Storytelling Week 1: The Wolf And The Kid

There once was a kid whose mother was very sick. No one could be found to heal her, but finally a witch doctor visited and offered a solution.

"You must get the blood of a werewolf. It cures all sickness," he said.

Although the boy was terrified, he set off into the woods outside of town. The werewolf was rumored to roam the woods and only come out on full moon nights. Luckily for the boy, there was to be a full moon this very night.

After stumbling through the woods for hours the boy finally came upon a clearing. In the middle of the clearing sat a man, posed thoughtfully on a stump.

“Are you the werewolf?” the boy asked cautiously.

“I am. And you are?” asked the wolf.

“I’m just a boy from the village. I need some of your blood to heal my mother.”

The wolf looked intently at the boy. Slowly, a smile spread across his face.

"Why don't you let me turn you into a werewolf? You’ll be faster, stronger, and able to heal quicker. And besides, you’ll have all the werewolf blood you need,” said the wolf.

"You would do that for me?" asked the boy.

"Of course, anything for a friend in need," said the wolf with a smirk.

The wolf quickly bit the boy’s wrist and sent him on his way home. By this time it was dark out and the full moon began to rise.

The boy got home and rushed to his mother.

"I have the best news mother! I have a way to cure you."

The boy cut his wrist and filled a small vial with his blood. He took it over to his mother and told her to drink. Immediately, the color returned to her face and she sat up in bed.

The mother smiled at the boy and said, "Thank you so much, my son. You have truly saved me."

(Moonlit Night by Andréia Bohner on
Flickr) 

But the full moon finally reached its peak and the boy's body began convulsing. In a blur, he changed from human to wolf — completely driven by his new instincts.

When he woke in the morning he was sore and disoriented. Across the room his mother was lying on her bed, covered in blood. He rushed to her and saw that her throat had been slashed. The boy looked down at his hands and realized they were stained red.

The boy cried and cried, wishing he had never become a werewolf. He cursed the wolf that had given him new life, but caused him to take his mother's.

Author's Note:

I drew inspiration for my story from one of Aesop's fables. The title of the fable was "The Wolf and the Kid." The moral of the story was "Do not let anything turn you from your purpose." In the original story a kid (goat) runs away from the herd because he thinks he's invincible, but quickly gets lost and ends up in the hands of the wolf. He convinces the wolf to let him dance for him before the wolf kills him and because of this the herd's dogs have time to find the kid and save him.

I turned the kid into an actual kid and used the wolf character for a werewolf, but the same principle still applies: don't be tempted by other offers that turn you from your purpose.

"The Wolf And The Kid" by Aesop, from Aesop for Children, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter (1919). Web Source: The Project Gutenberg.