I'm On the Lam... See

"Psssssssst!"

Marty looked around. He didn't see anybody.

"Psssssssssssst! Over here!"

A large paw beckoned from behind the tree at the edge of the clearing.

Marty tilted his head and leaned over to see if he could figure out who would be calling.

"Over here, see! Come over here!" The voice whispered.

Marty cautiously walked toward the tree and stopped short.

"Come over here, out of the path!"

Marty took another step closer. The wolf eased out of the shadows. He rubbed his front paws around and around each other. His golden eyes shifted from side to side constantly searching the clearing. His tail hung down between his legs. A squirrel jumped from branch to branch over head. The skittish wolf jumped like he'd stepped on hot coals. His head jerked this way and that.

"I'm on the lam, see! The woodsman is out to get me, see, and I didn't do anything thing wrong! You've got to help me!"

Marty had never seen such a terrified animal.

"You've got to be kidding. The Woodsman is after wood. You are a mighty wolf, part of a pack that looks out for each other. The Woodsman is not after you."

"Look, see... you don't know the whole story, see."

Marty spied a fallen log slightly off the path. He sized up the wolf, checked to make sure his pack wasn't hiding in the shadows, and decided to hear him out. He plopped down, crossed his arms over his chest, and said, "Alright, I'm listening."

The wolf paced in front of Marty, wringing his paws, shifting and jumping with every forest sound.

Marty cleared his throat, "Anytime now," hoping to get the wolf started.

"Oh, oh yeah," he started. "I was walking in the woods, see. I was minding my own business, see, and this little girl came traipsing along, right in my path. Now I ask you. What is a little girl doing out in the woods all by herself?" He looked at Marty, beseechingly. "No good, I tell you, no good can come from it.

Well this little girl, see. She was really quite pretty, see. So I whistled and asked, 'What are you doing, little one? You shouldn't be out here alone, where's your mother?' See, there was nothing wrong with that." The wolf looked at Marty waiting for confirmation that he'd done nothing wrong.

Marty nodded and the wolf started pacing again.

"Now, that little girl, she had a basket full of goodies. I could smell them." He sighed, breathing deeply like he was reliving the scents, "Meat pies," he closed his eyes, "Ahhhh, and they smelled so delicious."

"Did you steal her pies?"

The wolf jerked around and stormed to stand in front of Marty. "No!" He bellowed. The hot breath blew Marty's cap off. His eyes bore into Marty's. Drool hung from his tongue. "I told you, I...did...nothing...wrong!"

Marty leaned back, trying to put a little space between them. "Okay, okay." He held up his hands trying to calm the ferocious beast. "What happened next?"

The wolf slowed his breathing and returned to his pacing.

"Well, I thought about it and decided that if she was going to be running around the woods, somebody needed to be there to watch out for her.

"We walked along, enjoying the birds singing. She picked some flowers for her grandmother. It was kind of nice, you see?

"When we came to the clearing where her grandmother's house stood, being the gentle wolf that I am, I walked the young lady up to the door. I sat down beside her and waited for her grandmother to open the door. It would be rude to just walk away before knowing if her grandmother was there or not.

"I was just sitting there right beside the cutie pie, when the door creaked open and a horrible caterwauling began. That grandmother had my ears ringing. I couldn't see straight, oh my goodness, the pain, the horrible pain." The wolf stood in front of Marty with fearful eyes. "I ran around and around trying to get my bearings, when all of the sudden, blamo, and everything went black. Something must have hit me from behind. I must have passed out."

"When I woke up, see, there was the Woodsman. He was holding his big axe in his huge hands and he was glaring at me, see.

"The little girl was gone. The grandmother was screaming at the top of her lungs begging the Woodsman to..." he gulped, "well, you know.

"So I sized up the situation, spying the window not too far away. I jumped up and made a mad dash and crashed through the glass. I ran as fast as my four legs would carry me, see.

Marty nodded, pondering the Wolf's tale. "What do you think I can do? I'm just a kid." A slow grin filled his face. "A kid who has a silly blonde sister that likes to walk through the woods instead of doing what her mother told her to do."

The wolf studied Marty. "Say what? You know that little girl?"

"Yeah, she's a real pain, as I'm sure you found out."

The wolf grasped Marty's arms, begging on his knees. "What can I do? You've got to help me! I know he's going to be out to get me!"

Marty laughed, "Hey, I just came to thank you. After Grandmother screamed and carried on so dramatically, and after the Woodsman scared you away, he started in on my goofy sister."

"What?" The wolf looked incredulously at Marty.

"Oh, that Woodsman let her have it. He yelled at her about not following Mother's directions to stay on the path. He chewed her out about talking to strangers and stranger danger. He fussed at her all the way home! She was a sight, she might not have been scared of you, but she was terrified of that loud mouthed lumberjack."

The wolf contemplated the information Marty revealed. "So, I'm..."

Marty interrupted, "You're not in trouble. My mother has been fussing at her for ages. That's why she made her that red cape, so she could see her further down the path." Marty grinned, "Hey, you really like the smell of Mom's meat pies?"

"Oh, they really smelled delicious."

"Well we're having them for dinner tonight. Personally, I hate them. What about I sneak you out a few?"

"Uh... well.... uh.... Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'm going to head as far away from your family as I can."

With that, the wolf turned and sprang over the log Marty was sitting on. He turned back after a few paces, and let out a joyful howl and disappeared into the deep dark woods.



WC 1124 Prompt :Take the face of a character of your favorite story. Goldilocks, Cinderella and Harry Potter : we have everyone here.