Altered Tales

The Shepherd and the Wolf

The boy woke up early and got dressed in a hurry. The sun had not yet risen and the rooster was still asleep when he left his house and headed for his grandfather's farm. He loved Sundays for that was the day he was allowed to take the sheep to pasture. It was a small herd and they were eagerly waiting for him as he entered the courtyard and embraced his grandfather who was waiting.

'Remember,' his grandfather said gravely 'if you see a wolf cry out as loud as you can and help will arrive.'

In all the years he had been leading the sheep to pasture he had never seen a wolf but the boy nodded as he always did and proceeded towards the little enclosure where the sheep were anxiously bleating. He let them out one by one so that they formed a single file line and when the last one had passed he closed the gate and followed them.

The boy didn't have to use a stick or raise his voice to guide the animals for they knew the way and the little procession moved slowly but steadily from the farm to the grassy hillsides above the village. The sun had risen and the rooster crowed by the time they reached the pasture that belonged to the boy's grandfather. When the sheep arrived they broke formation and each headed to where the grass was longest and sweetest. The boy looked on happily and walked to his usual spot under an old oak tree in the middle of the field. He removed a book from his satchel and began to read. After several adventurous chapters he put the book down and began to eat the bread and cheese his mother had packed.

It was at that moment he heard the terrible sound. It was a high and unpleasant noise that he had never heard before but immediately recognized as the sound of frightened sheep. It was coming from further up the field where the grass met the wood and where an ewe and her lamb had strayed. In front of them under the shadows of the pine trees stood a large grey wolf. The boy who had never seen a wolf before stopped running and stared at the animal with a combination of fear and awe.

The wolf noticing the boy turned away from the sheep who immediately scampered down the hill and away from danger. The boy recalled everything his grandfather had said about wolves and like most boys his age had always secretly yearned to see one in the flesh. Now he was no more than 30 feet from the predator everyone had warned him about but who had never appeared.

The wolf seemed equally mesmerized by the boy and debating whether he was a threat or a prey. He raised his large snout and inhaled the air coming from the boy's direction. His mouth opened slightly revealing sharp white teeth. A thin line of saliva rolled down his black rubbery lips and slowly fell to the ground next to his thick paws. It was too much for the boy who suddenly began yelling louder than he had ever done before. His voice echoed over the hillside and reverberated down towards the village where the bells of the village church began urgently tolling and the opening and closing of doors could be heard.

The wolf however did not move. He didn't run off as the boy had expected nor did he advance into the field. He simply seemed to observe the situation. He eyed the sheep who were now safely huddled together near the entrance to the field and the boy who stood defiantly in front of them. After several minutes of staring and just as the sound of men could be heard approaching the wolf slowly turned away and returned to the forest leaving the boy alone.

The boy was still standing there as the first farmers approached and asked him what had happened. He described the incident in detail as they looked on in amazement holding shovels, pitchforks and whatever else they had time to grab. A group entered the wood but they came back without so much as spotting a footprint. Soon the boy's grandfather and parents arrived. He retold the story again and again to each new arrival. Everyone agreed as they returned down the hillside to the village that it was fortunate the boy and the sheep were safe.