The Wolf and The Potato

Chupito, the wolf (Photo by Grégoire Bertaud on Unsplash)

Chupito, a wolf admired by all

Once upon a time there was a beautiful black wolf with piercing eyes, named Chupito. He lived in the forest with all his family and friends.

Chupito was happy, he brilliantly led his pack in hunting and defending his territory. They all admired his dexterity on the attack, his precision in fangs and his incredible ability to finely direct his troop of hunters.

The drama

One day, when he started running through the thickets to catch a wild boar, he was stopped dead by an incredible pain in the back leg. He felt like someone had just torn off his paw. He cried out in pain. The other hunting wolves instantly stopped. They turned quickly and saw Chupito on the ground. A wolf trap surrounded his paw, the iron teeth sinking deep into his bloody flesh. They took some time to organize to transport him to his den.

Chupito lost consciousness during the trip, he was losing a lot of blood and he had to be treated quickly.

Nothing was ever the same again

For several days the she-wrenches worked hard to heal him, they managed to remove the trap from his leg and healed the wounds patiently and tenderly.

Chupito regained consciousness after five days. The pain was barely less intense and he couldn’t move his paw again. He stayed several weeks in the medical den with the nursing wolves. All the wolves were very saddened by this accident, and many came to visit him, to tell him how the hunt went without him.

Chupito replaced

In fact, a new pack leader had to be found to hunt, pending his recovery. The young Pablo had volunteered, and had everyone’s approval, quick, lively and very observant, he made an ideal replacement.

Chupito approved the choice of replacement but said he would be back soon, recovering as quickly as possible. He kept his verve and his convincing tone, despite all the doubts that beset him.

Each night, when the pain prevented him from closing his eyes, he thought of the place he had lost, this mobility that he would probably never find again.

As the weeks went by, the pain became a little less intense, and the beautiful wolf could not bear to lie down and inactive, tried to get on his feet.

Wolf walks

No sooner had he put his foot on the ground, when a dazzling ailment pierced his body. He cried out and fell on his side. The wolves came running and comforted him. He struggled and decided to try to get up again. This time he did not lay the injured paw and hobbled the raised paw until the entrance to the den. Awkwardly, he crossed the threshold of the cave, he took a deep breath of fresh air.

The wolves around applauded and offered to help her go for a walk. He accepted.

The walk was short, it was difficult for him to walk without putting his mad paw on the ground, and each movement increased the pain a little more. They took him home, he happily found his old environment.

During the weeks that followed, several wolves offered to accompany him each day on his walks. But the more time passed, the more everyone’s hopes of seeing Chupito at the head of the Chase dwindled.

Chupito gets depressed

His less hesitant gait, however, was not that of the wolf he had been. He ran with difficulty and could only walk a few hours a day.

His low morale made him irritable and reluctant to talk. So much so that after a few weeks, he had no companions left and went alone into the forest to take his daily tour.

Of course when the other wolves, his former hunting colleagues visited him, he chatted, his natural charm still had its effect.

But since his accident the wolf was no longer in high spirits, he had lost the will to live, the desire for everything. His laughter was hollow, his gaze empty and sad. What good was it to live this life, so useful and active before, now felt like a ball for his own pack.

A surprising potato

One day, when he was passing by a vegetable patch, he was tirelessly dragging his paw, he heard a voice muffled in a bush.

“Who is here ! He said almost crying. The bush moved, and a huge potato with big brown eyes came out.

“Don’t eat me, please. Begged the potato. “

For the first time in months, Chupito laughed, a potato, eat him a potato, whatever, yuck!

“I only eat meat my dear, know it, with me you can be quiet!”.

Relieved, the potato laughed together with the wolf. He offered to accompany and protect her during her walk.

During the few hours of the ride, the little starchy clumsiness and naive humor made the wolf smile several times. The potato did him good, and he knew it.

The strange friendship between the wolf and the potato

They met at the same place every day and spent the rest of the afternoon together. The potato was so full of good humor and so far from its universe that it did him good.

They quickly became friends and Chupito found himself confiding in the potato his doubts and regrets. He never cried in his presence and yet the potato often felt that the wolf was not far from cracking.

Indeed, the other wolves had forgotten it a little and Pablo had become in the eyes of all the new Chupito. The former leader was now only a casualty from whom some advice was gleaned but who no longer brought back any game. Past admiration and interest in his charisma and fervor in hunting had gradually disappeared.

His potato was trying to convince him that he would eventually find a new place in the pack and that he would eventually find the admiration of his friends and family. Each of his words, however, seemed to further hurt the beautiful animal, and the potato always ended up adding a nice joke, so that he found a smile.

Despite all the efforts of the potato, and the moments of friendship and joy passed, the wolf remained very depressed.

Preparation for the big annual competition

Soon came the day of the great annual hunting competition, for one day, all the most skillful wolves and wolves competed in a large hunting party. For the first year, Chupito could not participate.

There were only two weeks left for the wolves to prepare for it and all had more than the competition in their mouths. Chupito couldn’t help but think about his last 6 straight wins. Many competitors came to him for advice on how to approach the competition.

At first flattered, he took some pleasure in recounting his former exploits and his personal techniques. However, he soon realized that all of this comforted him in his retirement status, and he was increasingly pained.

The dispute

The potato at the announcement of this hunting contest, then asked him: “Why don’t you participate? You could ?”. “You’re kidding ? replied the irritated wolf, what do you want me to hunt on three legs, I do not intend to humiliate myself in front of all these young first. ” The wolf closed in and didn’t say a word the rest of the ride.

The potato insisted again: “Finally Chupito, you are the animal with the quickest and most practical mind that I know, I am sure that with a sick physique but a mind like yours you can beat them her little wolves. What they have in speed and dexterity, you have it in strategy and experience, right? Your instinct remained intact him… ”.

It was too much for the wolf, he turned on the potato and shouted at him to leave him alone. What did she know, she the big potato who had never hunted, who was useless and who had never known anything in her life. Such an idea was up to the stupid mind of a second-rate potato.

Upset, hurt, and deeply touched by the words of the wolf, the potato ran to the vegetable patch and fled into the ground, leaving the wolf’s eyes rolled back, bubbling with rage.

Potato in danger

After a few days, the wolf was overcome with remorse. He missed his potato terribly, so he went looking for it near the vegetable patch. He called out his name several times, but nothing worked, no potatoes around. Taken from a bad feeling, he had the feeling that something horrible was going to happen to his favorite little potato.

He glanced over the fence, he saw nothing. As he was about to give up and leave, he heard a muffled little cry from the household. With a limping step, he walked slowly. Through the kitchen window he saw the poor little potato, in a net, placed on a cutting board near a large sharp kitchen knife.

He was panicked for his beloved potato. Ah no, he could not decently let his friend be so cut. Immediately he thought for a moment about a plan.

The wolf plan

The man living in the house must have had a rifle, and if he tried to enter, he risked being shot by the bearded man. No, he needed a plan. He went around the house, took a big piece of wood and threw it with his mouth as loud as possible on the house. The living room window shattered. He went around discreetly, heard footsteps toward the door which opened on the fly. The wrathful hunter hurried around the house.

It was necessary to act quickly while the man was looking for the culprit among the thickets. The wolf rushes into the house, it quickly reaches the kitchen. The potato was still on the counter. Unfortunately the wolf could not climb on its hind legs to catch it. He had to succeed in dropping the potato in his net, without risking dropping the knife. Gently, he pushed the chair under the counter. Then he crept into the living room to mow a cousin there and placed him on the chair.

A perilous rescue

It was time for the potato to slide and fall on the chair, the cousin should be able to cushion his fall.

Unfortunately his potato seemed unconscious. “Potato, can you hear me? Pataaaate .. it’s me, I’m sorry for what I told you … Come on, we’re out of time. You hear me ?…”. The potato made a movement, she opened her eyes gently. He encouraged her, gave her all the instructions. The potato, however exhausted, ends up reaching the edge of the worktop. Faced with the height of the wall, and the distance between the cushion and its perch, she hesitated.

Chupito hadn’t said his last word, he encouraged him again and again, restoring his confidence. The potato ends up slipping and falling heavily on the cushion.

Neither one nor two, the wolf took the net in the mouth and hobbled to the door. At the same instant the hunter retraced his steps.

When he had just passed the door, the wolf found himself face to face with the man outside him. “A Woooolf ? !! A wolf at my house? !!! Ah no, you will see what you will see !!! ”.

Almost too late

The wolf took advantage of the man’s surprise to slip between his legs. Forgetting his pain, he ran and jumped over the fence. He traveled the entire distance from the vegetable patch to his out-of-breath den.

He put the potato on its layer, delicately removed the net in which it was tied, and gave her a big lick to wake her up. She came out of her torpor and thanked him a thousand times for saving her.

Homecoming

They spent the evening chatting and quickly regained their bond. The story had slightly traumatized the poor little potato, but it had the good taste to make Chupito want to participate in the famous contests that were to take place the next day.

He communicated his decision to the potato who approved with enormous joy.

Contest winner

The next day, Chupito got up at dawn like all the candidates and started looking for prey. He developed several strategies. The potato his accomplice, baited rabbits and other small rodents, and Chupito thus easily trapped the victims. He brought back 10 more animals from his hunt than his main competitor Pablo. All the wolves were taken aback, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They cheered and gathered around him to congratulate him.

Since that day, Chupito has regained its role as leader, he organizes and directs all the hunting parties. Potato, who has become the little clown in the wolf community, has brought together all his family and friends, and now, potatoes and wolves team up to hunt herbivores from the forest.

Forever, Chupito and his potato remained friends.

End

(For another wolf story…)