Week 3 Story: The Dog and The Wolf

(Image taken from Upik Abi Blog)

He was hungry. But not just any kind of hungry, because this had lasted several days. The grey fur loosely wrapped his now-scrawny body. His stomach ached as he laid on the ground, his legs without the energy to move themselves. It was at this moment that he smelt something. A familiarity took to the air around him as he mustered up enough strength to stand up in defense, then through the trees a voice boomed: "Cousin!"

A blur of dark brown darted towards the wolf at this moment, in his agonizing pain he reacted to slowly to avoid it and WHACK the object slammed into him. His eyes too weary to recognize the animal at first, quickly adjusted to see a dog, his cousin. "You don't look too good, cousin. What's wrong?" the dog inquired.

"Alas, I have not eaten in many days and my body is too feeble now to hunt," the wold responded.

"Come with me, I shall show you how you can eat to your stomach's content," the dog insisted.

The wolf tiredly followed the dog out of the woods. The tall, dark trees that held green life soon began to become more scarce. The noise of the insects began to fade, the rest of the animals were soon unseen, and now present in front of him was a town made of red brick. "What is this, my cousin," the wolf asked.

"This is steady living. You run around for your food and you barely eat once a week, here I am fed every day as long as I perform my duties. I shall share this work with you."

"I guess there is nothing wrong with an honest day's work," replied the wolf.

As they walked further towards the town, the wolf asked more questions of his cousin. He wondered what the work was like, what was expected, how often he would be able to live on his own. His questions continued until he noticed a bald spot on his cousin's neck.

"Cousin, where is your fur?" the wolf inquired.

"Oh yes," the dog responded, "I am free to wonder about the day, but at night there is a collar and chained wrapped around my neck. It chafes a bit at first, but you will get used to it. We all did."

At this moment they arrived at the master's house, a lovely brick home with a shed with many other dogs residing in it. With food readily available, the dog offered a plate to his wolf cousin. The wolf froze in that moment, stared at the food and then back at his cousin. His stomach moaned and his saliva dripped from his mouth, the wolf paused and spoke: "Keep your food and your duties, cousin. I would rather starve free than live a slave."

The wolf turned his head and walked back to the woods.

Author's Note: This story appealed to be because of its strong emphasis on a moral code, believing it to be worthy to die for. Aesop's fables often come with wisdom, but this is the first I have seen that illustrates that some values are worth dying for.

Bibliography: "The Dog and The Wolf" from Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs.