Todd Lederman

Notch Ear's Sacrifice Todd Lederman

She's expecting kits, but the fierce winter threatens to starve MOONLIGHT and her mate. NOTCH EAR can find no prey, nothing to eat. He labors half a night to remove snow and ice covering a cache of food stored during better times. Panting, chest heaving, he claws at the dirt and screeches in rage when he detects the scent of thieves. He removes the last frozen dirt used to conceal his precious meat. The cache is empty. Coyotes have been here first. With a fresh blizzard howling, Notch Ear journeys toward humans' dens where he can scavenge from their refuse--if only he can cross the car-way safely. He watches and listens through blasting snow for an opening between speeding monsters, then bounds forward. He can't hear the car coming, and he and the human driver see each other too late. The human stops the wheels from rolling, but they slide along the icy path anyway. Notch Ear churns his paws even faster, but also slides out of control. The car sends him spinning through the air even as Moonlight begins delivering five kits. Will he survive to help raise his kits? Can they survive without him? In the tradition of Jack London's Call of the Wild, Notch Ear's Sacrifice presents the struggle for survival the way foxes experience life. A must read!