The Boy and The Blood Wolf

A story told to young, adventurous boys by their grandmothers when they start to stay out late playing with their friends too often:   "Once upon a time, there was a boy very much like you. strong and smart, and handsome, everyone loved him he had so many friends, and all of them wanted to play with him all of the time. We would play from dawn to dusk, and even after that. One night though, the boy and his friends, ignoring their parents' calls to come inside, went into the woods to play hide and seek. The boy was the seeker and waited in the dark as all his friends found places to hide. When the boy finally went out to find his friends, he was so excited and scared that he did not notice the sound of wind growing louder. The boy searched and searched, but he could not find his friends. He looked for so long he got lost in the woods he had spent so much time in. It was dark and cloudy, and the boy was starting to feel sleepy.    "Everyone must have quit and gone home" he said, "I should too, my parents must be worried about me" He turned around and saw two yellow lights in the dark, swaying back and forth.    "Ah" the boy said, "the adults must be looking for me with torch light, I'll go to them" So the boy began following the lights.    Step after step the winds grew louder and louder and the boy got closer to the torches. When the boy was finally close enough, the clouds overhead parted, and the full moon shone bright. Now that the boy had light, he could see that the lights were not torches at all, but the eyes of a Wolf staring at him in the dark. It was bigger than a house, with legs like tree trunks and claws as long as spears. The boy could also see the Wolfs teeth.    Bloody teeth.    The Wolf looked at the boy and began to speak. "Hello young one. It appears I am lost in these woods of yours. Do you know the way to your village?"    The boy was stunned and did not move or speak. The wolf asked again "I am looking for a village near these woods. Do you know where it is? I asked all of your friends but all they did was scream and cry, so I ate them"    The boy was scared, but he looked up at the wolf and said "No, I am lost too, I do not know the way."    The Wolf smiled and said "Ah If you are lost, then I can take care of you. Come home with me and become my son. You will have many brothers and friends to play with, and you can stay out after dark as much as you like"    The boy refused. He knew it would make his mother, father, and grandma very sad if he left with the wolf. The Wolf then said "Fine, if you will not be my son, then you will be my prey!"    The boy began to run, and the wolf ran after him. The boy had been lost before but with the light of the moon he knew where he was. He ran and ran and ran all the way home. As the boy was about to leave the woods and return to his village he heard the wolf, now far behind him, say "Fine, you have escaped today, but if ever see you in these woods after dark again, I will have you for Dinner!"    Note: This ending is, presumably, a slightly sanitized version of the original ending. Stories similar to this tend to end with the boy leaving the Blood Wolf to avoid being killed or simply being eaten in the woods.