The She-Wolf
Some time ago, a once-idyllic village fell into disarray.
It wasn’t due to war or politics, but a she-wolf – one with an insatiable appetite. Not only did the night-stalker crave cattle and sheep, but she also had a taste for humans.
When villagers began packing their bags and leaving in search of safer lands, a local woodsman decided enough is enough.
On the next full moon, the man snuck into the enchanted mill. The mill sat between the forest and the town, so there was a good chance the wolf would pass by on her way to feed. After sneaking into the attic, the woodsman bore a tiny hole into the floor. For the next several hours, he sat still as could be, gazing through the hole, waiting…
When a dark figure approached and interrupted the moonbeams streaming through the doorway, the woodsman held his breath.
The wolf had arrived.
The wolf surveyed the room, and when she found no food but also no danger, she leaned back on her hind legs and growled:
Skin down! Skin down! Skin down!
Her pelt fell to the ground, and a woman stepped into the moonlight. She nailed the pelt to the wall, made a fire, and promptly fell asleep.
The woodsman snuck down from the attic and removed the pelt from the wall. While he searched for a hiding spot, he noticed a magical sheen emanating from the fur – like the moon, the pelt glowed. With just moments to spare before dawn took back the sky, the woodsman wedged the pelt beneath a large grinding stone.
Then, the woman opened her eyes, saw the strange man, and screamed:
Skin on! Skin on! Skin on!
But the pelt was stuck beneath the grinding stones, so the she-wolf remained a woman.
The man never admitted he knew she was a wolf, nor did the woman utter a word about her life before she was ‘found’ on that full moon. Over time, the man and woman became friends, fell in love, and made a family. The woman forgot about the woods and her beloved pelt until one day, her youngest son heard a rumor.
Your father married a wolf.
You see, it wasn’t lost on the townsfolk that the same night a beautiful girl wandered into the village, the murderous wolf was never seen again. After that full moon, the killings stopped, and the villagers that fled in fear returned.
The boy wasn’t insulted by this rumor – he was intrigued. Was his mother truly a wolf? If so, where was her pelt?
Later that night, as the boy chopped firewood alongside his father, he asked if the rumor were true. Was he the son of a wolf?
The woodsman couldn’t lie to his child, and instead, he told him everything. When the boy asked about his mother’s pelt, the man explained that many years ago, on the night they first met, he’d hid it beneath a grinding stone in the enchanted mill.
The boy shook with excitement, anxious to tell his mother what he’d learned. As soon as he arrived home for dinner, the words fell from his mouth:
Mother, I heard you are a wolf! I asked father, and he said it’s true. Maybe you don’t remember because you have no pelt, but father says it’s safe, tucked beneath one of the big grinding stones at the old mill…
But before he finished speaking, the woman disappeared out the front door. The boy chased after his mother, but the wind seemed to carry her to the mill while pushing him away.
When his wife didn’t return that night, the woodsman nearly drowned in guilt. Desperate for her forgiveness, the man searched for his beloved and came upon a shepherd. The woodsman asked if he’d seen a she-wolf, and the shepherd nodded.
“She said you’d ask about her,” said the shepherd. “She also requested that I not give her up so easily. That way, you might remedy some of your wrongdoing.”
The shepherd explained that he knew of a wolfpack that had a den near the old mill. The woodsman would have to identify his she-wolf from the others in the pack. If he could tell his bride from the rest of the wolves, she might return home. If not, he’d be torn to shreds.
The woodsman agreed, and when he saw the wolf with a coat that shone like moonbeams, he went to her.
The she-wolf agreed to return to the village, so long as the woodsman never touched her pelt ever again. This request wasn’t because she loved her pelt more than her family, but because all souls need a chance to be wild. Especially when the moon is full, and especially when you’re a she-wolf.
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This story was inspired by and adapted from the Croatian Folktale, The She-Wolf.
Wolf and Raven Candle
$ 8.00
Both the wolf and raven are regarded as creatures of omens (good and bad), prophesy, magic, healing, and transformations. Their myth and lore travel deep into a variety of cultures. Native American tribes believed in the Athabascan Myth, for example, that the… read more
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