The Werewolf In The Woods

Once, a hunter, while deep in the forest was attacked by a large, grey wolf.
At first, coming home and having his wounds tended by his wife, he thought that it was just an ordinary wolf but then a dark fur started to grow upon his back and he was told, by a witch in his village, that he'd been bitten by a werewolf and would turn completely into a wolf by the next full moon if he did not find and kill the wolf that had bitten him.
And so he asked the witch for help and she told him to go to the cave in the woods near to the waterfall, that there he would find the werewolf; that he must soak his arrows and his knifeblade in quicksilver and always wear wolfbane around his neck while he slept.
And when he got back home, he told his wife where he was going and what he must do and she offered to come with him but he refused to let her come.
"And you must not come and see me while I am in the forest", he said, "I cannot risk anything happening to you".
Infact he made her swear never to visit him in the woods so she made him some charms of wolfbane, instead, to hang around his neck and prayed that god would keep him safe.
But the next day there was even more dark fur upon his body and his teeth were becoming more wolf like so then he set off upon his horse and travelled through the forest to the cave by the waterfall.
While he was there he saw a beautiful young maiden swimming in the lake near the waterfall.
"You musn't swim here", he warned her, "Because a werewolf lives in that cave by the waterfall".
The woman laughed at him, thinking him crazy but he told her about what had happened to him and that he had come to kill the werewolf.
"Before I turn into a wolf myself", he said.
The woman came up to him to examine him and saw that he had fur on his face and the teeth of a wolf and was so horrified by him that she ran off in the forest.
But then, taking up his bow and an arrow that had been soaked in quicksilver, he went to the cave of the werewolf.
Only the cave was empty apart from some human bones and other remains.
"Still", he thought, "The werewolf has obviously been here and will probably come back".
And so he pitched a tent near the lake's edge and that night he slept wearing wolfbane about his neck and, in the night, the werewolf attacked his tent, slashing it with long claws and knocking it over.
Getting up and picking up his bow and arrow, he looked for the wolf and saw it within its cave chewing upon some human bones but, because of the waterfall being in the way, he couldn't shoot an arrow at it.
Then, while he was standing near the waterfall, suddenly the werewolf came leaping through it, roaring and snarling, towards him.
The beast leapt onto him and, knocking him to the ground and pinning him down with its claws, stared deep into his eyes, growling angrilly and breathing its foul breath upon him but then, smelling the strong scented charm of wolfbane his wife had made, it got off of him again and then, as it was bounding away, he took aim with his arrow but, unfortunately missed the creature and only hit a nearby tree.
The rest of the night passed quietly although he couldn't sleep with the face of the wolf in his mind and when he awoke, looking in a small mirror, he saw that he had become even more wolf like, his ears having become pointed and his eyes more yellow.
"God let me kill that werewolf", he thought, "Or I will kill myself".
But then he saw the young woman again, wearing a green dress and she apologized to him for having run away the day before.
"Its just that I've never seen anything like it", she said, "And it frightened me".
"But it doesn't frighten you now?", he asked.
"No. Now I think its very sad", she said.
She asked him what he would do if he couldn't kill the wolf and he said he would stab himself in the heart with the dagger he had dipped in quicksilver.
"That is if I can still hold a dagger and my hands have not turned to claws", he said, "If I cannot do that then I will bite upon the blade and hope that that is enough to poison me".
But then she said she had to leave and the man offered her a charm to wear around her neck.
"It smells terrible", she said, "What is it".
"Its wolfbane", he explained, "And I'm not bothered about how it smells just aslong as it keeps the wolf away".
She took hold of the charm and put it in a pocket of her dress.
"I'll keep it with me", she said, walking off into the forest.
But then another night fell and the man, wishing that his wife could be there with him, fell asleep but then he was disturbed from a harrowing dream of being a wolf by the sound of a wolf howling nearby and then, looking around, he saw the young woman lying near him.
"What are you doing here?", he asked her.
"I did not want you to have to face the werewolf alone", she said.
He told her to go back home but she refused and then, suddenly, there arose a terrible windstorm, what they call a wolfwind because it is caused by the howling of a werewolf and the wind was so strong that it blew the mans tent away.
But then out of the darkness nearby, came the sound of a deep, angry growl and the man saw the yellow eyes of the werewolf glaring at him.
Frantically, he looked for his bow and arrows to shoot the wolf with but, before he could pick them up, the wolf dived upon him.
"Throw me my dagger", he shouted to the young woman.
But she didn't answer and so, in desperation, the man used his wolf claws and teeth, biting into the wolf, throwing it off of him.
Once more the wolf leapt upon him, but this time, fortunately he found the handle of his dagger that had been doused in quicksilver and drove it into the werewolves right eye.
Collapsing onto its back and going into strange convulsions, the man then saw the werewolf begin to change shape and, to his amazement, he saw it become the witch who he had asked for help.
But then, getting back up onto his feet and turning round, he saw the young woman facing him and holding his bow and arrow pointed at him.
"You have nothing to fear from me now", he said, "I've killed the wolf that bit me. I'll become human again".
"You killed my mother", said the young woman, "She only wanted me to steal the wolfbane from around your neck but now I will kill you".
Just then, however, they both heard the sound of someone coming through the forest and then, emmerging from between two fir trees, by the light of the moon, he saw his wife.
Turning the woman pointed her bow and arrow towards her.
Fortunately, the man still had the dagger that he had used to kill the werewolf and he hurled it into the young womans back.
Startled, the woman fell to the ground, but then the man rushed over to embrace his wife.
Seeing his face that was wolf like and his claws, she  didn't recognise him at first and screamed but then he reassured her.
"Its me", he said.
Then they embraced and the man said to his wife that, though he had told her not to come, he was glad that she had disobeyed him.
After that, the man slowly became human again but he never again went hunting in the woods, he gave up his log cabin instead and became a farmer because he realised more than ever, the importance of spending every moment that he could with his wife.
Then they had a son and a daughter and, though they never believed him, the man never tired of telling them, on long, windy nights when the moon was full, the story of he and the werewolf in the woods.