THE WOLF. 
11 
THE WOLF. 
him to run down some poor animal, when they both 
join in devouring it. 
What is said of the courage of this animal ? 
He is a most cowardly beast. When caught in a trap 
he becomes stupid with fear, and may then be taken 
hold of by men without danger. He will even keep 
still, and have his mouth tied, so that he cannot bite if he 
would. He never fights, except to defend himself, or 
get something to eat. 
Is this animal ever tamed ? 
The Wolf, when taken quite young, becomes tame, 
and will follow his master like the dog. But he does 
not become attached to his master like the dog, for when ' 
he grows old, he shows his savage nature and will per- 
haps kill the dog with which he has always lived, and if 
he can, will make his escape into the woods. 
How is this animal hunted ? 
The Wolf is hunted with large dogs, and by men with ' 
guns. Sometimes a single Wolf will make such dread¬ 
ful havoc among sheep, pigs and other animals, that a 
hundred men will join, to go out and hunt him at the 
same time, and yet, it often happens that the ferocious 
beast will escape to do more mischief. 
Where does this animal live ? 
This animal lives in almost every country which con¬ 
tains large forests, or mountains. Only a few years 
since, one was killed in Connecticut, not many miles 
from the city of Hartford, and in the forests of North 
America, great numbers of them are still to be found. 
They are also found in Russia, Germany, and France. 
Of what use is the Wolf? 
It may seem a pity that an animal which does so 
much harm while living, should not be of some use 
when dead. But he was designed by the Creator, for ( 
some good object, to be one of the most hateful and use- ■ 
less of animals, for his carcass when dead, is as odious, as i 
his actions are when living. No creature but a Wolf 
will eat a Wolf. 
The Wolf is spoken of in the Scriptures as a ravenous, 
and cruel beast. Thus Jacob, just before his death, 
? speaks of his son Benjamin, and his people, as being 
cruel and unjust, like Wolves. “Benjamin,” says he 
“shall raven as a Wolf; in the morning he shall devour 
; the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” 
] In another place, wicked and unjust rulers, are likened 
to Wolves, because they took the goods and money of 
\ their people when they had no right to them, just as the 
\ Wolf goes in the night and takes whatever he can find 
i for food. Ezekiel says of the rulers of Israel, “ Her 
; princes in the midst thereof are like Wolves, ravening 
the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dis¬ 
honest gain.” 
In the New Testament the same animal is often men¬ 
tioned, and always in such words as to let us know, that 
he is a cunning, sly and bloody beast. Thus in Christ’s 
sermon on the Mount, the deceitful and false teacher is 
compared to the Wolf in sheep’s clothing. The words 
are, “ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in 
sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves.” 
Thus we see that the actions of the Wolf are such, that 
’’ he is despised and hated by every one who speaks of 
him, for no one can speak the truth and say any good of 
; a Wolf. When men do wickedly and act deceitfully, 
\ they are said in the Scriptures to resemble the Wolf, and 
) we may say, that when this animal goes prowling about 
and committing destruction, he resembles wicked people. 
Now let us all take care not to act like the Wolf, in 
going about and doing mischief, for we may be certain 
that if we act like him,.we shall, like him, be despised 
and hated. We shall have no friends unless we behave 
so as to deserve them, but like the Wolf, meet enemies 
wherever we go. 
ANECDOTE I. 
Mr. Buffon says, that he has taken Wolves when 
quite young, and tried to teach them kindness and obe¬ 
dience. When they were well fed, they did not destroy 
( chickens or other young animals, among which they 
c were at liberty to go. They even seemed fond of the 
