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mc776The boy wanted to find a wolf. He was the guardian, the protector of the village from the lupine menace, tasked with the security of his flock and his people. He would find that wolf, call it out, summon the town to his aid and be the big hero who hunted down the wolf at long last.
The wolf was everywhere. A fleeting shadow under a tree; a whistling in the wind; a glint of imminent panic in a lamb's eye. The boy diligently sounded the alarm each time; and every time the village hunters rode forth, chased down the phantom, and returned empty-handed.
This went on for some time, but the boy never lost hope. At long last, one quiet night he came face to face with the wolf, and sounded the alarm; but the people were weary and jaded, and by the time the hunters arrived the wolf had already dragged away a yearling lamb to its pack in the mountains.
The people grieved; some lashed out at the boy for his incompetence; others blamed the hunters for growing complacent. And the boy rebuked the people, and said to them, For all I could have done, the wolf got away; how much easier will the wolf have it next, if I am to be rebuked, and the hunters complacent and slow? We must stop this evil, and purge it from our town and the fields and mountains beyond! I ask only the power to help you; make me your leader, and I will lead you to vengeance; give me power, and I will deliver to you safety and comfort.
And so the people took their savings and gave them to the boy, to equip himself with bows, arrows, slings and men; and the boy and his friends stood watch over every field and all the near parts of the forest; and those who balked at paying such a price, those who rebuked their neighbours for squandering the town's money, were cast out as treacherous wolf-lovers; and every so often the boy begged - and later ordered - them for more, and they gave it to him, and did all that he told them, lest he fail again.
And thus began the semiweekly wolf-routing, which took all day and cost everyone a day's wages in expense on top of that. For one day, no one knows when, that wolf will be found once more.
The wolf was everywhere. A fleeting shadow under a tree; a whistling in the wind; a glint of imminent panic in a lamb's eye. The boy diligently sounded the alarm each time; and every time the village hunters rode forth, chased down the phantom, and returned empty-handed.
This went on for some time, but the boy never lost hope. At long last, one quiet night he came face to face with the wolf, and sounded the alarm; but the people were weary and jaded, and by the time the hunters arrived the wolf had already dragged away a yearling lamb to its pack in the mountains.
The people grieved; some lashed out at the boy for his incompetence; others blamed the hunters for growing complacent. And the boy rebuked the people, and said to them, For all I could have done, the wolf got away; how much easier will the wolf have it next, if I am to be rebuked, and the hunters complacent and slow? We must stop this evil, and purge it from our town and the fields and mountains beyond! I ask only the power to help you; make me your leader, and I will lead you to vengeance; give me power, and I will deliver to you safety and comfort.
And so the people took their savings and gave them to the boy, to equip himself with bows, arrows, slings and men; and the boy and his friends stood watch over every field and all the near parts of the forest; and those who balked at paying such a price, those who rebuked their neighbours for squandering the town's money, were cast out as treacherous wolf-lovers; and every so often the boy begged - and later ordered - them for more, and they gave it to him, and did all that he told them, lest he fail again.
And thus began the semiweekly wolf-routing, which took all day and cost everyone a day's wages in expense on top of that. For one day, no one knows when, that wolf will be found once more.