ROSE Rose struggled against the soft warm nose nudging her gently, the warm breath that brushed her fur softly. “Mommy, I’m tired – let me be please.” She jumped fully awake in an instant as her plea was greeted not by Momma’s soft howl but by an unfamiliar voice – a deep throaty howl. She was surprised by the strength and energy she felt as she jumped to her tiny feet, then realized she was nose to nose – looking into the eyes of the largest dog she had ever seen – no, maybe not a dog. She backed away tripping and landing with a plop on her soft puppy behind and tumbling backwards and landing very undignifiedly on her belly with legs going in every direction. No – not a dog, what had Mommy Cinnamon called them – wolves? No matter – this one seemed huge, and his fur was so white he looked silver. “Go away,” she begged, “my mommy will protect me!” She was not prepared for the large wolf’s response an she lay trembling, he sat down and chuckled at her. “Ah, so you are finally awake.” He grinned at her and she looked in disbelief – what could be so funny? As she tried to shift to standing without looking totally clumsy he reached over and lifted her to her feet by her scruff ever so gently. “Hey, you are not my Mommy!” The large silver wolf grinned again. “No, Little Rose, I am not, but I am here to help you.” Rose stamped her tiny feet – surprised again, “How do you know my name?” she demanded. The silver wolf tilted his head to one side and smiled – “Because, I’ve been waiting for you.” And he began bathing her. “Hey, cut that out – YOU ARE NOT MY MOMMY!” The larger wolf only laughed at her bravado, she was so scared she was shaking. Rose backed away – slowly she began to notice. Grandmomma had been holding her in the house when she fell asleep, now she was outside and Grandmomma was nowhere to be seen. And this place was somewhere she had never been. She looked back at the silver wolf, emboldened because she feared she had little to loose – “How dare you steal me! My Momma Cinnamon will have raised such a fuss that my Momma Missy and Grandmomma will be looking for me – will come for me. They will!” The silver wolf just smiled, but now it seemed a sad smile. “They know where you are little one. And you can relax, I will not hurt you.” Rose was not at all sure how to take this stranger, but she sensed she could trust him. “There is a little time,” the silver wolf said, “shall I show you around?” Time? Before what? Around what, or where? As if he had heard her thoughts he began to answer her questions. “There is a little time before they will be here to meet you, so there is time for me to show you around your new home, at least part of it.” They? “Oh yes, Daddy Blue is on his way with Angel and Mini and Rosco and Hoppy and Good Girl. They are coming to welcome you. They will be here soon.” Now the tiny pup could no longer contain herself – “THAT’S MEAN!!! My daddy and little sister Angel and older brothers and sister are gone!” “Yes they are,” the silver wolf replied, and he waited for her to realize what he was saying. “You mean . . . ?” she asked. “Yes, little one,” he replied. She began to look at her surroundings with new eyes and suddenly realized – she could see! She looked up at the larger silver wolf. Slowly he stood and moved to position her between his large front paws. He leaned down and gently snuzzled her. “Shall I show you around little one?” © Candace 2/27/06 Next Page