Snowy Wishes by Sue Bentley

Storm rolled on his back on the stony ground. The young silver-gray wolf enjoyed the scratchy feeling against his thick fur. It felt good to be back in his homeland.
    Suddenly, a fierce howl rose into the air and echoed over the quiet hillside.
    “Shadow!” gasped Storm. The fierce lone wolf who had attacked Storm’s Moon-clawpack was very close. He should have known that it wasn’t safe to return.
    There was a flash of bright gold light and a silent explosion of gold sparks. The young wolf disappeared and in its place stood a tiny, fluffy white Labrador puppy with floppy ears and big midnight-blue eyes.
    Storm’s short puppy legs trembled. He needed to find somewhere to hide, and quickly.
    Halfway up the slope, thick bushes clung to the rough ground. Storm raced toward them, his little paws kicking up spurts of dust. A dark wolf shape was crouching near one of the bushes. Storm’s breath caught in his throat with terror, and he skiddedsideways in an attempt to escape.
    “In here, my son,” the wolf called in a deep, gentle growl.
    “Mother!” Storm yapped with relief.
    He stopped and raced back toward the bush where she was hiding. As he reached her, Storm’s whole body wriggled and his silky little tail wagged delightedly.
    Canista reached out a huge paw and gathered her disguised pup close against her warm body. She licked Storm’s fluffy white muzzle. “I am glad to see you again, but you cannot stay. Shadow is looking for you. He wants to lead the Moon-claw pack, but the others will not follow him while you live.”
    Storm’s midnight-blue eyes sparkedwith anger and fear. “He has already killed my father and brothers and wounded you. I will fight Shadow and make him leave our lands.”
    Canista showed her strong, sharp teeth in a proud smile. “Bravely said, but Shadow is too strong for you, and I am still weak from his poisoned bite and cannot help you. Go back to the other world. Hide there and return when you are wiser and your magic is stronger.”
    Storm whined softly. He knew his mother was right, but he hated to leave her.
    He huffed out a warm puppy breath that glittered with a thousand tiny gold sparks. The healing mist swirled round Canista’s paw and then sank into her thick gray fur.
    “Thank you, Storm. The pain is much better,” she rumbled softly.
    Suddenly, another terrifying howl rang out and there came the sound of enormous paws thudding up the slope toward them.
    “I know you are there, Storm. Let us finish this!” growled a harsh, cruel voice.
    “Go now! Save yourself!” Canista urged.
    Storm whimpered as he felt the power gathering inside his tiny form. Bright gold sparks ignited in his fluffy white fur. A bright gold light spread around him. And grew brighter . . .

“Robyn, sweetheart. Are you awake?”
    At the sound of her mom’s voice in the doorway, Robyn Parsons sat up slowly. Her bunk was moving very slightly with the motion of the ship. From somewhere deep below her, she could hear the faint rumbling of the
Sea Princess’
s enormous engines.
    “I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting,” Robynmurmured. “Uh-oh,” she breathed as her tummy gave a familiar lurch.
    “Still feeling weak and wobbly?” Mrs. Parsons said gently. “Poor old you. That’s nearly two days you’ve been stuck in here.”
    “I know,” Robyn said glumly, feeling very down in the dumps.
    She’d been looking forward to this Christmas even more than usual.
    Robyn didn’t have any brothers orsisters, and her dad worked away from home a lot. This was the first chance in ages to spend lots of time with him, and they would all be together as a family.

    “I think we deserve a vacation with guaranteed snow, lights, and lots of atmosphere! Leave it to me,” Mr. Parsons had declared.
    And now here they all were, all aboard the
Sea Princess
for a winter cruise around the wild and beautiful coast of Norway.
    Robyn sighed. At this rate, she was going to be lucky if she caught a glimpse of any