Helpful Wolf

It was the beginning of the winter season. The wolf was strolling around to find some food. Suddenly he heard a groaning sound. He saw a small bear crying.

“Hey, what’s the matter? What happened?” the curious wolf asked.

But the bear baby didn’t answer anything. He kept on weeping.

“I think you miss your mother, that’s the only reason I can think of right now,” said the wolf.

The bear nodded its head.

“Don’t worry baby. Let me go and find out where your mother is. Until I return, you stay here only,” said the wolf.

The wolf, with his pointy ears twitching, sniffed the air. It smelled of pine needles and damp leaves, but not much of bear. “Okay, little one,” he said gently to the sniffling bear cub, “stay here by this big oak tree. It’s easy to see. I’ll be back before you know it!”

And with a swish of his bushy tail, the wolf trotted off into the woods. He looked behind every bush and sniffed at every pawprint on the soft ground. “Mama Bear? Mama Bear?” he called out, his voice a soft huff in the quiet forest.

He walked past tall, bare trees and over crunchy, fallen leaves. He even peeked inside a hollow log, but no Mama Bear. The sun started to dip lower in the sky, painting the leaves in shades of orange and red. The wolf started to feel a little bit worried.

“Maybe she went to the berry patch?” he thought. He remembered seeing some bright red berries not too far away. So, he changed direction and headed towards the berry bushes.

When he got there, he saw big paw prints in the mud! “Aha!” he whispered. “Mama Bear was here!” He followed the paw prints, his nose close to the ground. The prints led him deeper into the woods, towards a small cave nestled amongst some rocks.

The wolf crept quietly towards the cave entrance. He could hear a soft humming sound coming from inside. He peeked his head in and saw a big, furry brown bear licking a little boo-boo on her paw. And right beside her, snuggled in the warm fur, was the little bear cub!

The little bear cub saw the wolf and his eyes went wide. “Mama!” he squeaked happily.

Mama Bear looked up, a little surprised to see the wolf. But the wolf smiled gently. “I found your little one crying by the oak tree,” he said softly. “He missed you very much.”

Mama Bear nudged her cub closer and gave the wolf a grateful look. “Thank you, kind wolf,” she rumbled. “He must have wandered off while I was looking for berries. I was so worried!”

The wolf wagged his tail. “It was no problem at all. It’s important to look out for each other, especially when the winter winds start to blow.”

The little bear cub ran over to the wolf and gave his leg a little nuzzle. The wolf chuckled and then said, “Now you two stay close together, okay? It’s getting chilly.”

Mama Bear nodded, and the little bear cub snuggled back into his mother’s warm fur. The wolf smiled one last time and then trotted back through the woods, feeling happy that he had helped the little bear find his mama. The forest felt a little warmer knowing a little bear was safe and sound with his mother in their cozy cave.