A Wolf left his lair one evening in fine spirits and an excellent appetite. As he ran, the setting sun cast his shadow far out on the ground, and it looked as if the wolf were a hundred times bigger than he really was.
"Why," exclaimed the Wolf proudly, "see how big I am! Fancy me running away from a puny Lion! I'll show him who is fit to be king, he or I."
Just then an immense shadow blotted him out entirely, and the next instant a Lion struck him down with a single blow.
(original Fable)
One day, a lone wolf came out of his cave and roamed the land he called home. He was the king of all in his little down, but knew that he could not venture out into the distance because there were those who not even the king wolf could stand up to. He was admired and love by all.
As the wolf went about his day, he notice that every time he scared the birds or the rabbits or the turtles, his shadow became bigger! The wolf had always dreamed of become kind of all the land, so spent all day making everyone afraid of him. His plan was working! His shadow was too big for even the lions.
The wolf had to take advantage of this opportunity to finally rule of even the fiercest of lions. The strutted of with his head held high into the lions den. As the sun set behind him, he exclaimed, "I am the new kind of the land! I have become bigger and strong than even the fiercest lion!" As soon as he finished his sentence, a large shadow came over him, and he began to feel his legs tremble. The wolf slowly looked over his should, and to his surprise, on the top of the hill, stood a baby lamb with the sun positioned directly behind.
Lamb in the Sunset - Pixabay
The wolf them realized that this was all a mistake! He quickly fled from the lions, and began to return home. When the wolf returned home, the entire town was turned against him! He spent his whole day worried about become bigger than the lions that he forgot about those in his own home. Lonely and lost, the wolf wandered off into foreign lands knowing the value of friends no matter how big or small.
Authors Note: The original story ended with the wolf getting eaten by the lion. I have changed it to where the wolf escapes the lions, but has already ruined his old home. This helps the readers fully learn that when you focus on something that you don't or can't have, you are putting everything that we do have in danger.
Bibliography: Story based on the Aesop story "The Wolf and His Shadow" in The AESOP for Children by Milo Winter.
I really enjoyed reading your story. I was wondering how you were going to change it up but you did a great job! I really, really loved how you explained the wolf's belief about his shadow getting bigger. He thought the more animals he scared the bigger he got. I love this little detail so much because it is something a reader would have never thought of from reading the original fable!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great read! I liked the alternate ending, and I didn't expect it in the least. The best part about reading Aesop's story and yours is that you get two different life lessons. In your story, it shows that you can be your own worst enemy when it comes to ego. The wolf was so obsessed with being the biggest and best that he ruined all his other relationships.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Nathan!
I liked the little twist at the end which ended up giving a very important message. It is very true that sometimes we do things for things we may or may not get and put everything we have in danger. It was surely a great read and you did a great job changing the story and keeping it interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat ending was sadder than I expected. The twist with the baby lamb was definitely not something I would have guessed and very creative. The message at the end was also a nice reminder to everybody to be nice to each other instead of thriving for too much power. That picture of a lamb (?) in front of the sun was a nice touch as well.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your writing style. It was easy to read and understand. Changing a short story into your own work can be difficult,but you did well. I liked how you decided to do an alternative ending. I appreciated that you explained your decision in the author's note. The lesson learned was important and impactful to the story as well as to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great remix of an old fable. I like that you took the fable and gave it a new moral ending. Also, I thought it was very funny that you chose to incorporate a baby lamb rather than a lion. It reminds of me the classic fake outs you see in movies when a character is alone in a wild place and they hear a strange sound only to see that it was a bunny! Finally, the picture you included was a well-chosen complement to the story.
ReplyDelete