Short Story

Everyone always think of wolves greedy, vicious animals with no heart. But not my pack. We are the protectors of Fairytale Village, the home of all fairytales.

“Wolfie. Patrol. Now!” yelled Alaska sternly. Alaska is the head wolf at the Fairytale Village Police Department. The department is run by my family. The whole pack gets involved, even the youngsters. As I was saying, Alaska is the alpha of our pack, and she does not like people running late or not doing their job properly.

I scramble out of The Den and make my way through the Headquarters, then out into Pine Tree Forest. As I’m patrolling the outskirts of town, I notice a girl wearing a red cloak, hiking up the Forest Trail.

Nobody ever comes this far out of town, I think to myself, so I decide to go and consult her. “Hello, young lady. Officer Wolfie DeGrowls here. What brings you this far out of town?” “Well,” the girl replied, “I was just heading into the forest to have a picnic with my grandma. My parents sent me.” She said, as she held the picnic basket up to my nose.

But something told me otherwise. I smelt poison within the basket. I had to move quickly if that grandma of hers was to stay alive. “Well, you better be on your way then, cheerio!” and with that I walked away, eager to get out of sight. I rounded a corner and paused. I started thinking about what to do next, when something hit me. ‘My parents sent me.’ I sat down, gathered all my strength, and howled as loud as I could. Backup would be sent to capture her parents, but it was all up to me to catch her in the act.

I ran as fast as I could, weaving through the trees, hoping I would make it in time.

I knocked on the door, hoping for a quick reply. I was running out of time. “Coming!”, answered a croaky voice inside. The door groaned as the old lady opened it. She ushered me in as I began to explain what is needed to do to help her survive. Surprisingly she offered me a cup of tea, which I thought was strange considering the current situation.

After discussing a plan, it was time to put it in action. I positioned myself readily at the dining table. I took the handcuffs out of my pocket and waited to hear a knock on the door. “Coming!” shouted Grandma, a little less enthusiastic than she was when I arrived. She opened the door warily, and I could almost see her heart beating inside her chest. “Hi Grandma, it’s me, Little Red Riding Hood, I have brought you some yummy goodies for you to eat.” explained Little Red Riding Hood slyly. Grandma was getting rather nervous. “Rightio then, follow me right this way.

“Put your hands up right now!” I yelled, my voice echoing through the house. Immediately Little Red Riding Hood dropped her basket and put her hands up. She sighed deeply, like she knew she was caught. “You are now under the custody of the Fairytale Police Department of Fairytale Village. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you. Do you understand?” I explained, firmly. “Yes, I understand” replied Little Red Riding Hood, tears welling in her eyes.

Finally, the backup team arrived and took Little Red Riding Hood along with her parents, back to the holding jail. I explained what had happened to Alaska and together we looked through the picnic basket for the poison.

Unfortunately, the basket only contained two packets of 2-minute noodles and some berries. But I could still smell poison. We ran a test, and low and behold, inside the noodle packet the poison. “Well, Wolfie, you have done it.”, said Alaska proudly. “Our town is now safe because of you!” “Three cheers for Wolfie!” exclaimed another officer, “Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray!”

As I left the house, I thanked Grandma for her help and received a standing ovation from all my fellow police officers. I felt very proud of myself knowing Grandma could live happily ever after. 

Annie Mullen-Walsh