Girl & Wolf
"Dear little girl, are you not afraid of me?" The wolf asked, a toothy mock-filled grin forming at the end of his question.
"Mr. Wolf, rather than saying I am afraid of you, it's more like I do not understand you." The girl in red responded.
"What is there to understand girl? I am a wolf, you are my prey. It is the law of nature for the weak to be consumed by the strong.
The little girl looked solemnly at the wolf for a moment.
"Mr. Wolf, I agree with what you said, only there is a bit of a problem with your perspective sir."
"My perspective? Well then dear child, what do you find to be the issue with my perspective." The wolf replied padding silently across the leaf-covered ground closer to the girl.
"You have been misled." She responded with a set look upon her doll-like face. "My appearance itself is deception. I am no weak prey for you to ambush. I am strong. Strong enough to face you. To look you in the eye and stare you down. To keep staring at you until you can bear it no more."
The wolf paused, cocked his head and looked carefully at the girl, his amber eyes gleaming with an ancient intelligence.
The forest was silent. Not a sound could be heard as the two sides stood at their impasse. Not even the wind played its tricks nor the birds and small animals song and hummed out their little actions. It was if time had frozen and in that moment the wolf seemed to realized something.
"Little girl." The wolf started as he slowly circled the girl once. When he came face to face with her again he stood less than a half a foot away. He leaned closed towards her face and bared his teeth as if to bite. The girl did not move. Not one inch. A sort of quiet dignity clinging to her small frame.
"Hmm." The wolf began again. "Little girl clad in red, I will let you go today. For even a wolf such as myself, I find that you are worthy of letting go just this once. However, should I find you again..." the wolf flicked his silvery tail and grinned another toothy grin, "I may just gobble you down, but for now, I will let you leave."
The girl nodded slowly and seriously, picked up her basket of food, and walked past the wolf. She paused after moment and turned to face him.
"Mr. Wolf, who knows what may happen next time we meet, or if we shall ever meet again. We do not know what the future holds, however, for a kindness granted today, take this bit of food." She said as she pulled out a biscuit followed by a handful of nuts and berries from her basket. The girl carefully placed the food on a rock before continuing on her journey.
The wolf turned only after he could no longer hear the girl's footsteps and sniffed at the food before eating a berry. 'Interesting girl,' he thought to himself. 'Very interesting indeed.'
