Free Chihuawolf by Charlee Ganny

leave.”

    The facts are the facts. The truth cannot be ignored. Short legs do not run very fast or get very far.
    The four friends raced away from Tommy Thompson’s house, paws a blur of motion, tails straight as rudders. But after they ran and ran, and ran and ran, and still didn’t reach the white highway, Paco called for a halt.
    He needed to catch his breath. He puffed. He huffed. He remembered that it had taken hours for Coco and him to reach Mount Diablo.
    He turned an anguished face toward the other animals. “This won’t work. We’re muy lento, too slow.”
    B-Boy, Norma-Jean, and Little Annie agreed.
    â€œBut we can’t give up,” B-Boy insisted.
    â€œWe won’t give up!” The two cats put in their two cents.
    â€œWe’re not!” Paco barked. “We need another plan. Let me think for a minute.”
    Paco squeezed his eyes closed. Then he opened them and stared at the sky. The clear blue of an early summer evening did not reflect the dark worry in his mind. He really did not know what to do.
    But he did not give up. He kept looking upward but seeing inward. He stayed still. He thought hard. Then his ears quivered, detecting the muted rumble of semi-trucks traveling the white highway in the distance. And, then, Paco got another great idea.

    At the highway rest area, row after row of huge tractor trailers filled the parking spaces. Eighteen-wheelers, belching black smoke, pulled in off the highway, while others, their engines thundering, pulled back onto the interstate.
    The noise frightened the four small animals, but it didn’t stop them from coming closer. They slunk around the edge of asphalt, staying on the grass. They crouched low and stayed out of sight. All the while, their eyes scanned the windows of the idling big rigs looking for what Paco had described to them.
    â€œThere!” B-Boy yipped. “Over there. In the green one. Do you see him?”
    â€œI sure hear him.” Little Annie put her paws over her ears.
    Not twenty feet away, the black head of a fox-like dog called a Schipperke suddenly poked out of the open passenger-side window of a tall truck cab. The dog’s front feet did a little dance on the window ledge as it barked loudly and joyously. “Hey! Hey! Who are you? Hey! Hey! Come on over! Hey! It’s OK. I like cats. Hey! Come say hello!”

    â€œLet’s go!” Paco yelled and made a dash for the green cab. His friends followed. Standing in the parking lot, they introduced themselves to the dog high above them in the cab window.
    The black dog was called Teddy. He was glad to meet them. But, he asked, what were they doing here at a truck rest stop?
    Talking quickly, Paco told their story. He ended by saying they needed a ride to Mount Diablo to save their children. “So you are going that way? Sí? Is the driver coming back soon? We’re running out of time.”
    â€œDon’t worry. Don’t worry,” the black dog barked. “Driver Jim only went to the restroom. He’s coming right back. We’re on our way home. Don’t worry. I’ll help.”
    â€œThank you!” the posse below yelled.
    Teddy the Schipperke grinned a doggy smile. “Tell you what. I’ll get this door open. You hop in. Hide behind the seat. Jim won’t even notice. When we get to Mount Diablo, I’ll tell him I need to ‘go.’ You know what I mean. Soon as he opens the door, you guys run.”
    â€œYou sure?” Paco thought about all the things that could go wrong—in particular, what if driver Jim didn’t stop when Teddy asked to “go”?
    â€œAbsolute-ally! Come on. Hurry. I see Jim starting this way.”
    Teddy pressed down on the door handle. He pushed the cab door open wide enough for the cats to clamber up. Then B-Boy, whose legs worked like coiled springs, bounced into the cab without a bit of trouble.
    Tiny Paco jumped only as far as the