Deep in the forest, far away from humans, a young wolf once lived under a large oak tree. He was big and strong and had a secret that no one was allowed to know. He lived peacefully with the other animals of the forest, once a month went to visit an old lady who lived in the forest under three oak trees near the nut hedges and subsisted on mushrooms, berries, herbs and the old lady's delicious meat pies. The old lady introduced herself as grandmother. The grandmother has been taking care of the wolf ever since he lost his parents to the hunter when he was a little pup. Although the hunter shot the wolf's parents for no reason, the wolf bore no grudge against him. The grandmother had always said to the wolf: "My dear Zev, things like anger, resentment or even revenge are nothing more than an invisible fire that will burn you, so please try to stay away from it and always be kind and nice to everyone." Zev was the name given to the wolf by the grandmother, as that name meant wolf and, in her opinion, suited his jet black fur better than Wübbo or Gandalf. Zev always took grandmother's words to heart, and therefore was loved by all the inhabitants of the forest. In the summer, when Zev turned 19, he met another human than his grandmother for the first time. The grandmother had warned him that people might be afraid of him and that people with fear could sometimes do terrible things even if they weren't really evil, so Zev hid in the bushes as soon as he heard the people. Two boys ran after a brown rabbit with white paws, not caring where they ran. Zev was curious. I wonder if these people were playing catch with the rabbit? Carefully, Zev followed the boys and the rabbit and saw them heading towards the river. The river that ran through the forest had many dangerous rapids and sharp stones that would cut you open if you fell into them. Soon Zev heard the rushing of the river getting louder and neither the rabbit nor the people slowed down and kept running in the direction of the river. When they got to the river, the rabbit jumped onto a narrow and slippery log and crossed the river. The boys didn't think twice and jumped onto the log as well. Zev was beginning to worry. Humans didn't have claws, and walking on two legs had much worse balance. When the first boy was about halfway down the log, he started waving his arms around wildly. Zev ran to help the two boys, but the first fell into the water and was immediately swept away by the current. The second soon lost his balance as well, but just before he could fall into the river, Zev grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him back onto the bank. Trembling, the boy looked at his rescuer and clutched his neck. His pants and jacket were torn and his hands were scratched from trying to hold on to the trunk. Zev was about to tell him that he was safe now, but he was interrupted by a high-pitched scream. A red-haired woman ran out of the woods, waving a large branch menacingly in front of her. Zev didn't know what to make of that and instinctively growled at her. The boy started to cry and the woman cried out loud again. Zev noticed that tears were running down the woman's face too. Confused by the whole situation, Zev fled deep into the forest. When he went to visit his grandmother a few days later, he noticed another person on the way. A tall man with short dark blond hair and a rifle slung over his shoulder. This had to be the hunter! Zev immediately hid again and listened. Beside the hunter ran a tall, lean, brown dog that kept staring into the forest as if he could see everyone hiding there. The hunter spoke: "Stupid old fool, it would be better to go to a nursing home or, better yet, to a madhouse instead of living alone so deep in the forest. Does she actually think that this beast is innocent! We'll show her, Brutus. This is not the little lapdog she imagines, but a big, bad wolf, just like I always said. He has already eaten one boy and the other one was just lucky that his mother was able to save him in time…"