"The Wolf and the Crow"

                                 
     

                                        "The Wolf and the Crow"


  There once was a careless Crow, who flew about the woods without paying attention to where he was going

and was bound to have an accident one day. Finally then, one day that happened. He flew right into a big tree

while watching the world below and before he knew it, found himself laying on the ground with a broken wing.

He was alone and scared because now he could be eaten by any animal that might find him. So he tried to

drag himself along the dirt path, to find a place to hide.


   He struggled and crawled, but did not get far. Exhausted, he just laid there, hoping that no one

would find him. He could not call out for help from the other crows, and he was right in the middle of a path.

Surely he thought, before long, he would be found.


   Just then he spotted a Wolf coming down the path toward him and so he laid there as still as could be,

hoping that the Wolf would not see him. He now was in mortal fear for his life. The Wolf came closer and closer

while the Crow began to shake more and more. But it was to late, the Wolf spotted him. As the Wolf

approached, he began licking his lips. The Crow was an easy meal and he was hungry; real hungry. The Crow

shook with fear as the Wolf sat down and wondered how he was going to eat the injured Crow.


  But a strange thing happened. The Wolf began to feel pity on the Crow and asked him how he ended up on

the path. The Crow looked up in fear and began to explain how he had come to be in this predicament. While

the Wolf listened, he felt bad for the Crow and he decided not eat him.  Instead, decided to help him. The Crow

gladly accepted and the Wolf grabbed him gently in his mouth and helped the Crow up onto his back.



  "Thank you Mr Wolf.  I was scared of you because I have a broken wing. But you felt pity on me and now we

can be friends, couldn't we?"


  The Wolf smiled, then nodded as if to say, "we can." So along they went down the road until the Wolf found a

nice soft patch of grass to rest. Helping the Crow down off his back; they both laid down.


  The Wolf looked down at the Crow and said, "I will stay here with you until your wing mends and I will take

care of you."


  The Crow felt safe now knowing he had a new friend that was strong and would not eat him nor let

anything happen to him.



  "Thank you Mr. Wolf, you are my friend," said the Crow.


  Each day the Wolf would set the Crow back upon his back and carry him off into the woods to find food. He

would give the Crow the scraps of food that he could not finish, so that the Crow would grow strong enough to

fly again. And every night they would go back to the tall grass and sleep another night.



  Soon the other animals in the forest saw the Crow on the Wolf's back and they began to make fun of the Wolf.

This made the Wolf mad, because he felt weak for helping the Crow. All of the other animals who were once

afraid of him, now they just made fun of him at the sight of the Crow on his back.


  Soon after that day the Wolf, full of pride, decided that the Crow should get off his back, and began to wonder

if he should  have eaten the Crow after all. Now the Crow in turn became fearful all over again. He could not fly

yet and now the Wolf was hungry and mad. So he flapped and flapped his broken wing but still could not get

away. Once again the Wolf, seeing the Crow exhausted and scared, felt pity.


  The Crow begged the Wolf. "Please, don't eat me. I know you are hungry and mad, but I am helpless and I am

not making fun of you. I am your friend now aren't I?"


  The Wolf replied. " I am a hungry Wolf, but you are a helpless Crow with a broken wing. We are friends now

and I could never eat a friend could I?  Besides you did not make fun of me, so now I will help you back up onto

my back again." Then the Wolf said.. "Besides, if I were a wolf with a broken leg, you would help me wouldn't

you? Or would you wait until I was weak and then eat me?"



  The Crow just looked at the Wolf puzzled, wondering about what he had said.


  The Crow was happy again as they made their way back into the forest. Now when the other animals made

fun, the Wolf growled and they ran off, knowing that he could eat them if he wanted to. Soon after, that night

the Wolf made a warm nest for the Crow and set him into the middle of it, and then curled up around him to

keep him warm and dry. But he told the Crow that for now on, he would have to stay in the grass there, while

he hunted for now on That way he would not be made fun of by the other animals. The Crow gladly agreed and

said,  "I don't want them to make fun of you, so I will wait here while you go off hunting and they will think that

you ate me."The Wolf agreed and thanked the Crow before finally going to sleep. The Crow wondered about 

what the Wolf said about eating him. He had never thought about that.



  Days went by and turned into weeks, until one day while the Wolf was gone, the Crow found that he could fly

again. But instead of flying off , he decided to wait for his friend the Wolf to come back and thank him for being

his friend. He waited and waited but the Wolf did not return that night and the Crow wondered what happened to

him.


  The next day, the Crow flew up into a nearby branch and looked around the forest, but there was no sign of

the Wolf. So the Crow set off to see if he could find the Wolf. Finally, off in the distance he heard the Wolf cry

out in pain. As he flew closer he could see the Wolf was trapped in a snare and could not reach the rope to

chew his way out. As he landed next to the Wolf, the Wolf became fearful, because he was tired and hungry

and very weak. He did not recognize the Crow because he just knew that his friend the Crow could not fly.



  "Please he pleaded. Do not eat me, I am a wounded Wolf and cannot get free. Soon I will fall asleep and you

will eat me." The Crow thought for a minute and then said to the Wolf. "It is I and now I can fly. I came looking

for you my friend. Still fearful the Wolf said, "Is that really you?"

"Yes, my wing is all healed," the Crow answered.


  The Wolf in turn asked the Crow why he did not just fly away and be gone for good. The Crow looked at the

Wolf and with pity said, I am your friend and now you are hurt. If I did not help you and have pity on you then I

would be like the other animals who make fun. But I am your friend and we should help each other.


  The Wolf now looked at the Crow and wondered about all that the Crow said to him. It sounded familiar to him

in some way.



  The Crow walked over to the rope and began to peck away at it to get the Wolf loose. Soon other Crows came

and seeing the Crow helping him, began to Caw at him and make fun. The Crow got mad and stopped pecking

at the rope, and that made the Wolf afraid once again. He knew that it would be easy now for the Crow and his

friends to just eat him after he fell asleep. The Crow looked at his friends and then at the Wolf. And then told

the Wolf that he would not eat him.


  "I am your friend and you are my friend. We are real friends, and real friends would never hurt each other but

would always try to help. That is what it means to be a friend. The Wolf thanked the Crow as he continued to

peck away at the snare. Then the Wolf was finally free again.


  "Thank you Mr. Crow, for saving my life and being a real friend. It doesn't matter what the others think

because we know what it mean to be true friends.  That is all that matters!"


  The Crow replied. "You are welcome my friend and if it is all the same to you, I would like to stay with you. I

will always be your friend and stay right by your side. That is what friends are for!"



  The Wolf smiled back as the Crow flew up and landed on the Wolf's back again. They walked away into the

forest as the rest of the animals laughed and made fun. But the Wolf and the Crow didn't care what the others

thought. Because they were friends.

                                                                    The End

S A Gibbins

1609