked up the snowball and threw it in the air. Blue and Inca jumped together, but Blue caught it first, snapping at the snowball so it disintegrated in a cloud of white snowflakes.

“Again,” said Inca, rolling her own snowball for Ella to throw.

Coda came and sat down with his stocky body leaning against Ella‧s legs.

“Do you want to play too?” she asked.

“Yes please,” he said shyly.

As fast as the three dogs rolled snowballs, Ella threw them. It made her laugh the way they jumped up and down, each wanting to catch the snowball first. Acer and Honey lay in the snow, nibbling at their paws to clean them. Restless Bandit paced back and forth.

“Come and play with us,” Ella called to him.

Bandit‧s lip curled in a sneer. “Snowballs are for puppies.”

Blue and Inca laughed and began a play fight, tumbling in the snow together, but Coda looked hurt.

“I‧m not a puppy,” he told Ella.

“Snowballs are for everyone,” said Ella firmly. “Come on, Bandit, let‧s see how high you can jump.”

But Bandit just shook his head and walked off to sit on his own. Ella stared after him. She had the strong impression that Bandit didn‧t like her, but she didn‧t know why. Something nudged at her hand. Honey stared up at Ella, her brown eyes full of sympathy.

“Don‧t worry about it,” she said kindly. “Bandit doesn‧t mean to be unkind. He‧s a little hot-headed, but he‧ll get over his disappointment.”

“What disappointment?” asked Ella.

Honey hesitated, but before she could answer, Acer barked. The Starlight Snowdogs immediately lay in the snow with their noses on their paws.

“It‧s almost dark. We must go to our home and you must go to yours,” he said.

“Where‧s your home?” Ella blurted out.

“Port Nanuk,” said Acer.

Ella was longing to ask more questions, but Blue was already in his harness, waiting for her. Now she‧d had some practice with the sled, Ella was keen to drive the snowdogs to their home, but she wasn‧t sure how to get back to Port Nanuk. Guessing the reason for her hesitation, Acer said, “You‧ve worked hard today, so you must go home before we do.”

Slightly disappointed, Ella climbed aboard and settled down with her back against the rail.

“Goodbye, Starlight Snowdogs,” she called as Blue began to run across the snow.

“Goodbye,” they called back.

Ella‧s stomach lurched as Blue pulled the sled up into the air.

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