Daniel Olin was 11 years old when his parents moved to Canada. He liked his new school and made friends there, but then things at home started to change. His mum and dad began to argue and the arguments got worse and worse until one day, Daniel's mum left. With his father working long hours, Daniel felt very lonely and very unhappy. He wanted to escape, to run away. And that's what he did.
Very early one terribly cold morning when the snow was deep on the ground, he packed a bag with some clothes, some chocolate and a map of Canada and set off to a forest. He ran and ran until he could hardly breathe. His feet were heavy with the snow but he still walked on through deep snow, not even watching where he was going.
Then, disaster struck. A rock hidden by the deep snow caught his feet and Daniel fell to the ground. He had broken the bone. He was very cold and was starting to feel tired, but he knew that if he fell asleep in the snow, he would certainly die from the cold.
A tree shook ahead. From within the branches, a pair of yellow eyes watched Daniel. The puma had been following him. A puma is a large wild cat with claws that could tear. Daniel into pieces. But instead of moving in for the kill, the puma walked up to Daniel and lay across his chest, arms and legs. Daniel was too frightened to move, but soon the warmth of the animal reached Daniel and he began to feel better. From time to time, the puma pressed his muzzle against Daniel and rocked his head gently. Clearly, the puma knew that Daniel must not fall asleep. This animal should have been a real danger to Daniel and yet the boy began to feel safe.
They remained like that for several hours until Daniel and the puma heard voices. The rescue team had found them.
