Snowy. Milisava Petkovic

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      Text by MILISAVA PETKOVIĆ

      Illustrations by XUAN LOC XUAN

      High in the mountains, Snowy and her family lived in a small cave.

      Snowy liked to

      jump and play

      in the deep,

      soft snow.

      Winter was almost over, and each day was a little brighter and warmer.

      Mama took Snowy exploring all over the mountain. One morning, they

      studied the tracks of other animals.

      All of a sudden, there were loud, sharp sounds: bang, bang! Snowy wondered, Isit thunder? Or an avalanche? Then they heard human voices shouting. Snowy and her mom were afraid. “Fur hunters!” whispered Mama. Snowy knew they made many animals disappear.

      “Run, Snowy!” Mama yelled.

      “Hide in the forest!”

      Mama ran away from her

      daughter so the hunters

      would follow her instead

      of Snowy.

      Afraid of the hunters, Snowy ran through the

      forest until the sky was dark.

      Then she realized that she had gone too far

      and was lost. Would Mama be able to find her?

      Snowy curled up beside a tree and waited for

      morning to come.

      The next morning, feeling sad and lonely,

      Snowy sat by a big tree. Suddenly, she

      could hear someone breathing nearby . . .

      . . . and then a clumsy little animal walked

      right in front of her. A marmot had just

      awoken from hibernating through the

      winter. He was busily looking for nuts and

      berries to eat.