To Protect Their Young

Part 1

As the sun resigned itself to defeat for the day and began to sink behind the mountain peaks, it shot brilliant rays of reds, blues, and purple in all directions. Two headlights slowly made their way up a long gravel driveway and parked in front of a lone farmhouse nestled at the base of the mountains. A young couple got out of the truck and stared at the beautiful scenery in awe. The woman cradled a tiny baby in her arms and the man put his arm around her shoulders as they took in all the beauty of the new home they would now call their own.

Their soft silhouettes walked towards the front door of the house, and the couple committed every smell, sight, and feeling to memory so they would never forget that moment. Their dream had come true. Their little Jarod would grow up on that farm, and their life would be full of love and laughter. Amy and Derek smiled at each other with utter joy and contentment as they opened the door to their new life, and as they closed it behind them, they heard the faint howl of a lone wolf in the distance.

The house was quaint, but large enough to make the small family very comfortable. The warm tones of wood were revealed throughout, giving the home a feeling of being part of nature. The entire upstairs was a good-sized loft for Jarod to grow up in and enjoy. His crib had been set up in front of a large picture window with stunning views of the mountains. Every morning when he awoke, their little boy would be greeted with stunning scenery. He slipped quietly into sleep as his parents put him down to sleep in that crib for the first time.

As Jarod grew to walk and talk, he became more and more enchanted by the animals that were accumulating on the farm. He hated any harm to come to any of them and would become quite distressed if a calf or a horse became ill. He wouldn't leave an animal's side until the vet came and took care of it. He seemed to know that something was wrong with an animal well before anyone else could tell. His mother and father were always in awe of the empathy that such a young child seemed to have for all living creatures. It was beyond any definition of a normal relationship between man and animal, and to them it was a thing of beauty.

When Derek woke up before the sun came out to milk the cows, Jarod would be right there with his father, doing what chores he could right alongside him. He could milk cows by himself by the time he was three years old. He fed the chickens with his mother, inspected the fence lines with his father and knew quite a lot about farm life for someone so young.

Every evening Jarod would listen through his open window as the wind blew, the trees rustled, and the wolves howled. They seemed to talk to him at night, the wolves; or maybe they were singing a song to him. Jarod did not care, because their songs at night brought him peace and comfort, like a lullaby for him to drift to sleep to.

One night, there was quite a loud commotion outside as one of their chickens began to squawk loudly in pain. The awful noise woke Jarod as he was sleeping by the open window that overlooked the chicken coop outside. Without a second thought, he ran down the stairs as fast as his little legs could take him, burst through the back door, and ran toward the coop. He never thought for an instant that he would be risking his own life, because all he could think about was helping an animal that was in distress.

As Jarod ran outside toward the chicken coop, he found himself face to face with a large wolf with a chicken hanging lifelessly from its powerful jaws. The wolf growled in a low and threatening tone and lowered its head. Jarod, who was only four years old at the time, had not a sliver of a chance if the wolf would have decided to trade the small meal for him. The boy could see uncertainty and desperation in the wolf's eyes. The wolf seemed very gaunt, as the ribs were quite visibly showing through the skin. In an instant, his eyes locked onto the yellow gaze of the wolf’s eyes. The two stood completely still, with neither attempting to make any move.