The sparkle of the freshly fallen snow made John squint as he pulled the toboggan up the big hill ahead of his brother and sisters. They loved to slide down the steep slope with King racing along behind them. But where was King today? Last night Mom had let him out as usual. King, a Siberian husky, loved to be outside in the raging wind and blowing snow. He would curl up on the doorstep for the night, and often would have to shake off a layer of snow from his back in the morning. On this particular morning, however, he hadn't been in his normal spot and after a morning of sledding, the children were worried about him. He was a favorite with each of the children. He would play gently with the littlest, but was strong enough to pull the komatik (wooden sleigh) for miles.

By the next day the whole family was worried about King. Everyone went out looking for him, and John even rounded up a few of his friends to help with the search. Suddenly one of the boys gave a shout,"John! Look over here! I'm behind the rock." John ran as fast as he could in the deep snow. His heart pounded as he saw King huddled in the shadow of the rock; a dark, bloody spot stained his white furry side. A trail of blood led from where King was lying to a house several yards from where King was lying.

John looked toward his own home and saw his mother in the kitchen window. "Mom! Come quickly! King's here, but he's..." He couldn't finish the sentence. King blurred in front of him and tears dropped on the frozen snow. John's brother came closer, but his two sisters stood a few feet away and stared at their pet. How could this have happened? Why would someone want to kill King? He was such a gentle, good dog; they all loved him. How could someone have done this?

Mother came running when she heard the panic in John's voice. She looked at King and then at the trail of blood. After examining King, she said,"Come John, help me lift him back to the shed. We can't leave him here and he's too heavy for me to carry alone." Mother and John led the way carrying King and the others sadly followed.

The sky was clouding over again, and big, heavy flakes were falling by the time the family went inside. No one felt like playing. Shortly after supper each of the children went up to their rooms to do their homework and get ready for bed. As John finished up his last multiplication problem he heard voices downstairs. Who was there? He quietly tip-toed down the steps and peeked around the corner. There was the man from whose door King had been shot. Mom (who acted as nurse in the village) was bandaging his index finger. John heard her ask,"Do you know who shot our dog?"

The man gave a start, and then with studied surprise said, "You talk about that, someone shot your dog?" What he did not realize was that only hours earlier, before the snow had covered it, a trail of blood testified of his guiltiness. Mom had asked him hoping that he would confess, but he was unrepentant. As soon as his finger was taken care of, he went on his way whistling unconcernedly. He might have thought that he fooled Mom, but she, John, and the rest of the family knew that the trail of blood led to him.

Did you know that the "trail of blood" from Calvary leads to you? The Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary for your sin.

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