Story told by the Shepherd
The Shepherd remained silent, still absorbed in the story told by the Hunter. He threw more wood from his supply onto the fire and adjusted his cloak.
"You were right. Imagine spending a night like this without fire," he said.
"How fragile you humans are," the Wolf remarked, teasingly. "Grown-up adults shivering at a little cold? A wolf cub would laugh at this mountain cold after only six weeks."
The hunter gave him a sharp look but the Shepherd simply ignored him.
"I have one for you," the Shepherd continued. "It is called 'The Shepherd and the Wolf'."
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The Shepherd and the Wolf
Small white flowers, growing with their crowns facing the ground, were the first to emerge from under the frozen earth, officially marking the beginning of spring. Locals called them Kokichinja, the announcers of spring. With the snow melted and the fields turning green again, the shepherds' work begins anew.
Throughout the winter, the sheep were kept inside the hut, which was separated into two rooms. One was equipped for the shepherds to live, and the other was for the sheep to take cover at night and during the winter.
The young man opened the door for the first time as the sheep poured through the tight space to get out. After eating dry food all winter, they were eager to graze on the green grass. In minutes, all of them were outside, waiting for the young shepherd to move the wooden partition of the fence surrounding them. The path was familiar to them, following a trail leading around the hill for about 30 minutes before the trees unveiled the most beautiful green field.
The shepherd placed the piece of sheepskin he had previously packed over the most comfortable rock he could find and sat down. The job was to oversee the sheep to stay together and safe. That doesn't seem very hard, does it?
Well, trouble always finds a way to have fun. On the right side from the trees, a wolf appeared. It had dark grey fur, a proud posture, but did not seem very eager to be active. Martin took the long stick in anticipation and readiness for action, as this was a well-known danger for him. An unarmed man has very little chance to escape a wolf if it comes to that; humans are defenseless against many predators with fangs and claws. But humans have been hunting wolves for centuries, and the wolf also knew that an armed man would be dangerous to him. Wolves are intelligent predators; they don't attack without caution. The wolf in our story was probably more intelligent than the average predator I just described.
And that is why our wolf did the smartest thing he could do: he yawned and laid down on a rock, almost mimicking Martin. He was tired; lone wolves need to work hard for their prey, and the hunt is always at night. Wolves sleep during the day; they are nocturnal, so they can be seen either very early in the morning or in the evening.
The sheep were still not aware of the presence of the wolf, so they were digesting the fresh grass without a clue of the danger that was near them.
Martin screamed at the wolf, moving toward him to scare it. The wolf raised his head, and seeing the shepherd coming, he stood up and passed away at a safe distance, looking at him with confusion. No human can outrun a speeding wolf. As the shepherd moved to the skin-covered rock, so did the wolf. Again, a rush and screams followed by the wolf moving to a safe distance. The expression on the wolf was almost like he wanted to say, "Why are we doing this chase?" After a few runs, he gave up, sat on the rock to rest from the chase, and left the wolf to sleep from the night hunt he had.
To get to the hut to take the gun was too far; he did not trust to leave the sheep unattended. Today he had no choice but to let the wolf be; tomorrow he would take the gun with him. The wolf slept the whole day, but it seemed that he sensed every time the young shepherd made a movement. In the afternoon, as the sun began its descent, Martin gathered the sheep, and they moved down the familiar trail to the hut. The wolf did not move at all.
At 5 AM in the morning, Martin, whole covered in blood, held one of the two young lambs that were delivered during the night. There is no access to a veterinarian to get to the hut, so he had to deliver the young ones himself. He separated the newborn lambs together with their mothers, as it is very important in the beginning for them to stay together to bond. In anticipation of these two fenced areas, they were separated from the flock room and cleaned thoroughly. He gave the standard medicine to the lambs, made sure the mothers had enough food and fresh water, and stopped for a bit to catch his breath.
But there would be no rest for him now; the rest of the flock already started to riot at the fence to break free. They knew it was past the time they usually visited the field. He opened the wooden fence again and ran into the hut to take the supplies: the sheepskin, the lunch, the coat, and...damn, the wolf. It was packed tightly in a box on one of the wooden beams holding the roof of the hut. He unwrapped it in haste and loaded two bullets into the chamber and ran to catch up with the flock. The gun was rarely used, as a lot of the wildlife don’t want to have interaction with humans; they catch the scent from far and don’t go anywhere near us. He was only explained once on how to use it and fire a few shots. The wolf was already there sleeping; the shepherd was the first one to go in front of the flock. The wolf raised his head and with lazy eyes watched what would happen. Click! Nothing, a rookie mistake for safety: the firing pin was removed, it was kept separately in the hut. One more day he would have to rely on the stick, but this time he did not chase the wolf. Knowing that there was no use in doing so, he let the day pass. This wolf did not seem interested in attacking him or the flock. Again, the wolf slept the whole day, as on the other days, waiting for the night hunt.
Upon returning, one of the sheep was missing in the recount that Martin did. As the wolf was sleeping the whole time, he knew it was not attacked during his time in the field. It must have wandered off while he kept an eye on the wolf. Tomorrow, he must kill it, or at least fire a couple of shots to scare it off. After doing the usual routine check on the lambs, he found the firing pin and got the gun ready. Then confidently took the path leading to the field again. The missing sheep was still in the field, and the wolf was again sleeping like the previous days. Martin went to check the sheep; it seemed the sheep was unharmed. Strange, a wolf not to attack defenseless sheep that seems very unusual but the danger will always be there. He remembered the stories from the elder shepherds about wolf attacks and sheep slaughter; he can’t just trust the wolf. Loud bang exploded and kept echoing in the mountains. The wolf disappeared into the woods in three seconds. Martin missed; he did not use the gun for a long time, so it might be that, or the distance was a bit far and he did not want to risk going closer...or he missed on purpose. But the wolf kept his life. Something over two weeks passed since the missed shot; all was fine. The wolf was nowhere to be seen. Martin counted the sheep as usual; five were missing. That was unusual; it usually happens when they get frightened. They stray away from the protection of the flock.
Knowing that there is at least one alive wolf, even a good-natured one hunting at night, it was not wise to track the sheep now. A bloody morning was waiting for Martin the following day. All five of the missing sheep were on the field; their throats were ripped apart, and parts of them were missing. Angry with himself, he cursed at the wolf, regretting missing that shot. The wolf was still there, always at a safe distance from the flock; he may change his fur but never his character. Martin never missed his shots again.
On the third rock from the nine big ones orbiting the sun (you know the one with smaller rocks orbiting around it), on a high point on the surface of this rock, existed a well-built and strategically positioned hut. The purpose of this hut was to allow people who are specialized to do certain jobs in a specific period to reside there and perform their tasks without issues.
The profession I am speaking of is a shepherd. Sorry to disappoint you, but as the title suggests, this will not be a super-secret special mission with space wolves (maybe the next story), but a tale about a simple shepherd and, of course, a wolf.