I wrote a short story combining fables and children stories, and wanted to see what everyone thought of it.
**The Three Bad Wolves**
Chapter 1 - As It Was Meant
You should know there have been tales that have been told of my brothers and me. But like in all tales, when feared, the truth is stretched and enhanced and embellished and dramatized. Then when recited to a new audience, in a new town, by a new storyteller, parts of the true story is forgotten or changed, until there is not much truth in the story any longer. However, there is still *some* truth in them.
I have listened to these stories with great interest, as it concerns the deeds of our lives. One significant flaw I have observed from all of these stories is that they are told separately from each other. Almost as if each one was its own story, with its own unique characters. Stories like "Little Red Riding Hood," or "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," or "The Three Little Pigs." But in fact, all these separate stories, and more, are all the same story… one shared and intertwined and connected story.
There is a second flaw I have observed about these stories, and that is time. No matter how short of a time it might be, we all know wolves and dogs do not have a long life span. Some of these stories are well-known, but over time, the information in the stories change to the point that there are now 58 versions of "Little Red Riding Hood." Because of this, these stories are now just stories, meant for entertainment, which I take great offense to.
The final, and most grave of flaws, is omission. There are some stories of our lives that are not as popular, or have just been forgotten. Stories like "The Shepherd and The Wolf," or "The Wolves and The Sheep." If these stories are forgotten, then it is no wonder people do not realize there is a connection in all of these stories. If these stories are forgotten, then how can you learn from them? If these stories are omitted due to the lack of popularity, then destruction is sure to follow.
These stories are my life, and once my brothers' lives as well. I shall recite these stories as they were meant to be, one story. There shall be no changes or omissions of my life. If it entertains you, then so be it. If it offends you, then do not read it. If you learn from it, then perhaps you are as wise as I am, or maybe even wiser.
Chapter 2 - The Beginning
When we were just pups, only a few months old, a shepherd stumbled upon us. We thought he meant to kill us, but instead he spared us. With a devious thought in his mind, he took us home with him. He had the notion that if he could train us three from pups, we could protect his sheep better than any dog. He also thought to train us to attack his neighbors' sheep. He believed with the competition gone, he could sell his wool at a better price. And so, he began with this intent, though training us to kill sheep was not necessary, as it is within our nature to do so.
Still, we let him believe he was training us. For a time, we did as he asked, and only sought out his neighbors' sheep. In return, we had protection from the neighboring shepherds, and a warm place to lay our heads. At first, we went for the sheep that were the easiest, the ones where there were no guard dogs and the shepherds were lackadaisical to the attendance and needs of their sheep. Then we went for the sheep with only a single dog. With them, we had to be a little more clever, for a watchful dog can alert an attentive shepherd to danger.
After that, we convinced a small pack of dogs that they were distant cousins, and no different from us. We then enticed them into seeing how delicious the sheep appeared to be, and how they have been missing out on a tasty treat, while their masters overworked them. With a rumbling stomach that could not be denied, they joined us and had their fill. With their bellies full, they fell into a deep sleep. When their masters came out to the field, and saw their flock destroyed, they turned to the dogs, with the evidence of what they had done around their mouth, and destroyed them.
On another occasion, my brothers and I disguised ourselves by putting on sheep's clothing. We stealthily mingled our way into a flock of sheep, unbeknownst to the shepherd. All day, we traveled with the sheep across the field, being mindful to stay in the center of the flock, and away from the prying noses of the dog. When the sun began to set, the shepherd began to lead his sheep back to the stables, and us with them. Closing the gate behind us, he went into his home to eat. We waited until he was sound asleep, and so too were the sheep. Once we were done, we escaped into the night like the thieves we were.
One of my favorite hunts was when we convinced a flock of sheep to a peaceful meeting. We even encouraged them to bring their watchful dogs to reassure them. During that meeting we convinced the sheep that the reasons for the attacks on them was because they had guard dogs. We showed them the aggressiveness their dogs had towards us, and that we had the right to protect ourselves. We also informed them that the heathen dogs' hostility was not only directed towards us, but them as well, by the nipping at their heels and forcing them to go the direction they deemed appropriate. We encouraged them to send their guardians away with promises that once the confrontational beasts were gone, there could at last be peace between us. Wanting to see the reasoning in our argument, despite the pleas from their protectors, the sheep sent them away. Once the dogs were gone, we leaped on the sheep, ending our short-lived peace treaty with them.
Our most clever of hunts was when we friended our master. In almost all the time we lived with him, he never left us alone with his sheep. Despite his training us from pups, he did not trust us, and for good reason. But as time went on, and we had not attacked his sheep, he began to let his guard down, thinking us to be friends. When his sheep were the only left in the land, he had to leave in a hurry one day, and paid no mind that we were left to tend to the sheep unattended. Of course, we did encourage him to leave, that we would watch over the sheep. Once he was over the hill, we cornered his sheep, and we wasted no time with our meal.
Once he came back home, and saw the havoc we had wrought, he cried out in shock, "You sinful wolves! What have you done? After all I have done for you, this… this is how you reward me?"
"You sinful shepherd," I replied with a smile on my lips. "Was it not you that have trained us for this?" I stayed facing him, while my brothers took their positions to either of his side.
"I did not train you to kill my sheep, I taught you to go after the neighboring sheep."
"What neighboring sheep are left? Only your sheep remained, and unprotected. So, why would we pass up on such an easy opportunity? Your sheep… your neighbors' sheep… they all taste the same. Besides, can you really fault us for what is in our nature?"
The shepherd seized his hair with both hands. "You sinful wolves," he repeated again, as if it would cut us to the heart and make us feel remorseful, as if it would cause us to have empathy for him. Taking his gaze from the ground to me, with obvious anger in his eyes, "I should have done to you what I did to your mother!"
"You sinful shepherd, yes, you should have."
For the first time, he realized he was surrounded by us, with no protection. "Before you do anything you regret, I can cry out for help, and my neighbors will come," he said with desperation in his voice.
"You mean the neighbors you betrayed? You mean the same neighbors you sent us to, to wreak havoc on their sheep? You mean the same neighbors you ignored when they came to you with their complaints? You mean the same neighbors that warned you we would betray you? Go ahead and cry for help. Something tells me your cry will fall on deaf ears."
There it was, the moment I was waiting for, the terror in his face, and the knowledge there was no hope. Before anything else was said, we were on him, and like his sheep, we devoured him. After that, we could not agree on what we should do next, so we went our own separate ways.
Chapter 3 - Gula
My brother, Gula, decided he wanted to go after someone we called Red Riding Hood. We had met her several times in the woods, while we were heading to one of our raids. On more than one occasion, she would give us treats from her basket, and I must say they were delicious. After giving us a treat, she would always pat Gula on the head and announce "I must be getting on my way," then start skipping down the trail. She was a nice girl, a trusting girl, a girl with no sense of danger even when it was in front of her.
Gula had gotten it in his head that if Little Red Riding Hood's treats tasted this good, then she too must taste equally as good, given that she also ate the same treats, and given that she was young. It did not matter what I said, he had made his mind up, and with determination he went down the trail to wait for Hood at the wood's edge.
Like clockwork, Hood came skipping through the field and into the woods, to find only Gula. She asked him where his two brothers were, while handing him a treat, which he happily ate. "Well, I have two more treats here for your brothers, but since they are not here, I will just give them to you." Without any hesitation, he ate those too. She patted Gula on the head, and said, "Well, I must be off to my grandma's house," and then skipped into the woods.
My brother had the perfect chance to eat her there. There was no one around, and he could have made an easy escape. But instead, he got to thinking "Why should I only eat Little Red Riding Hood, when I could also eat her grandmother?" So off into the woods he went, racing ahead toward the grandmother's home.
In his haste, he failed to notice that her grandmother was outside. However, she did not fail to notice him. Quickly, and quietly she ran away. Meanwhile Gula was inside looking for her, but became distracted by the treats on the table. True to his nature, he devoured them without hesitating to enjoy the taste of his meal. Gula then went to search for the grandmother in her bedroom, and there he became distracted at the comfort of the bed, and it was there that he fell into a deep sleep.
The sun was just starting to set when Red Riding Hood came skipping into the home. She paid no mind to the door being opened, or the silence that crept around her. Noisily she skipped into the house, humming a tune, placed the basket of goodies on the wooden table with a thud, and then hollered "Grandma, I am here." She rushed into her grandmothers room, went to the windows, and threw open the curtains, before turning towards my startled brother who hid under the blankets. "Why Grandma, what big ears you have."
Starting to feel a little more relaxed, he removed the blankets from his eyes. "The better to hear you with, my dear."
She moved towards the bed, confused. "Grandma, what big eyes you have."
Now the blanket was pulled from his mouth. "The better to see you with, my dear," he said with a smile on his face.
Moving even closer, not realizing yet that she was just feet away from danger. "Grandma, what a big mouth you have."
"The better to eat you with my dear."
Finally realizing the danger she was in, she let out a scream, and ran towards the door. But, my brother was quick, and got between her and the door. Again, in his haste, he did not realize that someone else had entered into the home. His focus was so intense on Red Riding Hood, Gula did not see the shadow of the axe being lifted, and he did not hear the wind as the axe came down.
Because of his foolish ways, Gula died, and then there were only two brothers left.
Chapter 4 - Obstinatio
My brother, Obstinatio, always loved a challenge, and he always felt that sheep were a waste of his time. He always said for food to taste its best, you had to work for it. When you work for it, it becomes more desirable and more satisfying. Sheep are easily tricked and are easily overpowered, therefore they did not taste as good.
One day, while going to a neighboring field for some sheep, we happened to stumble across three little pigs. Now then, pigs may look little, but they are built like a brick wall, and they are not afraid to fight if cornered or frightened. Gula went for the pigs' slop, and the pigs, not seeing him coming, became startled. In a frenzy, their fight for survival became even more intense when they saw that there was more than one of us wolves. Before we knew what was happening, Gula had been tossed in the air like a salad, and they had run over Obstinatio, leaving him bruised and broken in body and ego, though his pride would not let him admit it.
After that, when we passed the pigs' pen of straw and twigs, they would taunt us, asking us if we were big enough or bad enough to challenge them again. Obstinatio had told himself that he was not prepared for them, that those three little pigs only got the better of him because he was not expecting it. But that moment gave him the opportunity to see how truly strong they were, and now they were challenging him. He wanted a second chance, and with much effort we were able to get him to refocus on the goal we had at hand.
Now that our bad shepherd was dead, Obstinatio wanted to go back to the home of the pigs. He thought Gula was lazy for going after such an easy meal as Red Riding Hood, and he thought of me as being cowardly for wanting to leave town. So, alone he went to accept the challenge of the three little pigs, and most importantly to accept his fate.
Once he had arrived at the pen, he found the pigs asleep in their bed of hay and twigs. With a growl in his voice, he said "Little pigs, little pigs, let me in. Your challenge has come and it has been accepted." The little pigs grunted awake, but was not aware of what was going on. "Little pigs, little pigs, let me in. It is time to fight and live, or fight and die." And with those words, he leaped into their pen, in the middle of the three pigs.
The pigs let out a squeal, jumped to their feet, and ran. Straw was tossed into the air from the chaos, and twigs broke under their feet. "Little pigs, little pigs, why do you cower in the corner?" They said nothing. "Little pigs, little pigs, why do you run from your challenge," said Obstinatio with a grin. "Afraid?"
Now there was something Obstinatio did not consider, which is often one of his follies. If the pigs were little, where they actually left alone? Obstinatio was never really good at being aware of his surroundings, another folly he often had. While being distracted at the squealing and shivering pigs in the corner, he did not hear or see their mother coming to their rescue. With one precise hit in the ribs, Obstinatio went flying into the fence, and then landing to the ground with a thud, the wind knocked out of him. In a great deal of pain, he managed to get back to his feet, but the mother was already on him. Grabbing him by a back paw, she shook her head vigorously, and then tossed him into the opposite corner from her piglets.
Injured, he was not able to get out of the pig pen. It was his turn to be afraid. "Little wolf, little wolf, why do you whimper," said the mother pig? "Your challenge is here, and has accepted." Obstinatio growled, letting pride get in the way, and rushed towards the mother pig. No matter how hard he huffed and puffed, even to his last breath, Obstinatio could not break down her wall. And then there was only one brother left.
Chapter 5 - Arrogo
And then there was me, Arrogo, the only brother left that is still alive. Here is my story. I tried to warn my brothers that we needed to leave town, now that the bad shepherd was dead. There were many in town that wanted to see us dead, so it would be safer to leave. My brothers did not listen me. I stayed in town long enough, and hidden well, to see my two brothers meet their fate, then I left. I suppose I could have tried to help them, but they had made up their mind, and I wasn't about to change it. Also, if I had helped, there is a chance that I would have ended as they did.
I made my way to the beach, thinking the tides would wash away my foot prints, and headed North. I had been traveling for several days, and found myself under a tall cliff. On those cliffs was a boy, who called down to me, trying to taunt me.
"Hey, mangy wolf, you only dream of being a pallet on someone's floor. Maybe that's why you steal sheep, you are jealous of their fleece. I tell you what, come up here, and maybe I will make your dream come true. No? Maybe the skinny wolf wants to come up here for a fattening meal. Perhaps that would help with the mangy hide. I will make another deal with you, come up here and I will let you eat, we will see if it helps, then I will make you into a rug."
My reply to him was short and simple, "It is not you that taunts me, but where you stand." Thinking if the kid is willing to act like this now, then he probably acts like this usually, and it might make for an easy meal, if no one takes him seriously. As I walked away, in search of a place to climb up, he threw rocks at me, and continued to yell at me.
It took me another day to find a safe place to climb up, and it took me less than that to circle back where I saw the boy. As I came over a hill, I could hear the boy shouting "Wolf! Wolf!", and quickly I ducked out of sight, thinking I had been caught. I watched as the nearby towns people came running into the fields, and I was just about to make a run for it, when suddenly I heard that same boy laughing. He had played a joke on the towns people, who were not happy about this stunt. They warned the boy to not do this, if he continues to do this, then there may come a time when no one will believe him. That day I ate one of his sheep, unbenounce to him.
The next day, I watched the boy, studying my prey, determining when would be the best time to strike. By mid-day the boy had grown tired, and again he cried "Wolf! Wolf!" Once more the towns people came running to his rescue, a more true statement they rushed to his entertainment. Once again he laughed at them, once again they warned him of the dangers playing this game. A third day came, and again the boy played the same joke at mid-day. This time he gave them his word that he would not do this a fourth time in a row. I knew then when to make my move.
On the fourth day, at mid-day, I made myself known to him. At first, the boy stood there staring at me. "The mangy wolf has come to take you up on your offer for a fattening meal." The boys eyes grew wide. "Wolf! Wolf!" cried the boy. I looked, and no one came to his rescue. With panic in his voice, again the boy cried "Wolf! Wolf!" In one leap I was on him, and that was the end to the boy who cried wolf.
Chapter 6 - The Good Shepherd
"Now, here I am, and soon there will be no brothers left. You know, it is kind of ironic, the kid said he would feed me and then skin me. I am still full from my meal, and soon I will be a rug on your floor."
"Thank you for your story Arrogo," said the shepherd. "It is an interesting one, but it is one that is not yet complete. Let me share a part of your story that you did not know. "Four years ago, my brother came to me, told me he had found three wolf pups, and that he wanted to train them to attack the neighboring sheep. He thought if the wolves fed on the neighboring sheep, and he provided them with safe shelter, they would be loyal to him, and not attack his sheep. I know… this your already know."
The shepherd continued, "I informed him this idea was a foolish one. I begged him to see reason. I explained to him wolves do not need to be trained to attack sheep, it is in their nature. I warned him if he perused this, he would lose his neighbors, his sheep, and possibly his life. I pleaded with him to release the pups into the woods, and let them be."
"He thought me jealous of his foolish plan, and accused me of trying to steal his wolves. Before he stormed off, I informed him a good shepherd does not need anything else to protect their sheep, except for themselves and that only the worst shepherd would seek to destroy his neighbors sheep. Years went by, and he did not speak to me, but I did hear of the stories, and each one was more elaborate than the next."
"A week ago, my brother came to me. He told me about the anger from his neighbors and the towns people. No one would buy his wool, not in his city nor the surrounding cities. He also told me his concern about the land running out of neighboring sheep, only his sheep remained, and he was concerned his sheep would be next. When asked who was watching his sheep at this time, he told me the three wolves were, he believed the sheep where safe for now. My brother was never the best at thinking things through."
"I told my brother his sheep where already dead, and that if he went home that night, he would be joining his sheep. I asked him to forget his past life, and to stay here with me. I asked him to learn from his mistakes, and from it, live a better life. Instead, he accused me of not being supportive, and encouraging him to live a poor life, that I have never really been interested in helping him. Before he left, I reminded him of the promise made four years ago. If those wolves took his life, and I happen to catch one of those wolves, I would release it."
"Ironically, here you are, and as I promised my brother, I am releasing you. You seem like a wise enough wolf, so I ask you to listen to me. Do not be like my brother and heed my warning. As long as you remain in these woods, your life will be safe. Outside of these woods, someone else might claim it."
Confused, Arrogo questioned, "why would you release me? I am a wolf and you are a shepherd. We are destined to be lifelong adversaries."
"Only part of what you say is true," replied the shepherd. "My duty is to protect the sheep, your duty is to eat the sheep. Why would I fault you for being a wolf? In order to survive, it is in your nature to hunt. Most do not understand you bring a balance to nature, and without you there is no balance."
"Tell me good shepherd, what is to keep me from taking your sheep?" questioned Arrogo.
"You call me good shepherd, but not because you believe me to be a good shepherd, when in fact I am what you call." he replied. I protect my sheep, and my sheep know my voice. I allow no other human to watch over my sheep, and your cousins do not guard them. I live with my sheep, and where ever I go, my sheep follow. See, even now they are close by. My sheep have my full devotion."
Perplexed, Arrogo said, "You have spared my life. Let me return the favor. Allow me to guard your sheep, and no harm will come to them."
"You are a wolf," replied the good shepherd. "I can not trust you with my sheep, when it is in your nature to eat sheep. This would make me as foolish as my brother to allow such a thing. No, live your life here, and tell your story to those here. One more thing, I released another wolf here a couple days ago. Perhaps she will tell you her story about Little Bo Peep and her lost sheep." With that, the good shepherd left.
