The wolf's shadow

The wolf woke up, yawned, and shook his furry head. He felt thirsty.

“I’d better get up and find something to drink!” he growled.

So he stretched and trotted out of his den, which was in a thicket of thorn bushes. The sun was high in the sky.

When the wolf looked down, he saw his shadow. “How small it looks!” he thought. “I never realized I was so little!”

This made the wolf feel a bit nervous. What would happen if he met a bigger animal?

Sneaking between the trees, he made his way to the river. The water was muddy, but the wolf didn’t mind. He lapped up as much of it as he could.

“Ah, that’s better!” he sighed.

By now, the sun was sinking lower in the sky. Looking down again, the wolf saw that his shadow was longer and bigger. “Look how I’ve grown! That drink must have been very good for me!”

Feeling more confident, he trotted up the valley. The wolf spotted a little grey hare who looked at him nervously.

“You’re right to be scared! Look how big my shadow and I are!” the wolf boasted.

“Oh yes, you are quite frightening!” agreed the hare. He ran away in a cloud of dust.

Then, the wolf saw some antelopes grazing in a meadow. He stalked towards them. The sun had gone even lower, and his shadow stretched out behind him.

Just as the wolf was about to pounce, the antelopes smelled him and sprang away, frightened.

“The trouble is, my shadow and I are so big! No wonder those antelopes could see me coming!” the wolf growled.

The animal kept walking up into the hills. He was pleased to see that his shadow got bigger as the sun sank lower in the sky.

The wolf’s ears swiveled when he heard something moving behind some rocks. Bounding up onto a boulder, the wolf struck a powerful pose. “Quiver in fear, creature! It is I, the mighty and magnificent wolf!”

The bear blinked her little eyes. She was pulling apart a bees’ nest and eating the sweet honey within. Bees stung her, but she didn’t mind.

“Oh, you’re not that magnificent!” the bear replied. “Don’t bother me, I’m having dinner!”

The wolf felt a bit upset. “That silly bear doesn’t realize how big and powerful I really am!” he snorted.

By now, the sun was almost setting. The wolf’s shadow was huge and stretched across the land.

“Only the mightiest beast can cast such a large shadow!” he howled.

On top of a hill, the wolf saw something that looked like a tower of rock – but then, it moved. It was actually a lion!

Normally, the wolf would be too scared to face such a fierce creature, but his immense shadow gave him courage. The wolf stalked towards the lion and let out a howl. “Let’s see who is the real king of the beasts!” he snarled at the mighty predator.

For some reason, the lion didn’t seem frightened. “Are you sure you want to do this, little creature?” he purred.

The wolf stood up tall. “Yes, for I am the mighty wolf – with a shadow that stretches for miles!”

With that, he pounced!

The lion swung his paw through the air, and the wolf went tumbling to the ground. He scurried away as fast as he could and hid in his den, licking his bruises.

“How could that have happened to someone with a shadow as great as mine?” the wolf whined as he went to sleep.

He had learned a lesson about the difference between how things seem and how they actually are.