Prologue
Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Jason. He grew up with wolves and is about to tell you his story. His life started out pretty normal, but his family was pretty poor. His parents were hunters and they hunted to survive. They lived in a small tent in the middle of the Amazon forest, and they hunted all different kinds of animals: deer, fish, turkeys. They also harvested wheats and fruits and other types of crops that could grow in the rainy and humid forest. They also had a few important tools: like a shovel, nails, a portable burner, and various pots and pans and plates. Jason's parents taught him the Portuguese alphabet and everything they knew (which was actually a whole lot). They spent time going over math problems with him and even taught him how to write essays. Jason lived a pretty decent life, until one day when everything changed.
Chapter 1:
On November the twenty third (23rd) 2003, my mom and dad went out hunting, as they usually do. It was just like any other day. I was in their tent, playing with my toy blocks as I waited for them to return home. Then, I heard their voices in the distance as they exclaimed "Oh man! We shot a lion, not a cattle!" I was terrified, because I knew that the lions in our forest hunted and traveled in packs. I was worried that they might seek revenge for their fallen pack member and come for us. I waited in the tent, holding tightly onto my toys. All of a sudden, my parents rushed into the tent. They looked worried and were panting as they tried to catch their breaths. They stuttered and said, "we accidentally...killed...a lion." Then, my father looked at me and in a serious tone said "they might come try to find us to avenge their fallen pack member." But, to our surprise, nothing else happened that day. Or the day after that. Or even for the next year. For several years, we seemed safe. I grew up and my parents taught me a bunch of new things: like how to add, subtract, divide, and multiply. I also learned about area and perimeter and decimals and fractions and linear algebra! Life was great, and I was happy. Every single day, I wish I could go back to that happier time period.
Chapter 2: RUN!!!!
One day was particularly nice. My mom and dad shot a very nice cattle that we cooked and prepared together for dinner. We also harvested quite a bit of bananas, apples, and grapes. We also had enough wheat to make bread for the entire family. That night, my parents and I had a giant feast! It was a very balanced meal. We were stuffed and went to bed. The day after our feast, my parents went out again, as they usually do. However, they came back a bit earlier than they normally do, and there was sweat pouring down their faces. They quickly packed everything they had into a big bag, including our tent. They wrapped me up in a piece of cloth and carried me in their arms. They grabbed all of their belongings and started running. They left me and all of their belongings in a tree far, far away from our home. After that day, I never saw them again. I never found out exactly what happened, but from the running and the sweat and the leaving me behind, I assume that they were running from the lions. I hope they didn't get caught.
Chapter 3: The Wolves
When I woke up, I found some food on the tree in front of me. I never found out how it got there, but I ate theI food that was in front of me. After a few days, I noticed that several wolves started to roam around the bottom of the tree. I was scared, but I couldn't do anything about it. I figured that if I tried to get down, the lions that were still angry at my family would probably try to eat me up. The wolves eventually started to climb up the tree, and brought me down from the top of the tree. The wolves carried me back to their den, where they fed me very well. I grew up with all the fellow pack members and a bunch of tiny newborn wolves from a mother who decided to keep me as her own. My life went on like this for quite a while -- let me go over the next couple of years. Was it five years? Ten years? Fifteen? I couldn't really tell you, because by that point, I had kind of lost my sense of time. If I didn't know then, I most certainly wouldn't know now.
Chapter 4: Exchanging Knowledge
As I grew up, I learned how to hunt and fish to fend for myself. I learned that it was important to show no weakness when living in the forest. My siblings were quick to teach me this. Tofu, my oldest sister, taught me how to climb up trees and get fruit and how to harvest wheat. Tochue, my oldest brother, taught me how to hunt and fish. Dyer (my younger brother) and Freckles (my younger sister) both taught me how to show no weakness when confronting other animals. And Lupa, the leader of the wolf pack who protected me all throughout my childhood, made sure I followed those rules. In return, I taught them how to harvest crops, build tents, and put together hay beds. I also showed them how to make bamboo paper, which I then used to write down stories. They were eager to learn and slowly but surely completed the difficult tasks. These quick tricks made their lives much easier. They no longer had to steal wheat from other animals, find abandoned dens to sleep in, or sleep on hard muddy grounds. We lived together in peace and harmony, always helping each other out as if we were family.
Chapter 5: The Hunting Trip
One day, I decided to go out on a hunting trip with my four siblings. We left home at around four o clock, on a nice fall day. It was just around sunset and we were heading toward a camp full of cattle who were preparing to rest for the night. We used our hunting skills to surround the group of cattle. We moved very slowly, so none of them noticed us until we were about four feet away from them. Then, my siblings pounced, while I stayed behind and made sure that they torture the cattle or use unnecessary force. However, I used my other tools to weaken the cattle. As the hunting trip came to an end, we collected some food to bring back with us and started running towards home. All of a sudden, I heard a small voice whispering "Hey... hey! Over here, hey! I'm right here!" I ignored the voice and kept moving forward. Then, a second, similar voice said "Excuse me?" I started to listen more closely and checked my surroundings. I looked down and to my surprise saw a little green elf! But the elf only wanted help with something called leaf origami, which I knew how to do. But even though I was an expert at making origami, I thought it was pretty boring so I just ignored the voices and continued to move through the forest. Then, I heard a third little voice whisper “ What are you doing? Can I come with you?”
Chapter 6: The Elf
I stopped in my tracks. I leaned down so that I was at eye-level with the elf. I introduced myself as Jason. He introduced himself as Badoongi Face. We became friends very quickly, and I was able to make a hole small enough in the dead cattle to carry him back to the wolf pack. I didn't know how my world family would react, so I hid him in our den and hung a quick bit of ivy to make a new home for Badoongi. The outside of the home was only visible as ivy, but the inside was full of miniature, elf-like furniture. I dropped Badoongi off at his new house and I pretended to be asleep so that when our family woke us (wolf pack mother, and father) they would not notice. I knew they would not be happy if they found out that my siblings and had snuck out at four in the morning to hunt some cattle, especially if they found out that I made friends with an elf! And Badoongi Face was also a pretty unique elf at that! Once my parents left for hunting the next morning, I quickly rushed out of bed to go check on the elf. I figured that Badoongi would need more food, but I thought to myself what kind of food do elves even eat? I figured I would just go ask Badoongi Face himself. He said "Well, I only really like ginger and mangoes and wheat."
I said "Oh that's fine. We have plenty of those things. I will get some ginger and maybe throw in a couple slices of mango in there."
I went back to our hut and stole some mangoes, cutting them up so they would be easier for Badoongi Face. I then went outside to the ginger flowers that happened to grow in the wild not too far from our hut. I put everything onto a tiny plate and slid it to Badoongi Face through the small door that led to his house.
"I love it!" Bandoongi Face yelled through the door. "Thank you!" But Bandoongi was so small that his yell was basically like a whisper.
"You are welcome!" I replied through the opening.
Chapter 7: Growing Up
It went like this for a couple years. I had told my siblings all about the small adopted elf, but made them promise not to say anything to our mom or dad. As Badoongi Face grew up, he started to steal mango slices and ginger for himself. I was very proud of him. Then, one day he asked "Can I leave this place?"
I said "Sure, that’s fine." If I'm being completely honest, I felt a little bit sad, but I knew that Bandoongi Face needed to leave and would be fine on his own. I watched as he gathered his things and started to pack his teeny bags. As he left, I saw him find another girl elf and marry her. Every once in a while, I went to visit him and watched as he became an old elf (elves age faster than humans; one year for them is about 3 human days). Then one day, I visited Bandoongi only to see a very tiny elf standing next to him outside his house.
"Who is this? What is his name?" I asked.
"This is my kid!" he said, smiling. "His name is Wadoongi Face."
"Wow, nice name! Sounds familiar."
"It is," Badoongi said. "I named him after myself."