Michigan Legends: Folktales and Lore from the Great Lakes State

The Boy Who Became a Wolf

91 The Boy Who Became a Wolf One day long ago, an old man lay in his lodge, very ill. He knew he was dying, and his wife and three children tried to console him as much as possible.Two of his children, a son and daughter, were in their teen years; the third, a boy, was very young. At one point, the man’s grieving family opened the door to his lodge to let in the fresh breeze from Lake Superior.This revived him enough to give him strength to sit up a moment and speak his last words to his family. The dying man began,“I leave you, my wife, who has been my faithful partner in life, but you will not long suffer in this world. My children—­ my poor children!You are young, so mark my words: unkindness and ingratitude and wickedness are out in the world, waiting for you.That is why I have raised you, my family, here in the woods, far from the villages of others, because I wanted you to grow up and learn the proper way of life from your mother and me. I wanted to save you from the bad examples in this cruel world. “I will die content,”the old man continued,“if you,my children, promise to take care of one another.You, my older children, I give 92    The Boy Who Became a Wolf charge and responsibility for your younger brother.Cherish and care for him. Never forsake your little brother.” The two elder children responded, “Father, we promise you. Never, never will we forsake our little brother!” So the old man died content.The family grieved, and only five moons later, just as the old man had predicted, the mother died. So the two older children rededicated themselves to their promise to their father. The daughter, who was the oldest of the three children, took over as a mother in many ways. She cooked for her brothers and was very tender to them,especially her little brother,who was rather sickly and delicate. The older brother was good too, hunting and fishing for food. But by and by, like most young men, he became restless. “My sister, must we live our entire lives like this? Away from all other humans?” he asked.“Am I never to be allowed to seek the company of my own kind? I cannot live like this. I must seek the villages of people.You cannot stop me. I must go.” The sister knew she could not stop her brother from leaving.“I can’t say no to your deep desire to leave,” she said. “In fact, father did not actually prohibit us from being with other people. He just warned us to remain together,as a family,to cherish one another and especially for you and me to care for our delicate,weak little brother. We must work hard not to follow other instincts and forget this priority , for it will mean we abandon our little brother.” The older brother said nothing.He just took his bow and arrows and left the lodge. He did not return. Many moons later, the girl still cared for her little brother, but she too was lonely, tired of never talking or seeing others her age. She was also tired of constantly caring for her little brother. Finally, she was now old and mature enough to want a real life and a change from her burdensome existence.She became selfish and decided that she would leave. One day, after she had provided food for her little brother and wood for his fire, she told him,“My brother, do not stray far from your lodge.I am going to find our brother.I will be back very soon.” The Boy Who Became a Wolf    93 She was not telling the truth, but her little brother did not know that. She left,found villages,and soon became immersed in all the fun she was having. She totally forgot her little brother. Before long, she was married and living her own life, never giving a thought to the brother she had abandoned. Meanwhile,the older brother also had his own life.He had married and had settled on the shores of Lake Superior, not far from the graves of his parents and the lodge where his forsaken little brother lived. The little boy ate all the...