And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >Date: Sat, 16 Jan 1999 20:19:12 -0500 (EST) >X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.4 >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Wanita Sears) >Subject: Lone Wolf Story...have kleenex handy > >> Lone Wolf >> >> With all her big brothers and sisters off to school, our ranch became a >> lonely place for our three-year-old daughter, Becky. She longed for >> playmates. Cattle and horses were too big to cuddle and farm machinery >> dangerous for a child so small. We promised to buy her a puppy but in the >> meantime, "Pretend" puppies popped up nearly every day. >> >> I had just finished washing the lunch dishes when the screen door >> slammed and Becky rushed in, cheeks flushed with excitement. "Mama!" she >> cried. "Come see my new doggy! I gave him water two times already. He's >> so thirsty!" >> >> I sighed. Another of Becky's imaginary dogs. >> >> "Please come, Mama." She tugged at my jeans, her brown eyes pleading, >> "He's crying -- and he can't walk!" >> >> "Can't walk?" Now that was a twist. All her previous make-believe >> dogs could do marvelous things. One balanced a ball on the end of its >> nose. Another dug a hole that went all the way through the earth and fell >> out on a star on the other side. Still another danced on a tightrope. >> Why suddenly a dog that couldn't walk? >> >> "All right, honey," I said. By the time I tried to follow her, Becky >> had already disappeared into the mesquite. "Where are you?" I called. >> >> "Over here by the oak stump. Hurry, Mama!" >> >> I parted the thorny branches and raised my hand against the glare of >> the Arizona sun. A numbing chill gripped me. >> >> There she was, sitting on her heels, toes dug firmly in the sand, and >> cradled in her lap was the unmistakable head of a wolf! Beyond its head >> rose massive black shoulders. The rest of the body lay completely hidden >> inside the hollow stump of a fallen oak. >> >> "Becky," My mouth felt dry. "Don't move." I stepped closer. >> Pale-yellow eyes narrowed. Black lips tightened, exposing double sets of >> two-inch fangs. Suddenly the wolf trembled. Its teeth clacked, and a >> piteous whine rose from its throat. >> >> "It's all right, boy," Becky crooned. "Don't be afraid. That's my >> mama, and she loves you, too." >> >> Then the unbelievable happened. As her tiny hands stroked the great >> shaggy head, I heard the gentle thump, thump, thumping of the wolf's tail >> from deep inside the stump. >> >> What was wrong with the animal? I wondered. Why couldn't he get up? >> I couldn't tell. Nor did I dare to step any closer. >> >> I glanced at the empty water bowl. My memory flashed back to the five >> skunks that last week had torn the burlap from a leaking pipe in a >> frenzied effort to reach water during the final agonies of rabies. Of >> course! Rabies! Warning signs had been posted all over the county, and >> hadn't Becky said, "He's so thirsty?" >> >> I had to get Becky away. "Honey." My throat tightened. "Put his head >> down and come to Mama. We'll go find help." >> >> Reluctantly, Becky got up and kissed the wolf on the nose before she >> walked slowly into my outstretched arms. Sad yellow eyes followed her. >> Then the wolf's head sank to the ground. >> >> With Becky safe in my arms, I ran to the barns where Brian, one of our >> cowhands, was saddling up to check heifers in the North pasture. >> >> "Brian! Come quickly. Becky found a wolf in the oak stump near the >> wash! I think it has rabies!" >> >> "I'll be there in a jiffy," he said as I hurried back to the house, >> eager to put Becky down for her nap. I didn't want her to see Brian >> come out of the bunkhouse. I knew he'd have a gun. >> >> "But I want to give my doggy his water," she cried. I kissed her and gave >>her some stuffed animals to play with. "Honey, let Mom and Brian >> take care of him for now," I said. >> >> Moments later, I reached the oak stump. Brian stood looking down at >> the beast. "It's a Mexican lobo, all right," he said, " and a big one!" >> "Whew! It's not rabies," Brian said. "But he's sure hurt real bad. >> Don't you think it's best I put him out of his misery?" >> >> The world "yes" was on my lips, when Becky emerged from the bushes. >> "Is Brian going to make him well, Mama?" She hauled the animal's head >> onto her lap once more, and buried her face in the coarse, dark fur. This >> time I wasn't the only one who heard the thumping of the lobo's tail. >> >> That afternoon my husband, Bill, and our veterinarian came to see the >> wolf. Observing the trust the animal had in our child, Doc said to me, >> "Suppose you let Becky and me tend to this fella together." Minutes >> later, as child and vet reassured the stricken beast, the hypodermic found >> its mark. The yellow eyes closed. >> >> "He's asleep now," said the vet. "Give me a hand here, Bill." They >> hauled the massive body our of the stump. The animal must have been over >> five feet long and well over one-hundred pounds. The hip and leg had been >> mutilated by bullets. Doc did what he had to in order to clean the wound >> and then gave the patient a dose of penicillin. Next day he returned and >> inserted a metal rod to replace the missing bone. >> >> "Well, it looks like you've got yourselves a Mexican lobo," Doc said. >> "He looks to be about three years old, and even as pups, they don't tame >> real easy. I'm amazed at the way this big fella took to your little gal. >> But often there's something that goes on between children and animals that >> we grownups don't understand." >> >> Becky named the wolf Ralph and carried food and water to the stump >> every day. Ralph's recovery was not easy. For three months he dragged >> his injured hindquarters by clawing the earth with his front paws. From >> the way he lowered his eyelids when we massaged the atrophied limbs, we >> knew he endured excruciating pain, but not once did he ever try to bite >> the hands of those who cared for him. >> >> Four months to the day, Ralph finally stood unaided. His huge frame >> shook as long-unused muscles were activated. Bill and I patted and >> praised him. But it was Becky to whom he turned for a gentle word, a kiss >> or a smile. He responded to these gestures of love by swinging his busy >> tail like a pendulum. >> >> As his strength grew, Ralph followed Becky all over the ranch. >> Together they roamed the desert pastures, the golden-haired child often >> stooping low, sharing with the great lame wolf whispered secrets of >> nature's wonders. When evening came, he returned like a silent shadow to >> his hollow stump that had surely become his special place. As time went >> on, although he lived primarily in the brush, the habits of this timid >> creature endeared him more and more to all of us. >> >> His reaction to people other than our family was yet another story. >> Strangers terrified him, yet his affection for and protectiveness of Becky >> brought him out of the desert and fields at the sight of every unknown >> pickup or car. Occasionally he'd approach, lips taut, exposing a nervous >> smile full of chattering teeth. More often he'd simply pace and finally >> skulk off to his tree stump, perhaps to worry alone. >> >> Becky's first day of school was sad for Ralph. After the bus left, he >> refused to return to the yard. Instead, he lay by the side of the road >> and waited. When Becky returned, he limped and tottered in wild, joyous >> circles around her. This welcoming ritual persisted throughout her school >> years. >> >> Although Ralph seemed happy on the ranch, he disappeared into the >> surrounding deserts and mountains for several weeks during the spring >> mating season, leaving us to worry about his safety. This was calving >> season, and fellow ranchers watched for coyotes, cougars, wild dogs and, >> of course, the lone wolf. But Ralph was lucky. >> >> During Ralph's twelve years on our ranch, his habits remained >> unchanged. Always keeping his distance, he tolerated other pets and >> endured the activities of our busy family, but his love for Becky never >> wavered. Then the spring came when our neighbor told us he'd shot and >> killed a she-wolf and grazed her mate, who had been running with her. >> Sure enough, Ralph returned home with another bullet wound. >> >> Becky, nearly fifteen years old now, sat with Ralph's head resting on >> her lap. He, too, must have been about fifteen and was gray with age. As >> Bill removed the bullet, my memory raced back through the years. Once >> again I saw a chubby three-year-old girl stroking the head of a huge black >> wolf and heard a small voice murmuring, "It's all right, boy. Don't be >> afraid. That's my mama, and she loves you, too." >> >> Although the wound wasn't serious, this time Ralph didn't get well. >> Precious pounds fell away. The once luxurious fur turned dull and dry, >> and his trips to the yard in search of Becky's companionship ceased. All >> day long he rested quietly. >> >> But when night fell, old and stiff as he was, he disappeared into the >> desert and surrounding hills. By dawn his food was gone. >> >> The morning came when we found him dead. The yellow eyes were closed. >> Stretched out in front of the oak stump, he appeared but a shadow of the >> proud beast he once had been. A lump in my throat choked me as I watched >> Becky stroke his shaggy neck, tears streaming down her face. "I'll miss >> him so," she cried. >> >> Then as I covered him with a blanket, we were startled by a strange >> rustling sound from inside the stump. Becky looked inside. Two tiny >> yellow eyes peered back and puppy fangs glinted in the semi-darkness. >> Ralph's pup! >> >> Had a dying instinct told him his motherless offspring would be safe >> here, as he had been, with those who loved him? Hot tears spilled on baby >> fur as Becky gathered the trembling bundle in her arms. "It's all right, >> little . . . Ralph," she murmured. "Don't be afraid. That's my mom, >> and she loves you, too." >> Unknown >> From Kekcan <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... African Proverb <<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." Please Check it before you send it at: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
