“Toboe,” she said, tired of saying Little Red Howling Wolf all the time, “your packmate Hige is very sick. I’d like you to bring this basket of food to him.”
Little Red Howling Wolf, being a very good little wolf, immediately agreed to take the basket to Hige, who lived alone deep in the woods. He picked it up in his mouth and trotted off.
The woods were very dark and scary, and about halfway to Hige’s house, the path split. Little Red Howling Wolf set the basket down and pondered. Which path was the right one? Cheza had never told him about this. Just as he was about to howl in frustration, a strange wolf in leather pants came out of the thick foliage on the side of the road. Little Red Howling Wolf stared. He’d never seen such a wolf. Why did his fur suddenly seem too thick?
“What’re you doing out here, kid? You look kinda lost.”
“Ah--I’m going to deliver this basket of food to my packmate Hige, but I don’t know the way. Can you help me?”
The strange wolf nodded.
“Take the right-paw path. The left will lead you out of the woods, and you know what that means.”
Little Red Howling Wolf gulped. He’d heard from Cheza and Hige just what humans did to the wolves they caught. He thanked the strange wolf and headed down the right-paw path, basket in his mouth and wondering if he’d ever see the leather-clad wolf again.
Said leather-clad wolf would have like to call himself the Big Bad Wolf, but as he’d never met anyone who wasn’t a wolf he called himself the Big Bad Tsume instead. He actually wasn’t very big or bad at all, but he covered it up by acting very butch and stoic when other wolves were around. He’d taken a fancy to Little Red Howling Wolf, though being very macho and masculine and heterosexual he told himself his hunger was for the basket of food and not the morsel carrying it.
In reality, both paths led to Hige’s house, but one was much longer than the other, twisting and turning throughout the woods, and this was the path he’d sent Little Red Howling Wolf on. He sped down the other path and was soon at Hige’s house. Baring his teeth, he drove Hige, who had only been pretending to be sick to get food, out of the cottage and into the woods to hunt for himself for once. Then the Big Bad Tsume donned one of Hige’s yellow sweatshirts and settled into his bed to wait.
It was dusk by the time Little Red Howling Wolf made it to Hige’s house. He scratched at the door, and was told to come inside. Hige’s voice sounded very strange, but Little Red Howling Wolf figured it was because he was sick. Placing the basket on the table, he moved to stand at Hige’s bedside. Before he could get there, though, the Big Bad Tsume leapt out of bed and stalked towards him, too hungry to wait.
“My, Hige, what broad shoulders you have!” said Little Red Howling Wolf, staring at said broad shoulders.
“All the better to hold you close, my dear,” said the Big Bad Tsume, stripping off the sweatshirt. Little Red Howling Wolf began to pant.
“My, Hige, what powerful thighs you have!” said Little Red Howling Wolf, already feeling the urge to lick them.
“All the better to... run in the rain with you, my dear,” said the Big Bad Tsume, stripping off the leather pants slowly. His tongue lolled in excitement as he noticed Little Red Howling Wolf eying him.
“My, Hige, what a long tongue you have!” said Little Red Howling Wolf, wondering whether he was a howler.
“All the better to eat you with, my dear!” said the Big Bad Tsume as he pounced.
The Big Bad Tsume ate Little Red Howling Wolf, and Little Red Howling Wolf enjoyed that very much. His howls soon attracted a hunting wolf, who looked in the window to see if Little Red Howling Wolf was all right. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he decided to go soak in the moonlight until the image was cleared from his mind.
