I woke up early the next morning. Fortunately, Wolf and Fred were with me that night. I probably wouldn't be here, eatin' breakfast if they wasn't here. I had heard jackals in the woods around us. Well, whatever they was, I heard yelps.

I knew it wasn't good for a man to cry. My Pa had once told me "don't cry, ya's not a man, if ya cry." But there was I cryin' wit' Wolf a lickin' me face, like me was her pup, like Fred. Fred was over there playin' and a swattin' wit a fly. He was lookin' like me when I was a little kid. Then it hit me, I'm an orphan!

I made up my mind to get to the North, no matter what. I'll take Wolf and Fred, pack lots of food, wood and water.

The next day was very busy. I was packing, gathering, picking, cutting and building a boat. I trained Wolf to bring wood to me, while Fred chewed it up. I used the chips to fill the bottom of the ship. Some of the wood was used for the boat. I used bamboo for the bottom, because it's hollow and floats easily. The rest of the boat I made with wood sealed with plaster, inside and out. The mast was made out of leaves sewn together with thread. My cabin had pictures on the walls, a wooden bed and a dresser with a mirror in it. I made a big dog house on the top deck for Wolf and Fred. All together it had taken me five months to build and I was mighty proud. But still, I had to get a lot of food to fill the "cellar" of the boat.

A month later it was filled, plus I had some animal skins to wear as clothes. Strange to say, but Wolf was a vegetarian. Once I have her a rabbit foot, but she stared at it. So, later I's give her a baked carrot and she gobbles it up like a boar! Ma loved carrots. After I greeted her, I'd hug her when she acted like Ma. Her fur got wet wit' tears and she licked my face and laid down to sleep. I finally found out why she was that way. When I had first seen her, she had seen that I was like Fred. She had brought Fred that way, to compare us, then she adopted me as her pup.

Good-bye...

Finally, it was the day to go to the North. I had packed everything, made sure there were no holes, cracks, etc. Then I herded Wolf and Fred into the boat, got over to the ship's wheel and unrolled the mast. Like a faithful crew, they waited for instructions from their captain. I couldn't help it but to smile. Then my thoughts went back, back to a time when I was six. It was when our masters were moving and taking us wit' them. I had felt scared but happy, too. They had a little boy, a couple years younger than I's. He used to boss me around. Like I was his slave (which I was). He was a wicked boy, who used to deceive his parents by making me not tell them when he did something bad. I mean he really made me and if I didn't do what he told me to do, he would call his parents and have them beat me.