A Short Story
In the far reaches of the planet, nestled among the forests and the plains of a great mountain range, lived a great pack of wolves. Their land was abundant with food, water and many other resources. They never abused the great gifts they had been given and shared among themselves the riches. When a member of the pack was sick or injured, they would look after them, bringing them food, looking after their pups, fixing their dens.
When other predators would invade their lands, they would first try to reason with them and only after all efforts were exhausted in trying to get along, would they resort to violent means to drive off the invaders. They were so united and so successful in this, that the other bigger predators, also learned to leave them alone.
Other wolf packs began to ask them to help, when a bear or a lion would come into their lands and try to take over and drive them out. The large band always sent help and no matter the injuries or the losses to their own, they never asked to be repaid. When the task was done they just went home again.
Unlike many other wolf packs, this one would accept outsiders. They had simple rules and any that would follow the rules could stay. Those that didn’t were driven away. All pack members had to work hard and help those who could not. There was plenty for all and no need to horde.
Among this pack there was one family that had only had one small litter of one pup. But this one pup was taken in by his elder cousins and their friends and it was as if he had a whole clan of brothers and sisters. He missed out on little and was included in everything. As luck would have it, just as he was starting a family of his own, his parents had another cub, also a male. Again, all the other cousins came together as they had with the older brother and took the younger in.
Even though the older brother had cubs of his own, he tried to spend as much time as he could with the younger one. But the older brother had much on his plate and could not always be there to lend a guiding hand.
A time came, when the younger brother started to complain about how he was being treated by his cousins. The older brother, as was his way, quietly observed what was going on and saw nothing different from the way he had been treated, or indeed as any young wolves treated each other. This was the way the younger ones learned how to hunt, how to find out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. He explained this to his younger brother. That each wolf had their own specialty and that each wolf contributed where they could, however they could. That the only thing any wolf was expected to do was their best. At whatever task they did.
Nothing much was heard of these things after that talk. The older brother carried on as he had before and as things in the world go, life marched on. Soon his own sons were off on their own making lives for themselves and the older brother could slow down a little and enjoy life a bit.
His council and advice was asked for from many of the younger wolves and he always tried to help. But as is the way of the world, as he became older, it became harder to take part in the most difficult and far away hunts. He began to receive many negative reports about his younger brother, but he always had the same reply. That each adult wolf must make their own way as best they could. But he did notice that more and more of the pack were avoiding his brother.
The time came when the older brother’s mate died. His sons and their families made sure he was looked after and eventually, he was able to once again fend for himself. His needs were simple and it was not an inconvenience for him to keep his den in repair and clean and to provide for his own day to day needs. He reconnected with his old pack mates and laughed and cried along with them as they relived their pasts, but never spoke of his own. For he had never done anything of renown, just what everyone else had ever done.
Finally, his sons came to him and complained to him about his brother. How the brother’s behaviour was beginning to affect them, that others were now avoiding them. So the older brother brought this up with his friends. How it had always been his rule to take each wolf on their own merits. Not by what their fathers or brothers or other family members did or did not do and then he once again became quiet and left for his own den.
During one of his visits with his friends, the older brother was told that things were not well with his younger brother. He had not seen or heard from his brother for many years and thought that all was well. That is what his parents had been telling him. So he sought his brother out and at first he was welcomed and they spent much time together. Going on hunts together, the older always shared with the younger, but it was seldom the younger ever caught game and when he did, it was only ever enough to feed himself. But the older brother thought nothing of this. Not all wolves were good hunters and he always had enough stored away to last for a few days. He helped his brother repair his den so that it would stay warm and dry and even included him in his visits with his friends.
His brother always embarrassed him about bragging how great of a hunter, he the younger brother was, but younger smaller wolves always did this and the older brother thought nothing of it. Finally his friends told him to stop bringing the younger brother. He was disrupting their meetings and in fact, was bothering them at their own homes. Appearing unannounced and uninvited, usually at dinner time and while bragging about how he was a superior male, never brought anything to the table.
Then one day, the younger brother said to his face, what he had been saying to the rest of the pack for years. That the older brother was useless, that without the younger brother the older brother and his family would have starved. The older brother said nothing, he just walked away.
He found another den, Far away from the rest of the pack and his family. His sons tracked him down and after finding out he was doing well, they moved nearby. He was getting older and they wanted to make sure he would be fine. Winter was coming. Soon, one by one and family by family the rest of the pack joined them. All but the younger brother.
The winter was hard and the winter was long. But the pack survived, strong and healthy, but for the younger brother. For you see, all the things the younger brother had bragged about, his older brother had actually done. For even though he did not ever realise it and had never asked for it. The older brother was the leader of the pack.
