Clarity of Fairy Tales

An Audience of One
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read

Once upon a time there was a boy who lived in a village. He loved wandering through the forest at night. The rest of his village thought he was weird but left him well enough alone.

One day the boy was wandering near his village when he came upon a wolf cub. He looked around fearfully but did not see its mother nearby. Though it growled and attempted to bite, he wrapped it up and snuck it back into the town. He tied the cub up in an abandoned house so that it wouldn’t escape.

Over the following weeks the boy developed a routine for sneaking food off his plate and bringing it to his wolf late at night when the town was asleep. Eventually the wolf warmed up to him and he let it roam freely throughout the house, though never outside.

One night as the boy was creeping toward the house, he came upon a thief dressed in black. The boy didn’t recognize the figure, who attacked him before he could let out a cry for help. He was getting beat up when from a distance he heard a crash, then saw his wolf running and leaping onto his attacker, who quickly fled.

Satisfied, the wolf came back to the boy, who was horrified. “Go on!” he shouted. “Run, before they get here! GO!”

The wolf put his ears back and growled, then ran off into the night.

A few townsfolk came out with torches and asked what had happened. The boy was pale, bloodied up and shaking. He waved off their inquiries and muttered something about a robber, and went home.

The townsfolk thought he might stop his wanderings after that, but no. Every night now was spent wandering through the trees, wondering what had become of the cub that saved his life.

In passive language:

Once upon a time there was village where a boy lived. Wandering through the forest at night was his favorite thing to do. He was left alone by the rest of the village because they thought he was weird.

A wolf cub was discovered by the boy one night when wandering near his village. Its mother was not in sight so he had nothing to fear. The cub made growling noises and tried to use its teeth to hurt him, but was unsuccessful. It was wrapped up and snuck into town by the boy, and tied up in an abandoned house to prevent escape.

The following weeks were spent by the boy figuring out a way to sneak food from his plate for the purpose of feeding his wolf later at night, while the town was asleep. Eventually the wolf was more friendly toward the boy, so it was allowed to roam in the house. However, it was never allowed outside.

One night during his usual quiet approach to the abandoned house, the boy found that a figure dressed all in black was making its own stealthy approach into the town. The figure was not recognized, and was attacking the boy before he would have been able to call for help. The fight was being lost by the boy when there was a crash in the distance, followed by his wolf swiftly appearing to fight off the figure in black, who quickly fled the scene.

The wolf acted satisfied and returned to the boy, who was horrified. “Go on!” was shouted by him. “Run, before they get here! GO!”

The ears of the wolf were pulled back while it growled, before it ran off into the night.

Torches arrived carried by a few of the townsfolk, who asked the boy what had happened. Pale, bloodied, and shaking, their inquiries of him were waved off with mutters about a robber. Then to his home he went.

It was a thought held by some of the townsfolk that the boy might finally cease his wanderings after that, but it was not the case. Every night now was spent wandering through the trees, wondering what had become of the cub that saved his life.

An Audience of One

An audience of one person is more than enough.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade