Week 2 Story: The Wolf and His Treasure

Week 2 Story: The Wolf and His Treasure

There once was a trio of brothers that lived in a remote village in the desolate countryside. The two elder brothers were farmers and worked from dusk till dawn to provide for the younger brother. They were a happy trio of brothers and did not ask for much in life. The youngest, however, wanted a golden necklace more than anything in the world. One of his only possessions was a locket that his mother had left him before she passed away. Gold was also very scarce in this part of the country and only a wealthy few had any. The people of the country were ravenous for gold and would go to great lengths to obtain some.

One day, the youngest brother stumbled upon an unusual path while he was out taking food to his older brothers in the field. At the end of the path lie a cave. This cave was strange, as it had seemingly appeared out of the ground. The young boy soon discovered that the inside of the cave contained an unimaginable amount of gold. The guardian of the treasure, a cunning wolf, was waiting for the boy inside. The wolf offered the boy all of the treasure inside the cave, but at a great cost. 

"You can have all of my riches inside this cave. But first, you must offer that which you love in return." 

The boy was surprised and at a loss for words. In his mind, the only thing that he loved in the world were his siblings. The boy thought for a minute and replied.

"I cannot give you what you want in return. No amount of possessions are worth the price of family."

The wolf had suspected the boy to be greedy. Shocked by the boy's answer, the wolf sat quiet and thought.

"You are not like the others that belong to this country. For your honesty and love for family, I will let you part with one item from my treasure."

The boy told the wolf about his desire for a necklace. The wolf granted the boy what he desired and they parted ways. 

(Photo of a grey wolf. Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Author's Note: This story was loosely based on the Czech fairy tale The Three Roses. The story follows a mother as she takes a trip to a nearby town. One of her daughters asked her mother to bring her back some roses. The mother finds her way to a palace garden and takes three roses. A basilisk appears and demands that the mother exchange her daughter for the roses. The daughter offers herself to the basilisk and ends up turning him into a prince. The daughter cuts off the basilisk's head to complete the transformation. In the end, the daughter and the prince get married and live in his palace.

I based the general idea for my story on The Three Roses. However, I wanted to include some kind of lesson that reinforced a positive trait. I also did not particularly like the ending of The Three Roses, so I took it in a different direction. It did not end like a typical fairy tale because I wanted to take a unique approach to a story and offer some kind of lesson.

Bibliography: "The Three Roses" from The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922). Source: The Three Roses