The Great Wolf

Once upon a time, there was a skinny grey wolf who wandered around for hours trying to find something to eat. He searched for some food and even tried to kill a few small animals. However, he was so weak from starvation that he was unable to succeed in his hunt. The poor wolf hadn’t had a good meal for a couple of days now until one day everything changed for him.

During his search for food, the wolf spotted a great lion killing this big buffalo in just a matter of seconds. The wolf couldn’t believe his eyes and how strong this lion was capable of killing such a large animal. He followed the great lion back to his den where he confronted the great lion. The wolf stooped to the lion’s feet and begged the lion to help him get some good food to eat as he was very weak. He continued to tell the lion he would do anything for him. At first, the lion was not too sure what to say to the wolf. He decided to help the wolf and made a deal with the him. Whenever he made a kill, he would give a portion of the hunt to the wolf. All the wolf had to do was spot the animal and come tell the lion to go kill it. The wolf instantly agreed to the deal.

Every day, the wolf would climb above the den where the lion stayed and looked out for animals to hunt. Just like what the lion said, whenever he saw an animal he would come tell the lion, which he did. As days went by, the wolf ate pretty well and got bigger. He didn’t feel weak anymore and was much stronger than before. His muscles grew in size because of all the meat he was eating.

The wolf decided that he was strong enough now to hunt his own food, and he didn’t need the lion’s help anymore. He told the lion that was going to kill an elephant on his own. The lion said that the wolf would be a fool if he thought he could kill that huge of an animal on his own.

Now, the wolf disagreed with the great lion and thought he had what it took. Next thing you know, the wolf went out to try to kill an elephant. He spotted an elephant on its own and took this opportunity. As he attacked the elephant, it fought back and swung the wolf off its back. The wolf hit a tree nearby but was lucky enough to escape with minor injuries.

From a distance, the great lion saw the whole thing go down. He then told the wolf that it takes more than just strength to attack such a big animal. The lion mentioned how the wolf acted very foolishly thinking he could take down an elephant because he was not weak anymore. As hard as it was to admit, the wolf knew the lion was right. He asked the lion to teach him strategies to hunt larger animals, so he could become just as great as the lion. The great lion agreed to teach the wolf so he could hunt for himself. Soon, the wolf got better at hunting and just as good as the lion.

Author's Note: The original story was about how a wolf made a deal with this great lion. In the story, the wolf struggled to hunt for food on its own and starved for days without proper food. Until one day, he met this great lion, who agreed to hunt food and give some to him. In my story, I kept this overall plot the same except the ending. The original story's ending had the wolf die trying to kill the elephant because of his ignorance. The wolf thought he could kill such a large animal because it was much stronger from all the meat it got with the lion's help. I decided to change the ending where the wolf realizes that he was not ready for that big step yet after failing an attempt to kill a large animal. I wanted the lion to help the wolf in noticing that it takes more than just strength to be a good hunter. Instead of the lion just pointing out the wolf’s foolish mistake, I felt he should help the wolf and teach him the skills to hunt in order to survive on its own. This made the wolf as great as the lion.

Bibliography: The Foolhardy Wolf by Ellen C. Babbitt.

Banner Image: The wolf searching for food. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)