Like a Scene from a Grisly Nightmare

Like a scene out of a grisly nightmare, the dead calf lay split open like a watermelon dropped on a hot Georgia sidewalk.  Flies and ants engulfed its decaying hide, feeding and laying eggs quickly before all that remained was fur and the small skeleton.  The dairy farmer could not afford to continue to lose livestock, so he put in place a trap to catch the wolf responsible for these acts against his livelihood.  His young son played in the yard up from the pasture and he could hear his giggles and cries of joy as he discovered the jungle that lay beneath his feet.  More dreadfully, the mother of that young happy child could be heard inside the house banging pots and pans, complaining at the top of her voice.  The sounds of a wounded banshee echoed over the hills.   The farmer often wondered what animals still lived in the woods around his house, and why they had not been driven off by her insistent yelling. Surely her bad temper and audible disdain had drawn this evil on the farm.  The farmer finished setting the trap that was sure to catch the wolf responsible for these atrocities.

At the end of the day, feeding, milking and tending to his cows, the farmer wanted nothing more than a warm supper and loving wife that knew exactly what to do to help him relax.  His mind drifted to the thoughts of a young buxom young woman in a bright sun dress, the kind that was slightly see-through when the light hit it just right.  Walking through the front door set off a siren that would send any firehouse into a four alarm panic.  The farmer had grown numb to her gripes and learned to ignore her whines.  Walking through the house towards the kitchen, the farmer likened it to what it must feel like on death row.  The noise grew louder as he walked toward the kitchen as if a horrid orchestra were playing a crescendo as he entered.  He stared at the food displayed before him on the table.  Dried beef and a clump of, what appeared to be, coli fleur and mashed potatoes.  Disappointed once again, and with the sounds of a raging loon filling his ears, he sat down to eat.

After dinner, the farmer’s wife stormed and twisted her body up the stairs to bed, dragging their son along behind her like a child dragging her favorite doll.  He sat back in his chair, closed his eyes and prayed to anything that would listen for his misery to end.  His eyes shut with a snap.  The snap was not from his eyelids collapsing upon each other, but from the trap set to capture the wild creature harassing his livestock.  He leaped from his chair with a jolt so severe he sent his chair flying across the room.  The front door burst open and he flew across the yard, almost like he wasn’t touching the grass below.

His soul screamed and his body ached.  In his trap, he saw the image of a wolf.  It moved like a shadow.  It moved without moving.  Its yellow eyes searched him up, down, and eerily inside of him.

A voice echoed from the wolf “free me.”  The farmer was too afraid to comply.  “Free me from my bonds, and I will grant you one wish.”  The farmer felt the chill of the night more now than he ever had in his life.

The farmer replied, “How will I know you will not trick me and eat me the second I let you go?”

The wolf replied “If I grant you your true wish, and you are happy with it, then will you free me?”

“At what cost is your freedom?”

“Just one more calf and you’ll not see me for the rest of your breathing days.”                      

The farmer thought on it and figured the loss of one more calf would be a small price to pay for a single wish.  The farmer agreed to the trade.  The wolf asked the farmer for his wish, closed his eyes and nodded.  “When you wake tomorrow morning, you will have your wish granted.”  

With that, the farmer checked the trap and returned to his house for an uneasy rest.

The farmer woke to the sounds of voices coming from outside.  He ran outside and was greeted with only the cool air, a startled squirrel and his cows, lazily grazing.  He ran to the trap, his eyes not leaving where the shadowy wolf lay sleeping.  “What have you done to me? I hear voices in my head!”  The wolf calmly replied while stretching and yawning, “You wished to understand your livestock better correct?  That is what I have granted.”  The wolf seemed to sneer in a motionless manner.  The farmer turned to the pasture and watched as the cattle raised their heads to talk and converse.  What was mere mewing and grunting before now became flowered language.  “I have granted your wish, now please, set me free.”  The farmer nervously opened the trap and allowed the wolf to go free.  The farmer moved close to the pasture, ignoring the rest of the world. He followed the conversation of a brown and white pair.  He listened in as one cow talked about the loss of the three calves to the devil.  Startled, the farmer looked back at where the wolf had been trapped, but saw that it was now vacant.  He looked up towards his house, why was he not hearing the griping of his boisterous spouse?  Why was his son not waking up and crying for food?  He raced back to his house and threw the door open to find the devil, cloaked in wolves skin, staring at him with his young son lying limp in his mouth.  He heard a whisper of cold air flow through his mind, “Thank you for granting my wish.”  The wolf was gone, dragging his son behind it, like a child dragging her favorite doll.  All was quiet now in the house, except for the bellowing of the cattle below.