Once upon a time, there was a village that rested
right on
the edge of a thick wood. The village was usually very
quiet, but it had
recently been having a problem. Wolves had been coming
out of the
woods at night and making off with some of the
villager’s sheep. Nobody ever really saw the wolves,
but they would hear howling at night and find wolf
tracks the next day. The villagers called a town
meeting at the church to discuss the event and what
should be done.
“Let’s burn down the forest and scare the wolves
away!” said one.
“No! We shall build a fence around our town that’s
fifty feet high!” said another.
“Why don’t we just move away?” said a very quiet
voice.
This was answered with a loud chorus of “NO!”
This arguing went on for almost an hour until a
general idea was formed. It was agreed that the wolves
should be driven away or killed. The villagers decided
to go into the woods and hunt them down in three days
so that they could prepare.
However, the town meeting was being eavesdropped on
by one of the village children. It was a boy named
Jake was been told to stay home that night but, like
all little boys, was too curious for his own good.
Jake hatched a plan as he listened through the cracks
in the wall. He decided to go into the woods himself
the very next day.
“The wolves won’t be expecting that!” he thought to
himself. “I’ll get rid of them before the rest of the
villagers show up and then I’ll be a hero!”
Of course, Jake had no idea where the wolves lived or
how dangerous they could be, but early the next
morning, he snuck out of bed before his parents had
awakened, slipped on his boots and picked up a large
stick from the yard. Then he set off into the woods,
following a set of wolf tracks he had seen that left
from his back yard.
Jake skipped along the trail with his stick in hand,
very sure of himself. However, he did not count on the
woods getting so dark the farther he went in. You see,
they were so thick that it was quite dark, even in the
day. He soon stopped skipping and walked with his
stick held in both hands like a sword, glancing side
to side very nervously.
His tummy began to growl. He was so excited that he
hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning but now he
regretted it. Suddenly up ahead he saw light pierce
the tree branches. Jake pushed his way through some
bushes and found himself in a bright open field with
the noon sun above him. He looked down and saw the
wolf tracks disappear into a field of high grass, and
out in the field he saw a small figure dressed in a
red cloak.
“I’ll bet that person has seen the wolf,” Jake said
to himself. He stepped into the grass, savoring the
sun that warmed his shoulders. As he stepped closer,
the figure picked up its head and looked toward Jake.
He waved to show he meant no harm, but the red figure
stood quickly and started to run in the other
direction.
“Hey, wait!” Jake yelled after it and started to run,
but the person was very fast and darted away into the
trees. Jake was sure he saw the end of a tail sticking
out from under the cloak.
Jake rubbed his eyes. Maybe he had imagined the tail.
It was a long cloak after all. Of course it would look
a little strange at this distance. Jake started to run
the same way that the figure had, into the woods
across the field.
“That looked like a girl, but where did she come from
anyway?”
Jake reached the edge of the field and ducked into
the trees, following the sound of breaking branches.
He pushed through many bushes that scratched his arms,
but he kept a firm grip on the stick he had brought
with him.
Suddenly, Jake was out of the trees and in a clearing
again but this one was shady, as the trees around its
edges were very tall. There wasn’t much grass on the
ground and was mostly covered with dry leaves. In the
middle of the clearing was a small cottage.
“I guess this is where that girl lives,” Jake said to
himself.
Something about the clearing gave him the creeps.
Jake held up his stick like it was a sword. He tried
to imagine himself as a brave knight but he was too
nervous.
Jake climbed the steps in front of the door and
knocked twice. There was no reply or sound of
footsteps inside, so Jake took a breath and said
loudly,
“Anyone home? I’m looking for a buncha wolves. Have
you seen any?”
There wasn’t any answer, but Jake noticed that the
door wasn’t even closed all the way, so he pushed it
open.
Instantly, something hit him hard on the chest and
sent him flying backwards onto the ground. Jake tried
to get up, but there was someone sitting on his chest.
It was the girl in red he had seen before. She was
holding the collar of his shirt and was glaring at
him. Only then did Jake notice that the girl looked a
little strange. Her forearms had fur on them and her
fingers had very sharp looking claws as well. He hood
was pushed back and from her head sprouted two very
pointy ears. Jake was about to say something but the
girl yelled.
“You stay away from my Gramma, you big meanie!” she
said.
“You... you’re the... the... uhhh,” he could barely
speak.
Then a voice spoke from behind the girl.
“Red? What are you doing?”
The girl sat up and looked behind her and then she
was off Jake's chest. He sat up and saw that the girl
was now clutching onto the dress of an old woman who
had ears just like hers and a big bushy tail. She was
standing with a cane to help her. She spoke to Jake.
“What are you doing here?”
Jake summoned up his courage said as bravely as he
could:
“I’ve come to stop the wolves from taking our sheep.
Have you been doing so?”
The old woman looked at Red.
“Have you been taking this boy’s sheep, Red?”
“Nu-uh!” she shook her head.
“Now, Red, what did I tell you about telling the
truth?”
“Wolves are always honest with their pack...” Red
said, like she had been made to say it many times
before.
“But you said you liked knitting and you were running
outta wool and needed more so I...” she trailed off.
“So what do you say?”
Red lifted one eye from the fold of her grandmother’s
dress and said to Jake.
“Sorry.”
Jake was stunned and confused, but at the same time
relieved that he wasn’t going to be eaten.
“That’s OK. I just need to get home now.”
“Red,” the old wolf lady said, “Give this boy back
his sheep and show him the way home.”
“Okay...” she said timidly as she walked around the
side of the house.
Jake followed Red around to the back and, sure
enough, there were four sheep milling about. He used
his stick to get them moving in the right direction,
and soon he and Red were off to the town.
Red said she was sorry many times while they were
walking, but after Jake told her that all was forgiven
they talked a lot. Jake told Red about his parents and
his friends and Red told Jake about her grandma’s
cooking and her Uncle, whose name was Robert but
everyone called Big Bad. Jake and Red became great
friends on the walk back and soon they were at the
towns gate.
The sun was setting when Jake and Red arrived and the
town was in a bit of a panic. Everyone was running
around shouting Jake's name. They had been convinced
that a wolf had taken him too, so they were very
relieved when he came strolling back and with the
sheep to boot! Jake was about to introduce Red to
them, but she was nowhere to be found. Jake's mother
threw her arms around him.
Jake told everyone what had happened and that they
were in no danger. Everyone seemed satisfied with this
and never bothered about the wolves again. Sometimes
however, Jake would sneak back to see Red and her
Grandma and they would all have a great time.