literature

The Big Bad Wolf

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       The Big Bad Wolf walked into the Neverland Bar, looking out of place in the smoky, grimy room. The bar instantly fell silent as little children, goblins, and assorted woodland creatures scampered out of his way, oblivious to the fact that they were only making his bad mood worse and thinking only to get away from him. He didn't care how scared they were-it was tea time and he needed a drink. He sniffed and brushed a speck of dust from his spotless white sleeve. Motioning to the barman, he took a seat at the back of the room, near a pretty girl with flaming red hair. He took off his hat and flicked his ears, his tail winding out of the way as he sat down. A nervous barmaid brought him a drink, which he accepted gratefully. After he'd gotten half the bottle down, he began to feel better. He'd had a rough day, and all he wanted a chance to relax and be left alone.
       The woodsmen were getting braver, pushing the forests farther back than ever before. As the biggest and most dangerous creature in the forest(aside from the bridge troll), he'd taken it upon himself to fight them off, but the wood cutters could not be pushed back by the threat of teeth and claws alone. They had axes and guns, which the wolf in him knew and feared. None of the other creatures could stand up to the woodsmen, and they weren't exactly lining up to help him. So he was alone, and beginning to feel very overworked.
       He looked up from his drink to find that no one was sitting at any of the tables within ten feet of him. The other patrons had crammed themselves together on the other side of the room, all except for the red-headed girl in the booth behind him, who hadn't looked up since he'd come in. The other creatures in the bar were decidedly avoiding his eyes, talking loudly amongst themselves and doing their best to ignore him.
       He turned back to the bottle in his hand and slumped down in his seat. Who needed them, anyway? Not him.

       Red froze as the wolf walked into the bar and tried her best to look small and insignificant. She'd heard about him, how he dragged young girls to the darkest reaches of the forest and devoured them. He stalked children and helpless animals in the forest, made trouble with the woodsmen. She'd seen him in the forest several times, in the shape of a huge gray wolf. He'd ignored her as he slithered through the forest in search of prey, and she'd run as fast as she could in the opposite direction before he'd had time to change his mind. He was someone to stay away from, her grandmother had always warned her.
       To her horror, he had sat down at the booth next to hers so that they were sitting back to back. She kept her head down and prayed he wouldn't take an interest in her. She didn't dare get up and try to leave-he might decide she was worth the chase.
       He fairly glowed in his white suit and hat, standing out against the gloomy bar room like a candle. He looked tired. Good. Maybe he'd be too tired to try anything. He didn't seem too interested in anything that was going on around him. He quietly nursed the bottle in his hand and acted oblivious to the terrified whispers and stares of the other customers. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her friend, Gretel, motioning at her to move away from the wolf. Ever so slightly, she shook her head. Better to stay still and quiet until he tired of terrifying innocent people and left. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave, however.

       The wolf fought back a grin. The poor girl behind him was trembling with terror, even though she was desperately trying not to show it. He admired her effort. She was trying to keep her breathing quiet and steady, but he could hear the tiny hitch in her lungs every time she inhaled. He could hear the scrape of her fingernails on the table as she clutched it to keep herself from shaking. He could hear her hair brushing the back of her chair as she shook her head. The clench of her teeth, the sweat forming on her brow. And even more than he could hear it, he could smell it. Her fear. Rolling off of her so thick it hung like a cloud in the air around her. Sheer, absolute terror. No doubt she was a local, and had grown up being told the stories everyone told about him. He wondered absently how old she was. Not very old, but old enough to understand that she was in very real danger simply being in the same room with him. He was tempted to speak to her, but thought better of it. He had a feeling a word from him would have her fainting, and he didn't want to cause a mob scene simply because some naïve little village girl paid too much attention to her crazy old grandmother’s stories.
He finished off his drink and considered ordering another. He disliked being drunk in public, but today was shaping out to be just the sort of day when getting pickled didn't sound like such a bad idea. He caught the barmaid's attention, and she hurried to bring him another, shaking so badly that he was surprised she didn't drop the bottle. She put it on the table and fairly ran back to the bar, where she rejoined the tightly packed circle of whisperers. He popped the top and chugged it down. Hopefully he'd be nicely inebriated before anyone decided to be brave and did something stupid. It was so much easier to kill people when he was three sheets to the wind.

       Red tried to stop herself from shaking. She was probably annoying him. It probably wasn't a good idea to annoy him. She gripped the table in front of her and willed herself to be calm. He wasn't going to hurt her. He was just having a drink. Maybe he'd get drunk and leave or fall asleep, and then she could leave. Until then, it was best to just sit still and quiet and not draw attention to herself. Best just to act normal, ignore him. She struggled to swallow around the lump in her throat, her mouth feeling as if she’d been chewing sand. She had a cup of tea on the table, not six inches away. Did she dare reach for it? She inched her fingers along the table towards the teacup. Just when it was within her grasp, the wolf moved. He was only crossing his legs, but Red‘s poor nerves couldn‘t take it. Her fingers twitched, knocking over her teacup. Horrified, she watched it fall in slow-motion, teetering on the edge of the saucer, drifting lazily down onto the table. There was a small explosion between her ears, and the world started spinning again. Red realized she was holding her breath and let it out as she stared at the spreading stain on the tablecloth. The wolf didn't move, didn't even look around. His ears twitched slightly, the only sign that he was even alive. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, hot and blinding. Someone sighed, and then a deep, rough voice spoke in her ear.

       "I'm not going to eat you." the wolf told her, fighting back laughter. He felt sorry for her; he could smell the sharp salt scent of her tears. He finished off his drink in one gulp and stood up. The group near the bar shrank back, but he simply stepped around the booth and stood in front of the shaking girl. He fingered the ruined tablecloth. "Wow." he said quietly "You definitely know how to make a mess." She wasn't looking at him, and she was shaking so violently she seemed about to fall out of her seat. He sighed and smiled at her, revealing inch long canines. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked pleasantly, and then sat down across from her without waiting for an answer. He noticed the other customers staring at them and shot them a broad smile. They turned aside in unison and pretended to be very interested in the ceiling. He turned back to the girl and smiled again. "What's your name?" he asked her gently. She didn't answer. He sighed again and slumped back in his chair. "I already told you" he said irritably "I'm not going to eat you. You don't have to act so scared. I don't eat frightened little mice."
       She looked up then, timidly. He was smiling. "What's your name?" he asked again.
"Red" she choked out.
"It suits you." he said, reaching up and winding a lock of crimson hair around his finger. She shivered as his fingers brushed her face, and he pulled away.
"I'm sorry." he said "You're still frightened. What can I do to change that?"
"Leave me alone." she blurted. She clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with horror. The wolf laughed, a sharp noise that sounded like a bark.
"I don't want to leave." he said, suddenly serious again. "I have as much right to be here as anyone, don't I?"
Red shrugged. "I guess so." she murmured.
The wolf sat back, examining her. "Why are you frightened?" he finally asked. She didn't answer.
"You're scared because you've heard horror stories about me all your life, and you're silly enough to believe them." he answered for her. "Really, aren't you a bit too old for fairytales?"
       The bar was silent except for the sound of frightened breathing. The wolf's eyes flashed a deep, yellow gold. Red stared at him. He ran a hand through his thick, gray hair. "I apologize for frightening you." he said quietly. "Let me buy you another cup of tea." he added, motioning to the barmaid. Red jumped.
"Oh, no-" she began, before he cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"I insist. After all, it was my fault you spilled the last one." he added. The barmaid brought the drink, and the wolf stood up. "Forgive my intrusion." he said, bowing. "I'll take my leave of you now. Good day." Without waiting for her to speak, he placed his hat on his head, flicked his ears at her, and made for the door. Red stared at the table and didn't flinch when he slammed the door.
       When the door had shut behind him, there was a stampede to the window as the bar patrons ran to watch him leave. However, he had already disappeared. He and the woodsmen had something of an understanding: neither of them was to make a move against the other during tea time, and tea time was almost over. They'd be coming back from the little cafe down the street any minute, and he didn't want to be late and make them think he wasn't serious about his job. Woodsmen loved their tea, but they were sticklers for being on time, and it wouldn't do for him to make them wait.
       Sitting alone in the booth at the back of the bar, Red stared silently into her teacup. After a long moment, she picked it up and took a cautious sip. Gazing blankly out of the window, she could just see the forest at the edge of town. It was a dark place, home to trolls and imps and demons and a gray, silent wolf.
       Red decided to pay her grandmother a visit at tea time the next day. Maybe Granny would have some new stories. And maybe Red would have her own story to tell.
I had a dream about that old mini-series The 10th Kingdom, and it made me feel sorry for The Big Bad Wolf. I wanted to write something from the wolf's point of view, and show that he could be a great guy. I hope I managed to do that here.

EDIT: July 4; Rewrote the ending. I'm much happier with this version.
© 2006 - 2024 thatpalechick
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nightbird00's avatar
I wouldn't be afraid of the wolf.I'm not afraid of any carnivor.If I piss it off enough to eat me,then yeah,it'll eat me.And if there was a starving carnivor and it ate me,then at least I would have contributed something.I would be happy to see the Big Bad Wolf.He may be big,not bad.Some people are just so scared of things they don't understand.And I pitty them.I pitty them all.Loved the story.