Part 4: Trapped
After that, Man kept them locked inside the den for many darks and sun glows. Their limbs were hampered by the furs that were not their own and Man growled at them for urinating or passing faeces inside the furs - or in any place in the den, until they learned to do it in a bucket. It prattled at them over and over until they understood some of what its rumbles meant: eat, food, door, bucket, bed, Granny. It called Hah Hansel and Grr Gretel. And it would not let them go outside.
Sometimes Grr sat by the outer door and whined for the sun and the scents of the woods and her pack-mates. Hah gobbled his food for many days, until one day he sat all day by the door leading outside, howling, and when Granny would not open it he went wild and threw himself against door and door and wall and wall, smashing food-plates and breaking the sticks Granny sat upon. Then Granny locked him in the bedroom and Grr could only look at him when she rested her front paws on the door and pressed her nose to the open shutter. Granny gripped Grr's front paws and tried to make her walk like her, two-legged, but Grr dropped to the ground as soon as she could, frightened.
After that day, Hah turned up his nose at Granny's food, even the most delicious-smelling morsels. He lay with his head upon his paws and stared into the distance even when Grr called through the shutter to him, "Hah! Hah!" His eyes would sometimes swivel to meet hers, but otherwise he did not respond. And he would not submit to Granny. When she opened the door to slide him his meal-plate, she stared across at Hah, where he sat yawning on his haunches. Her fingers reached to caress his face but Hah snapped his teeth at her and she flinched back. The door closed again.
Hah lost all the weight he had gained and Grr paced the floor of the room outside his door until she knew the texture and sound of every step, knew every scent, what lay in every cranny. She sat on her hindquarters in the kitchen and watched Granny cooking, but the delicious smells no longer made her weak with desire, for her belly no longer growled with hunger. She scratched on the door separating her from Hah. She missed him.
When another Man came to the house one day to visit, Granny locked Grr in the bedroom, too, and Hah rose from his haunches and they sniffed and licked and wriggled with delight. They whined for freedom when they heard Man's voice rumbling, but the shutter was closed and no eyes peered down into their room. When Man was gone, Granny let Grr out and petted her in front of the fire. Grr was frightened of the fire. She had burned herself one day early in her captivity, crawling too close to its heat, before Granny had put a grate across the open flame. Grr had to sleep curled alone on a mat by the fireplace in the big room when dark came. She missed lying close to Hah. She missed her pack-mates. Granny went into another room to sleep and barred the door. Grr was lonely.
In her dreams at night, she lay with Mother and Father and her siblings, warmed by their fur. She sat under the noon sun and Mother licked her when she combed her fingers through Mother's fur, picking out fleas and burrs. Blue-belly did not knock her down and close his teeth over her throat because she did not annoy him by pulling his tail or running too slowly. He twitched his tail lazily when he saw her coming and they played in the long grass with Hah and their siblings. In her dreams she had her own sharp teeth, and a long nose, and four fine paws that ran far faster than the ones she used by day. She led the way through the woods to the good hunting ground, and she found the safe den for her pups. The others showed their bellies to her and licked her; they loved her.
By day, Grr watched carefully as Granny went in and out of different doors. She watched how Granny turned the handles. Then, one morning, when Granny opened the door to slide Hah the meal-plate he would not touch, Grr, heart thumping like a wolf's sharp tail, rose onto her hind paws like Granny had taught her. As Granny bent over, Grr laid her front paws on Granny's back - and pushed. Granny cried out, falling, and the door swung open. Hah sat up, snapped at the air, then raced out the door after Grr. Grr scampered across the room to the outer door, rose on her hind legs, turned the handle - and at last they were free. They sprinted across the lawn towards the forest, howling and barking with joy. To feel the sun and the wind upon their faces!
Granny was calling them. Hah ran on, but Grr stopped at the bushes and looked back. She growled uncertainly. Water leaked from Granny's eyes and she leaned against the doorframe as if she was hurt. She saw Grr watching and reached out her hand to her. "Gretel!" Granny called. Then more unintelligible rumblings.
Grr was sorry. She hunkered and whined. But then she felt the wind blowing on her skin and she grinned, sniffing deeply as she stretched her neck to stare up at the blue and white sky. She twisted about like a pup and went scampering. "Hah, Hah!" Grr called loudly, panting her brother's name as she raced after him into the woods.
Part 5: A Happy Ending
Their spoor, Hah's trails of dung and urine, were long blown away. How could they find the pack?
They wandered for several lights and darks, sniffing. There were so many smells to reacquaint themselves with: this tree sap, that Rabbit burrow, this mushroom, that Deer dung. To sleep, twined together, was a deep, satisfying pleasure. They were hungry and ate plants they knew now were good food since Granny had fed them such things. They lay in wait and caught Rabbit, coming out of the burrow. Grr knew how to use her forepaws more now than she had before they had been trapped in Granny's den. She broke Rabbit's neck with a twist of her hands and then she and Hah feasted. Although it did not taste as nice as the burned meat Granny served, it slaked their hunger and, better yet, there was no fear of hurt fingers from the pot-bellied stove.
Finally, the two found the scent that most excited them: Father's mark. They knew they were back in the pack's territory. Sibling Blue-belly found them. He growled as if he did not know them but when they slunk low and showed him their bellies he came and licked their noses and they knew he had missed them. There was rolling about and yips and yaps and much excitement when he took them to the place where the pack rested.
Father and Mother nosed them, sniffing and snuffling, mock-biting and licking, and then hunkered down, apparently satisfied to have them back. They waved their tails lazily in the afternoon sun. Hah and Grr lay amongst the others, limbs touching, closing their eyes to better absorb the light shining through the leaves. Their bellies might never be so full again as they had been when they were at Granny's, but even if they had been Man, always thinking of the future, they would not have cared. If they had been Cat, they might have purred. Instead they made little ruffing sounds of contentment, slitting their eyes and grinning widely at each other. For they were Wolf.
Read more middle grade fairy tales by Shelley Chappell
A tale of sisterly love and science. While Kate and Rupert's parents are off touring the kingdom, Cousin Garil is in charge. He lets Rupert do anything he wants, but Kate isn't allowed to do any of the things she likes to do: no horse riding, no playing ball with her brother, no eating competitions - and, worse of all, no more lessons with Rupert's tutor. With Cousin Garil breathing down her neck and Rupert acting more toad-like every day, Kate's plans to become a scientist are hard to put into action. Yet when Rupert gets himself into a fix, Kate's love of science might be all that can save him. A short story of 5, 800 words.
About the Author
Shelley Chappell was born and raised at the ends of the earth in Canterbury, New Zealand, but there were no towers or dragons in sight. Her hair did once fall to below her knees, but her childhood was blissfully untroubled by talking animals or witches wanting to toast and roast her.
Although she has worked hard over the years in a variety of roles, including as a university sessional lecturer and tutor, a high school English teacher, a librarian and a medical P.A., she considers her lifestyle to have been much better than Cinderella's. Despite a lot of looking, she hasn't yet found her pot of gold or a fairy to grant her three wishes and is open to suggestions as to their whereabouts.
To find out more about Shelley and her writing, visit her website at www.shelle
ychappell.com.
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