“A werewolf, ah?” said Vovka. “That’s interesting. Where did it happen?”
“Near the river, I say, not far away.” The Wolf nodded in that direction, but for some reason looked scared.
“Can you show the place?” Vovka was genuinely interested in what the Wolf was saying, but Cheese-eater was eyeing the old robber with distrust.
“Don’t believe him, Vova! He’s lying, that’s for sure. He is trying to distract us by talking, because he wants to be freed out of the tree-trap.”
“No, dear Cheese-eater, this time he’s telling the truth. I have an idea, but we’ve got to check it. Let’s free the Wolf and go to that place where he has seen the werewolf, and then I’ll tell you.”
“You decide.” Cheese-eater shrugged her shoulders. “But in my opinion, the Wolf is deceiving us. He might as well eat us up when he’s free. He is hungry – alas! – and will swallow us at once.”
“I have no need in eating you up,” grumbled the Wolf reproachfully. “The game is not worth the candle. I’ve got better things to hunt for.”
“He won’t get anything for deceiving us,” laughed Vovka. “But if he tell the truth, not only will we free him, but we’ll also save him from the undeserved disgrace.”
“Really?” exclaimed the Wolf.
“Of course, we will!” Then Vovka continued, “You don’t know for sure whether you have done all these bad things, but I am certain that you haven’t. And I’ll prove that. I can’t say anything about other tricks of yours, but you were blamed for stealing cows and sheep unjustly.”
“Didn’t I tell you so?” exclaimed the Wolf. “You blamed me unfairly, accused an innocent one, but I suffered humbly like a lamb.” The Wolf pitied himself so much that he even sobbed.
“Of all the animals in our fairy-tales only you can tell such fables,” reproached him Cheese-eater. “All right, you’ve made a mistake, now make everything right. The one, who his guilt admits, can be with everybody quits. Now we’ve got even with you for your past tricks, and I’ll say this for the future: if we catch the robber with your help and free the Cheese Fairy, I will give you fresh milk every morning.”
“Lately I’ve been with my life repelled; from this day on I’ll be more than glad! My day will come!” The Wolf was happy.
“But first we’ve got to free you,” reminded him Vovka.
“We have, indeed,” agreed Cheese-eater, “but how?”
Everybody became silent and started to think how to get the Wolf out. To return home and get Curdfritter’s axe? It would take a long time. Also, this was a fairy-tale forest, and even the stones here were alive, and so were the trees, of course. No one could bring himself to cutting them down. To ask Cheese-eater’s relatives to gnaw the trees through? Again it was impossible. The more they were thinking it over, the more pitiful the Wolf was. It looked like he imagined himself left in this trap for the rest of his life.
