The Knowledge and Loss of the Wolf

By: Aljan (Aljan) 2006-Forever

 

I once tried to see the true nature of a wolf

I traveled a great journey to find it

Only to see the dark side of Man

And feel the loss of my closest friends…

 

Before my eyes looked upon the wolf with new eyes

Hatred and fear was what I felt toward the great hunter

Hatred from the childhood stories

Anger from the actions that wolves seem to do day by day

 

Finally I decided to see the truth

After a report came in saying that a pack had destroyed an entire herd of caribou

Packing what I needed

I went north to find the wolf

 

My intentions were clear in my mind

To kill a wolf, cut open its stomach, and check its contents

If the caribou were indeed killed by wolves

Then their lives shall be avenged ten times more

 

Cold it was where I went

Hardly a creature within sight

Many a night did I hear the terrible cry

Making me grasp my rifle tighter as the mourning call danced across the sky

 

Then by chance did I see one early in the morn

White as snow and swift as a hawk

I gave chase

Until I came upon a lake

 

Crystal clear this lake was

Dark only when clouds were in the sky

Green grass grew around and beyond

Until it reached the base of the mountains, that isolated this places from the world

 

It was late afternoon when a visitor came to my tent

The wolf to be exact

No harm he did to me

But merely passed over me and inspected the rest of my camp

 

I was ever still as he did this

Fearful of the wolf’s reputation formed by Man

Yet he finished his inspection peacefully

Though he left his scent on my water supply, before he took his leave of me

 

 

Surprisingly, I didn’t take it personally

After drinking a lot of tea and uncontaminated water

I began to mark my boundaries

Singing a song that I never knew I knew

 

Moments later my friend appeared

He inspected the scent boundaries I had set up

Then put down his own scent on the opposite side of each object that I marked

Thus it was, our properties were marked and our signatures were around us to prove it

 

No longer did I feel anger for my neighbors

They pay me no heed unless I walk too close to their den

Otherwise they let me wonder freely on their territory

I do the same in return

 

I said neighbors for now my friend has a mate

Though identical in color, shape, and markings

There was a difference between the two

To aid me in my study, I named the male, George, and the female, Angela

 

Pups appeared in spring

Strong and playful ones they were

Only once did they stray accidentally into my tent

Though I was overjoyed to see them, George and Angela were still protective parents

They peacefully wondered into my camp, herded their children back to the den, and growled soft warning to me, though they knew I meant them no harm.

Respectfully, I kept the peace

 

During my stay, I noticed the wolves never lacked food

Where as I was close to the end of my food supply

Mice were taking refuge within my tent

Mice!

Though small and cute

There were too many for a single man to handle

 

Then I noticed Angela pouncing about in the swirling grass

Taking a closer look, getting as close to her as I dared

I saw her swallow a mouse

Then five

Then twenty

Then so many that I lost count

 

Taking that knowledge, I came up with an experiment

Though it came after I screamed the air from my lungs’

In desperation to scare the little rodents out

However they stayed and I could do my experiment

I took me a little longer to set my little single man table

A cup of orange juice and water stood ready

As well as a napkin and silver wear, each put into position

Wearily, I took my seat at the table

 

I closed my eyes as I cut my supper in half

Though I did cook it well enough to be eaten

The tail became so annoying in my mouth that I picked it out and tossed it over my shoulder

Then I heard a squeak as I was chewing on my second serving, which was smaller then the first

I turned to see a small rodent staring at me, fear and terror within its brown depths

Many more around my tent were also watching me

Success!

With haste I began to shove handfuls of baked rodents into my mouth and chewed them in front of my horrified audience

Squeaking a new, my audience left before I could finish my show for them

No more did any rodent set foot in my tent again

 

Rodents lived throughout the green grass that surrounded my tent

So my supply of mice never ended

Knowing that it was the wolves who helped me

I tried to find a way to repay them

 

Then I found a way

A bassoon I carried with me though I never knew why I was

With it I began to play a tone that began low then went to high

If I did it right then a human version of a howl echoed throughout the mountains

Thus I created communication with the wolves

 

George and Angela are now the alphas of their own pack

Their show of leadership was swift and done without bloodshed

Unlike the stories I heard from my own people

To me, these were a race trying desperately to survive in a world that now has shunned them

 

The thrill of seeing it happen was amazing!

Within a thrice, George’s pack brought down a sick caribou

George and his mate weren’t among them for they had to look after the pups

In order, the stronger wolves ate first until the last omega ate

When I came forward to inspect the corpse

The pack fell back a step but did not flee

For many days we have shared each other’s company

A trust had been formed between us

 

 

Then suddenly gunshots rang in the air

Overhead I heard the whir of a plane’s propeller

With haste I ran back to my camp

The pack fell back, filled with fear

Ever slowly they dropped beneath the swirling grass and disappeared

 

I heard laughing and a grunt as if someone was lifting something

A dark thud echoed on a thin piece of metal

Then the engine started

And the plane was in the air

 

I knew something was wrong

I sensed it in the air

I walked slowly near George’s and Angela’s den

Blood was splattered on the rocks that formed the mouth of the cave

 

Anguish gripped my heart

I forced myself to go forward

Until I made it to the back

Turning on a flashlight, I looked upon…

 

George’s and Angela’s pups

Helpless and innocent

Their blue eyes looked at me for comfort

Anguish gripped me once more and I knew I could not comfort them

 

Winter came early

As the snow began to fall

I took my bassoon and tried calling to George and Angela

After two days of playing, I set aside the instrument

 

Then an answering call echoed throughout the range

My heart was thumping as I called back

Hoping it was George and his mate

 

It was the pack

They have returned for the pups

For among wolves, there is no such thing as an orphan

They left the land that was once their home

And set out for some distant foreign land that was free of Man

I do not know where they are

For I did not watch them run beyond my sight

 

 

 

 

I have seen many things

Some greater then others

However, learning about the true nature of the wolf was the greatest adventure I could’ve imagined

I have felt the loss for my closest friends, George and Angela, young artic wolves who had a family

I went up north to discover the wolf’s true nature

Instead I discovered something more…

 

  

  

 

         

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