The Raven and the Wolf
 Front cover | |
| Author | Ermina Arlette |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Julien Jules |
| Country | Rythene |
| Language | Rythenean |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Green Dove |
Publication date | 1 June, 1965 |
| Pages | 27 |
| Preceded by | Edgar and the Bear |
| Followed by | Whakk and Smakk |
The Raven and the Wolf is the highest selling children's book in Rythene, written by author Ermina Arlette. The illustrations were drawn by artist Julien Jules, who most notably worked on Arlette’s earliest children’s stories until his death in 1974. Since its publication in June 1965, the book has surpassed over twenty million copies sold as of 2015. It is Arlette’s second highest selling book on record, only beaten by her literary classic Homefront.
In the first few months of the book’s release, there was minor controversy surrounding the level of violence featured in a story targeted for children. One such critic wrote a scathing review in the Hyreathe Herald stating “Ermina’s penchant for war epics and tales of the tragic has made her ill-suited for educating the youth of our country, regardless of how whimsical her prose and talking creatures might be.” Arlette insisted that she was educating against violence with her story by portraying appropriate conflict resolution methods as an alternative to fighting. The author argued that with the primary moral of the story being forgiveness, the physical confrontation in the book is highlighted as wrongful behaviour by the characters own remorse.
Background
The characterisation of a “big bad wolf” as an antagonist has been a popular trope in children’s literature for centuries. The earliest known record of such a figure dates back to Anders Perendist Hanssen’s 1603 collection of folk tales titled Picture This. However, the wolf was not popularised as a literary icon until Rythenean author George Easton wrote The Wolf with the Crown during the peak of the Tyrnican Terror in 1883.
According to Arlette herself, the events of the book were partially inspired by the Tyrno-Rythenean Tea War. The characters of the Wolf and the Raven were anthropomorphic interpretations of Tyrnica and Rythene respectively. Interestingly, this was not the first time Arlette employed this particular technique in one of her texts. In her book Life Beyond the Shores: Frozen Axe she utilised a similar method, mirroring famous conflicts between the two nations with conflict involving soldiers of opposing nationalities who were forced to work together in the Second Great War. The Raven and the Wolf was published on the twenty-seventh anniversary of the Tyrno-Rythenean Reconciliation.
Book
In the sunshine of day, in the Land of the Beast,
On a hunt for new prey and a meal for a feast.
He was walking and stalking, the Wolf of our fears,
When a talking and squawking assaulted his ears.
In the blue of the sky, up so high in a tree,
Was a raven enjoying a hot cup of tea.
With his breakfast in sight, and the grin of a clown,
The Wolf said to the bird, "would you care to come down?"
The Raven stopped his drink, as he looked to the ground,
And he flapped with a blink as he spotted the hound.
"Leave me be, go on flee," said the bird in a plea.
Leave my tree, far from me, or else I fly free!"
"Don't fear," said the Wolf. "All I want is a drink.
I am thirsty and parched, would you give it a think?"
So the Raven gave in, and he flew to a soar,
As he twisted and turned to the leaf covered floor.
"Cheers!" cried the Wolf, lifting the cup for a sip.
"How warm and refreshing," he said with a quip.
"Why this tastes like a treat, not too bad for a crow.
I think I'll be taking this tea off to go!"
"Now you wait, that is mine! You can't steal my tea!
You get back, you get back! You can't run off and flee!"
But the damage was done, and the Wolf was long gone,
He was lost to the wind and the light of the dawn.
The day passed and it went, and down deep in the dark,
The Wolf held a candle and set off a spark.
"That tea was quite nice," he thought as the flame grew,
"But it won't be as nice as some good raven stew."
The Raven awoke to the smell of the smoke,
And he took to the sky as he tried not to choke.
His tree and his nest was completely alight,
And the bird saw the Wolf stood alone in the night.
"You're a swindle and a thief, you sure have some nerve,
Come tomorrow we will meet, you'll get what you deserve.
On the top of the hill at a quarter to three,
You'll regret ever thinking of stealing my tea."
When the night was out of sight, and the sun was out bright,
The Wolf ran uphill with no sense and no fright.
"That raven is a goose, he won't win in a fight,
I'll howl and I'll bite and his wings will turn white!"
The Wolf bounded and bounced to the top of the hill,
His heart thumped and it pumped and was ready to kill.
With a lick of his lips, the Wolf could see only red,
As he thought of that Raven so dead in his head.
But atop of the hill were a number of beast,
From around the wide world, from the west to the east.
"Hello!" said the Raven. "Come meet all of my pals!
This is Fran the Falcon, she is one of the best gals.
Here is Steve the Stag, and there Wolfgang the Fox.
And I almost forgot our friend Ollie the Ox!"
"We're having a party, you can join if you may,
I would rather us play and not fight on this day.
If a fight is your wish, and that is what you choose,
You shall better not be sorry when you do lose."
The Wolf howled and he growled, as he laughed with much glee,
“I will take you all on, I dare you to fight me.
I will make you all plead, I will make you all bleed,
I will show you my teeth, my power, my speed.”
As the Wolf bounded and bounced towards his first snack,
The Raven shrieked and he squawked “go get him, attack!”
With a crack and a hack, and a yack and a smack,
The Raven and his friends gave that Wolf a big whack.
With a lump on his head, and a bruise on his shin
The Big Bad Wolf no longer did grin.
The beast turned on his tail, as his fur did turn pale,
And he fled with a bale, down the hill and the trail.
The day passed and it went, and down deep in the dark,
The Wolf stood all alone in the cold of the park.
In the sky up above he kept look for a sign,
From his old and lost pack that he used to call mine.
The Wolf prayed for a star and he said “if only,
I could make a wish that I was not lonely.”
Under the dark of the stars, up so high in a tree,
Was the Raven making a hot cup of tea.
He saw the Wolf walking all alone in the night,
So he grabbed his tea cup and took off into flight.
The bird flew at the hound with a hoop and a loop,
The Wolf tried to run as the Raven could swoop.
But the bird did not swoop, as it land on the ground,
In a small patch of light and on top of a mound.
"Don't fear," said the bird. "Do you care for a drink?”
And he gave up his tea with a flap and a wink.
And the Wolf had no words, in a failure to speak,
As the Raven watched the hound from over his beak.
“I’m sorry,” said the Wolf in a whisper-like voice,
“I’m a wolf and you a bird, I thought I had no choice.
You have proven me wrong, beast and prey can be friends,
Can you forgive me? Can I make amends?”
They stared at each other and no sound could be heard,
As the Wolf he did wait to hear from the bird.
...
...
...
...
“Of course I forgive you!” said the crow with a shout.
“That is what being friends has always been about!
And the Wolf and the Raven shared a hot cup of tea,
And this time the Wolf did not run off and flee.
The pair sipped and they quipped as they watched the sunrise,
And the tea party saw them become firm allies.