Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 6 Walter "Hunting" the Wolf

Not far from the road stands a house called "Hemgard".You may remember those two beautiful beech trees by the reddish-brown hedge, and the high gate, and the garden with the beautiful barberry.Barberry is always the first to start growing in spring and is overwhelmed with pretty berries in summer.

At the back of the garden was a hedge with tall poplars rustling in the morning wind in the center of the hedge.Behind the hedge is a road, behind the road is a wood, and behind the wood is a wide world.

On the other side of the garden was a lake, and on the other side of the lake was a village, around which stretched meadows and fields, sometimes green and yellow.

It was a handsome house with white window frames, trim porch and clean steps, dotted with carefully trimmed juniper boughs.Walter's parents lived in this house.In it also lived his brother Frederick, his sister Rattle, and old Lena, and Jonas, and Carlo and Bravio, Putt, Mel, and Kukliku.

Carlo lives in the kennels, Bravio lives in the stables, Putt lives with the groom, Mel lives here now, there now, Kukliku lives in the chicken coop, it's her kingdom .

Walter is six years old and will start school soon.He can't read yet, but he can already do many other things.He does somersaults, stands on his head, swings, has snowball fights, plays ball, crows like a rooster, eats bread and butter and drinks yogurt, tears his pants, breaks his arms, smashes china, throws stones at window panes, After drawing old men, walking up and down the flowerbed, eating gooseberries to retch, and being beaten, he became disciplined.As for the rest, he had a good heart but a bad memory, always forgot his parents' advice, got into trouble a lot, and had all sorts of adventures, which you'll hear about right away, but first I'll tell you What is interesting is how brave he was and how he hunted down the wolf.

Once, in the spring, Walter heard that there were many wolves in the woods, and the news made him very happy.He was amazingly brave among his mates, or at home with his brothers and sisters, when he used to say, "One wolf is nothing, there should be at least four."

When he wrestled Kress Bergenström or Freichelf Weiderfelt and threw them on their backs, he would say: "I'm going to do the same to the wolf!" He shoots the arrow at Jonas, rattles his sheepskin coat, and says, "If you were a wolf, I'd shoot you like this!"

True, some thought the brave boy was a bit of a braggart, but we should really believe him because he said it to himself.So Jonas and Lena used to say to him, "Look, Walter shot the wolf." And the other boys and girls would say, "Look, here comes Walter, brave enough to fight four wolves. "

No one is so convinced of this as Walter himself.One day, he made preparations for a real wolf hunting operation.He took his drum, which had holes in one end from the time he stepped on it to pick a bunch of rowanberries, and his tin saber, which had a bit of a blade missing, because he had once With astonishing courage it hacked a way through an unfriendly gooseberry bush.

He didn't forget to arm himself to the teeth with his blaster, bow and air pistol.He kept a charred cork in his pocket for a moustache, and a red rooster feather for his hat to make him look more savage.In addition, he kept a bone-handled jackknife in his trousers pocket, in order to cut off the ears of wolves after they had been killed, which he found to be cruel while they were still alive.

Jonas is going to deliver the corn to the mill, which is great.Walter took a seat on the cargo while Carlo ran beside them, yelping "Wow!"As soon as they came to the edge of the wood, Walter looked around carefully, to see if there might be a wolf hiding in the bushes, and he did not forget to ask Jonas if wolves were afraid of the drum. "Of course they're scared," (it goes without saying) Jonas said.So Walter started beating the drums as hard as they could as they walked through the woods.

When they came to the mill, Walter at once asked if there had been any wolves in the neighborhood lately.

"Alas! yes," said the miller, "last night the wolf ate our fattest ram at the kiln not far from here."

"Ah!" said Walter, "you think that's a big pack of wolves?"

"We don't know," replied the miller.

"Oh, all the same," said Walter, "I'm only asking to let me know if I should take Jonas. I can easily take on three wolves all by myself, but if there were more wolves , I don't have time to kill them all before they escape."

"If I were Walter, I'd go alone, it's more manly," Jonas said.

"No, you'd better go together," said Walter. "There may be many wolves."

"No, I don't have time," said Jonas, "and certainly not more than three wolves. Walter can easily deal with them all by himself."

"Yes," said Walter, "of course I could, but, you see, Jonas, it might happen that if a wolf had bit my back, it would be much harder for me to kill them. As long as I know there are no more than two wolves, so I don't mind, and I'll grab one with each hand and give them a good shake like Susannah used to shake me."

"I don't think there's more than two wolves, of course," said Jonas. "When wolves kill kids and rams, they're never more than two. Walter can give them a good meal without me." shake."

"But, you see, Jonas," said Walter, "even with two wolves, it's still possible for one to get away and bite my leg, and you see, my left hand isn't as strong as my right. You'd better be with I'll go with you, and if there are two wolves, you can help me. Look, if there's only one wolf, I can grab him with both hands like this and throw him on all fours, what does he love Kick it as it pleases, and I'll hold on tight to it."

"Now, after I've really thought about it," said Jonas, "I'm almost sure there's no more than one wolf here. How can two wolves need only one sheep? So there's no more than one wolf."

"But you should still come with me, Jonas," said Walter. "You see, I can handle a wolf quite easily, but I'm not quite used to several wolves, and it might be in my There were holes in the new trousers."

"Ah, look," said Jonas, "I'm beginning to think that Walter isn't as brave as people say he is. First, Walter can handle four wolves, then three, then two, then two." Was able to deal with one, but now Walter needs help with a wolf. Things like that should never happen, and what will people say? Maybe they'll think Walter is a coward?"

"That's just an illusion," Walter said. "I'm not scared at all. It would be more interesting if there were two wolves. I just need someone to see how I beat the wolf and how it was killed by me." It was beaten to pieces."

"Okay. Then Walter can take little Lisa the miller. She can sit on the rock and watch," said Jonas.

"No, she's sure to be frightened," said Walter. "How can a girl go and shoot a wolf? Come with me, Jonas, and you can take the skin, and I'll be content with ears and a tail." gone."

"No, thank you," said Jonas, "Walter could have kept the pelt himself. Now, I can see very clearly that Walter is frightened. Pooh, what a shame!"

This hurt Walter's pride. "I'm going to show you that I'm not afraid," he said.So he picked up a drum, a saber, a rooster feather, a jackknife, a toy gun and an air pistol, and went to the woods alone to hunt down wolves.

It was a beautiful evening, and there were birds singing in all the branches.Walter advanced very slowly and carefully.At every step he took a careful look around every corner to see if there might be anything hiding behind the stones.He did feel something running in the ditch over there.That might be a wolf. "Before I go out there, I'd better beat the drums," thought Walter.

"Boom, boom!" Just like that, he began to beat the drums.So the thing moved again. "Wow, wow!" A crow flew up from the ditch.Walter regained his courage at once. "It's a good thing I have a drum," he thought, and walked forward with a brave stride.Soon he was near the kiln where the wolf had killed the ram.The closer he got to the kiln, the more terrifying it looked.It's very dark and very dated.Who knows how many wolves might be hiding there?Perhaps the wolves that had killed the ram were still sitting in a corner inside.Yes, it's not safe here at all, and there's not a single person around.How terrible it would be to be eaten by wolves here in broad daylight, Walter thought to himself.The more he thought about it, the uglier, grayer, and creepier the old kiln looked.

"May I go back and say I shot a wolf and let it escape?" Walter mused. "Bah!" said his conscience, "don't you remember that lying is the worst sin in the sight of God and men? If you lie today that you have shot a wolf, it will surely eat you tomorrow."

"No, I'm determined to go to the kiln," thought Walter, and he went to the kiln.But he didn't go very close to the kiln, only to the point where he could see the grass that was stained red with the blood of the sheep and the few tufts of wool that the wolf had ripped from the poor animal's back. stopped.

It looked horrible that way.

"I don't know what the ram was thinking when it was eaten by wolves." Walter thought to himself, and a shiver spread all over his body.

"I'd better play the drums," he thought again, and he began to beat the drums.But the drums sounded terrible, and the echoes from the brick kilns were almost like the howling of wolves.The drumsticks froze in Walter's hands, and now, he thought, they came running...

Yes, it was true, at that moment a red-brown, shaggy wolf's head poked out from under the brick kiln!

Now, what is Walter doing?Yes, brave Walter, who can handle four wolves by himself, threw the drum far away, and ran as fast as he could towards the mill.

But oops!The wolf came after him.Walter looked back and saw that the wolf was running faster than him and was only a few paces away.So Walter ran even faster.Fear overwhelmed him, and he could neither hear nor see.He ran over sticks, boulders, and ditches, dropped drumsticks, sabers, bows, and toy guns, and in his extreme panic stumbled in a bush.He lay there, and the wolf pounced on him...

What a horrible story!Now, you have every reason to think Walter and all his adventures are over.If so, it would be a pity.But don't be surprised if things don't turn out quite as badly, as this is a pretty friendly wolf.He did jump at Walter, but he just shook his fur and nuzzled his face, and Walter screamed loudly.Yes, he screamed in terror!
Jonas heard his cries of pain with pleasure, and as Walter was very near the mill, he ran out and helped him to his feet.

"What happened?" he asked. "Why is Walter screaming so terribly?"

"Wolf! Wolf!" cried Walter, and that was all he could say.

"Where's the wolf?" said Jonas. "I don't see a wolf."

"Careful, it's near, it's killing me," Walter groaned.

Jonas laughed so hard that his belt nearly snapped.

Ah, ah, is that the wolf?Was that the wolf that Walter would grab by the neck, shake, and throw him on his back no matter how hard he struggled?Look at it a little closer, it's your old friend, your own buddy Carlo.I very much wish it had found lamb shanks in the brick kiln.When Walter played the drums, Carlo crawled out of the brick kiln, and when Walter ran away, Carlo ran after him, as he often did when Walter wanted to play with him.

"Sit down, Carol! You should be ashamed of making such a great hero run away!"

Walter stood up, feeling very embarrassed.

"Sit down, Carlo!" he said, both relieved and angry. "It's only a dog. If it had been a wolf, I'd have killed him long ago..."

"If only Walter would take my advice, less bragging and more practical work." Jonas reassured him. "Walter isn't a coward, is he?"

"Me! Jonas, you'll see next time we meet a bear. You see, bears are my favorite fights."

"Really!" Jonas laughed. "Are you bragging again?"

"My dear Walter, you must remember that only cowards like to brag, and a truly brave man never brags about his bravery."

(End of this chapter)