"__ E..n..j..o..y __" "This is the story of a wolf." "My wolf i raised him" "in the spring." "that's when almost all animals bear their young" "because there are so few of them left anymore." "It's even kind of extra special" "the time of birth." " She scared me half to dearth." "I just pulled the trigger before i knew what was going on." "I wish i would've seen she had a pup in there." " That makes two of us." "you being a kennel and all. right?" "I..." "I just don't know." "Russ." " Well at least we could give it a try." "will you ?" "Be a good girl now." "looks like i'm gonna have to do it myself." " Come on." " Better get this on film nobody's gonna believe it." "just take a close-up of the two of them." " All right." " Get in there." " Oh." "I'd feel awkward." " A little closer." "That's it." "hold him up where i can see him." "Good!" "that's how i became" "kind of a foster mother to a baby wolf." "everything worked out fine." "that was no problem a all." "let me get one last one before he starts picking you up." "when are we gonna have dinner?" "get off!" " Will you?" ".." "but we're late already." "The fish will be here tomorow." "he was almost like part of the family." "and went just about everywhere with me." "was that a wolf as not a dog." "wonders never cease." "We're ahead of schedule." "well be all set." "just has one more to go." "you're holding up production." " Just about done." " Grey!" "here are you..." "No! he loves ice cream. you like that ice cream." "Isn't it good ?" "year." " Get up." " Those fish just don't stand a chance against you anymore." " Sure don't." "Not since i found that cove up there in the high pound." "Tom." "how about that?" "Thanks." "the dogs look great." " Yeah." "They're beautiful." " Is there anything special I need to do while you're gone?" " Yeah." "Just hold the parties down to a dull roar." "Tom's going to stop by and help out there's food in the icebox..." " Mother." " Yeah?" " We'll only be on the circuit two weeks." "Russ can take care of himself." " The only thing you've gotta worry about is some blind judge keeping you from winning some of them blue ribbons." " You're right." "everybody." "Mount up. i think Grey owes you an ice cream cone." "Grey." " You all have a good time now." "we will." " Bye-bye... honey." " Good luck." "Bye." " Bye-bye now." "Grey." "Russ." "Mr.Pomeroy." "Fritz." "Come on." "Fritz." "Here you go." "Feeling a little feisty today." " How long will we be having Fritz this time ?" "probably a week or so." "I'm going hunting up north." "I hear they still have a few of those bighorn left up in Canada." "I wanna get me one before they're all gone." "Mr.Pomeroy. I'll take care of him." " Good." "Fritz." "knock it off." "Come on now." "Fritz." "Get down!" "Fritz!" "Grey?" "It's all right now?" "Grey." "I'm not gonna hurt you." "Come on." "It's all right now." "It's all over." "Grey." "Easy." "Easy." "Here... come back!" "come back!" "I never knew exactly what happened after Grey got out of my sight." "I knew he was running scared." "And the sight of a wolf must have pretty near scared the wits out of everything he ran across." " Annie!" " No!" " Daddy!" "i'm hurt." " Grey!" "Grey ?" " Grey!" "Grey?" "you crazy hound?" "Where you been?" "Having me chasing you through the hills half the day." "now." "Take it easy." "boy." "It's all right." "aren't you?" "Just take your time." "I can wait." " Did i tell you you were kind of handy to have around this afternoon?" "I guess maybe that incident with Fritz got you pretty upset." "I'd hate to think what it nearly got me." "A wolf that eats icecream cones... what am i supposed to do with you?" "Getting yourself all worked up." "We'll square things away tomorrow." "Or maybe you now noticed it's bedtime now." "fella ?" "Call it a day?" "I said I'd wait for you." "you now." "now." "Nice and easy now." "It's all right." "Another wolf?" "wait a minute!" "no!" "wait!" "Wait!" " Hold your fire..." " Hold your fire..." " Stop." "Wait." "son." "I wanna know what you're doing roaming around these woods with wolf hunt going on." " Wolf hunt?" "What do you mean: wolf hunt?" "son?" "A wolf attacked a little girl down at Willie Benson's place." " I'm still waiting for an answer to my question." "I'm Russell Hanson from the Hanson Kennels over on Eagle Road." "my wolf got loose end..." " Your wolf?" "What do you mean your wolf?" "my wolf. there's just no way he'd attack somebody." "you tell that to the rancher down at the hospital having his daughter patched up." "You two get this place squared away." "you just gotta call it off." " Out of the question." " Just until i get Grey back to the Kennels." " I don't wanna be saying "i'm sorry" to another little girl being hurt." "that's personal. please." "and he's tame." " Good." "So we'll find a zoo that'll take care of him." "It's a cinch he can't live with people anymore." " But Grey would die in a zoo." "He's never lived in a cage before." "but i've heard it all before. that turns out to be 600 pounds of meanness and then they call in the police to kill it." "bring that jeep over here." "wild animals simply can't live with people." "Grey's not a wild animal." "You just gotta believe that." "the fact is that from the very first minute this day was sure to happen." "As sure as God made little green apples." "What's going on out there?" " False alarm." "Thought i saw the wolf." "it could have been my Aunt Minnie." "I want safeties on all those guns." "And keep them that way until i tell you different." " Ed." "I want you to take this boy back to the Hanson Kennels you gotta listen to me." "you go on home." "Everything's gonna be all right. please..." "wait!" " You gotta understand why the sheriff's on edge." "It's been a long day." "people crying wolf." "but you gotta listen anyway." "Old man Petinos says he lost a few pigs." " Lady out on Four-Corners Way got spooked." "By something in the brush." "All day like that." " The sheriff is just trying to keep folks calm. people just don't think to clearly." "setting out poison baits." "There are probably other parties of hunters running all around those woods with rifles." " That's why it's best you're home." "Russ." "Maybe somebody shooting at the wrong shadow." "The one with your initials on it." " They'll just shoot Grey." "and they'll kill him." "maybe they won't find him." "Why don't you go on in the house and get some sleep?" "turn on some lights." "Will you?" " Be pretty rough on the kid if that wolf does come back." " That wolf will head straight for the hills." " I don't see him wandering any place he catches wind of men." "Josh. a pussycat kind of wolf." "that wolf just might end up back here at the kennels." "wouldn't you head for home?" "Someplace that meant security?" " Where else would you go?" " Grey!" "Grey." "Grey." "Grey?" "You crazy hound." "Buy yourself a couple of hours and the whole world's off its axis." "What in blazes did you get into today?" "Grey." "We gotta get out of there." "Grey." "Don't get stubborn on me now." "boy." "we were an amful long way from home." "we must've done something right" "because the dogs didn't seem to be behind us anymore." "And i finally had time to relax and do a little thinking." "I was really missing my folks" "and wishing i could talk to them about all this." "Even though i knew there was nothing they or anybody could do to help." "I remember thinking things were about us bad as they could get." " Grey..." "I gotta get if off you." "boy." "no..." "Easy." "Grey." "let me at that trap." "Easy." "boy." "easy." "it ain't broken." "You're all right." "They'll eat us up here." "Come on." "Grey." "We gotta keep moving now." "Come on." "That trap hadn't caused much damage you could see." "Mostly just a bad bruise." "What i didn't realize was that Grey had already gone into shock" "and was getting weaker with every srep he took." "Grey." "boy." "Stay here." " They won't be fooled for long." "Grey." "We gotta get moving." "Grey?" "fella." "Don't give up on me now." "boy." " What's with these dogs?" " Never known a wolf to climb a tree." "A squirrel?" " Thought you said these dogs were trained." " They must've lost the scent upstream." "let's go on back and pick it up." " Right." " Rotten luck." " The rain's washing out the scent." " Those dogs ain't gonna do any tracking here." "then." " Grey?" "Grey?" "Don't let them beat you now." "Grey?" "Can you hear me?" "you hear me?" "boy." "Don't go dying on me." "Attaboy." "Grey." "Thomas Wolf. you can never go home again." "Funny how things come to you." "They'll shoot you on sight or put you in some rotten zoo." "that guy Wolf." "You can go home again." "Grey." "Your real home." "Grey." "beyond getting as far back into the high country as we could." "I'd heard there might be some wolves still living up there." "I could only hope it was true." "Grey." "but they're there." "we weren't going to travel very far on empty stomachs." "there wouldn't be any more table scraps and kibble in Grey's life." "He had to start getting used to the kind of food wild wolves eat." " There's your breakfast." "Take it or leave it." "Now if he's just got a brother around here someplace." "What's the matter?" "You think I'm gonna cook it for you?" "Or maybe you're waiting for the tartar sauce." "Crazy hound." "brother." "All right." "you'll learn." "that was mine!" "Grey." "Go get him." "Grey." "introduce yourself and ask to play tag?" "you now." "and you better understand that." "Grey." "Let's get out of there." "I didn't know whether that plane had been out looking for us or not." "But i sure didn't wanna be found." "not till I'd given Grey a chance to see whether he could make it up there." "always heading up toward where we'd heard those wolves calling from." "I kept hoping" "but he sure didn't show any sing of it that first couple of days." " Grey..." "Grey." "fella." "Grey." "I won't say it." "but i'm not gonna say it." "i guess i'm gonna have to because i'm getting pretty darn hungry." "You better hope this isn't as silly as it looks." "anyway." "The chances of finding a pack of wild wolves" "up in that country were pretty slim." "But i guess we had luck on our side." "as a matter of fact." "The really lucky part" "they never even knew we were there." "Grey." "There..." "That's what you're supposed to be." "Grey. you've gotta do it with those wolves." "They're the only ones that can teach you what you've gotta know." "i can't." "fella." "don't you start worrying now." "I'm doing enough for the both of us." "Let's get ourselves a couple of steaks." "Get set for a long night." "fella." "Come on." "Get back." "Here you go." "No." "Grey." "You cut get out!" "Grey." "I should've known they'd find us." "You better go say hello to them." "Go on." "go on." "Grey!" "Grey!" "get out of there." "Grey." "No!" "Get out!" "Grey?" "we didn't get any sleep the rest of that night." "Grey hadn't been badly hurt." "More shaken up than anything else." "the wolves would have killed him if i hadn't been there." "Something was wrong." "wolves would accept strangers into the pack." "But why not Grey?" "Maybe what I'd read was wrong." "or..." "Or maybe i ought to just give up the whole thing and take him home." "But i couldn't do that." "anyway." "Not till I'd tried everything i could think of." "he has as good as dead back home." "I had read everything i could about him." "but it sure didn't make me any expert." "nobody had ever written a book about what i was doing." "I kept trying to think of what I did know about wolves and how they lived." "A wolf pack is really a lot like a family." "strongest male." "And his mate." "And the rest are mostly 1-or 2-year-olds" "and sometimes what they call an uncle." "A stray that's come along from somewhere else and been adopted." "But the point is" "the leader makes all the decisions." "He is the absolute boss." "it still took quite a while to find it." "the only ones there were the mother and a couple of pups." "they seemed almost gentle." "Like Grey ought to be able to just walk down there and make himself at home." "And then something came along that really brought me back to Earth." "fella." "I was ready to give up on any idea" "of him ever being taken into the pack." "But at least i could still go on trying" "to make him learn to fend for himself." " Get out of here!" "Go on!" "Get!" "you gotta learn." "Get out of here." "Get." "Get." "Get out of here..." "Get!" "Grey just went right on acting like the house pet he'd been raised to be." "Sleeping by the fire every night" "and charging around after things" "like it was some kind of a game we were up here playing." "I couldn't snake the feeling I'd been kidding myself all along." "Grey changed everything." " Grey!" "i was plenty scared when i saw that Grey was doing." "It took a minute before i pieced together just what was going on." "apparently all by herself out there." "the way she was acting." "that he understands the other one is stronger." "Grey was acting like a real wolf." " They know we're somewhere in the neighborhood." "and i would've sent up a flare." "They would've taken us home." "I've been doing all the talking up till now." "But you finally told me what you wanted." "don't you?" "All right." "Stay it is." "No turning back this time." "let's get going." "Grey had showed me that day" "if he had to." "i was going to make darn sure he stayed out of camp where he would have to." "but i finally made it stick." "Grey." "Go on." "Get out of here." "Get." "Grey?" "I could hardly believe what I was seeing." "Grey and that female with a kill." "it made an almost unbelievable change in Grey." "Grey." "it was over." "Grey was a part of the pack. get out of here!" "Go back to where you belong." "are you?" "After all you've been through? you crazy hound." "can I?" "Never again." "Grey." "I never saw Grey again." "i missed him for a long time." "But i had been lucky enough to have been part of his life for a while" "and to have seen some things" "that very few people ever have a chance to see." "in the wild." "Living the kind of life a wolf was meant to live."