'Twas True Love**

White man had fouled the land of ice and snow, his home, their poisons driven off the caribou, the whales and fish to feed them all, there would not ever be a Native to return, big cities had their charm though not for wolves. Born in a litter of fourteen, the biggest, and a friend to brother Selso, as the runt he'd miss the sea and would be searching far, for a new home. The Inuits called him Tireganierk***, which translates into Fox, due to his hunting skill all instincts served him well. Teeray stayed well behind, and lived off scraps, swept in from passing boats, life was no joy and food was scarce, he aged at twice the speed, and lost a dozen teeth when brother Selso came to take all but his hide. His fur was nearly white, when all the settlers had gone south, the mills had closed and no one sailed the Hudson or the inland fjords, when, minutes before dawn, he spotted her, a scent that perked his ears, assaulted his fine nose and made him crouch, one paw raised just a tad, she was a stranger, and of great beauty, true, he'd turn and run, avoiding her, but she had none of it and growled, then crossed the path to stand before him, proud. He sniffed, she nuzzled him, and licked his ear, he kept his jaws clamped tight, she need not see his teeth, his unkempt fur and burrs that stuck to his long tail, his head held low, it was submissive in its way, if brief, they turned and followed the frozen path that led to permafrost up near the ridge where Hudson had his grave. It took just days, they stayed within opposing scents, and touched, and licked, he'd watch her pee and growl his friendly growl, then rub his flank against her chest. She always was the one that found and then prepared the bed, where they would rest, while leaning to the other hard, and when the season came, the last small herd of caribou had gone, to find new land they mated, on the frozen moss, and there was peace, and no conditions would be laid or even thought, they did, in human terms, experience love, he, much her senior, she, a lithe and hungry lass, and when the litter came they knew, it would be time to say goodbye, their real home was ice and snow. 'Twas a cold and foggy night, a freighter bearing flags of Norse had sheltered in the bay, its sailors drunk with two-proof rum, and Teeray had been first, to scout, then carry, one by one the little guys into the hold, beneath a tarpolin the farthest they could go, far from the stern. He knew they'd get to Iceland soon, 't would be a home of frost, of tundras and of ancient trees, where wolves were welcome and allowed to hunt, to make a life. And there they stayed, Teeray passed on while holding her soft paw, the little guys had grown and carried on, with pride and with their parents' love. Note: Tireganierk was called Teeray by the Inuits.