Bub, Snow, and the Burly Bear Scare Page 8

  When Mother looked around, her eyes got big and her ears stood straight up. I guess she didn’t realize she was standing so close to the people and the wolves. Jane and Justin’s mom’s eyes flashed wide, too. The breath kind of caught in her throat, and she made a strange sound when she swallowed.

  One slow, cautious step at a time the Mothers backed away. Snow’s mother went to the far side of the pond and stood next to Snow’s father. My mother moved to the edge of the trees. The people mother, holding Jane and Jussy by the hands, moved toward the safety of the pines.

  No one said a word.

  For a long time all three of our mothers watched. The people mother finally broke the silence. Her smile was gentle when she cupped a hand beside her mouth.

  “Thank you,” she called.

  Snow’s mother wagged her tail. My mother wobbled her ears and nodded. Each looked at the other. Quietly shaking their heads—they all walked away.

  I looked down at Snow. “Want to play on the slide again?”

  He flipped his tail. Then, with a little glint in his eye, he jumped up and hit me on the rump with his paws.

  “Tag. You’re it.”

  About the Authors

  CAROL WALLACE and BILL WALLACE finished this story on the day they celebrated their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Parents of three children, they live on a farm in southwest Oklahoma—the last place anyone would go to find a moose.

  But if one were to go to the neighbor’s house—a short walk across the pasture—Nikki, Carol and Bill’s daughter, will be more than happy to show her collection. Also a published author, Nikki has been finding moose for over fifteen years. (Some she even found in Oklahoma.)

  Both former educators, Bill was principal and P.E. teacher at the same school he attended as a child. Carol taught second grade for twenty-six years. She now writes full-time, travels, and speaks with her husband at schools and conferences.

  Aladdin

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2002 by Bill Wallace and Carol Wallace

  Illustrations copyright © 2002 by John Steven Gurney

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Aladdin is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  ISBN 978-0-7434-0638-3 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-7434-0640-6 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-3147-7 (eBook)