Track of the Wolf

By Steve Croy

Phillipe Antoine LaSalle pointed with his index finger. At first his son thought he was pointing at the stream. But, looking more closely, he decided his father was pointing at the paw print on the muddy bank of the stream. "It isn't beaver," his father said. "But, the animal came to the stream for a drink. Tell me, what is it that you see?"The boy studied the track for a moment. There were four distinct toe pads, with the indication of claws that dug into the soft soil of the creek bank. "Big," he grunted. He puzzled over the mark. "Looks like dog?" his voice raised in question. "Like one of the camp dogs, only bigger." The boy frowned. "Wolf?"Phillipe ruffled the boy's hair. "That is the track of the wolf. From the size of that track, it is a big one.""Are wolves dangerous?" the boy asked his father scanning the woods on either side of the stream."Any animal can be dangerous," his father replied. "A horse can kill a man, with just one kick. A buffalo won't eat you, but if one were to trample you, you'd be dead, just the same.""Wolves generally leave you alone, if you leave them alone. They are hunters, just like we are. And much of the time they are hunting the same game we are. They are just trying to survive. A lone wolf probably wants to stay away from a man. A pack of wolves might attack a body. But, a pack is more interested in a bigger meal, such a deer, or buffalo. We're too skinny to feed a whole pack.""Just remember any animal can be dangerous, given the right conditions." Phillipe scanned the woods."What conditions?" the boy asked, genuinely interested."Fear," his father replied without hesitation. "Fear of being hurt. Fear of being killed. Fear of starving to death. When winter comes and food is scarce, when the snow makes it hard just to walk, let alone hunt. That's when you need to be most careful. When it's so cold it's almost painful to take a breath and the pack hasn't made a kill in a week. That's when wolves are most dangerous. Remember the track of the wolf."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08D4VQ5QX
• ISBN13: 9798666839126
• Release Date: July 2020
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 277 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.6" x 6.0"