Dark fairy tale

In most fairy tales, the woman is frightened of the wolf. But in this tale, you are the wolf. You are the one that men and women hide try to hide from in their little ramshackle huts, joining hands in the hope that wood and flame will keep you away, force you back into the forest you dwell in. They think that you are an ordinary wolf, perhaps a little more bloodthirsty and choosier in prey than usual, but an ordinary wolf all the same. They are wrong. But that will have to be dealt with later. Right now, it is time for the once upon a time , for the how you got here instead of the why. So, you were born, once upon a time, to a woodcutter, the very same one who had cut down the wolf who had attempted to devour Little Red Riding Hood, incidentally. You had the same upbringing that your sister had, although somewhat more sheltered and often begged for retellings of the demise of the Big Bad Wolf.

One day though, you decided to set out to have some adventures of your own. You slipped out of the cottage when your family were sleeping and crossed the river guarding your home from the terrifying wilderness of the forest. You paused for a moment, and turned to look back, wondering if this was the right thing to do, if perhaps you would not be safer and happier simply living out your days as before. But then somewhere in the distance, a bird sang it’s night time song and you had no choice but to follow it’s enchanting sound. Deeper and deeper into the forest you went until you came across a clearing. And in that clearing sat a man. There was nothing to suggest anything dangerous about this man, in fact he smiled at you and offered you space to sit on the dead tree that he was resting on.

“Hello” you said, “ I didn’t know people came this far out”.

“And yet you and I are both here” the man said, his grin growing bigger. “What are you doing out so late? There are wolves and bears in this forest you know”.

“I do. And I could ask the same question of you. You don’t even have an axe” you replied, feeling no doubt, rather wary of the grinning man. “No I don’t. But I don’t need one. I’m a part of this forest in more ways than you could imaging. Why don’t you keep me company for a while and I’ll show you”. You moved backwards and his face turned pleading. “Oh come on sweetheart, just an hour or two. I’ll make it worth your while I promise”.

“No thank you. Oh dear suddenly it’s rather chilly, I must be going home” you babbled. You turned around and were just about to leave the clearing when the man dived on top of you. You screamed and tried to claw at his face but the man sat on top of you, holding a knife in one hand. He brought the knife down and blood spurted into your mouth. His blood. You tried to spit it out but he put a hand over your mouth, forcing you to swallow, then a sharp stick exploded out of his chest. The man keeled over, and you scrambled away as fast as you could, eyes darting between the man and the woman who had saved you.

“Easy, easy, I’m not going to hurt you. It’s alright, your safe now. Did he make you swallow it”? You couldn’t speak. All you could do was nod and try not to scream. The woman hurried over to you and put her hand on your forehead. You passed out.

When you woke up, you were in the woman’s cottage. She introduced herself as Ruby, a witch who had lived in the forest for some years and had been keeping an eye on the local supernatural activity. “Your father’s slaughtering of the Big Bad Wolf was a great help to me. It warned other beings who would do humans harm to stay away. But I’m afraid you cannot return to your family. That man made you what he was, a shapeshifter. It is better for your family to believe you have run away. Even if you told them what had happened I doubt he would be inclined to allow you to continue to live under his roof”. You cried then, mourning for all you had lost and as you did so, you felt your body begin to warp and change, shifting into a howling wolf.

Eventually, you were able to calm down enough to revert back to your human form, anger sizzling through your veins. You wanted payback for what that man had done to you. He might have been dead, but there were many more like him out there, so many more. You learnt how to control your shapeshifting quickly. And when you had learnt everything you could, you went hunting. You travelled until you reached a village where no one would recognise you and integrated yourself into the community. Three weeks later, the killings began. First the cat callers and stalkers, the men who didn’t recognise the word no. Then the tormentors of any one they saw as weak, some of them simply losing their dignity, wetting themselves when they saw you in the growling wolf form that you prefer, others losing their lives. Then the abusers, rapists and the greedy.

By the time you met me, you had made quite the name for yourself. Whole provinces feared you. The unstoppable Big Bad Wolf. But many loved you as well. Once you had gold and the trust of a few , you started to take people in. The weak, the vulnerable, the ostracized, all began to run to the forest, to the warmth and kindness of your huts, and I for one have never looked back, not once. The end.

Published 5th November 2018