In Wolf’s Clothing

This tale of betrayal and mystery explores the hidden life of a baron, whose transformation into a wolf leads to unexpected consequences. Amidst royal intrigue and deceit, discover how true friendship prevails in the face of dark secrets.

In a small village, there lived a young baron who was a great favorite of the King of France. The baron had a very beautiful wife, whom he showered with every possible luxury and costly gift. But his wife had lost her heart to a knight at court, and her mind was forever filled with schemes to rid herself of her unwanted husband.

As the baron was such a close friend of the King, she dared do nothing that would arouse the slightest suspicion. But there was something about the baron’s behavior that could be helpful. Every month, at the time of the full moon, the baron disappeared for three whole days. No one knew where he went, and although she tried to have the baron followed, his absence each month remained a mystery.

The baroness concluded that there must be some dark secret the baron was hiding, so the next month when the baron returned, she pestered him with questions and accused him of keeping secrets from her. In the end, the baron, moved by his wife’s tearful reproaches, told her his grim secret.

“Years ago, a curse was laid on me,” he said heavily. “It is a dreadful curse, and every month for three days, I have to take the shape of a wolf and roam the forest.”

“But, how do you change?” she asked. “As soon as I go into the forest,” the baron said, “I take off my clothes and immediately transform into a wolf. At the end of three days, I put on my clothes again and become a human being.”

“But supposing your clothes were stolen?” she persisted. “What happens then?”

“I should remain a wolf forever,” replied the baron with a ghost of a smile. “But don’t worry, I make sure that my clothes are safe and well hidden.”

This convinced the baroness that here was the opportunity to rid herself of her husband, and no one would have any inkling as to his fate. From then onwards, she plagued the baron with questions on how he ensured his clothes against a possible passer-by accidentally finding them.

The baron thought she was worrying unduly over a small thing. “Why do you fret so much?” he asked. “My clothes are well hidden under a loose paving stone in the old monastery ruins. No one ever goes near the place, as it is reputed to be haunted.”

Now that she knew the secret hiding place, the baroness laid her plans carefully. The next month, when the baron set off, she sent for her knight admirer and gloated, telling him that now they could rid themselves of the baron.

The knight, who was just as unscrupulous as the baroness, chuckled evilly. “Then we can marry and enjoy all that the poor fool possesses.”

Early the following day, the knight went to the ruined monastery. He soon found the loose paving stone. Making sure no one was around, especially a wolf, the wicked knight lifted out the stone, and quickly bundling up the baron’s clothes, hastened back to the baroness.

That evening, the baroness and the knight celebrated their good fortune. The baroness laughed, “Tomorrow we will make it known that the baron met with a fatal accident while out hunting.”

The knight added with a grin, “He shall have a great funeral. Then afterwards we can marry.”

As for the baron, at the end of his three days as a wolf, he returned to the monastery, only to find his clothes had gone. As he crouched before the hole in the ground, the baron slowly realized that his wife had played him false, and now he would have to remain in the forest as a wolf until the end of his days.

For over a year, the baron, as a lone wolf, roamed the forest, scavenging for food and craving for the days when he had enjoyed life as a human being. Meanwhile, his wife, the baroness, had married the knight, and they lost no time in squandering the baron’s great wealth on riotous living.

Early one morning, the wolf-baron was awakened by the peal of trumpets, and from his hideout, he saw his great friend, the king, with a large hunting party riding through the forest. At first, he was eager to go and greet his friend, then he sadly realized that as a wolf, no one would recognize him, and the hunting dogs would soon tear him to pieces.

Quietly, the wolf-baron turned and made his way deeper into the underbrush. But the dogs milling around picked up the scent, and then the wolf-baron had to run for his life, with a pack of dogs and the huntsmen hot on his heels. Although the wolf-baron dodged this way and that, he could not elude his pursuers and was soon surrounded by a ring of yelping dogs and huntsmen.

The wolf-baron thought his end was near, and in a last bid to save his life, he loped across to the king, and standing on his hind legs against the king’s horse, managed to lick the monarch’s foot. The king, gazing down at the appealing eyes of the wolf, exclaimed, “Gracious, this is no ordinary wolf! It is as tame as a dog. Let it go free.”

The huntsmen tried to shove the wolf away, but the wolf-baron refused to budge, and when the cavalcade returned to the king’s hunting lodge, the wolf-baron went with them, staying close behind the king’s mount.

Thereafter, wherever the king went, the wolf would be close at his heels. And as the wolf was so friendly, everyone at court petted and made a favorite of the animal.

Events soon afterwards took a dramatic turn. The baroness’s new husband, the wicked knight, had to attend the court, and as soon as the wolf-baron saw the knight, it sprang at his throat, and several courtiers had to drag the wolf off to prevent it from killing the knight.

The king thought the wolf’s behavior very strange and dismissed the incident from his mind until several weeks later when, on a hunting trip, he called at the baron’s castle. The baroness came out to welcome the king, and at the sight of her, the wolf-baron, with ferocious snarl, leaped at her.

The baroness threw up her arms and screamed, “Take it away, it is the baron come to haunt me.” The king was amazed at this outcry. Recalling the time when the wolf had attacked her new husband, he demanded to know what the baroness meant.

The baroness, flustered under the king’s stern look, stammered out an incoherent story about wolves and shadows. The king, highly suspicious of the baroness’s behavior, ordered that she and her husband be detained for questioning.

Although the knight put up a bold front, the baroness, when threatened with torture, broke down and confessed. When the king heard the story, he ordered that the wolf be put into a room with some of the baron’s clothing. Shortly afterward, the door of the room opened, and out stepped the baron.

The king was overjoyed to see his old friend again, but he had no sympathy for the baroness and the knight, who were sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of their lives.

Happily, the curse which had shadowed the baron was broken, and he spent most of his days at court, never once mentioning his life as a wolf.