“I must have driven on a piece of broken glass,” said the young man dusting his clothes. “I’m not strong enough to unscrew the bolts of this punctured wheel. Poor me, now my bosses will beat me up for being late.”
The wolf looked at his watch and said, “I’m a good dad and would hate to see my child in this plight.” So he helped the young man change the tire. The wolf’s strength was beyond belief, and he unscrewed the bolts in no time. “Sorry, I can’t give you a ride,” shouted the young man from his truck window. “These dogs are hungry and thirsty and must be fed.” The barking of the dogs could be heard in the next town as the truck drove away.
The wolf waved from a distance and got back on his bicycle, eager to cross the country to get to the market in town. In his rush, he forgot the broken glass on the path, and within yards, his bicycle had a flat. Unlike the young man and his truck, the wolf had no spare tire. The wheel lay flat on the ditch, and he still had a long way to go. Across the field, he caught sight of a wooden hut and decided to go and ask for help.
The hut was full of hunters on a coffee break, gathered around the fireplace, looking sullen and quiet. The wolf at first hesitated because he needed help with his bike, but he felt bad for the hunters. “I surely would not like my children to grow up and be so sad,” he thought. “Why grown men like you are looking so unhappy?” he asked them gathering his courage.
The hunters raised and shook their head at the same time and explained that their dogs had not arrived and without them they could not hunt, and if they could not hunt, they could feed their family. The wolf scratched his head to see how he could help them.
“I have seen a truck full of dogs,” he stated. “But the driver drove the other way. Maybe I could catch up with him and tell him where he is waited.”
The hunters cheered and clapped in their hands. But the wolf grew worried at his generosity. “I have to rush to the market, and I may not be able to get there on time,” he confessed. One of the hunters put his arm around the wolf’s shoulders.
“Find our dogs, and we will give you a ride to the market, in the truck.”
The wolf’s eyes brighten as the prospect to be helped for helping others. The hunters loaded their riffles waiting for him to come back. The wolf rushed through the up and down the country in search of the truck with the dogs. The night was drawing near. He thoughts about his starving kids and about the hunters waiting to give him a ride.
In the distance, he heard the dogs’ bark getting closer and closer. They seem to be coming from everywhere around. Without hesitating he rushed towards them and found the dogs with the hunters holding their leash.
“There he is! There he is!” they screamed upon seeing the wolf. The wolf tried to escape, hiding inside a hollow tree he thought was a shelter. But the hollow tree was a trap, nothing but an empty dog cage disguised. The wolf got locked in. Jubilant, the hunters loaded the cage on the truck and took him to the market to be sold. As promised to his wife and cubs, the wolf got there before it closed.
The Morals
#1) The things we are most afraid of are often the very thing we need to face to be a better person.
#2) Don’t forget you have a life as well. Watching others grow won’t make you grow.
#3) If you live disconnected from your nature, you’ll be a like a tree without roots.
#4) You’ll be amazed the treasures you’ll find, if you only open your eyes.
#5) Relationships with the past are better than none in the present.
#6) Vanity is a poor allied in time of danger.
#7) Love for one’s family may come with heartache. But this love never dies.
#8) Never assume that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
#9) Fear is the biggest fear monger that exists.
#10) A voice of dissent is a good thing to have in a group of docile ones.
#11) Don’t invite people in grey suits who wear sneakers for a cup of tea. If they can’t see their beauty, they will not be able to see yours.
#12) It’s better to have one friend that hears you than twenty that do not.
#13) Divided we fall. United we stand.
#14) Don’t brag to people who have less than you have.
#15) Never think that you are smarter than nature.
#16) If you spend all your time working, you will not know when to play
#17) Regardless the fruits you eat today, the memories of the past rarely match the ones of the present.
#18) Don’t defy curiosity in the face of knowledge, especially on Halloween night.
#19) Never allow other’s people to mislead you with their dreams. Only yours are real.
#20) When in need, don’t argue. It may be too late.
#21) When facing ignorance, don’t be afraid to educate.
#22) A sign of strength is to be able to recognize your mistakes.
#23) The fewer the people the easier it is to find the right solution.
#24) The heart-breaking aspect of wisdom is that it cannot be taught
#25) Misplaced kindness can lead to disaster.
Download these other titles by Frederic Colier
The Rain Crow (novel)
A Memoir of Absence (Short story collection)
Nick Klaus et le Paysage Désuet (YA novel)
Nick Klaus’s Fables (YA stories)
A Glimpse into the Firing Squad (screenplay collection, vol 1))
Another Glimpse into the Firing Squad (screenplay collection, vol 2)
Last Glimpse into the Firing Squad (screenplay collection, vol 3)
Playground for Talking Heads (theater play collection)
Bruce Conner: In the Estheticization of Violence (Literary Criticism)
Témoignages Crépusculaires (short story in French)
Watch these films by Frederic Colier
My Last Play (feature doc, 92’) 2012 (Coming soon online)
Dinosaur Park (feature film, 78’) 2010. (Coming soon online)
The Hindenburg Omen (feature film, 110’) 2008
Bounce (short, 5’) 2005
Desert Weeds (short, 16’) 2004
Of Wanderlust (short, 17’) 2003
About Frederic Colier
Frederic Colier was first a musician, before branching out into the theater, and then into the audio-visual world in 2000. This is when he founded Altered Ego Entertainment. Over the years, he has worked extensively in film and documentary as a writer, director and producer. He is currently the executive producer and host of Book Case TV, a weekly literary program about authors and their books, broadcasting in the NY region. But his most enduring passion, since a teenager has been writing. He is the author of several novels, short story collections and plays, both in French and English. He holds an MA in International Literature.
Connect with Frederic Colier
To find out about our other publications visit Book Case Engine
Follow us on Twitter: @bookcasetv
Frederic Colier’s Facebook personal page
Facebook official page for Book Case TV
Book Case TV Blog, everything about Book Case TV’s programs, weekly updates, Calls out, and Book Case Engine’s new releases.
Watch the episodes of Book Case TV on NYC Life 25, interviews with authors from all walks of life, who talk about their books. Book Case TV is a weekly 30’ program, currently broadcasting on NYC Life 25 in the NY area. We also have our channel on YouTube
My Huffington Post columns
Connect on Linkedin
Book Case TV, official website
Production Company’s site for Altered Ego Entertainment
Email author: Email me.
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