The moonlight lay in bars across the floor as Lucie slid her feet from under the covers. Through the gap in the curtains she could see a full moon. The church clock showed midnight.
Gently, ever so gently, she eased open her bedroom door and slipped out onto the landing.
For a moment she stood listening. She could hear nothing at all: no cars on the street, no wind in the leaves. She could not even hear the fridge humming from the kitchen. It was as if the house were under a spell.
Then she heard it again. The gentle pant of a wolf’s breathing.
Lucie set off down the stairs. Her feet were bare and made no sound. As she went, she could not help thinking that it was probably not a very sensible thing to do, to go all by herself to see a wolf. But you cannot always be sensible in life. This was something Lucie had already discovered.
She reached the hall, and crossed the cold, red tiles. Slowly, ever so slowly, she pushed open the kitchen door. Then she stepped inside.
The wolf was sitting there, still as a statue, its eyes glittering like marbles in the moonlight.
“Hello, Wolf,” whispered Lucie.
For a moment they just watched each other, the red-haired girl in her blue pyjamas, and the great, wild creature, silver in the moonlight.
Then the wolf yawned. Its top lip curled back and its sharp teeth were on display. They were really very sharp indeed.
“Greetings, She-Child,” it said.
Lucie felt surprised and not surprised, both at the same time.
“Are you going to eat me?” she asked. It was the first thing that came into her head and she found she very much wanted to know the answer.
“Why do you think I want to eat you?”
“That’s what all wolves do. In storybooks, I mean. And you didn’t eat any of your dog food.”
The wolf looked at her consideringly. “I could eat you, I suppose. If it’s what you want.”
“Oh, it isn’t,” said Lucie quickly. “Really. What’s your name?”
“My name is Fang-That-Bites-Sharp-In-The-Forest,” said the wolf. She curled back her lips, and Lucie saw that her name suited her very well.
“Can I call you Fang for short?” she asked. “Your full name is rather a mouthful.”
“Nonsense,” said the wolf. “It’s not a mouthful. How would you like to be shortened?” It glared at Lucie, and she thought it best to change the subject.
“You’re a girl wolf, aren’t you?” asked Lucie. “A female, I mean.”
“Of course. Does that surprise you?”
“Well, it’s always a He-Wolf in the storybooks.”
“If you think about it,” said Fang, “you will realise that it cannot always be a He-Wolf. Why they should choose them for the storybooks, I cannot say. There are certainly plenty of us She-Wolves in the world — in so far as there are many of our kind left at all.” Suddenly she looked sad.
“But what are you doing in our kitchen?” asked Lucie.
Fang stood up. Lucie was a little alarmed, but it seemed she only wanted to pace back and forth across the kitchen floor. As she did, her shoulders rippled under her great pelt of silvery fur, and her tail swept when she turned, like a great plume feather.
“There are not many places where we wolves are welcome, She-Child,” she said. “Think. Where are the woods and the wild mountains, where the deer run and the wolves can chase them? Where are the caves for the wolves to lodge in the long winter nights? Where are the deep forests, where wolves can gather and howl to the moon?”
“Err, I don’t know,” said Lucie doubtfully. “There aren’t many round here.”
“No,” agreed the wolf. “There aren’t.” She sat down next to the dishwasher and began to scratch her hind leg. “So we wolves have to take what we can get.” She looked around. “This will have to do.”
“It’s a lot nicer than our old place,” Lucie told her. “Anyway, if you don’t like it you could always try a zoo.”
A growling sound came from Fang’s chest. She turned and looked at Lucie, and her eyes glittered.
“But zoos are horrid,” said Lucie quickly. “I’d never want to live in a zoo!”
“My thoughts exactly,” said Fang. She looked hard at Lucie. She had very strange eyes. Sometimes they looked blue, at other times grey or green.
Suddenly Lucie felt very solemn.
“Fang,” she said, “I’m glad you came to us. I will take care of you. Every way I can. After all, you are meant to be my pet.” Even as she said it, she thought how stupid it sounded. A creature like a wolf could never be a pet.
“Very well,” said Fang. “I will take care of you too. Even if you do cut short my name.”
“My name’s Lucie.”
“I know,” said Fang. “Ridiculous short names you humans have! But never mind that. Greetings, Lucie. Well met.”
Fang bowed her head, and Lucie bowed hers in return. Wolves were obviously very polite animals. Yet there was something wild and untamed about Fang all the same.
Suddenly Fang got up. She went quickly to the back door and sniffed at the bottom of it. Then she stood with her head on one side, listening hard.
“What are you doing?” asked Lucie curiously.
“I thought I heard something,” said Fang. “And I am always on my guard. We wolves have our enemies, you know.”
Lucie’s eyes grew big. “Who?” she whispered.
Fang shrugged, the fur rippling around her broad shoulders. “Humans mainly. They are always trying to lock us up, or kill us. Then there are bad wolves too. Or even The Wolf Catcher. Although I think he is a story made up to frighten cubs.” Lucie shivered, suddenly feeling cold.
“Still,” she said quickly, “Mum and Dad always lock the doors and put the burglar alarm on at night. I don’t think anybody can get in. Or out.”
“Don’t be so sure,” said Fang. “If I wanted to get out, I would. I have Magical Powers, you know.”
“Oh, right,” said Lucie. Fang could talk, and that was astonishing enough, but Lucie was not sure she believed in Magical Powers, or not the sort that could magic a wolf through a locked door.
“You wait and see,” said Fang, who seemed to guess what she was thinking.
Soon after, Lucie went back to bed. The church clock was chiming one o’clock. Lucie’s whole body jumped suddenly, as sometimes happens when you are falling asleep. Her eyes opened and she stared at the ceiling.
Did it really happen? she wondered. Did I really go downstairs and talk with a wolf? Or was it all a dream?
But she was too tired to think. And in a few minutes she was fast asleep.