.O. BOOK SNEAK PEAK!!! .O.

 Pay Attention to what I'm about to say.

I am being very gracious when I give you this:

You're gonna read the FIRST *paragraph* OF MY BOOK!!!! .O. :DDDDD

Are you excited??? I sure hope you are!! So let's get reading! *Why did I only give you a paragraph? Well, my first chapter is about 12 book-pages long, and I'd be giving away WAY TOO MUCH*

I yawned, my tongue pressing up against the roof of my mouth. My eyes fluttered open and instantly they stung with the cold breeze rushing into our den. It was bittertime or “winter” as papa called it. My heart throbbed at the thought of papa. 

My stomach grumbled like a groundshaker. I bit back my hunger best I could, but it was too intense. Giving in, I rubbed my eyes with my paws and stood up. 

Pikin, my brother, slept next to me. His back rose and fell with each breath and he slightly smiled in his sleep. I carefully swiveled my head towards mama, who was sleeping father back in the den. Our den was very small, but at least it was livable, so that’s where we lived.
My stomach grumbled again, reminding me of the hunger growing in my empty pit of a stomach. I shuddered, my body fighting the cold wind bravely. I couldn’t stand the hunger anymore. Mama had taught Pikin and I to hunt for fish last spring. Maybe I could catch a fish in the river. I decided that I would catch myself a fish to eat. I hadn’t had much practice, but I would not let that thought stop me. 

As I stepped outside our den, my eyes strained to survey the area before me. I thought I heard hushed, frantic voices, but my hunger was probably just messing with my head. Still, I tried to pick out the frame of a bear in the landscape before me, but I could see none. Maybe it had just been my imagination, playing tricks on me. I started towards the river that flowed near our cave. The moonlight from above struggled to illuminate the path before me, and I stumbled around, tripping on rocks and hills. 

At last, I saw the faint light from the moon reflected on the water’s surface. Delighted by the thought of food, I darted towards it, my clumsy paws catching on the ground. But, something wasn’t right. There was no sound of the water gushing downstream. The reflection that the moon cast on the river didn’t change or ripple like it did in the spring. What was happening? Why wasn’t the water the same anymore? I tilted my head, confused. I’m sure it’s normal, I thought, reassuring myself. I bet the water’s full of fish. Delicious fish… 

Starving, I dipped my paw into the water. Instead of the familiar feeling of cold water pressing up against my paw, I heard a clink. What? Before, in the spring, the water hadn’t sounded like that. The water definitely hadn’t gone “clink”. Why was today different? Why was the water acting so weird? My stomach, now feeling hollowed out and empty as empty could be, roared with rage. “Shhh,” I hissed at it as if I could silence my stomach. “You’ll scare the fish away.”

My stomach couldn’t scare the fish away. There were no fish to scare away because the water had turned hard. Why today? My stomach was very upset with the water. With a fit of hunger and bewilderment, I slapped the water again. Clink. Startled, I jumped in the air. That’s the sound again! I thought, my head spinning. Annoyed and starved, I smashed my paw into the hardened water and pushed down. CRAAAACK. What was that? CRACK. A spiderweb of cracks shot throughout the hard water and one word came to mind; ice. Mama had told me about ice. She had explained to us how dangerous ice was. Mama had pointed out that some ice sheets were thinner than others. And that bears could fall in the cold, rushing water that was concealed beneath the sheet of ice. Startled, I tried to pull my paws away from the ice, but I was too slow. A loud crack pierced the silence in the air and my paws dove below the ice. 

Was that suspenseful? WAS IT?????? PLEASE SAY YES!!!!!!

Okay, maybe that was a little more than a paragraph, but IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE WHOLE CHAPTER!!

Thank you guys for reading, and have a super booky day!