Wolves and Men

He took stock of his wood pile and he had enough for the night. As the flame danced in front of him, he moved a little farther away and put his legs out toward the heat. The fire warmed his feet and he was no longer afraid of losing any appendages. The fire produced a good amount of heat which surprised him. He hadn’t really expected a fire of this size to put out this much heat but it did and he wasn’t complaining. He lay down on the ground next the fire and closed his eyes. He was so tired he allowed his body to relax in front of the warm glow and he fell almost instantly asleep.

The light grew and penetrated his eyelids. He didn’t want to wake up and he rolled over to shield himself from the intruding light. His body groaned as he moved it and he was perfectly happy to sleep for another two or three hours. He was only stalling the inevitable. He could never go back to sleep once he was awake and whether his eyes were open or not, he was awake.

He opened his eyes and looked right in the face of a wolf. He jerked up with a half gasp half shout and pulled his knife free of its sheath. He over balanced as he pulled his knife free and fell backwards. As his mind caught up with him, he realized what wolf this was. The she-wolf had come back and he sighed exasperated at himself for being startled like that. The wolf seemed to look at him with mirth in her eyes, but he was just imagining things. He was embarrassed at himself for being so easily startled. He sheathed his blade and rolled away from the bed of coals that that still smoldered next to him.

The she-wolf had brought him a present. At her feet in the early morning gloom, he saw two dead rabbits. In her jaws was that stupid piece of denim that she didn’t seem to want to part with. He added some wood to the bed of coals and blew until the wood caught and became a nice fire once again. He took his blade in his hand and skinned and cleaned the rabbits as best he could. He impaled them on a stick that was just thick enough for the purpose and jamming one end into the soft ground he pulled the dead animals over the flames.

The wolf watched all of this with rapt attention. He ignored her for the most part but when he was done and there was nothing to do but allow the fire to cook the animals, he took the time to really look at his guide.

“You can drop that piece of my shorts.” He had wanted to tell her that for a long time and looking her in the eyes he continued. “I have followed you this far, haven’t I?” The wolf stared at him. He didn’t really expect her to acknowledge him in any way and he exhaled. “I guess you’re not a magical wolf.”

He smiled as his mind brought up all manner of references in which magical creatures lived and talked, Little Red Riding Hood, The Chronicles of Narnia. But this was reality and yet he was following a wolf, a natural predator, to wherever she chose to lead him. He began to laugh out loud. The wolf cocked her head to side at the sudden loud noise. He couldn’t help it. He was struck by the sheer ridiculousness of his situation. This wolf had hunted and killed for him, she had led him away from danger and pursuit, at least so far. Was he just a character in some fantasy story? He laughed harder till his sides hurt and he had to roll onto his side.

“You’ll probably eat me once we get to where we are going.” He managed to say through his laughter. “Are you taking me to some evil wizard in the forest that wants to change me into some kind of killing monster to avenge himself upon everybody who ever doubted him?” The wolf stood there perplexed at what was happening. He hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time and he found it hard to stop.

He pushed himself up to a sitting a position. He wiped the tears from his eyes and he barked out a few more laughs till he was sure that he was ok and could keep control of himself. It really was funny though. A magical wolf, had he gone senile?

The she-wolf stood there watching this strange behavior. She didn’t move and he wondered how he looked to her right now. She did not get the joke and he wondered if wolves found anything to be humorous. Did wolves have a sense of humor? As he thought about the question he reached over and pulled one of the rabbit spits out of the ground and tossed it toward the wolf.

“You probably prefer yours rare.”

The she-wolf sniffed at the dead animal and dropping the piece of denim from her mouth she began to eat the thing. He watched her tear into the flesh that she herself had caught and wondered once again why she was here and where she may be taking him. As she ripped deeper into her meal, he couldn’t quite place it but there was something about this wolf. She had helped him last night when his strength had all but given out. She had helped him escape his valley, and she had caught him the meal which was cooking happily over the small fire he had built. She hadn’t seemed afraid of the flames either.

He shook his head and grabbed the other rabbit from the fire and began to eat. The flesh of the animal was tough and singed but good and as he ate, he felt strength flow back into his body. It’s amazing what a night’s rest and some hot food could do for the human body. He continued to eat in silence with his four-legged companion.

The morning gloom had lifted, and the sun now shone upon them as they ate. The wolf had finished her rabbit and picking up the piece of denim, sat on her haunches waiting for him to finish. There was a good amount of meat to be had from the rabbits but it was soon gone and he began to clean up their camp site. Even here, a day’s travel from his valley, he knew that leaving any trace of his passing would eventually bring his pursuers to him.

He cleared the campsite of all traces of them being here. When he was finished, he looked over the clearing and was satisfied that after a day and maybe some rain this place would look as undisturbed as the virgin snowfall of winter.

He looked at his guide and motioned to her. “Let’s go.” He paused for a moment and looking into the wolves’ eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to want to tell me where we’re going, would you?”

The wolf stood up and trotted past him into the forest, not making a sound. He shook his head and whispered to himself, “I didn’t think so.”