Wolf and Raven (or How the Wolf Got Her Pack) 🐺🪶

This week’s story is based on a recent scientific theory about how wolves became pack animals. Wolf likes to exist alone….until Raven gives her reason to believe that there is safety and success in numbers. What will she do??

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Written, performed, and produced for you by Claire Krendl Gilbert. Thanks to my daughters for their assistance playing and singing the intro and outro!

©2024 Claire Krendl Gilbert. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Transcript

00:00:00

Hi friends, this week's foggy oak fairy tale is based on a recent scientific theory about how wolves became pack animals. Wolf likes to exist alone.

00:00:14

Until Raven gives her reason to believe that there may be safety and success in numbers and in collaboration.

00:00:24

In the beginning, Wolf was a.

00:00:28

She hunted alone. She ate alone. She slept in her den alone.

00:00:34

One day, Wolf had killed a moose. It was the best hunt she'd ever had, and she was eating hungrily when Raven landed beside her.

00:00:45

Greetings Wolf, Raven said to her politely. This is quite an achievement. You have so much meat here. You wouldn't mind sharing, would you? Wolff stopped eating and looked at me.

00:01:00

Even they weren't exactly friends, but Raven had never bothered her before, and she certainly had more meat than she could hope to eat before it spoiled.

00:01:10

It could be useful to have a friend.

00:01:13

Very well, Raven, you may have some, Wolfe said, and went back to eating rather than digging in. Raven started quirkiness loudly. Raven called.

00:01:27

In the sky, an unkindness of Ravens, at least 10 strong appeared.

00:01:33

And one by one, they landed by the meat.

00:01:38

Raven, I did not offer to share with all of your relatives, Wolfe said, and snapped her jaws angrily at Raven.

00:01:46

That sounds like a you problem, Raven retorted as he hopped back from Wolf's jaws. All the Ravens began eating the meat, and when wolf would lunge at one to chase it off, it would simply hop or fly out of range and return to the meat. When Wolf tried to stop another Raven.

00:02:06

Rather than eating, she was exhausting herself trying to fight off the Ravens. I'll never do you a kindness again, Raven, she growled as she stalked back to her Den's belly. Still not full, all of her carefully hunted meat from the moose now gone to the ravenous Raven.

00:02:26

Later that week, when Wolf was hunting again, she noticed Raven and his relatives following her like ghosts.

00:02:34

Flying briefly from tree to tree when she was moving slowly, soaring above her, watching when she was running fast.

00:02:42

As soon as she brought down a deer, they were right there with her, gobbling her food.

00:02:47

Raven, this is no way to treat a friend, wolf protested.

00:02:53

Perhaps if you had more friends, you'd know better how to treat them, Raven retorted as he gulped down a strip of the deer.

00:03:01

Meat. I don't move in flocks as other birds do, but I know well enough when sharing and working as a team is important.

00:03:12

All you're doing is scavenging.

00:03:15

Wolf scoff.

00:03:16

But I have a full belly. What do you have? Raven taunted as he took to the air and left wolf fuming far below again. Wolf left the hunt with not enough meat to fill her belly and the rest of the meat gone to the darting and crafty Ravens.

00:03:39

This continued for another month before Wolfe couldn't stand it any more. She was hunting more than usual because she was losing so much to the Ravens, and she was tired of trying to defend her food by herself. Wolfe wondered if other wolves were having these troubles with Raven. She wanted to know if any other wolves.

00:04:00

Solved this problem.

00:04:03

She wanted to talk to someone else besides Raven.

00:04:08

So Wolf set off to find her kin.

00:04:12

As she searched smelling and looking, she also began to call out like Raven did.

00:04:18

Calling to any other wolves that might be able to hear and come and find her.

00:04:25

Fellow wolves come to me. Raven and his friends are stealing all my food. I can't last alone any longer.

00:04:41

It took a long time before another wolf came.

00:04:45

She had been looking for many days when she saw a wolf at the Crest of a nearby hill.

00:04:50

Wolf ran to it and they greeted each other warily.

00:04:54

Hello, Wolf, she said. Hello, Wolf, the other replied. You've been calling. I've heard you. Why do you call me?

00:05:05

Raven and his kin are stealing all of my meat. I can't hunt enough to feed myself. I thought since Raven moves in groups to steal my food that I could better protect my hunts. If I worked in a group too.

00:05:21

Would would you join me?

00:05:24

I too am losing most of my food to Raven's tricks. The other wolf responded. Yes, I will join you.

00:05:33

And together they set off to find others smelling and looking and calling with their voices and their hearts.

00:05:42

The first time the two wolves hunted together while they searched for friends, it was easier.

00:05:48

Easier to catch their prey, and when the Ravens inevitably showed up easier to deal with them.

00:05:55

I see you've made.

00:05:56

A friend.

00:05:58

And comment into Wolf as he flapped down next to her.

00:06:01

And I'll make more still, Wolfe said.

00:06:05

As the rest of the unkindness landed, the two wolves took turns keeping most of the Ravens back.

00:06:11

That meant the Ravens had to take turns too, and because there were two wolves, both of them were able to finally fill their bellies.

00:06:19

Over days and days and weeks and weeks, they continued to search until they had gathered four more wolves into a pack of 6.

00:06:28

Learning to hunt in a larger group was a bit challenging at.

00:06:30

1st but once.

00:06:31

They got the hang of things. It was even easier. It took less energy to get food. They all filled their bellies and the Ravens, they had to adapt as well.

00:06:43

I tell you what Wolf Raven said. Let us come to a peace and share your extra meat with us and we'll help you too.

00:06:53

I don't see how you can be of help.

00:06:55

To us.

00:06:57

We can help you hunt, Raven said.

00:07:01

How can you help us hunt? Wolf asked.

00:07:07

Haven't you ever lost a meal because you were upwind and couldn't tell where the meat was? And aren't there times when there is frozen meat that you can't smell that we could find for you? We can see above the trees and know many things that you cannot.

00:07:27

Let us continue to eat with you and we'll offer you this and more, Raven said.

00:07:37

More. Wolf asked.

00:07:40

Someday you may have young pups, Raven said. And when you do, you'll see they need a lot of entertaining. We'll help you with that.

00:07:53

I don't see how a bird can be much entertainment for anything, Wolf said. Well then, try trusting me on the hunting and believe me when you see the rest, Raven offered.

00:08:07

The wolves huddled together to discuss help with hunting was worth trying with more wolves. They needed more food, and now that the Ravens had been acting more politely, it wasn't such a big deal to share.

00:08:21

We agree to try, Wolfe said cautiously. But if you and your kin do not keep to the bargain, you will become food just as surely as any deer or moose, she warned.

00:08:35

You'll see Raven.

00:08:37

Cooked and he and his kin flew off to their separate destinations.

00:08:43

And they did see the Ravens would to the wolves to advise them of hidden prey. And in the deep of winter would lead them to frozen meat. They hadn't been able to smell. The wolves were still careful, but they had to concede that they were seeing benefits from the partnership.

00:09:01

In the spring, the pack had its first litter of wolf pups.

00:09:06

And that's when they understood the rest of Ravens offer the wolf pups were delightful and fun and so cute, but well, they were so energetic.

00:09:17

When the adults wanted to rest after a hunt, the pups wanted to play and play and play. The exhausted adults were desperately trying to get them down for a nap. One day, when Raven landed with several friends.

00:09:30

Raven grabbed a stick off the ground and hopped up to one curious pup, offering it one end of the stick.

00:09:37

Immediately seeing a chance for tug of war, the pup growled in delight and immediately began tugging on the stick. Raven and the Wolf pup tugged and pulled and played all over the den. The pups tail wagging wildly in joy.

00:09:53

Other Ravens did similarly, either offering a stick or giving a playful tug on a pups tail to start a game of chase.

00:10:01

The puppies played and played and played with the Ravens and the exhausted it all played down and dozed. One eye, half open on the happy scene.

00:10:12

From that day on, the relationship was no longer cautious, helping with the pups cemented the Wolff's trust in Raven, who, while a trickster who would take advantage of opportunities, had followed through on his end of the bargain quite completely.

00:10:27

So while Raven is the reason that Wolfe formed her pack to this day, Wolf and Raven are found together both benefiting from their unusual partnership.

00:10:40

The end.