The Story Of The Black And White Wolf by Forest Ostrander (essential books to read TXT) 📕

whether outside. She protected Forest and in return Forest protected her from unwanted intruders and together they were like a team of no other. The Nature Mother was always careful on keeping contact with Forest, she wanted the white wolf to remain wild and hopefully make her own way in the wild where she belonged, she never once touched Forest's fur or fed her treats from the hand, she always made sure that Forest spent as much time outside as possible and fed her from a long stick. One time, when Forest crossed the boundaries the Nature Mother was trying to make, she gently rapped Forest on the rump with the stick and said firmly

"No," as if she was scolding a child. When the Nature Mother left for the market, Forest was not allowed to follow, she had to wait at the hut or in the woods, she warned Forest of the dangers that were in store for a wolf amongst people and Forest obeyed. As the Nature Mother vanished in the trees, Forest would head out into the woods, usually to hunt or to go to her favorite look out spot where she liked to watch the sun rise and set as the gentle rays of both morning and evening touched the water, making it look like the water was on fire with brilliant colors and sparkling as it moved.

Forest usually never thought about her family much, the memory of it all was too painful for her and she didn't want to go back in time to the memories that have haunted her entire life from the day she left her pack. She knew what happened to them for she had smelt the blood and heard the screams of dying wolves in the wind, and upon returning, she seen the den littered with her fallen family as the hunters made sure none was left alive and she sadly buried them next to her siblings and headed out for good, never to return to the den which she was born in, the den where both good and bad memories reside, long sinking into the walls and earth and forever remaining there. No whether could wash it away. Forest would sit on her look out watching the water playfully dance in the sunlight and only being disturbed by a water bird diving and coming back up with a flopping fish in its beak, the dolphins would jump out of the water and do such a breath taking display of flips and turns that would have otherwise been impossible to do on land, and as the sun began to set, Forest would let out a long howl to the sky, the sound carrying over the water to lands unknown to her before fading away, then she would turn around and head back to the hut to wait for The Nature Mother to walk down the path and greet her like she always did, but what Forest did not expect was The Nature Mother not returning alone but with a young boy in her arms.

Forest instantly smelt blood on him and made way for her so she could take him into the hut, and Forest would wait outside the window, anxiously watching in at what was going on. She was not afraid of the young boy, in fact if anything she was curious about him and why he smelt of fresh blood, but she would not disobey The Nature Mother's teachings of to not go into the hut unless given permission to otherwise, so she sat out peering in the window as The Nature Mother bandaged the young boy's side and covered him up with a spare blanket before heading out to Forest, who immediately jumped down and looked at the entrance to the hut. As the door opened and The Nature Mother stepped out, she turned to Forest and said

"You are to watch over that young boy Forest until he wakes up, then you must come find me fast, I will be out picking berries for a remedy for the pain, you know where I will be." Forest nodded and watched as she left for the berry garden which was just a sprint away for a wolf, but a mile long walk for a human to make, and she sat at the door listening intently for any signs that the boy was waking up. Little did Forest know that the boy inside would be the human the wolves have heard about in the prophecy, nor that he would be the one to lead them to her, all she knew was that she had a job to do and she would do it to her fullest.

 

The Boy Wakes Up

Forest was still out by the front door, she had been listening in for over three hours now and The Nature Mother was still not back yet, she knew it took a while to get all the berries and fill up her basket, but Forest didn't want to wait anymore, she was hungry and had a nagging feeling to go out for a quick run before coming back. However, Forest did not have long to wait for inside the hut, the blankets began to ruffle and she heard the young boy beginning to wake up, so as quick as she can she ran to the berry garden and met with The Nature Mother who looked at her and asked

"What is it Forest? Is he awake?" Forest just nodded and ran back, The Nature Mother hot on her heels. When they arrived, they found the young boy standing on the front porch looking around at his surroundings, but when he spotted them, he hid behind one of the posts, The Nature Mother walked up to him while Forest stayed behind, she knew the boy must have been afraid of her, she could smell the fear coming off of him and she didn't want to cause him any more fright, he was after all in a strange place with a stranger walking up to him, the last thing he needed was a wolf walking up to him as well.

As The Nature Mother walked up to him, she said in a gentle, soft voice

"Do not fear us, we shall not harm you, you are safe here," but the young boy did not come out, he did peek around the post though.  When he seen she was not going to harm him, he came out and asked weakly.

"Where am I?" Forest watched him, then The Nature Mother as she answered.

"You are in a safe place, you were injured and I have helped you, Forest watched over you while you slept," she pointed to the white wolf a few feet behind her and the young boy asked

"That wolf? But wolves are monsters! Killers!" Forest's ears perked and she cocked her head as if to say do I look like a killer to you?

But the boy glared at Forest. The Nature Mother sensing the tension going on said

"No, you are wrong about that, wolves kill for food, they kill to protect their families and defend themselves from harm.  Wolves are like us in so many ways, they care for their loved ones and want to protect them, they love their mates and children, they feel sickness and regret, wolves are no different from you or I, the only difference is that they walk on all four and have fur and claws."

The young boy was not so sure he believed this old women, Forest could tell from that much, but she waited for the signal.

"If wolves are so good, than why do they kill livestock? Why do they kill humans? How is any of that good?!" The young boy said, his voice steadily rising.

"Wolves kill for food, livestock are killed because people are destroying their prey and their homes for further development, the more forest you cut down, the more prey you chase away and the predators will become more desperate to feed themselves and their families so they can survive. Having livestock penned up, you are basically offering them to the predators of the land to take for they have no way of escape to even have a chance at survival. Predators are opportunistic, they kill when they have to and when the opportunity comes for them to satisfy their growing hunger, they will take any opportunity to get food is provided, now as for a wolf killing a human, that is usually in self defense or if the wolf is so old that it has been left by its pack and in need of an easy meal."

The boy looked at Forest who wagged her tail like a dog, and when The Nature Mother motioned for her to come over, she did so and sat next to her, looking deep into the boy's eyes, sky blue matching dark brown and The Nature Mother said

"Go on, you can get to her height, she won't hurt you, but don't touch her, I want her to remain wild and she won't if she gets used to the feeling of hands," the boy looked at The Nature Mother as if she was crazy then back at Forest, but he gave in and lowered down onto his knees and looked deep into Forest's eyes and asked

"Are you a killer Forest? You look like one to me," The Nature Mother watched as Forest just sat there, not moving as The Nature Mother said

"If she was a killer, you would not have been able to get that close to her face without her threatening to bite you," the young boy looked at The Nature Mother and said

"But I don't understand, I was thought that wolves are evil beasts that will kill anything that moves," he then looked at Forest and added

"But yet here is a wolf that has made no motion to harm me or you for that matter, even when I was sleeping," Forest just looked at The Nature Mother, than back at the boy before she stood up and walked off into the woods, the little boy watched her as she went and asked

"Where is she going?" The Nature Mother answered

"To hunt, come on, I will show you the hidden secrets about the life of a wolf and how they hunt," she held out her hand and the young boy took it and followed her as she went into the woods. Tracking Forest's tracks The Nature Mother and the young boy soon spotted her white fur amongst the bushes, eyeing a herd of deer.

The Nature Mother whispered in the boy’s ear.

"See how she stalks? How she uses the undergrowth for cover?" The young boy nodded and whispered back.

 "But won't the whiteness of her fur give her away to the herd?"  The Nature Mother chuckled slightly and said

"No, she is an experienced wolf. She knows that to get your prey, you need to move in on a herd through the thickest undergrowth as possible and hide you scent, notice the way the wind is blowing her fur backwards?" The young boy nodded.

"She is keeping the wind blowing towards her so the herd does not pick up on her scent and flee before she could get close enough to make a killing move."

They then sat there in silence, each