A Heartwarming Story in the Wilderness!
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:29 pm
A Heartwarming Story in the Wilderness!
Several years ago I used to be an avid reader of the magazines “Field & Stream” & “Guns” which I used to pick from my neighborhood old-newspaper vendor. They contained beautiful pictures, illustrations, technical information and stories (true & fictional) that made pleasurable reading and transported me to a world I loved most – the wilderness!
This year’s winter has taken its toll in many parts of the world and the media has covered it well – with pictures of cities & the forests laden with knee-deep snow, bringing life almost to a standstill. It was then at a fleeting moment I recalled the story I read (fictional) which is still etched deep in my memory.
A simple hardworking man in his late seventies had lost his wife a few years ago and his children had abandoned him. He lived alone in a log cabin at the edge of a forest and did odd jobs to keep him going. His failing health made it difficult for him to continue as such and the severe winter that year left him hungry and weak.
Being desperate & suffering from the pangs of hunger he decided one late afternoon to venture into the forest looking for game. Covering himself with an old moth-eaten overcoat he carried his old Winchester 44 & a handful of shells and set foot into the forest.
Time went by and the late winter sun was about to set and with no game in sight he just didn’t have the strength to go on. Exhaustion got the better of him, his knees buckled and he collapsed under an old tree trunk.
His vision began blurring and his breath began getting shallower by the minute, it was then he caught sight of a dark form several feet away in front of him slowly inching its way towards him. Soon he realized what was in front of him was a wolf.
A faint smile creased his lips and visions of a fiery attack crossed his feeble mind – he was so weak that he could not raise his rifle to fire at the beast which too was perhaps looking to satiate his hunger. He thought – Well is this the way to go to the happy hunting grounds? With no way or choice to protect himself from the impending eventuality, he resigned himself to his unavoidable fate and closed his eyes with a silent prayer on his lips….
It was three days since he had left his log cabin and not returned. It was by sheer chance that an old friend happened to drop by and not having seen or heard from him alerted the local police & forest officials.
After several hours of searching they came across this unbelievable sight… Lying against a tree trunk was the man, his overcoat wrapped around an old dead wolf which was on top of him with its paws around his neck and its muzzle resting gently on the man’s shoulders.
The search party virtually froze in their tracks and tears began flowing down their cheeks as they wondered… …
On a dark wintery night hungry & desperate, has man & animal found succor in each other’s arms to give up their lives in an embrace, while sharing the warmth and life slowly ebbing out of their emaciated bodies……
Nature has in its own myriad ways to communicate its mysteries and ordination to convey that creation manifests in the principles of co-existence - Live and Let Live and Share to Show You Care….
Briha
Several years ago I used to be an avid reader of the magazines “Field & Stream” & “Guns” which I used to pick from my neighborhood old-newspaper vendor. They contained beautiful pictures, illustrations, technical information and stories (true & fictional) that made pleasurable reading and transported me to a world I loved most – the wilderness!
This year’s winter has taken its toll in many parts of the world and the media has covered it well – with pictures of cities & the forests laden with knee-deep snow, bringing life almost to a standstill. It was then at a fleeting moment I recalled the story I read (fictional) which is still etched deep in my memory.
A simple hardworking man in his late seventies had lost his wife a few years ago and his children had abandoned him. He lived alone in a log cabin at the edge of a forest and did odd jobs to keep him going. His failing health made it difficult for him to continue as such and the severe winter that year left him hungry and weak.
Being desperate & suffering from the pangs of hunger he decided one late afternoon to venture into the forest looking for game. Covering himself with an old moth-eaten overcoat he carried his old Winchester 44 & a handful of shells and set foot into the forest.
Time went by and the late winter sun was about to set and with no game in sight he just didn’t have the strength to go on. Exhaustion got the better of him, his knees buckled and he collapsed under an old tree trunk.
His vision began blurring and his breath began getting shallower by the minute, it was then he caught sight of a dark form several feet away in front of him slowly inching its way towards him. Soon he realized what was in front of him was a wolf.
A faint smile creased his lips and visions of a fiery attack crossed his feeble mind – he was so weak that he could not raise his rifle to fire at the beast which too was perhaps looking to satiate his hunger. He thought – Well is this the way to go to the happy hunting grounds? With no way or choice to protect himself from the impending eventuality, he resigned himself to his unavoidable fate and closed his eyes with a silent prayer on his lips….
It was three days since he had left his log cabin and not returned. It was by sheer chance that an old friend happened to drop by and not having seen or heard from him alerted the local police & forest officials.
After several hours of searching they came across this unbelievable sight… Lying against a tree trunk was the man, his overcoat wrapped around an old dead wolf which was on top of him with its paws around his neck and its muzzle resting gently on the man’s shoulders.
The search party virtually froze in their tracks and tears began flowing down their cheeks as they wondered… …
On a dark wintery night hungry & desperate, has man & animal found succor in each other’s arms to give up their lives in an embrace, while sharing the warmth and life slowly ebbing out of their emaciated bodies……
Nature has in its own myriad ways to communicate its mysteries and ordination to convey that creation manifests in the principles of co-existence - Live and Let Live and Share to Show You Care….
Briha
Quite true, nagarifle. Wonderful story, Brihji.