The Snow Kingdom: Sasha Goes To College

By D. L. Fox

In the second book of "The Snow Kingdom" book series, Sasha, having escaped from the evil Grubby, finds her way onto a college campus and befriends another stray dog named, "Duke." Over the years, Duke has become a mascot of sorts on the campus, and gives Sasha both a human education and life lessons on how to survive out in the world. It's a heartwarming story of friendship and the importance of a great education, for both human and animal alike! The themes of the book are universal, but aren't preachy. They are presented in a subtle, often very funny way, with engaging characters and witty dialogue.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D. L. Fox
• Release date: Dec 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311566379

D. L. Fox

D.L. Fox was born in Pittsburgh, PA, but grew up in Southern California. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). After working in the entertainment industry for many, many, perhaps far too many years, she and her husband moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Having always lived in either apartments, dorms or condos in Los Angeles that didn't allow dogs, one of her first priorities on settling in North Carolina was to become a loving dog owner. After reading a number of dog magazines and talking with a number of breeders, she found and immediately bonded with "Dr. Yuri Zhivago," her pure breed Siberian Husky. While that may be his name on his AKC papers, the good Doctor doesn't put on airs, and goes by "Yuri." "The Snow Kingdom" was inspired by an unbreakable bond between the Author and her best friend.

Book preview

DEDICATION

For my second mom, Charlene.

She loves Yuri bunches,

and created the best partner

anyone could ever, ever have.

CHAPTER ONE

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I'm free! I'm free!

It had been a couple of hours since Sasha, with the help of her bird friends, Pipp, Wipp and Laurence, had escaped Grubby's house. She had been running flat out ever since. She didn't dare slow down, for fear of Grubby being able to catch up to her. Adrenaline alone kept her going. Even though the muscles in Sasha's legs were burning, she kept a determined eye on the horizon. The sun was setting, and she knew it was only a matter of time before it would be dark. In a way, she was no longer running away from Grubby, but running towards the fleeing sun in the direction of the Snow Kingdom.

Hundreds of thoughts were bouncing around in her head.

How much longer do I have before the sun goes down?

Should I try and continue in the same direction after it does?

If I don't continue on, where do I sleep?

What did Penny mean about Animal Shelters?

I wonder if Yuri, or anyone else, escaped?

If they did, how will I find them?

Water. Where am I going to find water?

Food. Where am I going to find food?

Water and food had always been provided to her. Now, she had to find them for herself. Problem was, she had no idea how.

Suddenly, without even thinking about it, a smile started to form on Sasha's face. While she really had no idea what all the answers were to the questions tumbling through her head, these were only problems a free dog has. When matched up against the abuse she suffered at the hands of Grubby, and the endless days of abandonment bound to the backyard tree, These are good problems to have, she told herself.

No matter what comes, I'll figure it out.

Her resolve gave her legs a new burst of energy.

She dashed through the streets and darted around the city corners. She didn't pay the few people about any mind. Of the few who noticed Sasha, she was little more than a curiosity, or a white flash of fur shooting past them.

Was that a puppy? asked one woman, behind Sasha.

I think so, responded the man next to her.

Cute little thing, said the woman, whose voice started to fade as Sasha increased her distance from the couple.

I wonder where its owner…? started the man, before Sasha could no longer hear them, as she scampered down another street heading east.

I can't stay on these streets too much longer.

In the distance, Sasha saw a row of trees. It looked to be a stretch of forest at the end of the street. She prayed she would reach them before drawing too much more attention from any more humans.

Just a little further!

At the end of the street, she saw a cross-street perpendicular to hers. It was the last stretch of cement separating her from the trees on the other side. The cross-street cars were going much faster than those driving on the street she was running on. As she approached, she hesitated, concerned.

Should I just go for it? What should I do here?

Since she didn't see any cars crossing at the time, Sasha decided to press on.

If humans were driving the cars, they'll stop… right?

The instant Sasha leapt from the sidewalk into the cross-street, she immediately regretted her decision. Bearing down on her left, a large white truck locked up its brakes and started SCREECHING! sideways in the lane.

Holy Fishsticks! cried Sasha, scared out of her mind.

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Rather than stop and reverse direction, Sasha vaulted forward across the yellow dividing line and into the next lane. No sooner had she landed than she realized that a black car was bearing down on her from the opposite direction.

HOOOOOONNNNNKKKKK!

The sound from the car's horn was worse than the screeching brakes from the white truck's tires behind her.

Aaaaaaaahhhhh! screamed Sasha, duplicating the length of time the car's horn blared.

With two more bounces, Sasha landed on the cross-street's soft shoulder, just as the black car flashed behind her.

Before she had time to catch her breath, she heard another SCREEEECH! and CRASH!

A car slammed into the white truck across the street. The sound made Sasha instinctually duck. The first line of trees was only steps away, so rather than cower, she sprinted for the cover of the trees. As she ran deeper and deeper into the woods, she could hear human voices yelling back and forth in the background.

What in the world are you doing?!

Didn't you see it? responded the truck driver.

See what? asked the man, who slammed into the truck.

The dog. A puppy ran out in the middle of the road!

You totaled my car for a dog? A DOG!

It came out of nowhere…

While Sasha could have continued listening, she chose to focus her attention in front of her.

The words, … for a dog! A DOG! echoed back-and-forth in her mind.

That's all she was to humans: A dog.

According to them, she didn't come from the Snow King or the Great Wolf. She wasn't even a Siberian Husky. Just a dog. No feelings. No pain. No happiness. Little more than property which could be discarded at will.

As the dried fallen leaves crunched under her paws, she started thinking back to all her interactions with humans. The only time she ever felt a sense of belonging was with Penny. The Farmer and his family sold her. And Grubby? Well, Grubby was too terrible to even think about. For everyone besides Penny, Sasha really was less valuable to humans than that person's car back in the road behind her. If that person, or the Farmer, or Grubby, even, would have had their way, they wouldn't have given it a second thought: Just run over the dog. To them, an inanimate object was more valuable than her life.

Humans stink! At least, most of them.

As she came to this conclusion, Sasha noticed the forest was beginning to thin up ahead of her.

Oh no! Not more roads and cars.

For the first time since she escaped Grubby's house, Sasha slowed down. She wasn't about to run out into another street and risk becoming road kill.

When Sasha reached the tree line, she poked her head out into the clearing. She was surprised to see an open field of grass with a number of stone buildings rising above the now-setting sun. They were slightly backlit by the orange hue of the sunset.

As Sasha panned her head left and right, she didn't see any cars. She actually didn't see any roads. Or, at least the kinds of roads behind her. The cement roads that snaked their way through the buildings ahead of her didn't have any of those dashed yellow lines. These had none. Maybe cars didn't drive on these.

Are these just wide sidewalks or walkways?

Cautiously, Sasha took her first steps out from the tree line. The grass was manicured to precision. It was soft and cool to the touch. Running, with temperatures in the high-90s and humidity at the point of suffocation, had taken taken its toll on Sasha. She was at the point of collapse, and would have loved to flop down right then and there. But dropping and sleeping now, out in the open and visible to everyone, was not an option she was willing to entertain. She forced herself to trudge on.

Any thought of continuing on past nightfall was dashed at the sight of the stone buildings and beautifully landscaped grounds. Sasha could not think of a better place to spend the night. If she could just find an out-of-sight patch of grass, similar to the soothing feel of the field she was presently walking across, she would be a happy camper.

Water! I need water.

The primal needs crept back into Sasha's mind. She could go without food, but she needed water. She scanned the area. It came as no surprise that a bowl of water wasn't laying out in the middle of the field with her name engraved on its side. Given the lush beauty of her surroundings, however, she knew water was available somewhere. She just had to find it.

Keep moving!

As Sasha reached the first cement walkway, she decided to take it towards to the stone buildings, still off in the distance. She reasoned humans didn't construct these pathways without a reason. Humans always have a purpose. Whether it be good or bad, there was a reason. Perhaps this walkway would lead her to water. Whether it did or didn't, Sasha committed herself to finding out where the walkway led.

As Sasha strolled down the pathway, she couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer size of some of the buildings. The buildings towered above her, making her feel very small. They were different than anything she had ever seen before. The exteriors were a hodgepodge of colors and stone sizes. The dark gray, brown and tan stone blocks were all held together by some sort of off-white plaster. But, taken altogether, they gave the buildings an impressive, old-world gray appearance.

In the distance, Sasha heard what sounded like a trickle, or maybe splashing water. With her keen hearing, she angled her ears in the direction of the sounds.

It's not far away!

Sasha took off in the direction of the water sounds, running as fast has her little paws could carry her.

I think it's on the other side of this building!

Unfortunately, the building was huge. It was a long as a city block and several stories high. Sasha dug deep and galloped hard to the end of the enormous stone building. She made a hard right at its edge, no longer paying any attention to the walkway. She was on a mission. Like a race car driver setting up turns at maximum velocity, she would cut the corners, running full-out.

When she cleared the second turn, she saw it: A huge water fountain! It was spitting water up into the air and