How Wolf Learned to Live with His People

(traditional-style retelling)

In the early world, Wolf lived alone.

He was strong and fast, but he was restless. He hunted only for himself and wandered without direction. When storms came, he had no one to share warmth with. When he was injured, there was no one to watch over him.

The Holy Ones saw this and spoke to Wolf.

“You are powerful,” they said, “but power without balance leads to loneliness.”

They showed Wolf the tracks of others — how one set of footprints could follow another, how many could move together without confusion. They taught him to watch, to wait, and to listen.

Wolf returned to the land and began calling out.

Others answered.

They learned to hunt together, to care for the young and the injured, and to sing to one another so no one would be lost in the dark. Wolf learned that strength grows when it is shared.

That is why wolves travel in packs, why they raise their young together, and why they call to one another across great distances — to remember who they belong to.