The peaceful afternoon was shattered by a sudden commotion outside the house.
Sheep were bleating in terror. The distinct, panicked barking of Donatus echoed across the hills.
"Wolf!" Grandfather shouted, grabbing his heavy wooden staff from beside the door.
Steve immediately grabbed his own smaller staff and ran to join his grandfather.
Five-year-old Kynthos, eyes wide with excitement, scrambled to follow them.
"No, Kynthos!" Grandfather commanded, turning sharply at the door. "Keep the door closed. Stay inside."
"But I want to help!" Kynthos protested.
"You are too young, and it is too dangerous. I cannot watch the wolf and watch you. Stay!"
With that, Grandfather and Steve rushed out, pulling the heavy door shut behind them.
Inside, Kynthos crossed his arms. He hated being left behind. He hated being treated like a baby.
He pressed his ear against the thick wood of the door, listening to the shouts and the snarling.
The sounds seemed to be moving away. He figured they had chased the wolf off.
"I've waited long enough," Kynthos muttered to himself.
He pushed the heavy door open and stepped outside into the bright sunlight.
Just as he did, he heard a terrifying sound. A low, desperate snarl.
The wolf had been chased away from the sheep by Steve and Grandfather, but in its panic, it was fleeing straight toward the house.
Directly toward Kynthos.
Kynthos froze. The wolf was massive, its eyes wild, its teeth bared. It was not hunting; it was desperate to escape, and Kynthos was standing right in its path.
It closed the distance in a heartbeat. Kynthos couldn't even scream.
Suddenly, a blur of fur and muscle shot out from the side of the house.
It was Donatus, the stray dog they had befriended weeks earlier.
Donatus barreled into the side of the wolf with the force of a battering ram, throwing the much larger animal entirely off its course and away from Kynthos.
The wolf scrambled to its feet, realized it was outmatched and cornered, and bolted into the thick brush before Grandfather and Steve arrived, panting and breathless.
Grandfather dropped his staff and scooped Kynthos up, holding him tightly.
"I told you to stay inside," Grandfather said, his voice shaking slightly.
"I thought it was safe," Kynthos cried, burying his face in his grandfather's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"When I tell you to stay, it is not because I want to leave you out," Grandfather said gently. "It is because I can see dangers that you cannot yet see. You must listen and trust those who are trustworthy."
Steve reached down and patted Donatus on the head. The brave dog thumped his tail against the dirt.
