Crying Wolf

A howling echoed from a room in the upstairs bedroom, each cry more sorrowful than the last. That last one ended with a begging whimper. It frightened young Janie Sappleton who was visiting the Munro household at the request of the youngest daughter, Lucy. The Sappleton family had just moved in across the street. Janie was the only child, a shy five-year-old whose innocence was maturing into a healthy and admirable naiveté.

Lucy was a precocious little scamp whose hobbies including making up stories and having friends over for a tea party, the latter of which she was enjoying with Janie in the dining room. Their mothers were getting acquainted in the living room exchanging information on the best schools and latest gossip in the area. A huge crash emanated from the large moving truck across the street causing Janie’s mother, Mrs. Sappleton to spring to her feet.

“I’m sorry Samantha,” she said to Mrs. Munro, “I’m going to have to go over there before the movers break anything else. I’ll be right back. Can you watch Janie for a few minutes?”

“Of course, Patti,” she assured Mrs. Sappleton, “I better get started on cooking dinner. My husband will be home soon, anyway. The girls will be fine here.”

Meanwhile, the howling continued seemingly only noticed by little Janie. She wandered to the staircase and leaned against the banister, frightened to take that first step but wanting so bad to make it to the top and investigate. Curiosity and fear fought to shape the expression on her face.

“You don’t have to be scared,” Lucy explained, “That’s just my brother. He’s being silly.”

“Why is your brother howling?” Janie asked.

“Oh that,” Lucy smiled, unaffected, “That’s his illness. He’s sick.”

“He is?”

“Uh-huh. The doctor’s don’t know what’s wrong with him. Come on, I’ll show you,” Lucy takes Janie by the hand and leads her upstairs. When they get to the door, Janie hears someone running around on the other side.

“What’s wrong with your brother?”

“He went to camp and he got bit,” Lucy answered.

“He got bit? By what?”

“A wolf.” Lucy’s lips pursed, sharpening the serious look on her face. Janie’s thin eyebrows furrowed, intensifying the look of worry on hers. “Go ahead, take a look.” Lucy invited Janie to take a peek inside the keyhole.

Janie carefully leaned her head into the keyhole keeping her face a safe distance from the cold brass doorknob. She saw nothing at first, but looked back and Lucy who nodded as to tell her to keep looking. A few seconds passed, but seemed like hours to Janie. Just then, there was a tinkling of metal and the clicking of what sounded like claws upon the hardwood. Janie adjusted the angle with which her eye was peeking through the keyhole but could not see what was producing the sound. Just then a creature emerged from the corner. It was larger than either Janie or Lucy, perhaps bigger than the both of them put together. Its fur was mostly a deep, obsidian color while its belly and the lower half of its muzzle was a grand snow white.

“Oh, my gosh!” exclaimed Janie, “You have a wolf in there!” The little girl could not pry her eyes from the confines of the keyhole. She gasped in all the excitement and let out a frightened little squeal as the creature approached the keyhole from the other side with its snout.

“That’s not a wolf. That’s my brother, Petey,” Lucy explained, “He was bit by a wolf when he went to camp last week. And then he turned into a wolf.”

The creature let out a howl as if imploring Lucy to open the door and let him out. The high-pitched moan startled Janie enough to illicit a scream, but apparently not enough to tear her from her limited vantage point. The creature heard Janie and looked at the doorknob from where the scream emanated. Curiosity had tilted the creatures head to one side, its pink tongue hanging from its mouth lined with gleaming white teeth. Its piercing ice blue eyes seemingly stared right back at Janie.

“Lucy! Don’t go wandering about your brother’s room,” Mrs. Munro yelled from the kitchen, “I want you girls to come down here, okay?”

“Okay, mommy!” Lucy answered. She grabbed Janie’s hand and pulled her from the door. Janie had used the doorknob to lean on and unknowingly turned it when Lucy pulled her away. The door slowly crept open as the two girls ran downstairs.

“Try not to go up there, Lucy, and you know why,” Mrs. Munro instructed, “So, Janie, did you know that Lucy has a brother? He went to camp.” Janie looked at Lucy who put a finger to her lips as if to tell her that what she saw was a secret.

“Yes. Lucy told me,” Janie answered politely. She noticed that there were tears in Mrs. Munro’s eyes but decorum prevented her from pointing it out. Janie took a seat at the dining table with Lucy and they continued their tea party

“Why is your mommy crying?” Janie whispered to Lucy.

“Because we don’t know how to turn Petey back to a boy,” Lucy whispered in response. She continued, “The next time you come over, make sure he doesn’t lick you or you’ll become a wolf too.”

“I thought you have to get bit,” Jane inquired.

“If you get bit, you turn into a wolf,” Lucy leaned in. “If he licks you, you grow hair all over and your teeth will get long and sharp but you still look like you. It’s better to turn into a wolf, but I don’t want to get bit.”

“Me neither,” Janie responded, her eyes as wide as her face would allow.

Mr. Munro could be seen on the front lawn approaching the front door. This prompted the creature upstairs to bark and run out of the then open bedroom door and charge down the stairs to greet him. The sound of the heavy paws charging down the hallway caused Janie to jump on her feet and hide under the table. The creature, tail wagging, walked into the kitchen and found its way under the table with Janie. Its wet nose trailed up and down her face, sniffing the Janie’s face and hair. Without warning, the large slobbery tongue stuck out and licked up Janie’s terrified face. The horrified little Janie ran out the front door and into the arms of her mother who was on her way back to the Munro household.

“What was that all about?” Mr. Munro asked. “And honey, why are you crying?”

“Oh, I’ve been chopping onions for dinner. I’m not sure what that was about. Do you, Lucy?” asked Mrs. Munro.

“I think it was Max,” Lucy replied

“I told you not to go up to your brother’s room until he came back from camp this weekend.”

“Janie wanted to see the dog but she told me she was scared of Siberian huskies like Max. She was just scared of the dog, that’s all.”

“Poor girl,” Mr. Munro said, “The next time she comes over you put the dog out in the back and not in your brother’s room, okay?”

“Yes, daddy,” Lucy smiled to herself mischievously. She took a sip from her tiny plastic tea cup and began to put the set away. Lucy was a precocious little scamp whose hobbies including making up stories and having friends over for a tea party. When she grew bored of the latter she resorted to the former to keep her entertained. And if time allowed, she would let her audience know.