Today was the day! I had watched Mom come and go from the entrance of the cave for many weeks now. Each time I worried if she would come back, but after what seemed like forever, she did. I wondered what was out there, beyond the walls that surround my sister and I. I could hear others outside but I could never see them so today I was going to leave the cave. Mom always ushered me back whenever I got close to the entrance so I was going to have to wait for her to leave. It wasn’t until the light was peeking into the den that Mom finally left. I watched her carefully with my pale blue eyes and when I was sure she was going to be gone longer than just a few minutes, I bolted outside with a happy yip!

The sheer vastness of what the world was like made my tiny paws skid to a halt as I gaped in wonderment. It was so big out here!! The hills that went on forever seemed to call to me and excite my sense of adventure. With little concern for my well-being or that of my sister who remained in the den, I picked a direction and bolted off on stubby legs. What was only a few short steps for Mom was several leaps and bounds for me. To some, I might not have gone far from the den, but to me I was miles away. Something with bright colors landed in front of me and I felt myself drawn to it. It was small and pretty, but not as pretty as me. Mom told me that my color was silver, which I thought meant my coat. It was a lovely white with silver hiding just underneath. I thought I looked very beautiful. The thing with lots of colors was nice, but could never compare to me. So, now I would have to punish it for trying to be prettier than me. One day, I would know what butterfly is, but today it is a mystery for me to discover as I started to creep up on it.

With my tail in the air I naturally know that I need to stalk this thing, but I didn’t really know what I was doing and it spotted me before I could pounce. With a flurry of colors, it flew away. “Hey, come back!” I called, chasing after it with a giggle. Lost in my own little world, I didn’t even bother to think about how dangerous the plains could be for a small pup of my size. Overhead, a large eagle circled around lazily, its keen eyes watching me with interest. To it, I was not like the great wolf hunters that roamed the vast fields. I was a potential meal to bring home to the chicks.