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Once upon
a time...
Once upon a time an Indian hunter built himself a house in
the middle of a great forest, far away from all his tribe; for his
heart was gentle and kind, and he was weary of the treachery and
cruel deeds of those who had been his friends. So he left them, and
took his wife and three children, and they journeyed on until they
found a spot near to a clear stream, where they began to cut down
trees, and to make ready their wigwam. For many years they lived
peacefully and happily in this sheltered place, never leaving it
except to hunt the wild animals, which served them both for food and
clothes. At last, however, the strong man felt sick, and before long
he knew he must die.
So he gathered his family round him, and said his last words to
them. 'You, my wife, the companion of my days, will follow me ere
many moons have waned to the island of the blest. But for you, O my
children, whose lives are but newly begun, the wickedness,
unkindness, and ingratitude from which I fled are before you. Yet I
shall go hence in peace, my children, if you will promise always to
love each other, and never to forsake your youngest brother.
'Never!' they replied, holding out their hands. And the hunter died
content.
Scarcely eight moons had passed when, just as he had said, the wife
went forth, and followed her husband; but before leaving her
children she bade the two elder ones think of their promise never to
forsake the younger, for he was a child, and weak. And while the
snow lay thick upon the ground, they tended him and cherished him;
but when the earth showed green again, the heart of the young man
stirred within him, and he longed to see the wigwams of the village
where his father's youth was spent.
Therefore he opened all his heart to his sister, who answered: 'My
brother, I understand your longing for our fellow-men, whom here we
cannot see. But remember our father's words. Shall we not seek our
own pleasures, and forget the little one?'
But he would not listen, and, making no reply, he took his bow and
arrows and left the hut. The snows fell and melted, yet he never
returned; and at last the heart of the girl grew cold and hard, and
her little boy became a burden in her eyes, till one day she spoke
thus to him: 'See, there is food for many days to come. Stay here
within the shelter of the hut. I go to seek our brother, and when I
have found him I shall return hither.'
But when, after hard journeying, she reached the village where her
brother dwelt, and saw that he had a wife and was happy, and when
she, too, was sought by a young brave, then she also forgot the boy
alone in the forest, and thought only of her husband.
Now as soon as the little boy had eaten all the food which his
sister had left him, he went out into the woods, and gathered
berries and dug up roots, and while the sun shone he was contented
and had his fill. But when the snows began and the wind howled, then
his stomach felt empty and his limbs cold, and he hid in trees all
the night, and only crept out to eat what the wolves had left
behind. And by-and-by, having no other friends, he sought their
company, and sat by while they devoured their prey, and they grew to
know him, and gave him food. And without them he would have died in
the snow.
But at last the snows melted, and the ice upon the great lake, and
as the wolves went down to the shore, the boy went after them. And
it happened one day that his big brother was fishing in his canoe
near the shore, and he heard the voice of a child singing in the
Indian tone--
'My brother, my brother! I am becoming a wolf, I am becoming a
wolf!'
And when he had so sung he howled as wolves howl. Then the heart of
the elder sunk, and he hastened towards him, crying, 'Brother,
little brother, come to me;' but he, being half a wolf, only
continued his song. And the louder the elder called him, 'Brother,
little brother, come to me,' the swifter he fled after his brothers
the wolves, and the heavier grew his skin, till, with a long howl,
he vanished into the depths of the forest.
So, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went back
to his village, and, with his sister, mourned the little boy and the
broken promise till the end of his life.
The Boy and the Wolves
from the Yellow Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
