Pups are born in the spring in little cozy spots, like small caves, hollowed out logs, or--most often--underground dens (which are dug by both sexes and  used again, year after year) after a gestation period of 62-63 days. The dens can be more like tunnels, 10 to 30 feet long, with the room at the end large enough for a small-sized adult human to sit in.  Generally there are 5 or 6 pups in a litter, all deaf, blind, blue-eyed (their eyes change color later) and weighing about one pound. Before they are born and while they are being nursed, other wolves will feed the mother wolf by bringing her food or regurgitating food for her to eat.  

For the first week or so, the mother spends most of her time in the den with her babies as they are unable to regulate their body temperature very well and depend on her for warmth. The mother slowly extends her time away from them and almost every pack member becomes involved in the care of the young.  Females, whether they are biological mothers or not, can also nurse the pups; in fact, there is often a bit of competition between the females for access to the young.

During the second week, their eyes open up and activity increases. The pups grow quickly, too, and at around 3 weeks of age start to explore outside the den. Their baby teeth come in and they begin to eat solid food brought to them by wolves of both sexes who sometimes throw up food they have eaten so the pups can eat--the same way as was done for mother wolf when she was pregnant. The mothers are seldom fed by the others after the pups emerge from the den and, by this time, she often leave the pups alone or with another adult or yearling while she hunts for food. Yearlings are sort of in-between in behavior, still being fed by adult wolves, but also taking responsibility in feeding the pups.At around 9 weeks of age, the pups are weaned and moved out of the den to the "rendezvous site."

  All pack members seem to like playing with and caring for pups. The adults play with each other, too. Adults and pups play by chasing, jumping over each other, ambushing and wrestling with jaws or forelimbs. Other play behaviors include muzzling, tail wagging, paw raising and licking faces---and running! Though their usual walking speed is about 5 miles per hour, a wolf can run 35 to 40 m.p.h. (this is their "sprint" speed, not their distance speed). (The average distance a wolf travels in a day is 10 to 15 miles, but sometimes they will travel 50 miles in a day.)

...So, the pup becomes a young wolf, losing his baby teeth (at 4 to 6 mos) and finally getting his 42 adult teeth (see chart below for wolf dentition), and quickly enough becoming a yearling; but only about 25% of pups born in the wild make it through their first year, the rest dying because of lack of food, disease (mange, parvovirus among others), accident or attack by bears or humans.  If a wolf survives to yearling status and becomes a full adult, her/his weight can be anywhere from 80 to 100 pounds average for female and male respectively (males are roughly 20% larger than females.  They can get up to 175 pounds in weight). They grow to be about 6 or 6 1/2 feet long from the very tip of the tail to the tip of their nose, and are about 2 1/2 feet tall at their shoulder.  They become sexually mature at 22 months.

 In the wild, wolves generally live to around 8 years of age but can live to the ripe old age of 13 or so.  (In captivity, wolves live as long as domestic dogs).

Communication

Perhaps the most heartfelt appeal of the Wolf is the expressive nature of its face. Unlike other animals, the Wolf can express "how it feels" through a variety of subtle facial gestures. These gestures are amplified by black and white markings that outline the Wolf's eyes, ears, lips and muzzle. The ability to convey "feelings" like fear or excitement ensures clear communication between pack members and fosters a spirit of cooperation and friendliness.

Wolves play an essential role in the forest ecosystem, a role that does not admit stand-ins. Efficient predators are not just permissible; they're necessary. And for markedly nonbiological reasons, most Americans said, in survey after survey, that they want to see wolves in the wild. Polls undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies in Wyoming, Idaho and Colorado show that a clear majority-nearly 70 percent-of residents support reintroduction there. A similar number of residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, many of whom identified themselves as hunters, supported returning the wolf to the wild. In polls conducted at Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain national parks, 78 percent of visitors favored reintroduction. Soon wolves will likely be reintroduced to other places they once inhabited: the broken canyons and forests of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado; the dense forests of New York's Adirondack Mountains; pockets of Idaho and Washington; even Louisiana.

In Alaska and elsewhere, healthy populations of wolves may reduce the numbers of game animals in the vicinity, and too-abundant deer are a major problem in many parts of the country, but the impact of wolves on ungulate populations is minimal compared to the work of humans. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, for example, the 1995 deer population in the Upper Peninsula stood at more than 750,000. Wolves and other predators ate several hundred deer over the winter census period; cars, on the other hand, killed 8,558 deer. Hunters bagged "only" 116,000.

Wolves serve an important purpose in Nature, weeding out older and sick prey thereby strengthening the overall condition of that prey. They also feed other types of animals with their "leftovers", bits of carcass they leave behind after a hunt. The role of this efficient predator, when given the its natural habitat, is essential. The problems arise when the natural order is disturbed.

The Wolf has been portrayed in many fairy tales and myths. Wolves are portrayed as evil, vicious, ravenous slobering beasts with an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Wolves can at the right cycle of the moon possess a human soul. Even though there is not one documented case of a healthy wild wolf killing a human being, the stories, and the myths represent a large percentage of today's beliefs about wolves. And because of this misinformation, the Wolf has been all but annihilated from the face of the earth.

Two pretty girls lived not far from Rabbit and Wolf. One day Rabbit called upon Wolf and said, "Let's go and visit those pretty girls up the road."

"All right," Wolf said, and they started off.

When they got to the girls' house, they were invited in, but both girls took a great liking to Wolf and paid all their attention to him while Rabbit had to sit by and look on. Rabbit of course was not pleased by this, and he soon said, "We had better be going back."

"Let's wait a while longer," Wolf replied, and they remained until late in the day. Before they left, Rabbit found a chance to speak to one of the girls so that Wolf could not overhear and he said, "The one you've been having so much fun with is my old horse."

"I think you are lying," the girl replied.

"No, I am not. You shall see me ride him up here tomorrow."

"If we see you ride him up here," the girl said with a laugh, "we'll believe he's only your old horse."

When the two left the house, the girls said, "Well, call again."

Next morning Wolf was up early, knocking on Rabbit's door. "It's time to visit those girls again," he announced.

Rabbit groaned. "Oh, I was sick all night," he answered, "and I hardly feel able to go."

Wolf kept urging him, and finally Rabbit said, "If you will let me ride you, I might go along to keep you company."

Wolf agreed to carry him astride of his back. But then Rabbit said, "I would like to put a saddle on you so as to brace myself" When Wolf agreed to this, Rabbit added: "I believe it would be better if I should also bridle you."

Although Wolf objected at first to being bridled, he gave in when Rabbit said he did not think he could hold on and manage to get as far as the girls' house without a bridle. Finally Rabbit wanted to put on spurs.

"I am too ticklish," Wolf protested.

"I will not spur you with them," Rabbit promised. "I will hold them away from you, but it would be nicer to have them on."

At last Wolf agreed to this, but he repeated: "I am very ticklish. You must not spur me."

"When we get near the girls' house," Rabbit said, "we will take everything off you and walk the rest of the way."

And so they started up the road, Rabbit proudly riding upon Wolf's back. When they were nearly in sight of the house, Rabbit raked his spurs into Wolf's sides and Wolf galloped full speed right by the house.

"Those girls have seen you now," Rabbit said. "I will tie you here and go up to see them and try to explain everything. I'll come back after a while and get you."

And so Rabbit went back to the house and said to the girls: "You both saw me riding my old horse, did you not?"

"Yes," they answered, and he sat down and had a good time with them.

After a while Rabbit thought he ought to untie Wolf, and he started back to the place where he was fastened. He knew that Wolf must be very angry with him by this time, and he thought up a way to untie him and get rid of him without any danger to himself. He found a thin hollow log and began beating upon it as if it were a drum. Then he ran up to Wolf as fast as he could go, crying out: "The soldiers are hunting for you! You heard their drum. The soldiers are after you."

Wolf was very much frightened of soldiers. "Let me go, let me go!" he shouted.

Rabbit was purposely slow in untying him and had barely freed him when Wolf broke away and ran as fast as he could into the woods. Then Rabbit returned home, laughing to himself over how he had fooled Wolf, and feeling satisfied that he could have the girls to himself for a while.

Near the girls' house was a large peach orchard, and one day they asked Rabbit to shake the peaches off the tree for them. They went to the orchard together and he climbed up into a tree to shake the peaches off. While he was there Wolf suddenly appeared and called out: "Rabbit, old fellow, I'm going to even the score with you. I'm not going to leave you alone until I do."

Rabbit raised his head and pretended to be looking at some people off in the distance. Then he shouted from the treetop: "Here is that fellow, Wolf, you've been hunting for!" At this, Wolf took fright and ran away again.

Some time after this, Rabbit was resting against a tree-trunk that leaned toward the ground. When he saw Wolf coming along toward him, he stood up so that the bent tree-trunk pressed against his shoulder.

"I have you now," said Wolf, but Rabbit quickly replied: "Some people told me that if I would hold this tree up with the great power I have they would bring me four hogs in payment. Now, I don't like hog meat as well as you do, so if you take my place they'll give the hogs to you."

Wolf's greed was excited by this, and he said he was willing to hold up the tree. He squeezed in beside Rabbit, who said, "You must hold it tight or it will fall down." Rabbit then ran off, and Wolf stood with his back pressed hard against the bent tree- trunk until he finally decided he could stand it no longer. He jumped away quickly so the tree would not fall upon him. Then he saw that it was only a leaning tree rooted in the earth. "That Rabbit is the biggest liar," he cried. "If I can catch him I'll certainly fix him."

After that, Wolf hunted for Rabbit every day until he found him lying in a nice grassy place. He was about to spring upon him when Rabbit said, "My friend, I've been waiting to see you again. I have something good for you to eat. Somebody killed a pony out there in the road. If you wish I'll help you drag it out of the road to a place where you can make a feast off it."

"All right," Wolf said, and he followed Rabbit out to the road where a pony was lying asleep.

"I'm not strong enough to move the pony by myself," said Rabbit, "so I'll tie its tail to yours and help you by pushing."

Rabbit tied their tails together carefully so as not to awaken the pony. Then he grabbed the pony by the ears as if he were going to lift it up. The pony woke up, jumped to its feet, and ran away, dragging Wolf behind. Wolf struggled frantically to free his tail, but all he could do was scratch on the ground with his claws.

"Pull with all your might," Rabbit shouted after him.

"How can I pull with all my might," Wolf cried, "when I'm not standing on the ground?"

By and by, however, Wolf got loose, and then Rabbit had to go into hiding for a long, long time.

THE WOLF AND THE DOG (THE CROW NATION)

A Crow woman was out digging roots when a wolf came by. The woman's dog ran up to the wolf and said, "Hey, what are you doing here? Go away. You only came around because you want what I have."

  "What have you got?" asked the wolf. "Your owner beats you all the time. Kids kick you out of the way. Try to steal a piece of meat and they hit you over the head with a club."

  "At least I can steal the meat!" answered the dog. "You haven't got anything to steal."

  "Hah! I eat whenever I want. No one bothers me."

  "What do you eat? You slink around while the men butcher the buffalo and get what's left over. You're afraid to get close. You sit there with your armpits stinking, pulling dirt balls out of your tail."

  "Look who's talking, with camp garbage smeared all over your face."

  "Hrumph. Whenever I come into camp, my owner throws me something good to eat."

  "When your owner goes out to ease himself at night you follow along to eat the droppings, that's how much you get to eat."

  "That's okay! These people only eat the finest parts!"

  "You're proud of it!"

  "Listen, whenever they're cooking in camp, you smell the grease, you come around and howl, and I feel sorry for you. I pity you . . ."

  "When do they let you have a good time?" asked the wolf.

  ". . . I sleep warm, you sleep out there in the rain, they scratch my ears, you -"

  Just then the woman shouldered a bundle of roots, whacked the dog on the back with a stick, and started back to camp. The dog followed along behind her, calling over his shoulder at the wolf, "You're just full of envy for a good life, that's all that wrong with you."

  Wolf went off the other way, not wanting any part of that life.

  It is told in the creation legend of the Pawnee that a great council was held to which all the animals were invited. For a reason no one remembers, the brightest star in the southern sky, the Wolf Star, was not invited. He watched from a distance, silent and angry, while everyone else decided how to make the earth. In the time after the great council the Wolf Star directed his resentment over this bad treatment at The Storm that Comes Out of the West, who had been charged bu the others with going around the earth, seeing to it that things went well. Storm carried a whirlwind bag with him as he traveled, inside of which were the first people. When he stopped to rest in the evening he would let the people out and they would set up camp and hunt buffalo.

  One time the Wolf Star sent a gray wolf down to follow Storm around. Storm fell asleep and the wolf stole his whirlwind bag, thinking there might be something good to eat inside. He ran far away with it. When he opened it, all the people ran out. They set up camp but, suddenly, looking around, they saw there were no buffalo to hunt. When they realized it was a wolf and not Storm that had let them out of the bad they were very angry. They ran the wolf down and killed him.

  When The Storm that Comes out of the West located the first people and saw what they had done he was very sad. He told them that by killing the wolf they had brought death into the world. That had not been the plan, but now it was this way.

  The Storm that Comes out of the West told them to skin the wolf and make a sacred bundle with the pelt, enclosing in it the things that would always bring back the memory of what had happened. Thereafter, he told them, they would be known as the wolf people, the Skidi Pawnee.

  The Wolf Star watched all this from the southern sky. The Pawnee call this star Fools the Wolves, because it rises just before the morning star and tricks the wolves into howling before first light. In this way the Wolf Star continues to remind people that when it came time to build the earth, he was forgotten.

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and --WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA---ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out,

"Any excuse will serve a tyrant."

A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to induce every one he met to remove the bone. "I would give anything," said he, "if you would take it out." At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the Crane put its long neck down the Wolf's throat, and with its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.

"Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?" said the Crane.

The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: "Be content. You have put your head inside a Wolf's mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you."

Gratitude and greed go not together.

A Kid was perched up on the top of a house, and looking down saw a Wolf passing under him. Immediately he began to revile and attack his enemy. "Murderer and thief," he cried, "what do you here near honest folks' houses? How dare you make an appearance where your vile deeds are known?"

"Curse away, my young friend," said the Wolf. "It is easy to be brave from a safe distance."

A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by. "Ah, Cousin," said the Dog. "I knew how it would be; your irregular life will soon be the ruin of you. Why do you not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly given to you?"

"I would have no objection," said the Wolf, "if I could only get a place."

"I will easily arrange that for you," said the Dog; "come with me to my master and you shall share my work."

So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog's neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about.

"Oh, it is nothing," said the Dog. "That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it."

"Is that all?" said the Wolf. "Then good-bye to you, Master Dog."

Better starve free than be a fat slave.

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep.

The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.

There was once a young Shepherd Boy who tended his sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was rather lonely for him all day, so he thought upon a plan by which he could get a little company and some excitement. He rushed down towards the village calling out "Wolf, Wolf," and the villagers came out to meet him, and some of them stopped with him for a considerable  time. This pleased the boy so much that a few days afterwards he tried the same trick, and again the villagers came to his help.

But shortly after this a Wolf actually did come out from the forest, and began to worry the sheep, and the boy of course cried out "Wolf, Wolf," still louder than before. But this time the villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was again deceiving them, and nobody stirred to come to his help. So the Wolf made a good meal off the boy's flock, and when the boy complained, the wise man of the village said:

"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."

"Be quiet now," said an old Nurse to a child sitting on her lap. "If you make that noise again I will throw you to the Wolf." Now it chanced that a Wolf was passing close under the window as this was said. So he crouched down by the side of the house and waited. "I am in good luck to-day," thought he. "It is sure to cry soon, and a daintier morsel I haven't had for many a long day." So he waited, and he waited, and he waited, till at last the child began to cry, and the Wolf came forward before the window, and looked up to the Nurse, wagging his tail. But all the Nurse did was to shut down the window and call for help, and the dogs of the house came rushing out. "Ah," said the Wolf as he galloped away,

"Enemies promises were made to be broken."

Romulus, in Roman mythology, was founder and first king of Rome. He and his twin brother, Remus, were the sons of Mars, god of war, and of Rhea Silvia, also called Ilia, one of the vestal virgins. Rhea Silvia was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa, who had been deposed by his younger brother Amulius. Amulius had made Rhea Silvia a priestess so that she would have no children to make claims against his throne. After the birth of her two boys, to remove any threat against himself, he had them thrown in a basket into the Tiber River. The twins were not drowned, however. They were rescued and nursed by a she-wolf on the slope of the Palatine Hill and were later discovered by the shepherd Faustulus and reared by his wife, Acca Larentia. When they grew to manhood, the brothers deposed Amulius and placed their grandfather Numitor on the throne.

The brothers then decided to build a city. In 753 B.C., after quarreling over the spot, they finally chose the Palatine Hill. Romulus built a wall, over which Remus, to show its in adequacy, scornfully leaped; Remus was thereupon killed by Romulus or one of his companions, and Romulus became sole ruler of the city. He provided an asylum on the Capitoline Hill for runaway slaves and homicides and procured wives for them by seizing the Sabine women at a festival to which he had invited the Sabines. After a series of wars between Romulus and the Sabines, they were finally reconciled, with Romulus as king. According to legend, Romulus was carried up to the heavens by his father, and was later worshiped as the god Quirinus.

(Scandinavian) means "moon". The beautiful boy driver of the moon-car, the son of Mundilfoeri. He is followed by a wolf, which, when time is no more, will devour Mani and his sister Sol (the Sun).

In Norse mythology, Fenris was the monstrous wolf of the god Loki. Fenris swallowed the god Odin but was stabbed to death by Odin's son, Vidar.

(Norse) Son of Odin, and younger brother of Thor. A god of war and of justice. It was he who placed his hand in the mouth of the giant wolf, Fenris, to show good faith as the rest of the gods, pretending sport but intending a trap, chained the wolf. When Fenrirs realized he had been tricked he bit off Tyr's hand. Tuesday is derived from Tyr's name. [Gleipnir is the chain which bounds Fenris. It is made from the footfalls of cats, the beards of women, the roots of mountains and the breath of fish]. Vithar, the god second in strength from Thor, killed Fenris by wrenching his jaws.

In Norse mythology, a berserker was a warrior whose frenzy in battle transformed him into a wolf or bear howling and foaming at the mouth, and rendered him immune to sword and flame  

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to the child. Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else; so she was always called 'Little Red-Cap'.

One day her mother said to her: `Come, Little Red-Cap, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine; take them to your grandmother, she is ill and weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then your grandmother will get nothing; and when you go into her room, don't forget to say, "Good morning", and don't peep into every corner before you do it.'

'I will take great care,' said Little Red-Cap to her mother, and gave her hand on it.

The grandmother lived out in the wood, half a league from the village, and just as Little Red-Cap entered the wood, a wolf met her. Red-Cap did not know what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all afraid of him.

`Good-day, Little Red-Cap,' said he.

`Thank you kindly, wolf.'

`Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap?'

'To my grandmother's.'

`What have you got in your apron?'

`Cake and wine; yesterday was baking-day, so poor sick grandmother is to have something good, to make her stronger.'

`Where does your grandmother live, Little Red-Cap?'

`A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood; her house stands under the three large oak-trees, the nut-trees are just below; you surely must know it,' replied Little Red-Cap.

The wolf thought to himself: `What a tender young creature! What a nice plump mouthful -- she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to catch both.' So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red-Cap, and then he said: `See Little Red-Cap, how pretty the flowers are about here -- why do you not look round? I believe, too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing; you walk gravely along as if you were going to school, while everything else out here in the wood is merry.'

Little Red-Cap raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought: `Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay; that would please her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time, and so she ran from the path into the wood to look for flowers. And whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier one farther on, and ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the wood.

Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's house and knocked at the door.

`Who is there?'

`Little Red-Cap,' replied the wolf. `She is bringing cake and wine; open the door.'

`Lift the latch,' called out the grandmother, `I am too weak, and cannot get up.'

The wolf lifted the latch, the door sprang open, and without saying a word he went straight to the grandmother's bed, and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed and drew the curtains.

Little Red-Cap, however, had been running about picking flowers, and when she had gathered so many that she could carry no more, she remembered her grandmother, and set out on the way to her.

She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open, and when she went into the room, she had such a strange feeling that she said to herself: `Oh dear! how uneasy I feel today, and at other times I like being with grandmother so much.' She called out: `Good morning', but received no answer; so she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled far over her face, and looking very strange.

`Oh! grandmother,' she said, `what big ears you have!'

`The better to hear you with, my child,' was the reply.

`But, grandmother, what big eyes you have!' she said.

`The better to see you with, my dear.'

`But, grandmother, what large hands you have!'

`The better to hug you with.'

`Oh! but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!'

`The better to eat you with!'

And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Red-Cap.

When the wolf had appeased his appetite, he lay down again in the bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud. The huntsman was just passing the house, and thought to himself: `How the old woman is snoring! I must just see if she wants anything.' So he went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw that the wolf was lying in it. `Do I find you here, you old sinner!' said he. `I have long sought you!' Then just as he was going to fire at him, it occurred to him that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother, and that she might still be saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf. When he had made two snips, he saw the little Red-Cap shining, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying: `Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the wolf'; and after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red-Cap, however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at once, and fell dead.

Then all three were delighted. The huntsman drew off the wolf's skin and went home with it; the grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine which Red-Cap had brought, and revived, but Red-Cap thought to herself: `As long as I live, I will never by myself leave the path, to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so.'

It is also related that once when Red-Cap was again taking cakes to the old grandmother, another wolf spoke to her, and tried to entice her from the path. Red-Cap, however, was on her guard, and went straight forward on her way, and told her grandmother that she had met the wolf, and that he had said `good morning' to her, but with such a wicked look in his eyes, that if they had not been on the public road she was certain he would have eaten her up. `Well,' said the grandmother, `we will shut the door, that he may not come in.' Soon afterwards the wolf knocked, and cried: `Open the door, grandmother, I am Little Red-Cap, and am bringing you some cakes.' But they did not speak, or open the door, so the grey-beard stole twice or thrice round the house, and at last jumped on the roof, intending to wait until Red-Cap went home in the evening, and then to steal after her and devour her in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what was in his thoughts. In front of the house was a great stone trough, so she said to the child: `Take the pail, Red-Cap; I made some sausages yesterday, so carry the water in which I boiled them to the trough.' Red-Cap carried until the great trough was quite full. Then the smell of the sausages reached the wolf, and he sniffed and peeped down, and at last stretched out his neck so far that he could no longer keep his footing and began to slip, and slipped down from the roof straight into the great trough, and was drowned. But Red-Cap went joyously home, and no one ever did anything to harm her again.

There was once upon a time an old goat who had seven little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children. One day she wanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So she called all seven to her and said: `Dear children, I have to go into the forest, be on your guard against the wolf; if he comes in, he will devour you all -- skin, hair, and everything. The wretch often disguises himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet.' The kids said: `Dear mother, we will take good care of ourselves; you may go away without any anxiety.' Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with an easy mind.

It was not long before some one knocked at the house-door and called: `Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and has brought something back with her for each of you.' But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by the rough voice. `We will not open the door,' cried they, `you are not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, but your voice is rough; you are the wolf.' Then the wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. Then he came back, knocked at the door of the house, and called: `Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and has brought something back with her for each of you.' But the wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the children saw them and cried: `We will not open the door, our mother has not black feet like you: you are the wolf!' Then the wolf ran to a baker and said: `I have hurt my feet, rub some dough over them for me. And when the baker had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said: `Strew some white meal over my feet for me.' The miller thought to himself: `The wolf wants to deceive someone', and refused; but the wolf said: `If you will not do it, I will devour you.' Then the miller was afraid, and made his paws white for him. Truly, this the way of mankind.

So now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked at it and said: `Open the door for me, children, your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something back from the forest with her.' The little kids cried: `First show us your paws that we may know if you are our dear little mother.' Then he put his paws in through the window, and when the kids saw that they were white, they believed that all he said was true, and opened the door. But who should come in but the wolf! They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one after the other he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest, who was in the clock-case, was the only one he did not find. When the wolf had satisfied his appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep. Soon afterwards the old goat came home again from the forest. Ah! What a sight she saw there! The house-door stood wide open. The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by name, but no one answered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voice cried: `Dear mother, I am in the clock-case.' She took the kid out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Then you may imagine how she wept over her poor children.

At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ran with her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf by the tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on every side and saw that something was moving and struggling in his gorged belly. `Ah, heavens,' she said, `is it possible that my poor children whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?' Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread and the goat cut open the monster's stomach, and hardly had she make one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out, and when she cut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole. What rejoicing there was! They embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a tailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said: `Now go and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep.' Then the seven kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put as many of them into his stomach as they could get in; and the mother sewed him up again in the greatest haste, so that he was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

When the wolf at length had had his fill of sleep, he got on his legs, and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he:

`What rumbles and tumbles

Against my poor bones?

I thought 'twas six kids,

But it feels like big stones.'

And when he got to the well and stooped over the water to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in, and he had to drowned miserably. When the seven kids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud: `The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!' and danced for joy round about the well with their mother.

   Once upon a time an Indian hunter built himself a house in the middle of a great forest, far away from all his tribe; for his heart was gentle and kind, and he was weary of the treachery and cruel deeds of those who had been his friends. So he left them, and took his wife and three children, and they journeyed on until they found a spot near to a clear stream, where they began to cut down trees, and to make ready their wigwam. For many years they lived peacefully and happily in this sheltered place, never leaving it except to hunt the wild animals, which served them both for food and clothes. At last, however, the strong man felt sick, and before long he knew he must die.

   So he gathered his family round him, and said his last words to them. "You, my wife, the companion of my days, will follow me ere many moons have waned to the island of the blest. But for you, O my children, whose lives are but newly begun, the wickedness, unkindness, and ingratitude from which I fled are before you. Yet I shall go hence in peace, my children, if you will promise always to love each other, and never to forsake your youngest brother."

   "Never!" they replied, holding out their hands. And the hunter died content.

   Scarcely eight moons had passed when, just as he had said, the wife went forth, and followed her husband; but before leaving her children she bade the two elder ones think of their promise never to forsake the younger, for he was a child, and weak. And while the snow lay thick upon the ground, they tended him and cherished him; but when the earth showed green again, the heart of the young man stirred within him, and he longed to see the wigwams of the village where his father's youth was spent.

   Therefore he opened all his heart to his sister, who answered, "My brother, I understand your longing for our fellow-men, whom here we cannot see. But remember our father's words. Shall we not seek our own pleasures, and forget the little one?"

   But he would not listen, and, making no reply, he took his bow and arrows and left the hut. The snows fell and melted, yet he never returned; and at last the heart of the girl grew cold and hard, and her little boy became a burden in her eyes, till one day she spoke thus to him, "See, there is food for many days to come. Stay here within the shelter of the hut. I go to seek our brother, and when I have found him I shall return hither."

   But when, after hard journeying, she reached the village where her brother dwelt, and saw that he had a wife and was happy, and when she, too, was sought by a young brave, then she also forgot the boy alone in the forest, and thought only of her husband.

   Now as soon as the little boy had eaten all the food which his sister had left him, he went out into the woods, and gathered berries and dug up roots, and while the sun shone he was contented and had his fill. But when the snows began and the wind howled, then his stomach felt empty and his limbs cold, and he hid in trees all the night, and only crept out to eat what the wolves had left behind. And by-and-by, having no other friends, he sought their company, and sat by while they devoured their prey, and they grew to know him, and gave him food. And without them he would have died in the snow.

   But at last the snows melted, and the ice upon the great lake, and as the wolves went down to the shore, the boy went after them. And it happened one day that his big brother was fishing in his canoe near the shore, and he heard the voice of a child singing in the Indian tone --

`My brother, my brother!

I am becoming a wolf,

I am becoming a wolf!'

    And when he had so sung he howled as wolves howl. Then the heart of the elder sunk, and he hastened towards him, crying, `Brother, little brother, come to me;' but he, being half a wolf, only continued his song. And the louder the elder called him, "Brother, little brother, come to me," the swifter he fled after his brothers the wolves, and the heavier grew his skin, till, with a long howl, he vanished into the depths of the forest.

   So, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went back to his village, and, with his sister, mourned the little boy and the broken promise till the end of his life.

The she-wolf brought into the world a young one, and invited the fox to be godfather. After all, he is a near relative of ours, said she, he has a good understanding, and much talent, he can instruct my little son, and help him forward in the world. The fox, too, appeared quite honest, and said, worthy Mrs. Gossip, I thank you for the honor which you are doing me, I will, however, conduct myself in such a way that you shall be repaid for it. He enjoyed himself at the feast, and made merry, afterwards he said, "Dear Mrs. Gossip, it is our duty to take care of the child. It must have good food that it may be strong. I know a sheep-fold from which we might fetch a nice morsel."

     The wolf was pleased with the idea, and she went out with the fox to the farmyard. He pointed out the fold from afar, and said, you will be able to creep in there without being seen, and in the meantime I will look about on the other side to see if I can pick up a chicken. He, however, did not go there, but sat down at the entrance to the forest, stretched his legs and rested.

     The she-wolf crept into the stable. A dog was lying there, and it made such a noise that the peasants came running out, caught gossip wolf, and poured a strong burning mixture, which had been prepared for washing, over her skin. At last she escaped, and dragged herself outside. There lay the fox, who pretended to be full of complaints, and said, ah, dear Mrs. Gossip, how ill I have fared, the peasants have fallen on me, and have broken every limb I have, if you do not want me to lie where I am and perish, you must carry me away. The she-wolf herself was only able to walk slowly, but she was in such concern about the fox that she took him on her back, and slowly carried him who was perfectly safe and sound to her house. Then the fox cried to her, farewell, dear Mrs. Gossip, may the roasting you have had do you good, laughed heartily at her, and bounded off.

Once upon a time the fox was talking to the wolf of the strength of man. How no animal could withstand him, and how all were obliged to employ cunning in order to protect themselves from him. Then the wolf answered, if I had but the chance of seeing a man for once, I would set on him notwithstanding.

"I can help you to do that," said the fox. "Come to me early to-morrow morning, and I will show you one." The wolf presented himself betimes, and the fox took him out on the road by which the huntsmen went daily. First came an old discharged soldier.

"Is that a man?" inquired the wolf. "No," answered the fox, "that was one." Afterwards came a little boy who was going to school.

"Is that a man?"  

" No, that will be one."

     At length came a hunter with his double-barreled gun at his back, and hanger by his side. Said the fox to the wolf, "Look, there comes a man, you must attack him, but I will take myself off to my hole."

The wolf then rushed on the man. When the huntsman saw him he said, it is a pity that I have not loaded with a bullet, aimed, and fired his small shot in his face. The wolf pulled a very wry grimace, but did not let himself be frightened, and attacked him again, on which the huntsman gave him the second barrel. The wolf swallowed his pain, and rushed on the huntsman, but he drew out his bright hanger, and gave him a few cuts with it right and left, so that, bleeding everywhere, he ran howling back to the fox.

"Well, brother wolf," said the fox,  "how have you got on with man?"

" Ah," replied the wolf, "I never imagined the strength of man to be what it is. First, he took a stick from his shoulder, and blew into it, and then something flew into my face which tickled me terribly. Then he breathed once more into the stick, and it flew into my nose like lightning and hail. When I was quite close, he drew a white rib out of his body, and he beat me so with it that I was all but left lying dead."

     "See what a braggart you are?" said the fox. "You throw your hatchet so far that you cannot fetch it back again."

Once upon a time . . . there were three little pigs, who left their mummy and daddy to see the world. All summer long, they roamed through the woods and over the plains, playing games and having fun. None were happier than the three little pigs, and they easily made friends with everyone. Wherever they went, they were given a warm welcome, but as summer drew to a close, they realized that folk were drifting back to their usual jobs, and preparing for winter. Autumn came and it began to rain. The three little pigs started to feel they needed a real home. Sadly they knew that the fun was over now and they must set to work like the others, or they'd be left in the cold and rain, with no roof over their heads. They talked about what to do, but each decided for himself. The laziest little pig said he'd build a straw hut.

"It will only take a day," he said. The others disagreed.

"It's too fragile," they said disapprovingly, but he refused to listen. Not quite so lazy, the second little pig went in search of planks of seasoned wood.

"Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!" It took him two days to nail them together. But the third little pig did not like the wooden house.

"That's not the way to build a house!" he said. "It takes time, patience and hard work to build a house that is strong enough to stand up to wind, rain, and snow, and most of all, protect us from the wolf!"

The days went by, and the wisest little pig's house took shape, brick by brick. From time to time, his brothers visited him, saying with a chuckle: "Why are you working so hard? Why don't you come and play?" But the stubborn bricklayer pig just said "no". "I shall finish my house first. It must be solid and sturdy. And then I'll come and play!" he said. "I shall not be foolish like you! For he who laughs last, laughs longest!"

It was the wisest little pig that found the tracks of a big wolf in the neighborhood.

The little pigs rushed home in alarm. Along came the wolf, scowling  fiercely at the laziest pig's straw hut.

"Come out!" ordered the wolf, his mouth watering. I want to speak to you!"

"I'd rather stay where I am!" replied the little pig in a tiny voice.

"I'll make you come out!" growled the wolf angrily, and puffing out his chest, he took a very deep breath. Then he blew with all his might, right onto the house. And all the straw the silly pig had heaped against some thin poles, fell down in the great blast. Excited by his own cleverness, the wolf did not notice that the little pig had slithered out from underneath the heap of straw, and was dashing towards his brother's wooden house. When he realized that the little pig was escaping, the wolf grew wild with rage.

"Come back!" he roared, trying to catch the pig as he ran into the wooden house. The other little pig greeted his brother, shaking like a leaf.

"I hope this house won't fall down! Let's lean against the door so he can't break in!"

Outside, the wolf could hear the little pigs' words. Starving as he was, at the idea of a two-course meal, he rained blows on the door.

"Open up! Open up! I only want to speak to you!"

Inside, the two brothers wept in fear and did their best to hold the door fast against the blows. Then the furious wolf braced himself a new effort: he drew in a really enormous breath, and went ... WHOOOOO! The wooden house collapsed like a pack of cards.

Luckily, the wisest little pig had been watching the scene from the window of his own brick house, and he rapidly opened the door to his fleeing brothers. And not a moment too soon, for the wolf was already hammering furiously on the door. This time, the wolf had grave doubts. This house had a much more solid air than the others. He blew once, he blew again and then for a third time. But all was in vain. For the house did not budge an inch. The three little pigs watched him and their fear began to fade. Quite exhausted by his efforts, the wolf decided to try one of his tricks. He scrambled up a nearby ladder, on to the roof to have a look at the chimney. However, the wisest little pig had seen this ploy, and he quickly said:

"Quick! Light the fire!" With his long legs thrust down the chimney, the wolf was not sure if he should slide down the black hole. It wouldn't be easy to get in, but the sound of the little pigs' voices below only made him feel hungrier.

"I'm dying of hunger! I'm going to try and get down." And he let himself  drop. But landing was rather hot, too hot! The wolf landed in the fire, stunned by his fall.

The flames licked his hairy coat and his tail became a flaring torch. "Never again! Never again will I go down a chimney" he squealed, as he tried to put out the flames in his tail. Then he ran away as fast as he could. The three happy little pigs, dancing round and round the yard, began to  sing:

"Tra-la-la! Tra-la-la! The wicked black wolf will never come back...!"

From that terrible day on, the wisest little pig's brothers set to work with a will. In less than no time, up went the two new brick houses. The wolf did return once to roam in the neighborhood, but when he caught sight of three chimneys, he remembered the terrible pain of a burnt tail, and he left for good.

Now safe and happy, the wisest little pig called to his brothers: "No more work! Come on, let's go and play!"

 THE HORSE AND THE WOLF

Once upon a time... a horse was gazing peacefully in a rolling green meadow. A famished wolf passing by saw the horse and his mouth began to water.

"That's a fine horse! And will taste good too! He'd make a juicy steak! Pity he's so big. I don't think I'd manage to bring him down, though you never know..."

The wolf approached the horse, which continued to eat the grass. "...maybe, if I take him by surprise."

Now quite close, the wolf spoke to the horse, trying to sound as pleasant as he could.

"Good day, Mr. Horse, I see you're enjoying a meal. Is the grass good? I must say you're looking rather pale. Aren't you well?"

His mouth fool of grass, the horse replied: "Pale? Oh, no, that's my natural color. I was born white and Grey."

The wolf pretended not to understand what the horse had said. "Yes, indeed, very pale. It's just as well your master has given you a holiday in the field, instead of working."

"A holiday in the field? But I'm the picture of health!..."

The wolf was now circling round the horse, trying to find the best point to attack.

"I'm a doctor," he went on. "I can treat you. If you tell me where the pain is. I'm sure I can cure it. Take my advice. Let me examine you!"

The horse, who was not usually wary of others, became suspicious of the wolf's persistent remarks, and thought he had better be on his guard. The wolf was now very close and carefully biding his time, when the horse said, in alarm: "Yes! Now that think of it, I have a sore hind foot. It's been swollen for ages..."

Without a moment's thought, the wolf trotted up to the hoof which the horse had obligingly raised into the air. And when he was certain that the wolf had  come within range, the horse gave a mighty kick, catching the wolf on the jawbone and sending him flying.

"Would like to examine me again?" The wolf heard the words as he struggled to his feet with spinning head.

"No thanks! That's enough for one day" he mumbled, limping away, with no further thought for horse steaks.

     "See what a braggart you are?" said the fox. "You throw your hatchet so far that you cannot fetch it back again."

Call of the Wild, The (1935)

Jack Thornton has trouble winning enough at cards for the stake he needs to get to the Alaska gold fields. His luck changes when he pays $250 for Buck, a sled dog that is part wolf to keep him from being shot by an arrogant Englishman also headed for the Yukon.

Wild and Woolfy (1945)

The Wolf rides into town, terrorizes it, kidnaps the girl, and is chased by the outraged townspeople, accompanied by Droopy, who despite introducing himself as "the hero" at the end, in fact barely features in this one - but connoisseurs of Tex Avery wolves will have a field day.

Peter and the Wolf (1946)

Animated version of the fairy tale of the Russian boy Peter and his hunt for a raiding wolf, presented to the music of Sergei Prokofiev.

Don't Give Up the Sheep (1953)

In their first appearance in a Warner Bros. cartoon, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog punch the timeclock and begin their workday, with Sam foiling Ralph's attempts to steal a flock of sheep. Among Ralph's strategems: advancing the timeclock to confuse Sam, and posing as Pan, the forest god.

Double or Mutton (1955)

After they punch in for work, Ralph Wolf tries to steal Sam Sheepdog's flock of sheep using, among other methods, a highwire, a helicopter and a Bo Peep disguise.  There are many more in this series.

Hare-Less Wolf (1958)

An absent-minded wolf sets out to catch Bugs for dinner

A-Sheep in the Deep (1962)

Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog punch into work, with Sam guarding a flock of sheep against Ralph's attempts to snatch some mutton for dinner. Ralph uses a lull-a-bye record to put Sam to sleep and steals one of the sheep, but the lamb unzips itself to reveal someone very unexpected beneath!

False Hare (1964)

Big Bad Wolf and his nephew use a club for rabbits, Club del Conejo, to try to catch Bugs.  There are many more in this series.

"Linus the Lionhearted" (1964)

A series of 4 animated shorts about Linus the Lion, the kind-hearted King of a jungle The second in the series is about an adventure with the Sugar Bear (from the Post Sugar Crisp commercials) and his two foes, a fiesty granny and a scheming wolf.

Zanna Bianca (1972)

The wolf dog White Fang aids reporter and Eskimo boy of ridding a gold mining town of a sleazy crime lord.

Flight of the Grey Wolf (1976) (TV)

A youth (Russ Hanson) attempts to re-introduce a domesticated wolf to the wild.

Never Cry Wolf (1983)

This film dramatizes the true story of Farley Mowat when he was sent to the Canadian tundra area to collect evidence of the grievous harm the wolf population was doing to the caribou herds. In his struggle to survive in that difficult environment, he studies about the wolves and realizes that the old beliefs about wolves and their supposed threat are almost totally false. Furthermore, he learns that humans represent a far greater threat to the land and especially the wolves, an important species that plays a necessary role in the ecosystem of the north

  Dances with Wolves (1990)

A movie about a white soldier in the Civil War who is "stationed" out on the western frontier by himself.  He meets a Sioux tribe, ends up admiring their ways and eventually has to make a decision about what sort of life he wants and what sort of man he wants to be.  The wolf, "Two-Socks", in this movie, is a symbol of his growing self-awareness, and what happens to Two-Socks is emblematic of what it is that the soldier has to decide against. Nor is it, just as thankfully, a movie that portrays Native Americans as the eternal bad guys.  This is, in fact, the first movie I have seen in which Native Americans are portrayed as what they are: human beings.)

 White Fang (1991)

Jack London's classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a Yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him.