in The Woods.
I shuddered. I wasn’t cold anymore, but the mournful cry rushed through me like a cold wind.
Come!
The wolf howled for a long time. No other wolves responded, but I listened until I fell asleep.
I woke the next morning stiff and hungry, my mouth dry as ash, but at least I had been warm through the night. I sat up and the red cloak slid off me, pricking my memory of the night before. I glanced around, searching for the wolf. I was still confused as to why he had helped me, but grateful nonetheless. It would have been a cold, restless night without the cloak.
I walked to the riverbank and checked for sprites. Seeing none, I bent down and drank until my belly was full, but I was still hungry. A red-breasted robin hopped toward the bank and pulled a worm out of the ground. A deer and her fawn grazed contentedly on some grass. Everyone was having breakfast except me. I filled my pockets with what berries I could find and ate as I walked. No time to waste.
The river seemed to flow in a straight line forever, but it was a beautiful morning. I tilted my head to the buttery sunshine. The hills in the distance rose like mounds of green salad, and the rocky cliffs along the river were like torn chunks of brown bread. Oh, I was just so hungry!
Something splashed in the water behind me, and I jumped back, clutching a tree, but it wasn’t a sprite. It was the wolf, leg-deep in the river. I relaxed slightly. He dipped his head beneath the water, and when he came back up, he had a fat fish in his mouth. He flung it onto the riverbank, then dunked back in and had another fish in seconds.
The wolf picked up both fish with his jaws and then padded over to me. I stepped back a little. The wolf slowed. He dropped a fish just a few feet in front of me and dipped his head, inviting me to take it.
“For me?” I asked.
He barked.
Eat,
he said, and nudged the fish toward me with his nose.
His eyes were so bright and keen. Again, I sensed greater intelligence behind his words, and my own magic wasn’t enough to fully understand him.
I vaguely remembered an animal charm Granny had taught me when I was little, maybe five or six. Before the accident. She had seen that I loved the animals in The Woods, and I already had a natural ability to understand them, wild girl that I was.
Animal Charm
Squeak or growl, fur or feather
Beast and human come together
Tree or sky, lake or land
Flesh to fur, paw to hand
“Everyone has a particular animal they bond best to,” Granny had told me. “When you find the right one, you’ll feel it, and this charm will connect you in a more powerful way. You’ll be able to hear their thoughts—even feel their energy and emotions. I was always partial to birds, but I’m not sure that’s quite your animal….”
No, of course not. Anyone named Red would be drawn to something much more vicious and wild.
I felt a tugging inside me, to move closer, to touch the wolf, but I stepped on a stick that snapped and the wolf bolted away. Well, I would enjoy the fish anyway. In the wolf’s honor, I ate it raw. It was delicious.
My hunger satisfied, I continued on my journey with new vigor. I skipped stones in the river, and the fish jumped. The birds trilled, and I whistled with them. A woodpecker pecked in the distance, keeping rhythm with our song.
A bee landed on my shoulder, then another bee buzzed in my ear. A few steps farther, and suddenly there were bees everywhere.
What I wouldn’t give for some honey right now.
I followed the sound of buzzing down a gentle slope and then up a rocky hillside with caves and little crevices, perfect for a beehive. The bees swarmed around a narrow crevice. I approached them slowly until I saw the opening of the hive. My cloak was almost entirely covered with bees now, and I could practically taste the honey.
And then a deep growl echoed from one of the caves.
I froze.
The growl came again. A big brown bear, five times my size, emerged from the
I shuddered. I wasn’t cold anymore, but the mournful cry rushed through me like a cold wind.
Come!
The wolf howled for a long time. No other wolves responded, but I listened until I fell asleep.
I woke the next morning stiff and hungry, my mouth dry as ash, but at least I had been warm through the night. I sat up and the red cloak slid off me, pricking my memory of the night before. I glanced around, searching for the wolf. I was still confused as to why he had helped me, but grateful nonetheless. It would have been a cold, restless night without the cloak.
I walked to the riverbank and checked for sprites. Seeing none, I bent down and drank until my belly was full, but I was still hungry. A red-breasted robin hopped toward the bank and pulled a worm out of the ground. A deer and her fawn grazed contentedly on some grass. Everyone was having breakfast except me. I filled my pockets with what berries I could find and ate as I walked. No time to waste.
The river seemed to flow in a straight line forever, but it was a beautiful morning. I tilted my head to the buttery sunshine. The hills in the distance rose like mounds of green salad, and the rocky cliffs along the river were like torn chunks of brown bread. Oh, I was just so hungry!
Something splashed in the water behind me, and I jumped back, clutching a tree, but it wasn’t a sprite. It was the wolf, leg-deep in the river. I relaxed slightly. He dipped his head beneath the water, and when he came back up, he had a fat fish in his mouth. He flung it onto the riverbank, then dunked back in and had another fish in seconds.
The wolf picked up both fish with his jaws and then padded over to me. I stepped back a little. The wolf slowed. He dropped a fish just a few feet in front of me and dipped his head, inviting me to take it.
“For me?” I asked.
He barked.
Eat,
he said, and nudged the fish toward me with his nose.
His eyes were so bright and keen. Again, I sensed greater intelligence behind his words, and my own magic wasn’t enough to fully understand him.
I vaguely remembered an animal charm Granny had taught me when I was little, maybe five or six. Before the accident. She had seen that I loved the animals in The Woods, and I already had a natural ability to understand them, wild girl that I was.
Animal Charm
Squeak or growl, fur or feather
Beast and human come together
Tree or sky, lake or land
Flesh to fur, paw to hand
“Everyone has a particular animal they bond best to,” Granny had told me. “When you find the right one, you’ll feel it, and this charm will connect you in a more powerful way. You’ll be able to hear their thoughts—even feel their energy and emotions. I was always partial to birds, but I’m not sure that’s quite your animal….”
No, of course not. Anyone named Red would be drawn to something much more vicious and wild.
I felt a tugging inside me, to move closer, to touch the wolf, but I stepped on a stick that snapped and the wolf bolted away. Well, I would enjoy the fish anyway. In the wolf’s honor, I ate it raw. It was delicious.
My hunger satisfied, I continued on my journey with new vigor. I skipped stones in the river, and the fish jumped. The birds trilled, and I whistled with them. A woodpecker pecked in the distance, keeping rhythm with our song.
A bee landed on my shoulder, then another bee buzzed in my ear. A few steps farther, and suddenly there were bees everywhere.
What I wouldn’t give for some honey right now.
I followed the sound of buzzing down a gentle slope and then up a rocky hillside with caves and little crevices, perfect for a beehive. The bees swarmed around a narrow crevice. I approached them slowly until I saw the opening of the hive. My cloak was almost entirely covered with bees now, and I could practically taste the honey.
And then a deep growl echoed from one of the caves.
I froze.
The growl came again. A big brown bear, five times my size, emerged from the
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