Well, I'm going to the seaside. My aunt has a house right on the beach.
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Wow! That sounds fantastic. Lucky you!
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How about you? What are you going to do?
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Nothing. I'm going to stay at home.
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Oh dear.
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That trouble is my dad's very busy and he can't get away.
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Well, never mind.
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It's going to be so boring.
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Nonsense! You'll have a good time.
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Maybe...
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Anyway, I must go. Mum's waiting for me.
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Ok. Bye!
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Listen 5 times
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Saving other people
Saving other people
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The great race of mercy
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This is the true story of how twenty mushers and one hundred and fifty dogs saved the lives of 10,000 people in the winter of 1925.
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Nome is a small town in the north of Alaska.
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In January 1925 some children in the town became ill and died.
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The doctor realised it was a terrible disease.
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It could quickly infect and kill everybody in the town.
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Immediately, he sent for medicine.
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A plane was ready to fly the medicine more than 1,000 km to Nome but the weather was too cold and it could not take off.
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Only a dog-sledge could take the medicine but everyone asked,"Can the dogs reach Nome in time?"
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Twenty teams of husky dogs and mushers ran as a relay.
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The first team left Nenana on 27 January in a gale and a snowstorm.
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The dogs raced through the night in -52 C.
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The next day a new team carried on.
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The relay continued for four days and nights through thick snow and ice.
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The newspapers and radio carried the story. They called it the Great Race of Mercy.
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Everyone wanted the dogs to succeed.
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On 31 January the medicine arrived at the coast.
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The quickest route to Nome was across the bay.
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It was a vast expanse of frozen sea more than 50 Km across.
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Henry Ivanoff set off with his team but almost at once they ran into a reindeer and got tangled up.
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Just then Leonard Seppala arrived from the north.
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He was the most famous and fastest musher.
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" I have the medicine! " Ivanoff shouted.
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Seppala took the medicine and turned back towards the north into a raging blizzard.
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His lead dog was twelve-year-old Togo.
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Crossing the frozen sea was the most difficult and dangerous part of the journey.
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The ice was breaking up.
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Once, the whole team was stranded on an ice floe.
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Togo had to jump 1.5 m across freezing water.
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The harness broke but Togo jumped into the water, took the harness in his mouth and pulled the ice together until it was safe for the rest of the team to jump.
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They reached the next team on 1st February.
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The medicine was quickly carried to the last team which was led by Balto.
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Balto was not usually a lead dog and he was only three years old.
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The musher was not sure that Balto had the strength and obedience of a lead dog.
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Balto led his team bravely all night and they arrived in Nome early next morning.
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The medicine was safely delivered.
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The doctor treated his patients and no more people died.
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Afterwards Balto was a hero for a few months.
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Later he was sold and shown around America but he was badly looked after.
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Eventually he was rescued and lived in a zoo.
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All the dogs who ran were heroes.
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Six of them froze to death on the journey.
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Togo lived to the age of sixteen.
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All the husky dogs in America today are descendants of Togo and the other brave runners of 1925.
