FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

And so the little wolf set off to find food. It had already been quite some time since he had eaten, and his belly was growling like an angry bear. He tried to stay positive and not think about angry growling bears as he wandered through the curtain of falling snow. In a forest this big, even in winter there must be plenty of food walking around, right?

But of course he shouldn't settle for just any prey. If he really wanted to prove himself, he had to go big or go home. Going home was not an option, so he set himself a goal to find the biggest, most challenging prey he could think of. The little wolf quickened his pace and dived deeper into the winter forest.

Suddenly, a scent crossed his path. The little wolf took a good sniff, trying to paint a picture in his head of the animal it belonged to. A rabbit, he thought. Surely not a very strong prey, but rabbits were tricky to catch, as they were very fast and had very sensitive ears. The little wolf figured that once he caught and devoured it, he would have plenty of energy to go hunt even farther, increasing his chances of finding something else, something bigger. With his nose almost touching the forest floor, the little wolf began his first solo hunt.

The trees became scarcer and the landscape more irregular. The scent intensified with every step he took. There was a soft, gurgling sound of a flowing river which made the little wolf prick up his ears. He came upon a white, bald hill with a gentle river flowing at it its base. Hills always make great homes for rabbits, for the little buggers can dig holes in it as much as they want. Maybe the hill was filled to the brim with warm, juicy rabbits!

However, the scent trail did not lead towards the hill. The little wolf sniffed again and turned his head until his nose was pointing at the river. He frowned. Why would a rabbit prefer to live by a cold river rather than this comfortable little hill? Despite his confusion, he continued the hunt.

His question received an answer not long after he had left the hill behind. It was a tall, strong, hoofed answer. Because there, bathing in an ice hole without a care in the world, was a moose.

The little wolf stared at the hulking beast right in front of him, while his mind drifted into a haze of memory. He recalled watching another pack of wolves, led by a friend of his father, attacking a moose a long time ago. It had been a sight to behold! Moose were really dangerous prey, and the beast had put up quite a fight. But at the end of the show, the moose gave up and the entire pack was treated on a great banquet.

A splash brought the little wolf back from his daydreaming as the moose came into motion. The little wolf was filled from head to tail with courage and determination. If he brought down a moose like that other pack, he would surely earn enough glory to be a part of his family again. Naturally, he would leave out the part where he mixed up the scent of a moose and a rabbit. Slowly, steadily, and silently, he followed his new prey.

The moose stopped again, bowing down to nibble at some water plants. This was the golden moment the little wolf had been waiting for. He did one last step towards the moose, braced himself, and dived towards its legs.

'Oh dear, what's this now?' said the moose. 'I must have angered a fish down below.' When she noticed what it was that had bitten her, her surprise only intensified.

The little wolf clung fast to his prey, nibbling and chewing. He did everything by the book, applying the exact same hunting technique he had seen his dad's friend use long ago. Only, there was one thing he forgot...

'Just one little wolf?' said the moose, raising her leg. 'That's preposterous!'

Kicking his legs in the air, the little wolf tried to bite harder.

'I'd say you have bitten off more than you can chew, little vermin,' said the moose with a haughty chuckle. 'How on earth did you expect to take down me, a moose, the monarch of the forest, all by yourself?!'

The little wolf opened his muzzle to retort, but in doing so, he let go of the moose's leg. A loud splash resounded as he flopped into the water. He quickly got up and gave the moose his meanest, big bad wolf stare.

But the moose was having none of it. 'It is quite hard to get a serious point across when your fur is covered in mud,' she said. 'I'm still waiting for an answer to my question, but honestly, I think you have wasted enough of my time. Let me eat in peace now, or suffer the consequences.'

As an answer, the little wolf bared his fangs and growled.

'Fine, have it your way!' With one deft motion, the moose pulled up her hind leg and kicked back. The little wolf flew out of the river, back on to dry land, and crashed into a tree. Out of the tree tops, a pair of eagles that had been sitting there let out a squawk and flew away. A rain of snow and pine needles fell down to cover the little wolf with a spiky blanket.

The little wolf lay there for a while, catching his breath. He waited until the pain in his back faded away a little and he was able to stand up again. Unfortunately, the shame he felt did not fade that easily. He was glad his parents hadn't been around, or they might have seen how miserably he had failed during his first solo hunt. There he was, a wolf, the most vicious predator of the forest, swatted away like an annoying little mosquito by his own prey! Just thinking about it made him want to tear up.

But he couldn't simply roll up in a corner crying. No way! The voice of his father sounded in the little wolf's head: 'You've got to show some skills sometime soon, or else you will never become a big bad wolf.' Giving up was not an option. It never had been and it wasn't now.